Project description
The role of the writings of the ‘early fathers’ in the formation of the Byzantine literary canon
How did the multilingual Christian monastic communities of Early Islamic Palestine and Sinai (7th-11th centuries CE) shape the Byzantine literary canon of ascetic works? To answer this question, the EU-funded MonasByz project will explore how Medieval monks and ascetics across the Mediterranean relied on the writings of the ‘early fathers’ who were active in the 4th-7th centuries. MonasByz aims to find out the temporal and spatial conditions where the shift from a personal to a literary type of authority took place and what was its extent.
Objective
"This research project will investigate the role played by the multilingual Christian monastic communities of Early Islamic Palestine and Sinai (7th-11th centuries CE) in the formation of the Byzantine literary canon of ascetic works. Throughout the Medieval period, Byzantine monks and ascetics across the Mediterranean relied as their main source of authority on the writings of the ""early fathers"", i.e. a series of ascetic authors who were active between ca. the 4th-7th centuries CE. The increasing spiritual authority invested in ascetic books and texts (the ""classics"") during the Byzantine period stands in stark opposition to the living examples of charismatic holy men and women who dominated Late Antique Christian discourses on asceticism. Although this shift from a personal to a literary type of authority had far-reaching consequences for the history of Byzantine Christianity, key questions with regard to the complex processes behind it never received an adequate treatment in scholarship: Where and when did the change take place and what was its scope? How did a ""canon"" of ascetic literature emerge, who carried out the selection of authors and works, and how was it disseminated? Employing innovative research methods from the fields of social and intellectual history, philology, manuscript studies and Digital Humanities, MonasByz argues that the fundamental shift occurred in Palestine and Egypt (Sinai) during the early Islamic period and that the monasteries of Mar Saba and St Catherine's played a pivotal role in this development. Through a systematic survey of the Greek, Syriac, and Arabic ascetic manuscripts produced in these centers between the 7th and 11th centuries, the project will identify the actors and resources involved in the production of books and reconstruct the local and supra-regional monastic networks, in order to trace the formation of a new way of disseminating spiritual authority via texts, which would prevail in the Byzantine period."
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities history and archaeology history medieval history
- social sciences sociology anthropology
- humanities philosophy, ethics and religion religions christianity
- humanities languages and literature literature studies history of literature
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1010 Wien
Austria
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.