Papers by Catherine Rosbrook
Journal of Medieval History, 2023
While studies of knowledge transmission in the central Middle Ages
are abundant, much remains to... more While studies of knowledge transmission in the central Middle Ages
are abundant, much remains to be discovered about learning
practices in an extra-institutional context. An exceptionally detailed
example comes from the first portion of the Life of John of Gorze. It
recounts John’s earliest encounters with asceticism, as he
endeavoured to carve out a life pleasing to God. John learned to
live ascetically through one-to-one interactions with a range of
experienced individuals, many of them hermits, who comprised a
‘community of practice’. One community member observed the
ascetic example of another and imitated it in their presence,
through the process of active participation. This method of learning,
which fostered experimentation and the exercise of reflection,
belongs to a broader cultural preference within tenth-century
Lotharingia for presence-based forms of knowledge transmission.
Theoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 66-76.1. "One had to speak of sex": Status quaes... more Theoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 66-76.1. "One had to speak of sex": Status quaestionis -- 2. "It was a frequent practice to read writers whose artistry was of a similar kind": Sexuality in the writings of Avitus' forebears Ambrose, Jerome and Augustin -- 3. "A disgusting urge tries to prove your bodies foul": Sexual Desire in the Works of Avitus -- 4. "Who is so barbaric as not to envy the happiness of this virgin?": Female Sexual Renunciation in the Works of Avitus.Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus lived at the turn of the sixth - century AD. He was bishop of Vienne, a see located in the Burgundian Kingdom. His surviving works, including a letter collection, two poems (De spiritalis historiae gestis and de consolatoria castitatis laude) and several homiletic fragments, have been previously noted by scholars for their political and theological content. My thesis provides a new perspective on Avitus : I argue that the theme of sexuality featur...
Book Reviews by Catherine Rosbrook
Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis 136 (2), 2023
The Classical Review, 2021
Review of A. Riehle, 'A Companion to Byzantine Epistolography', Brill's Companions to the Byzanti... more Review of A. Riehle, 'A Companion to Byzantine Epistolography', Brill's Companions to the Byzantine World 7. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2020.
Journal of Medieval Latin, 2020
Review of V. Alice Tyrrell, 'Merovingian Letters and Letter Writers', Publications of the Journal... more Review of V. Alice Tyrrell, 'Merovingian Letters and Letter Writers', Publications of the Journal of Medieval Latin 12. Turnhout: Brepols, 2019.
Conference Presentations by Catherine Rosbrook
Tenth- and early-eleventh Lotharingia was home to a number of highly powerful monasteries, that h... more Tenth- and early-eleventh Lotharingia was home to a number of highly powerful monasteries, that have received particular attention in historiography for their role in the waves of ‘reforms’ enacted by ecclesiastical and lay authorities at this time. While said ‘reforms’ were certainly not the sophisticated, systematically-implemented initiatives previous studies have led us to believe, the monastic landscape in Lotharingia was undeniably evolving at a rapid rate over the course of the tenth century. In post-Carolingian societies throughout Western Europe, monastic agents occupied an unprecedently elevated position as privileged intercessors with the divine. These agents were being subjected to greater public scrutiny, as monastic institutions became increasingly integrated into their local communities. Some of the effects of these developments are reflected in the narrative sources that emerge from monastic contexts. Hagiography in particular, a malleable genre growing in popularity during this period, reveal efforts to articulate the repertoire of behaviours, rooted in the Benedictine Rule, that established the exalted position of monastic agents. Hagiographers would often provide unusual detail about, for instance, how their protagonists dress, spoke, ate, prayed, and worked (both manual labour and more intellectual activities). Their exemplary behavior was compared with the less-than-ideal conduct of peers or non-monastic individuals, and occasionally authors would interrupt the narrative to provide further commentary on the matter. In doing so, hagiographers were amplifying and propagating the beliefs of their subjects, with whom, if contemporary, they usually shared a milieu. These texts therefore offer valuable insights into a broader culture becoming increasingly pre-occupied with how the privileged moral status of the consecrated religious ought to be both maintained and communicated. My paper seeks to demonstrate that this was a widespread practice across Lotharingia, by taking texts from the (arch)dioceses of Verdun, Metz, and Cologne.
As monastic communities of post-Carolingian Europe gained in prominence, and their members faced ... more As monastic communities of post-Carolingian Europe gained in prominence, and their members faced heightened public scrutiny, ecclesiastical milieus grew increasingly pre-occupied with not just preserving, but communicating, the privileged moral status of monastic agents. Taking the regions of Lotharingia and Burgundy as a case study, I show how shifting representations of monastic conversion in tenth- and early-eleventh century hagiographies reflect these burgeoning concerns. Whereas protagonists of earlier texts could be depicted consciously deciding to embrace the monastic life after exploring alternative paths, by the year 1000 the ‘ideal’ conversion entailed an unwavering recognition of monasticism as the superior form of religious living.
