Harlots of the desert : a study of repentance in early monastic sources
Benedicta Ward (Author)
Stories of conversion have always attracted mankind's attention, and this was especially so among the monks of the ancient and medieval world. In the literature of fourth-century Egypt, alongside the wise sayings of the Desert Fathers and the stories illustrating their way of life, there are also the accounts of the lives of the harlots, Pelagia, Maria, Thaïs, Mary of Egypt and a number of lesser figures, all of which were copied, translated and retold througout the Middle Ages. This is a commentary on early monastic texts with a discussion of the theme of Christian repentance. The author begins with St. Mary Magdalene, the archetypal penitent, and goes on to examine the desert tradition, concluding each chapter with new translations of those lives which were most influential in the early Church and for countless generations afterwards
Print Book, English, 1987
Cistercian Publications INC, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1987
Cistercian studies series, no. 106, 106
History
ix, 113 pages ; 23 cm.
9780879074067, 9780879076061, 9780264671529, 9780264667393, 087907406X, 0879076062, 026467152X, 0264667395
17515110
The theme of repentance
St Mary Magdalene : the biblical model of repentance
St Mary of Egypt : the liturgical icon of repentance
Pelagia : beauty riding by
Thaïs : how to receive a gift
Maria the niece of Abraham : an image of salvation
Conclusion
Includes translations of Latin texts selected from the Vitae patrum