“Base, but nevertheless holy”: lessons in liminality from Symeon the holy fool
Victor Turner briefly mentions the liminality of "holy beggars" and "simpletons" (1969: 110) but this point has received little attention in existing literature on either liminality or holy fools. The seventh-century saint's life "The Life of Symeon the Fool" is of...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[2014]
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| In: |
Studies in religion
Year: 2014, Volume: 43, Issue: 4, Pages: 592-612 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Leontius, Neapolitanus 600-670, Vita S. Simeonis Sali
/ Fool for Christ
/ Borderline situation (Motif)
/ Social criticism
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| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy CB Christian life; spirituality KBL Near East and North Africa KCD Hagiography; saints |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Victor Turner briefly mentions the liminality of "holy beggars" and "simpletons" (1969: 110) but this point has received little attention in existing literature on either liminality or holy fools. The seventh-century saint's life "The Life of Symeon the Fool" is often described as presenting Symeon as someone who challenges and inverts norms while ultimately remaining a "loyal, albeit restless, member" of Emesa's Christian community (Saward, 2000: 28). This paper will argue that Symeon's prolonged liminality in the narrative allows him to play both of these roles by blurring the lines between desert and city, compassion and aggression, and critic and caretaker. |
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| ISSN: | 0008-4298 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studies in religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0008429814548171 |