Overview
"Hugo Lundhaug and Lance Jenott offer a sustained argument for the monastic provenance of the Nag Hammadi Codices. They examine the arguments for and against a monastic Sitz im Leben and defend the view that the Codices were produced and read by Christian monks, most likely Pachomians, in the fourth- and fifth-century monasteries of Upper Egypt. Eschewing the modern classification of the Nag Hammadi texts as ""Gnostic,"" the authors approach the codices and their ancient owners from the perspective of the diverse monastic culture of late antique Egypt and situate them in the context of the ongoing controversies over extra-canonical literature and the theological legacy of Origen. Through a combination of sources, including idealized hagiographies, travelogues, monastic rules and exhortations, and the more quotidian details revealed in documentary papyri, manuscript collections, and archaeology, monasticism in the Thebaid is brought to life, and the Nag Hammadi codices situated within it. The cartonnage papyri from the leather covers of the codices, which bear witness to the monastic culture of the region, are closely examined, while scribal and codicological features of the codices are analyzed and compared with contemporary manuscripts from Egypt. Special attention is given to the codices' scribal notes and colophons which offer direct evidence of their producers and users. The study ultimately reveals the Nag Hammadi Codices as a collection of books completely at home in the monastic manuscript culture of late antique Egypt."
Full Product Details
Author: Hugo Lundhaug ,
Lance Jenott
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Imprint: Mohr Siebeck
Volume: 97
Dimensions:
Width: 23.50cm
, Height: 2.00cm
, Length: 15.60cm
Weight: 0.531kg
ISBN: 9783161541728
ISBN 10: 3161541723
Pages: 350
Publication Date: 19 October 2015
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
"""The Monastic Origins of the Nag Hammadi Codices is a model of clarity, careful research, and well-articulated argument. [...] In addition, the book contains a number of helpful images, maps, and tables, as well as a comprehensive bibliography and an excellent set of indices. It is highly recommended."" --Timothy Pettipiece, University of Ottawa, Review of Biblical Literature 12.1.16"
The Monastic Origins of the Nag Hammadi Codices is a model of clarity, careful research, and well-articulated argument. [...] In addition, the book contains a number of helpful images, maps, and tables, as well as a comprehensive bibliography and an excellent set of indices. It is highly recommended. --Timothy Pettipiece, University of Ottawa, Review of Biblical Literature 12.1.16
Author Information
Born 1970; 2000 Cand. philol. in the History of Religions from the University of Oslo; 2007 Dr. art. in the History of Religions from the University of Bergen; currently Professor of Theology (Biblical Reception and Early Christian Literature) at the University of Oslo, Faculty of Theology. Born 1980; studied History, Classics, and Religion at the University of Washington (Seattle) and Princeton University; PhD in the Religions of Late Antiquity from Princeton University; currently Lecturer in the Department of Classics and Program in Religious Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.
