Crisis Management in Late Antiquity (410–590 CE): A Survey of the Evidence from Episcopal Letters

299 Pages·2013·1.67 MB·English

by  Pauline Allen

Crisis Management in Late Antiquity (410–590 CE)
Supplements
to
Vigiliae Christianae
Texts and Studies of
Early Christian Life and Language
Editors
J.denBoeft–B.D.Ehrman–J.vanOort
D.T.Runia–C.Scholten–J.C.M.vanWinden
VOLUME121
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/vcs
Crisis Management in Late Antiquity
(410–590 CE)
A Survey of the Evidence from Episcopal Letters
By
PaulineAllen
BronwenNeil
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2013
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Allen,Pauline,1948-author.
Crisismanagementinlateantiquity(410-590CE):asurveyoftheevidencefromepiscopal
letters/byPaulineAllen,BronwenNeil.
pagescm–(SupplementstoVigiliaeChristianae;volume121)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-90-04-18577-7(hardback:alk.paper)–ISBN978-90-04-25482-4(e-book)
1.Churchhistory–Primitiveandearlychurch,ca.30-600.2.Christianliterature,Early–History
andcriticism.3.Bishops–Correspondence.I.Neil,Bronwen,author.II.Title.III.Series:
SupplementstoVigiliaeChristianae;v.121.
BR219.A452013
270.2–dc23
2013021422
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements..................................................... ix
Abbreviations........................................................... xi
1 CrisisinLateAntiquity............................................. 1
Rationale ........................................................... 1
Defining“Crisis”inLateAntiquity.................................. 3
OverviewoftheVolume............................................ 4
PopulationDisplacement ...................................... 4
NaturalDisasters............................................... 5
ReligiousDisputes.............................................. 6
ViolentConflict ................................................ 6
SocialAbuses................................................... 7
BreakdownoftheStructuresofDependence .................. 8
Conclusion ......................................................... 9
2 StudyingLate-AntiqueCrisisManagementthroughLetters........ 11
StatusQuaestionis .................................................. 11
UsingLettersasaSource ........................................... 14
TheNatureandFunctionofLetters............................ 16
Terminology.................................................... 17
TheQuestionofAudience:PublicorPrivate?.................. 18
HybridForms .................................................. 21
CompilationofLetter-Collections.............................. 23
EpistolarySourcesonCrisis ........................................ 26
TheGreekCorpus.............................................. 26
TheLatinCorpus............................................... 28
3 PopulationDisplacement .......................................... 37
Introduction........................................................ 37
PrisonersofWar.................................................... 38
Exile,Flight,Confinement.......................................... 44
Asylum-SeekersandRefugees...................................... 47
Conclusion ......................................................... 52
vi contents
Case-StudiesofExiles,RefugeesandAsylum-Seekers.............. 53
Case-Study1.Nestorius,PatriarchofConstantinople
(428–431)................................................... 53
Case-Study2.Fulgentius,BishopofRuspe(c.507–533) ........ 56
Case-Study3.VigiliusofRome(531–555)....................... 58
Case-Study4.TheodoretofCyrrhus(423–c.466) .............. 61
Case-Study5.SeverusofAntioch(512–518) .................... 66
4 NaturalDisasters ................................................... 71
Introduction........................................................ 71
Earthquakes ........................................................ 72
Food-ShortagesandFamine........................................ 79
EpidemicDiseases.................................................. 83
SilenceoftheSources .............................................. 86
Conclusion ......................................................... 91
Case-StudiesofNaturalDisasterManagement..................... 91
Case-Study1.CyrilofAlexandria(412–444) .................... 91
Case-Study2.TheodoretofCyrrhus(423–c.466) .............. 94
5 ReligiousControversiesandViolence .............................. 97
Introduction........................................................ 97
CyrilandNestorius:AnUnfortunatePairing ....................... 98
Eutyches:LettersReadandNotRead............................... 100
CouncilofEphesusII(449)......................................... 101
TheTomeofLeo ............................................... 102
ChalcedonandItsAftermath....................................... 103
TheAcacianSchism................................................ 107
WesternHeresies................................................... 111
Arianism ....................................................... 111
PelagianisminNorthAfrica,ItalyandGaul.................... 115
PriscillianisminSpain ......................................... 118
DonatisminNorthAfrica ...................................... 119
