Church and Society in Late Antique Italy and Beyond by Claire Sotinel;

Author:Claire Sotinel;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Unlimited)
Published: 2010-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Conclusion

Christian prosopography, as we have seen, cannot be compared in extent to that of the privileged classes of the Roman Republic or Empire. No coherent serial analysis can be grounded on a documentation which does not comply with any formal standard. But such a lack of standard is by itself significant (in this respect, it would be fascinating to compare with what happens using the Byzantine prosopography). It appears to me to answer at least partially to the question stated in my Introduction. The lack of coherence in the sources reflects the lack of coherence in die group formed — or not formed — by the Christian bishops of Late Antique Italy. One of the major features that emerge from this enquiry is die persistent heterogeneity of the Italian bishops, a characteristic not only of their social origins, but also of their behaviour patterns in their social relations. Until the very end of our period the bishops are defined by a three-fold identity: first, that of their family and social origins, which determine in large part their political behaviour and sometimes give rise to tensions within the Church; secondly, that of their membership of a particular local community (a subject I have not dealt with at length here, but which seems important in the development of the episcopal office); and finally, their properly ecclesiastical identity, constantly emphasised in the sources. An important feature emphasised is the constant effort (also displayed in the prosopographical sources) to reject a social definition in the clergy’s self representation and to substitute for it an institutional identity which seeks to surmount, even to erase, family and local identities. Prosopography allows us to assess the tension between this constant aspiration and the actual variety of situations.

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