Lindsay Rudge PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

seventh centuries, there was therefore a wealth of normative material from which to
choose the most suitable set of guidelines. Often such a selection took the form of a
combination of two or more of these rules in combination. A prime example of this, and
in fact the final monastic rule to make explicit use of the Regula virginum, was that of
Donatus of Besançon (d.624), for his mother’s foundation of Jussamoutier. The second
half of the sixth century and the first half of the seventh was therefore a vibrant period for
the composition of new monastic rules and the adaptation of pre-existing ones. The aim
of this chapter is to plot the spread of Caesarian monastic ideology as ripples spreading
from the centre of Arles, with two contexts in view. The first is to consider the other
currents present in female monasticism in this period, and to achieve this, an extended
case study of the women attracted to the monastic ideals of Columbanus will be
presented. The second and overarching theme of this chapter is to place the normative
basis of dedicated life in the late sixth and early seventh centuries – rules, letters and, to
some extent, hagiography - against what is known about women’s involvement in
monastic life from a wider range of source material.
Contemporary circulation: Sermons
Far from being the initiative of later generations, the circulation of Caesarius’
works was instigated and controlled by Caesarius himself from the beginning of his
episcopate. This is particularly evident from the circulation of his sermons. Klingshirn
underlines the fact that so many of Caesarius’ sermons survive because the bishop
believed so strongly in the necessity for preaching, for anyone with pastoral
responsibility. 2 In 529, Caesarius’ arguments convinced the bishops of the province,
meeting at Vaison, to allow priests, and if necessary deacons, to preach in urban and rural
parishes. 3 To ensure that sufficient preaching actually took place, and to guarantee the
suitability of the material being presented, Caesarius intended priests to have a body of
sermons ready to deliver (serm. 1.15, V. Caes I.54). He therefore assembled his own
2 Klingshirn, Caesarius, 9.
3 Vaison (529) can. 2. MGH Conc. I, 56.
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