Diaconiae, xenodochia, hospitalia and monasteries: 'social security' and the meaning of monasticism in early medieval Rome

The first section of this article examines the various types of charitable institutions operative in Rome between the seventh and the ninth centuries, in the light of what available textual and comparative evidence reveals about their respective functions. It is then suggested that these centres of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Early medieval Europe 2008-11, Vol.16 (4), p.398-422
Main Author: Dey, Hendrik W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Charities
European history
Middle Ages
Monks
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Summary:The first section of this article examines the various types of charitable institutions operative in Rome between the seventh and the ninth centuries, in the light of what available textual and comparative evidence reveals about their respective functions. It is then suggested that these centres of assistance were staffed by resident monastic communities, an arrangement which accounts well for their many apparent similarities; which may help to explain the disappearance of the most commonly attested types (xenodochia and diaconiae) over the course of the ninth century; and which opens a window onto an alternative conception of monastic practice hitherto under‐represented in the scholarly tradition.
ISSN:0963-9462
1468-0254
DOI:10.1111/j.1468-0254.2008.00236.x