Emplotting total devotion

Secrecy, fame, and imitation in late antique Lives of Christian ascetics

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4373194
AutoresKlazina Staat (0000-0002-1156-6806, The Study of Religion, Faculty of Humanities, Department of History, University of Southern Denmark-SDU, Odense, Denmark, autor de correspondencia)
Año2023
Volumen53
Número1
Páginas135-160
Fecha de publicación2023-01-02
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReligion (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0048-721X • E-ISSN: 1096-1151
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0048721x.2022.2150407
OpenAlexW4311169178
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas23

This article concentrates on ideals of total devotion in Latin late antique Lives of secret saints. It argues that total devotion is narrativised according to a standardised plot structure or ‘masterplot’. The plot starts with the saints’ performance of total devotion in religious competition, which increases their fame and emotional attraction among the followers. Imitating the example of earlier ascetics, the saints withdraw in isolation to avoid the followers’ attention, but to no avail: the more they hide, the more they become known through the spreading of rumours. The saints’ subsequent disclosure intensifies their emotional attraction, and results in the people’s demonstration of total devotion. In a final step, the audience of the hagiographical tales is invited to follow the saints’ example. Laying bare the recurring plot elements, the article highlights the nexus of ascetic withdrawal, secrecy, fame, emotions, storytelling, and imitation in the constitution of total devotion

Antique · Art · Asceticism · Imitation · Literature · Plot (graphics) · Political science · Secrecy · Sociology · Theology · Visual arts · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Social Psychology

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