Lindsay Rudge PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

out, the history of monasticism has been least susceptible to revisionist re-working
because of the seductive power of the accounts of founders and institution-builders 34 .
In their efforts to describe the lineage of medieval regulae, many historians have
overlooked a rich seam of evidence for the guidance of religious women that does not
conform to categorizations of normative texts. One element of this is the guidance offered
by letters, to and from individuals and groups of dedicated women. This was not a new
feature of religious life in the period covered by this thesis: letters had long been the
means by which holy men (of which Jerome is perhaps the best-known example) directed
the ascetic spirituality of their followers. 35 In fifth-century Gaul, writers such as Sidonius
Apollinaris and Ruricius of Limoges advised their friends and acquaintances on
appropriate ways of living a life centred on religion. 36 Of fundamental importance to this
study is Vereor, Caesarius’ letter to his sister Caesaria. The letter, composed prior to the
Regula virginum and the foundation of the monastery of St John, offers Caesaria
guidance on how best to live a dedicated life, both practically and spiritually. A second
letter, which complements Caesarius’ Regula rather than being such a free-standing text,
is Caesaria II’s letter to Radegund at her monastery of Holy Cross in Poitiers. This letter
glosses the Regula virginum, which Caesaria had also sent to Radegund, and pulls to the
surface the most important points of the ethos of Caesarius’ rule.
The second element of this evidence is hagiography. Staying in Poitiers, the
second of Radegund’s two vitae is a case in point. Written following a revolt of the
community after Radegund’s death, the nun Baudonivia’s vita Radegundis can be read as
a rallying-cry to her sisters to return to the days of Radegund’s own adherence to the Rule
of Caesarius; the text is laced with references to the Rule. 37 One of the central concerns of
34
J. Nelson, ‘Medieval Monasticism’ in P. Linehan and J.L. Nelson (eds.) The Medieval World (London,
2001) 576-604, at 583.
35
For Jerome’s letters, see I. Hilberg (ed.), CSEL 54-6 (Vienna, Leipzig, 1910-18). C. Rapp, ‘”For next to
God, you are my salvation”: Reflections on the rise of the holy man in Late Antiquity’, J. Howard-Johnston
and P.A. Hayward (eds.) The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages (Oxford, 1991) 63-81.
36
Sidonius Apollinaris, Letters, tr. W.B. Anderson, Loeb Classical Library (London, 1965). Ruricius of
Limoges, Epistolae. MGH AA 8. Eng. trans. R.W. Mathisen Ruricius of Limoges and Friends (Liverpool,
1999).
37
For more on this text see Chapter 2, 91ff.
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