The Lausiac History of Palladius

Published 1898–1904, this two-volume work includes Palladius' Greek text, critical notes and further discussion of Egyptian monasticism.

Palladius (Author), Dom Cuthbert Butler (Edited by)

9781108077088, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 August 2014

318 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.8 cm, 0.41 kg

The church historian and Benedictine monk Cuthbert Butler (1858–1934) was known for his expertise on the monastic life and wrote several books on the subject, including Benedictine Monachism (1919) and Western Mysticism (1922). Previously he had produced this two-volume edition of Palladius of Galatia's Lausiac History. Written in the early fifth century, it records the lives of the Egyptian 'Desert Fathers' and is an important source for early monasticism. In Volume 1 (1898), Butler begins with a general introduction to Palladius' work, followed by a critical survey of the various versions of Palladius' text, which survives in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Armenian and Coptic. The volume includes a contribution by Armitage Robinson, later Dean of Westminster, on the Armenian version. The later part of this volume turns to an exploration of Palladius' theology, other related sources for the history of Egyptian monasticism, and a historical discussion of early monasticism.

1. Introductory
Part I. Textual Criticism: 2. Redactions of the Historia Lausiaca
3. The Historia Monachorum in Aegypto
4. Relations between the three documents
5. Comparison of the Greek texts in selected cases
6. Organic corruptions in the long recension of the Historia Lausiaca
7. The short recension not an abridgment of the long, nor the long an author's second edition of the short
8. Sozomen and the Historia Lausiaca
9. The Latin versions of the Historia Lausiaca
10. The Syriac versions
11. The Armenian version Armitage Robinson
12. The Coptic version
13. The Ethiopic and Arabic versions of the 'Rule of Pachomius'
Summary of results of Part I
Part II. Historical Criticism: 14. The theological character of Palladius
15. Historicity of the Lausiac History
16. Other sources of early Egyptian monastic history
17. Recent theories concerning St Anthony
18. Origin and character of early Christian monachism in Egypt
19. Epilogue
Appendices.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2]