medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
There's a fine essay by George Lamb in _Saints for Now_, ed. Clare Booth Luce (originally published in the early '50s, currently in print San Francisco: Ignatius Press) about Simeon Stylites. In a way he anticipated Peter Brown's famous "holy man" thesis (in turn applying the Turners' "liminality theory"). Lamb says that he first encountered the story of Simeon as a schoolboy in a school play and was fascinated by someone who became famous for doing nothing, which is what he, as a schoolboy, wanted to do more than anything else. Then he grew up and learned to be successful and learned social graces and frequented chic parties at which it was (in the 1930s) chic to have faux eccentrics present for amusement (something like fashionable "slumming") Then came World War II and suddenly all bets were off, one didn't know from day to day if one would survive the V-2 rockets. The events of the war "detached" him from all his fine pre-war attachments (he does not use the language of "detachment" but that is precisely what it is in classic spirituality terms). He began to realize that what Simeon was doing was "cocking a snook" at the world, with its pretensions and attachments, calling their bluff, asking the existential, fundamental questions about whether frenetic activity, achievement, accomplishment is really what it's all about.
So, the short answer to the question might be: the stylites were sought out for advice, were listened to, or at least fascinated people for the same reason John the Baptist or Gandhi did-- (or any of the itinerant holy men of 11thc Western Europe) or the strange characters we meet in the Desert Fathers' stories as Brown has explained in his many books and articles: by their deliberate self-marginalization, moving to the edge of society, refusing society's demands they were not (I think) saying that culture, marriage, family, obligations, goal-setting, hard work etc. are worthless, but trying to put these things in perspective: these are not ultimately what it is all about and once one realizes that, one can pursue them with a degree of detachment rather than as ends in themselves. But to convince the bulk of the society of the importance of this "detached" or arms-length relationship with these structures, patterns, goals etc., some liminal, marginal characters who go overboard are required.
Dennis Martin
Do we "know" why this type of behavior appealed to
anyone - specifically, why it was considered "holy" or
spiritually fruitful? I understand the value of
preaching - but why live on top of a column?
MG
>In 460 he erected a column in Anaplus (north of
> Constantinople) and spent the
> last 33 years of his life on top of it. He was
> famous as a preacher and
> spiritual advisor---even the empress and several
> patriarchs sought him out
> for advice.
>
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