At 06:55 PM 11/27/00 +0000, you wrote:
>Today, 27 November, is the feast of ...
>
>* Barlaam and Josaphat (?)
>- in a vita once attributed to St John Damascene, story is
>told of how the ascetic Barlaam converted the young prince
>Josaphat and eventually his father, king Abenner; all three
>left the world and lived as hermits
>- this vita appears to be a borrowing of the legend of
>Siddartha Buddha
I know that there's an Italian verse adaptation of this story composed in
the second half of the fourteenth century by Neri di Landoccio Paglieresi,
Sienese nobleman, poet, and close associate of Catherine of Siena. But I
know little of its background. Was this story popular throughout the
Middle Ages? How did it migrate into Christian culture? Is there
secondary literature on it? (I know of Varanini's edition of Paglieresi's
poem.)
Tom
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F. Thomas Luongo
Assistant Professor
Department of History
Tulane University
New Orleans, LA 70118
504/862-8620
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