CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Vismek, Branislav |
|---|---|
| Title | Miraculous Healing Narratives and Their Function in Late Antique Biohagiographic Texts. A Comparative Study |
| Summary | This thesis deals with miraculous healing narratives in late antique literature. The research on late antique holy men and women and the representations of the miracles they were depicted performing, has been extensive in recent decades. My thesis is meant to contribute to the research by analyzing three very similar miraculous healing narratives, which are parts of three very different texts -- Theodoret of Cyrrhus’s Philotheos Historia, Mark the Deacon’s Life of Porphyry, and Marinus’ Life of Proclus. To contextualize these texts, I looked at the vast diversity of what I call biohagiographic texts and their audiences, the religious and literary traditions that shaped them, and the reasons for their composition. Then I evaluated the importance of miracles in these texts, the views of the ancient writers on miracles, and their relation to rituals and/or magic. I argue that in Christian biohagiographic texts miracles signify the victory and manifestation of the “real” supernatural powers. Finally, I argue that, in the context of conflict between miracles and magic, the contest between different religious traditions, and the mutual influence of different literary representations of the supernatural, the miracle healing stories were meant not only to amaze or entertain the audience -- rather, they were powerful rhetorical tools, specifically within the emerging Christian discourse and its push for appropriation of “pagan” and Classical culture. |
| Supervisor | Menze, Volker |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/vismek_branislav.pdf |
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