The Early History of Greed: The Sin of Avarice in Early Medieval Thought and Literature

ISBN-13: 9780521385220 / Angielski / Twarda / 2000 / 264 str.

Richard Newhauser; Alastair Minnis; Patrick Boyde

Opis

In this full-length study of the early history of greed Richard Newhauser challenges the traditional view that avarice only became a dominant sin with the rise of a money economy. He shows that avaritia, the sin of greed for possessions, was dominant in a wide range of theological and literary texts from the first century CE, and that by the early Middle Ages avarice headed the list of vices for authors aiming to convert others from pagan materialism to Christian spirituality.

Recenzje

'Newhauser has created a thought-provoking study that points beyond moralism to economic theory.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History

Spis treści

List of abbreviations; Preface; 1. Alms and ascetes, round stones and masons: avarice in the early church; 2. Ascetic transformations I: monks and the laity in eastern Christendom; 3. Ascetic transformations II: soaring eagles or safety in the herd - from anchoritic to cenobitic monasticism; 4. Ascetic transformations III: the Latin west in the fourth and fifth centuries; 5. Secularizing avarice and cupidity; Epilogue: Future perspectives; Appendix; Notes; Bibliography; Indexes.