
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2.1 Literary Methodologies 2.1 Literary Methodologies
-
2.2 Before Literature: The Rise of Christian Letters in the West 2.2 Before Literature: The Rise of Christian Letters in the West
-
2.2.1 The Roman Vocabulary of Letters 2.2.1 The Roman Vocabulary of Letters
-
2.2.2 The New Christian Literacy: De doctrina christiana 2.2.2 The New Christian Literacy: De doctrina christiana
-
2.2.3 Divine and Human Letters, or the Great Schism 2.2.3 Divine and Human Letters, or the Great Schism
-
2.2.4 The Line of ‘Scriptural’ Writers: Church History as Bibliography 2.2.4 The Line of ‘Scriptural’ Writers: Church History as Bibliography
-
2.2.5 Methodologia perennis: The Afterlife of Handbooks 2.2.5 Methodologia perennis: The Afterlife of Handbooks
-
-
2.3 Under Literature: Early Christian Writing between the Enlightenment and Late Modernism 2.3 Under Literature: Early Christian Writing between the Enlightenment and Late Modernism
-
2.3.1 Patristics as Literary History 2.3.1 Patristics as Literary History
-
2.3.2 The Literature(s) of Late Antiquity 2.3.2 The Literature(s) of Late Antiquity
-
2.3.3 The End of European Literary History and the Advent of Early Christian Studies 2.3.3 The End of European Literary History and the Advent of Early Christian Studies
-
-
2.4 After Literature: Rehistoricizing Early Christian Writing 2.4 After Literature: Rehistoricizing Early Christian Writing
-
Notes Notes
-
Suggested Reading Suggested Reading
-
Bibliography Bibliography
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 Literature, Patristics, Early Christian Writing
Get accessMark Vessey is Professor of English at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
-
Published:02 September 2009
Cite
Abstract
How does one distinguish more from less ‘literary’ texts of the early Christian centuries? What does ‘literary’ mean in such contexts? The failure to address these basic questions of language and method is a weakness of many contemporary scholarly treatments of early Christian literature and literary texts. Rather than propose a single, generally applicable literary methodology for early Christian studies, this article attempts to bring some clarity to current discussions by supplying elements of a genealogy of terms and methods hitherto in use. By observing past approaches to the ‘letter’ of early Christian texts, one may be reminded of the substantial dependence of modern idioms on text-based, ‘literary’ knowledge, including literature on western, Latin, and Christian institutions.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
October 2022 | 9 |
November 2022 | 21 |
December 2022 | 7 |
January 2023 | 9 |
February 2023 | 15 |
March 2023 | 5 |
April 2023 | 10 |
May 2023 | 13 |
June 2023 | 5 |
July 2023 | 7 |
August 2023 | 13 |
September 2023 | 9 |
October 2023 | 7 |
November 2023 | 8 |
December 2023 | 3 |
January 2024 | 13 |
February 2024 | 9 |
March 2024 | 7 |
April 2024 | 19 |
May 2024 | 12 |
June 2024 | 15 |
July 2024 | 4 |
August 2024 | 6 |
September 2024 | 7 |
October 2024 | 19 |
November 2024 | 16 |
December 2024 | 7 |
January 2025 | 10 |
February 2025 | 10 |
March 2025 | 8 |
April 2025 | 15 |
May 2025 | 2 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.