1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910455626303321

Autore

Newhauser Richard <1947->

Titolo

The early history of greed : the sin of avarice in early medieval thought and literature / / Richard Newhauser [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2000

ISBN

1-107-11167-6

0-511-01000-1

1-280-15170-6

0-511-11599-7

0-511-15090-3

0-511-32476-6

0-511-48599-9

0-511-05248-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xiv, 246 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Collana

Cambridge studies in medieval literature ; ; 41

Disciplina

241/.3

Soggetti

Avarice - History

Christian ethics - History - Middle Ages, 600-1500

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-231) and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

Alms and ascetes, round stones and masons: avarice in the early church -- Ascetic transformations I: monks and the laity in eastern Christendom -- Ascetic transformations II: soaring eagles or safety in the herd -- from anchoritic to cenobitic monasticism -- Ascetic transformations III: the Latin West in the fourth and fifth centuries -- Secularizing avarice and cupidity -- Epilogue: Future perspectives.

Sommario/riassunto

The history of avarice as the deadliest vice in western Europe has been said to begin in earnest only with the rise of capitalism or, earlier, the rise of a money economy. In this first full-length study of the early history of greed, Richard Newhauser shows that avaritia, the sin of greed for possessions, has a much longer history, and is more important for an understanding of the Middle Ages, than has previously been allowed. His examination of theological and literary texts composed between the first century CE and the tenth century reveals



new significance in the portrayal of various kinds of greed, to the extent that by the early Middle Ages avarice was available to head the list of vices for authors engaged in the task of converting others from pagan materialism to Christian spirituality.