The Monastic Rules of Visigothic Iberia - eTheses Repository ...

versa. The interest stems from the relationship between the text and its audience on a variety
of levels, but always from the point of view of audience reaction. In this sense the text must
be seen as an immutable participant in the relationship between it and its audience, and any
mutability of experience is wholly one-sided. Second, discourse in the Foucauldian tradition,
at least, is implicit of a relationship of authority, and this fits nicely with the idea of a
monastic rule as a preceptive text. Of course, many of the ideas of Foucault have been
subject to criticism and this thesis does not aim to be a philosophical critique (for which, see
Schmitz 2007: 140-158). However, it is important to recognise that at least some theories of
discourse give the nod to an integrated relationship of power and authority.
The terms „text‟ and „audience‟ are by their nature mutable. Even within the confines
of a seventh-century Visigothic monastery, which at first sight constitutes a rather limited
audience, both must be understood to refer to a range of meanings. The text, in this case,
refers of course to the monastic rule. However, this was just as likely to be a written
document that was read personally and silently, as a text that was encountered by some of its
audience on an oral basis in a group setting, being read aloud by someone else. The concept
of „audience‟, moreover, is one that has generally been the subject of invigorating discussion,
and various scholars have all asked the question of whom works were intended to
communicate with and how they achieved this. 5 Indeed, an appreciation for audience
interpretation rather than authorial intention now seems to be a prominent part of mainstream
academia rather than the anthropological sideline it perhaps once was, and this is a healthy
development.
5 For example, Lawless (1987: 135-147); Silvan (1988); Cunningham (1990: 53-64); McKitterick
(1989: 227-243); Van Egmond (1999); Taylor (2002); Kotzé (2004); Maxwell (2006).
iv