ReviewofSixth-CenturyChristologicalDisputes................... 122
CouncilofConstantinopleII(553) ................................. 128
Conclusion ......................................................... 129
Case-StudiesofReligiousConflictManagement ................... 130
Case-Study1.AfterChalcedon:TheCodexEncyclius ........... 130
Case-Study2.ThePatriarchatesofConstantinople,Antioch
andAlexandria564–581.................................... 137
contents vii
6 SocialAbuses....................................................... 147
Introduction........................................................ 147
Usury............................................................... 147
ExtortionateTaxation .............................................. 150
HumanTrafficking ................................................. 151
IndenturedChildLabour........................................... 152
AlienationofChurchProperty ..................................... 153
Corruption,withintheChurchandwithout........................ 154
Conclusion ......................................................... 157
Case-StudiesofSocialAbuseManagement......................... 158
Case-Study1.SynesiusofCyrene(411–413) ..................... 158
Case-Study2.GelasiusofRome(492–496)..................... 163
7 BreakdownintheStructuresofDependence....................... 171
Introduction........................................................ 171
FailureoftheRomanLegalSystem................................. 174
TheBishop’sCourt ................................................. 175
Conclusion ......................................................... 179
Case-StudiesofBreakdownofStructuresofDependence .......... 180
Case-Study1.AugustineofHippo(395–430) ................... 180
Case-Study2.PelagiusIofRome(556–561) .................... 186
Conclusion ............................................................. 193
EvidenceforCrisisManagementinEpiscopalLetters.............. 193
StrategiesofCrisisManagement ................................... 195
Petitioning ..................................................... 195
DogmaticInstruction .......................................... 196
DisciplineandAdministration................................. 197
Containment................................................... 197
SocialExclusion................................................ 198
DiplomaticEmbassies.......................................... 198
SynodsandCouncils ........................................... 199
Proscription.................................................... 199
ViolentCoercion ............................................... 199
LiturgicalResponses ........................................... 200
MaterialAid.................................................... 200
RegionalismofEpiscopalResponsestoCrisis ...................... 201
Non-EpiscopalResponses .......................................... 201
viii contents
Appendix.AncientAuthorProfiles ..................................... 205
GreekAuthors...................................................... 205
AlexandriaandEgypt .......................................... 205
Constantinople................................................. 208
Jerusalem ...................................................... 209
Armenia........................................................ 209
Antioch ........................................................ 209
Syria(outsideAntioch)......................................... 211
AsiaMinorandSurrounds ..................................... 213
RomanAuthors..................................................... 214
Rome........................................................... 214
OtherWesternAuthors............................................. 222
Africa........................................................... 222
Italy(outsideRome) ........................................... 225
Gaul............................................................ 226
Spain........................................................... 229
Britain.......................................................... 229
Bibliography ............................................................ 231
IndexofAncientSources ............................................... 259
IndexofModernAuthors............................................... 267
IndexofPeople,PlacesandThings ..................................... 272
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The current volume is the outcome of a three-year research project enti-
tled“CrisisManagementinEpiscopalLetters(410–590ce)”,whichwasgen-
erously funded by the Australian Research Council from 2010 to 2012. We
are grateful to research associates Sarah Gador-Whyte and Stephen Lake,
researchassistantSandraSewell,editorialassistantDinahJoesoef,andhon-
oraryresearchfellowsWendyMayerandJanvanGinkel,aswellastheedi-
torialteamatBrill,forhelpfulsuggestionsandcorrections.Wewouldliketo
express our thanks to Australian Catholic University for granting us both
study leave in the first half of 2012. Our work has benefited greatly from
scholarlyinteractionswithcolleaguesinBelgium,Japan,SouthAfrica,Italy
andKorea.
PaulineAllen
AustralianCatholicUniversityandUniversityofPretoria
BronwenNeil
AustralianCatholicUniversity