Claiming the Wilderness in Late Roman Gaul

The enthusiasm with which Christian authors of late Roman Gaul adopted the ideal desert asceticism is well known. There also general agreement that appeal wilderness was, for many these individuals, more rhetorical than actual. What has not been fully acknowledged extent to their attitudes were influenced by classical thought in addition biblical and hagiographical literature. To educated mind, cosmos was built on a fundamental dichotomy between order chaos permeated physical natural world. Wilderness, its raw form, manifestation chaos, while human civilization reflected principles order. argument this article dichotomy, thanks tradition education, helped structure response Gallo-Romans as ideals spread west. Despite monastic per se, association provoked suspicion among those who had trained regard antithesis culture. It is, however, possible detect an evolution over last century rule Gaul, successive generations responded social political transformations and, drawing both tradition, developed new ways relating