The Story about Saint Arsenius the Great in the George the Monk’s Chronicle: on the Problem of Authorship and Dating of the Text

In the second edition of the Chronicle by George the Monk (872/873) there is a story about deacon Arsenius — the future famous hermit Arsenius the Great, telling about the life of the Saint before becoming a monk, when, according to legend, he was the tutor of the sons of the emperor Theodosius the Great. Practically the same text is placed in the Life of Arsenius the Great (BHG 167z); immediately following it are episodes relating to his monastic life in Egypt. In the first edition of the Chronicle (841/842), preserved in a single manuscript, a different, much shorter story of the same content is read. In this article, based on the study of all three texts, as well as comparing them with earlier monuments — Apophthegmata patrum of the late 5th c. and Life of Arsenius by Theodore the Studite (759—826), it is concluded that the first edition of the Chronicle served as the direct source of the Life of Arsenius BHG 167z; the compiler of the Chronicle, in turn, relied on the Life of Arsenius by Theodore the Studite. Further, the Life of Arsenius BHG 167z was used by the compiler of the second edition of the Chronicle, who replaced the corresponding text of the first edition with it. Thus, the primary source of the story about Arsenius in the second edition of the Chronicle by George the Monk is the Life of BHG 167z, the time of creation of which can be limited to the period between 841/842 and 872/873.

Keywords

byzantine chronicles, byzantine hagiography, The George the Monk’s Chronicle, The Life of Arsenius the Great, byzantine manuscripts, 10—12th century

Received

10.02.2022

Publication date

17.10.2022

Number of characters

52226

Cite

GOST	Shegoleva L. The Story about Saint Arsenius the Great in the George the Monk’s Chronicle: on the Problem of Authorship and Dating of the Text // ISTORIYA – 2022. – V. 13. – Issue 8 (118) [Electronic resource]. URL: https://history.jes.su/S207987840022571-7-1 (circulation date: 18.07.2024). DOI: 10.18254/S207987840022571-7
MLA	Shegoleva, Lyudmila "The Story about Saint Arsenius the Great in the George the Monk’s Chronicle: on the Problem of Authorship and Dating of the Text." ISTORIYA 13.8 (118) (2022) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840022571-7
APA	Shegoleva L. (2022). The Story about Saint Arsenius the Great in the George the Monk’s Chronicle: on the Problem of Authorship and Dating of the Text. ISTORIYA 13(8 (118)) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840022571-7

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