The construction and manipulation of ascetic and monastic space in late-antique Rome in the works of Jerome, Ambrose and Gregory the Great

Abstract

The relationship between spatial structure and social structure has long been acknowledged. Whilst spatial structure might not "cause" social structure per se, expectations of space instead tend to catalyse behaviour and impart meaning upon it and through rendering individuals more or less physically accessible it can on the one hand render their presence more or less "vaulable" and on the other hand present them as a "public" or "private" figure with the various connotations that suggests. Studying space and its manipulation can therefore lead us to understanding more about the society that inhabited it, or, in the case of idealised space, about the societal ideal being constructed. This thesis therefore seeks to explore the presentation of ascetic and monastic space and its manipulation in late-antique Rome, according to three leading figures, in order to consider their expectations of and ideals concerning monastic society and monasticism in late-antique Rome.