Thesis Chapters by Catherine Rosbrook
Masters Thesis, 2019
Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus lived at the turn of the sixth-century AD. He was bishop of Vienne, a see... more Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus lived at the turn of the sixth-century AD. He was bishop of Vienne, a see located in the Burgundian Kingdom. His surviving works, including a letter collection, two poems (De spiritalis historiae gestis and de consolatoria castitatis laude) and several homiletic fragments, have been previously noted by scholars for their political and theological content. My thesis provides a new perspective on Avitus: I argue that the theme of sexuality features prominently throughout his works. To demonstrate my argument, I reconstruct the beliefs Avitus held about two particular aspects about of sexuality, sexual desire and female sexual renunciation, by drawing upon his various texts. I suggest that in his writings Avitus consistently depicts sexual desire as a destructive, contaminating force, which he believed capable of tainting the act of sex, the institution of marriage, and the process of reproduction. I then propose that Avitus believed the contaminating effects of sexual desire can be minimised
through a commitment to sexual renunciation. According to Avitus, female renunciants in particular are entitled to significant worldly and heavenly benefits as a reward for resisting the temptations of sexual desire and exhibiting great willpower. Throughout the thesis I show that Avitus’ beliefs about both sexual desire and female sexual renunciation recall the theologies of his forebears, Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine. Given the wide circulation of these men’s works in late-antique Gaul, it is likely that they could have influenced Avitus’ own writings about sexuality. Although Avitus’ works do not survive in the volume Ambrose’s, Jerome’s or Augustine’s do, I contend that they are nonetheless significant and worthy of recognition for the information about sexuality they contain. I hope to show that the pervading themes of
sexual desire and female sexual renunciation render Avitus’ letters, poetry and, to a lesser extent, his sermons, unique and significant sources for the place of sexuality in post-Roman, pre-Merovingian Gaul.
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Papers by Catherine Rosbrook
are abundant, much remains to be discovered about learning
practices in an extra-institutional context. An exceptionally detailed
example comes from the first portion of the Life of John of Gorze. It
recounts John’s earliest encounters with asceticism, as he
endeavoured to carve out a life pleasing to God. John learned to
live ascetically through one-to-one interactions with a range of
experienced individuals, many of them hermits, who comprised a
‘community of practice’. One community member observed the
ascetic example of another and imitated it in their presence,
through the process of active participation. This method of learning,
which fostered experimentation and the exercise of reflection,
belongs to a broader cultural preference within tenth-century
Lotharingia for presence-based forms of knowledge transmission.
Book Reviews by Catherine Rosbrook
Conference Presentations by Catherine Rosbrook
Thesis Chapters by Catherine Rosbrook
through a commitment to sexual renunciation. According to Avitus, female renunciants in particular are entitled to significant worldly and heavenly benefits as a reward for resisting the temptations of sexual desire and exhibiting great willpower. Throughout the thesis I show that Avitus’ beliefs about both sexual desire and female sexual renunciation recall the theologies of his forebears, Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine. Given the wide circulation of these men’s works in late-antique Gaul, it is likely that they could have influenced Avitus’ own writings about sexuality. Although Avitus’ works do not survive in the volume Ambrose’s, Jerome’s or Augustine’s do, I contend that they are nonetheless significant and worthy of recognition for the information about sexuality they contain. I hope to show that the pervading themes of
sexual desire and female sexual renunciation render Avitus’ letters, poetry and, to a lesser extent, his sermons, unique and significant sources for the place of sexuality in post-Roman, pre-Merovingian Gaul.
are abundant, much remains to be discovered about learning
practices in an extra-institutional context. An exceptionally detailed
example comes from the first portion of the Life of John of Gorze. It
recounts John’s earliest encounters with asceticism, as he
endeavoured to carve out a life pleasing to God. John learned to
live ascetically through one-to-one interactions with a range of
experienced individuals, many of them hermits, who comprised a
‘community of practice’. One community member observed the
ascetic example of another and imitated it in their presence,
through the process of active participation. This method of learning,
which fostered experimentation and the exercise of reflection,
belongs to a broader cultural preference within tenth-century
Lotharingia for presence-based forms of knowledge transmission.
through a commitment to sexual renunciation. According to Avitus, female renunciants in particular are entitled to significant worldly and heavenly benefits as a reward for resisting the temptations of sexual desire and exhibiting great willpower. Throughout the thesis I show that Avitus’ beliefs about both sexual desire and female sexual renunciation recall the theologies of his forebears, Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine. Given the wide circulation of these men’s works in late-antique Gaul, it is likely that they could have influenced Avitus’ own writings about sexuality. Although Avitus’ works do not survive in the volume Ambrose’s, Jerome’s or Augustine’s do, I contend that they are nonetheless significant and worthy of recognition for the information about sexuality they contain. I hope to show that the pervading themes of
sexual desire and female sexual renunciation render Avitus’ letters, poetry and, to a lesser extent, his sermons, unique and significant sources for the place of sexuality in post-Roman, pre-Merovingian Gaul.