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In Ephrem der Syrer und Basilios der Große, Justinian und Edessa, Nestor Kavvadas examines the Syriac “Life” of Saint Ephrem, composed in Edessa at the time when the Syriac Miaphysite movement was opposing Justinian’s pro-Chalcedonian politics, and compares it with several earlier Greek Cappadocian hagiographies about Ephrem and Basil of Caesarea, who is presented almost as Ephrem’s patron in the latter’s “Life”. The author shows that while the Greek hagiographies were meant to (re)claim Ephrem as a Father of the (Chalcedonian) Byzantine Orthodox Church, Ephrem’s Syriac “Life” was part of an attempt by the Syriac Miaphysite movement to claim exclusive rights on both Ephrem and Basil as representatives of the entire legacy of the Church Fathers. Then, the author points out how the “Life”, once de-coded, can in turn shed light on its historical setting.
In Ephrem der Syrer und Basilios der Große, Justinian und Edessa, Nestor Kavvadas examines the Syriac “Life” of Saint Ephrem, composed in Edessa at the time when the Syriac Miaphysite movement was opposing Justinian’s pro-Chalcedonian politics, and compares it with several earlier Greek Cappadocian hagiographies about Ephrem and Basil of Caesarea, who is presented almost as Ephrem’s patron in the latter’s “Life”. The author shows that while the Greek hagiographies were meant to (re)claim Ephrem as a Father of the (Chalcedonian) Byzantine Orthodox Church, Ephrem’s Syriac “Life” was part of an attempt by the Syriac Miaphysite movement to claim exclusive rights on both Ephrem and Basil as representatives of the entire legacy of the Church Fathers. Then, the author points out how the “Life”, once de-coded, can in turn shed light on its historical setting.
This is the first book-length study about the usage of the form of literary dialogue in Arabic literature. Regula Forster studies an extensive corpus of Classical Arabic didactic dialogues on very different subjects (religion, jurisprudence, alchemy, history, etc.) from the 8th to the mid-11th centuries.
She shows that Arabic dialogues are by no means dialogised treatises. Rather, they create a literary universe of their own. In this universe, figures are shown to be acting and speaking in time and space. Therefore, the dialogues use specific forms of argumentation and structuring. Through the use of the literary form of dialogue the content of these texts is shaped and the knowledge presented channelled.
This is the first book-length study about the usage of the form of literary dialogue in Arabic literature. Regula Forster studies an extensive corpus of Classical Arabic didactic dialogues on very different subjects (religion, jurisprudence, alchemy, history, etc.) from the 8th to the mid-11th centuries.
She shows that Arabic dialogues are by no means dialogised treatises. Rather, they create a literary universe of their own. In this universe, figures are shown to be acting and speaking in time and space. Therefore, the dialogues use specific forms of argumentation and structuring. Through the use of the literary form of dialogue the content of these texts is shaped and the knowledge presented channelled.