medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
And thanks to Grover for spotting the pertinent passage in Gregory's _Moralia in Job_ (I too went first to Gregory but was armed with a false reference from a footnote in the PL that apparently caused me in frustration to miss 30.15 entirely). Best, JD
----- Original Message -----
From: "Grover Zinn (imap)" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, January 3, 2008 12:53 am
Subject: Re: [M-R] NEW MEMBER
To: [log in to unmask]
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> I've already pointed to Gregory's Moralia 30.15 where the onager
> signifies those who live in solitude (and are "free" from the
> influences, distractions, and corruptions of the world) and this would
>
> seem to me to be the influence on Goscelin (or mediated by a
> collection, etc.). (But in 30/25 ff. Gregory also packs in a vast
> amount of his ideas about solitude, distraction, association with
> people with low spiritual ambitions, etc. which also appear elsewhere,
>
> e.g. Book 24 of the Mor.)
>
> However, there is an interesting echo in Isidore:
>
> In the _Regula monachorum_ as cited by John Dillon, the monachus is
> said to be "a turbis remotus". In Mor. 30.15 (50), lines 2-4 Gregory
>
> says that the onager, not incongruously, signifies the life of those
>
> "qui remoti a turbis popularibus conversantur."
>
> The text in Isidore's Sententiae seems to me to "boil down" a much
> more complex conception of the relation of the solitary/monk and the
>
> world that the onager serves to "occasion" in the Moralia. (As one
> might expect, perhaps.)
>
> Thanks to John for locating these passages and passing them on to the
>
> list.
>
> best
>
> gz
>
> Grover A. Zinn
> William H. Danforth Professor of Religion (emeritus)
> former Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
> Oberlin College
> Oberlin, OH 44074
> 440-775-8866 (department)
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
> On Jan 2, 2008, at 3:31 PM, John Dillon wrote:
>
> > medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> > culture
> >
> > Some citations from the Brepolis Library of Latin Texts (CLCLT):
> >
> > Saluianus Massiliensis, _De gubernatione Dei_, lib. : 4, cap. : 4,
>
> > par. : 20, linea : 9
> > Venatio leonis onager in heremo; sic pascua sunt diuitum pauperes.
> > Since an onager is a wild ass, it will live in a wilderness (_in
> > eremo_). There's a similar line of thought in Jerome, _Liber
> > quaestionum hebraicarum in Genesim_ (ed. Lagarde), 26, where,
> > however, the dwellers in the wilderness are Saracens, not hermits:
> > hic erit rusticus homo: manus eius super omnes, et manus omnium
> > super eum: et contra faciem omnium fratrum suorum habitabit.
> > pro rustico scriptum habet in hebraeo fara, quod interpretatur onager.
> > significat autem semen eius habitaturum in heremo, id est sarracenos
>
> > uagos incertis que sedibus, qui uniuersas gentes, quibus desertum ex
>
> > latere iungitur, incursant, et inpugnantur ab omnibus et locutus est
>
> > ei dicens ecce testamentum meum te cum, et eris pater multitudinis
>
> > gentium, et non uocabitur adhuc nomen tuum abram, sed erit nomen
> > tuum abraham, quia patrem multarum gentium posui te.
> > Onager = Saracen (or other evil-doer or other heretic) becomes a
> > fairly standard allegory.
> >
> > BUT, more pertinently:
> >
> > Eucherius Lugdunensis, _Formulae spiritalis intellegentiae_ (CCSL
> > 66_), cap.: 4, pag.: 30, linea: 489:
> > Onager heremita; in Iob: Quis dimittet onagrum liberum?
> > Now the verbal association is explicit.
> >
> > Isidorus Hispalensis, _Sententiae_ (CCSL 111), 17. 5, says this of
>
> > monks:
> > Onager, ut ait Iob, contemnit ciuitatem, et monachi communem
> > saecularium ciuium conuersationem.
> > Not entirely pertinent. But as this seems to underly a couple of
> > passages in the more-widely-commented-on Abelard, I thought I'd toss
>
> > it in.
> >
> > FINALLY:
> >
> > Isidore again,_Regula monachorum_ (cited from the ed. of J. Campos
>
> > Ruiz, 1971), cap.: 4, pag. : 96, linea : 97+:
> > Onager enim liber dimissus monachus est sine dominatu uel sine
> > impedimento saeculi Deo seruiens et a turbis remotus.
> >
> > Hope this helps a little.
> >
> > Best, and welcome to the list!
> > John Dillon
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Wednesday, January 2, 2008, at 11:08 am, Jackie Duff wrote:
> >
> >> Hello,
> >> I am new to this list although I have dipped in to it now and again
>
> >> to
> >> follow some very interesting and lively discussions. I thought it
> >> about time to make some kind of contribution.
> >>
> >> I am currently working on hermits, anchorites and recluses (roughly
> >> 1050 - 1250 but not exclusively) looking at different aspects of
> >> their
> >> lives, the terminology and symbolism used by contemporary
> >> writers/hagiographers and relationships between hermits and the
> >> broader church and society, among other things. My teaching
> >> interests
> >> include heresies of the middle ages and the crusades.
> >>
> >> I have recently been reading Monika Otter's translation of Goscelin
>
> >> of
> >> Bertin's Liber Confortatorius and my curiosity has been raised by the
> >> following:
> >> Goscelin, writing to his close friend the recluse Eve, and offering
> >> encouragement that the Lord has already looked upon her favourably,
> >> then quotes Job 39:5 "Who has sent out the onager free?"
> >> Goscelin then says, "An onager is a wild donkey, which signifies the
> >> anchorite. The Lord sets the onager free when he releases the soul
> >> from outward worries, calling it to the freedom of contemplating him,
> >> and saying to those he has freed: 'Free your mind and see that I am
> >> God'".
> >>
> >> I can understand the context in which he uses this quotation but I
> am
> >> wondering about the origin of the connection between a donkey (or
> >> onager) and an anchorite. Has anyone come across this elsewhere or
> >> suggest any explanation for a donkey signifying an anchorite?
> >>
> >> Best wishes,
> >> Jackie Duff
> >
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