All the Hermit’s Women: Saint Jerome and his Matronae Between Rome, Bethlehem and beyond

All the Hermit’s Women:
Saint Jerome and his Matronae Between Rome, Bethlehem and beyond
Presented by prof. Giulia Marolla
Wednesday, October 11 at 4:00pm CT
Loyola University, McCormick Lounge
1000 W Sheridan Ave, Chicago IL

If compared to the corpora of any other contemporary writer, Jerome’s letter collection stands out for the number of letters addressed to women. 43 of his extant 154 letters written from Rome and Bethlehem are sent to women living in Rome but also in the furthest places of the Roman Empire: widows, virgins or married women who often asked Jerome for guidance in interpreting the Scriptures. Through his correspondence with them, Jerome is able to reaffirm his authoritativeness when it comes to doctrinal questions, but is also capable of creating a long-standing network of contacts which originates in Rome. The so-called Aventine circle of Roman matronae appears to have a pivotal role in the publication and dissemination of Jerome’s letter collection, which, for instance, includes letters sent to women living in Gaul, Spain, Africa or Constantinople. In this lecture, prof. Giulia Marolla will discuss the contents and implications of the Saint’s letters. 

The event is part of Cody Lectures, a series that was inaugurated by prof. Edmondo Lupieri when he was appointed to the Cardinal Cody Endowed Chair at Loyola University Chicago. The series exists for the purpose of inviting scholars from all over the world to discuss the intersections between the sciences (including humanities) and religion.

Free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

After BA and MA dissertations in Classics on the letter collection of Jerome, Giulia Marolla received her PhD in Ancient History with no corrections from the University of the Republic of San Marino, Scuola Superiore di Studi Storici in 2021. Her dissertation on Sidonius’ letter collection, combining philological and historical approaches, was awarded a badge of honour by the Associazione Internazionale di Studi Tardoantichi. Her book, Sidonius: Letters Book 5, Part 1. Text, Translation and Commentary, Edinburgh University Press, was published in May 2023. She is continuing her research on Sidonius’ letters and on Late Antique letter collections at the University of Bari Aldo Moro.