Kassia the Nun in Context: The Religious Thought of a Ninth-Century Byzantine Monastic

Description

Kassia the Nun offers a unique glimpse into ninth-century Byzantium in the only woman whose works were included in the corpus of liturgical hymns. This volume explores Kassia’s thought on Christology, on gender, and on monasticism itself. It provides readers with an opportunity to know this woman of remarkable intellect, wit, and piety by drawing primarily on her own words. Kassia’s is one of the only female voices from ninth-century Byzantium and this volume accordingly examines her reflections on gender in the context of her society and concludes that she represents a perspective that might be described as feminist. TABLE OF CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABBREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION 1. KASSIA THE CANDIDATE 2. KASSIA THE FEMINIST 3. KASSIA THE ICONOPHILE 4. KASSIA THE MONASTIC 5. KASSIA THE PERSON APPENDIX 1: KASSIA’S POEMS ON MONASTICISM APPENDIX 2: BYZANTINE CHRONICLES FOR RECONSTRUCTING KASSIA’S LIFE BIBLIOGRAPHY