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Translation and opportunity: Byzantine monastic studies since ca. 1990
Author(s) -
Ewing Hannah
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
religion compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.113
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 1749-8171
DOI - 10.1111/rec3.12259
Subject(s) - byzantine architecture , monasticism , scholarship , state (computer science) , classics , empire , diversity (politics) , history , field (mathematics) , ancient history , political science , computer science , law , mathematics , algorithm , pure mathematics
While monks were integral parts of the long‐lasting Byzantine world, Byzantine monasticism and its study can be relatively obscure to nonspecialists, given the diversity of monastic forms practiced in the empire. This piece presents a brief primer on Byzantine monastic studies and evaluates key scholarship in this increasingly vigorous field. In particular, it assesses the major impact of critical editions and primary‐source translation projects since the 1990s and 2000s, including both archival materials and hagiography. Furthermore, it evaluates the current state of the field and outlines several opportunities and directions for further research.