Late antique monasticism both participated in and disrupted familial networks of power in the Mediterranean world. The book concludes by arguing that Christian monasticism as an institution positioned itself as both rival and heir to the classical tradition of familia, challenging the ancient household’s position as the cornerstone of society’s political and economic apparatuses. Monasticism asceticized a key component of this institution – fatherhood –while maintaining that this anomaly – the celibate, ascetic father – was no innovation; the monastic father was but one node in a chain of fathers and sons stretching back into the biblical era and forward into eternity. Monasticism transformed traditions of paternity, inheritance, and genealogy. Focusing on the monastic federation of Shenoute in upper Egypt and the monastery of Cassian in Gaul, this chapter demonstrates how the coenobiumpositioned itself as a “house” or domus in late antique culture – an ancient institution that included home, household, property, and family, and required the financial, religious, disciplinary, and educational management of all of those moving parts.

Children in early Egyptian monasteries were simultaneously a special, protected class and one of the most vulnerable populations – in some ways protected from the realities of the poverty-stricken world outside the monastic walls and the rigors of asceticism within, in other ways still vulnerable to the whims, desires, and ambitions of the adult monks around them. A status above the enslaved, but well below free adult men, children even in the monastery found their standing and status subject to negotiation. Children were in many ways a gift; caring for them was regarded as a sacred duty commanded directly by God. Their many needs and challenges, however, remained secondary to those of their adult caregivers. This chapter examines the education of children, their discipline (including corporal punishment), and their preparation for future lives as monastics.

In 1874 cracks were noted in the apse of the Lateran Basilica which threatened the structureߣs stability. Their discovery led to the decision to investigate the condition of the walls and foundations. The works, begun in 1876, focused on the sector to the West of the apse and the Leonine Portico. They brought to light not only the foundations of the Basilica and portico, but also the remains of a preexisting edifice, the so-called ߢTrapezoidal Building/Insulaߣ. As the works progressed, a series of disagreements began to emerge between members of the commission regarding the fate of the apse and its mosaic decoration, executed by Jacopo Torriti in 1291. As director of the works in 1876, Busiri Vici endeavored to find solutions that would reconcile the different parties involved and culminated in the brilliantly envisaged relocation of the apse. These works included a plan for the subterranean portion of the Basilica that considered leaving in plain view the recently discovered ancient structures. This chapter discusses the highly detailed documentation produced by Busiri Vici and explains its importance for the archaeology of the Lateran.

The chapter serves as an introduction to the topic and the study. It presents the theoretical framework and the available sources on the scribae, addresses methodological questions and discusses previous research and establishes the focus on the cultural history of the scribae.

In the Basilica of St John Lateran in the Middle Ages there have been many building projects, some of considerable scale, which are nonetheless not easy to identify. This chapter focusses on two examples, both of which give important insights into the building techniques employed: the lost front porch built by Pope Sergius II (844-847), which surviving illustrations indicate employed Carolingian construction technique typical for Rome, and the transept with the two bell towers attached to the northern side of the Basilica. In this second case the material evidence indicates both date of the building, in all probability from the pontificate of Nicholas IV (1288-1292), and its fine quality, appropriate to the exceptional importance of the project.

A central theme in of the history of the Lateran complex is the architectural definition of its eastern façade, to be inserted in the modern era in a defined and extra-urban context, and suitable to the prestige of the basilica itself.

The chapter examines political corruption, i.e. embezzlement and extortion, and explores material aspects of forgery with regard to the close connection of the scribae with public documentation. It discusses accountability and the oath of due diligence and, as a result, public perception of the scribae in light of accusations of corruption and abuse. It highlights the profiteering character of the post and discusses examples of scribal enrichment and its consequences for the individuals' social mobility.

Boys and girls of varying ages lived in early monasteries in Egypt or were part of the larger network of care for Egyptian monasteries in late antiquity. Children entered monasteries on their own or along with their parents. They joined monastic communities or monastic households for a variety of reasons: familial poverty, abandonment, orphanhood, religious devotion and dedication, temporary care, and education. This chapter surveys papyri, monastic rules, hagiography, Manichaean documents from Kellis, letters, inscriptions, and graffiti to document the presence of children in early Egyptian monasteries.

This chapter considers aspects of the military’s place in Roman society, especially in relation to the issue of identity. The first section examines how features of military life served to develop a sense of the armed forces as a distinct community, particularly from the Principate onwards, including military privileges, restrictions on soldiers marrying, and the role of symbols and rituals. The second section addresses the debate about relations between soldiers and civilians, and the extent to which the military can be considered a ‘total institution’. The presence of non-combatants in military camps is discussed (slaves, prostitutes, merchants), alongside interactions with civilian society in such contexts as marriage patterns and requisitioning and billetting. The third and final section focuses on the military and religious practices, which were another context in which soldiers sometimes interacted with civilians. Consideration is also given to the role of state-sponsored religious rituals during the Principate and under the Christian emperors of Late Antiquity, and the validity of assumptions about specifically ‘military cults’ (Mithraism, Jupiter Dolichenus) is discussed.

The Archbasilica of St John Lateran has been known by many names through its long history, the Basilica Aurea, the Basilica Constantiniana, the Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris et Sanctorum Iohannes Baptista et Evangelista in Laterano.This chapter outlines the vital role the world's first cathedral has played throughout history.From its earliest days the Basilica was central to the development of the Church.A summary history would note the synod of 313, convened at the so-called Domus Faustae to condemn Donatism even before the Basilicaߣs completion; synods of 649 against Monothelitism and 769 against Iconoclasm, and five ecumenical councils, each of profound importance, between 1123 and 1512.Intertwined with authoritative statements on Church governance from the palace and Patriarchum next to it, came a steady stream of teachings on proper form and liturgical practice as articulated within its walls.The chapter ends with the Holy Year of 1600.A visitor to the Lateran prior to the building projects that culminated then would have still been able to see many traces of Constantineߣs Basilica; key elements of the spolia that characterised its variegated interior still occupied the positions where their fourth-century builders had placed them.

This chapter examines the construction of male sexuality in early Egyptian monasticism, focusing on the Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Apophthegmata Patrum) and the rules from various monasteries. The masculine ascetic ideal builds upon certain classical ideals of masculinity, especially the control of the passions, but purports to eschew classical models of eroticism in which the adolescent male represents the ideal sexual partner. These sources are designed to be recited or retold as edifying texts; despite their overt disavowal of sexual contact between men and boys, their retelling and rereading keeps homoeroticism and the representation of boys as sexually desirable objects alive in the ascetic imagination.

This chapter examines the cultural impact of warfare in a range of contexts. First, the interchange of military technology and ideas is considered, partly in relation to other states emulating Roman practices, but above all in Roman openness to adopting military practices and equipment from their enemies – an important factor in Roman military success. Secondly, the role of the military in disseminating aspects of Roman culture is discussed, including the debate about the term ‘Romanization', the status of Latin in the military forces, soldiers’ use of religious and social rituals, and dietary patterns. Thirdly, the role of written documentation in the military is assessed, alongside the related subject of the extent of literacy among troops, from officers to the rank-and-file.

The chapter reconstructs the grand themes of the social history of the Roman scribae. It tells stories of low social origin and subsequent high social mobility, of social upstarts entering the senate and the equestrian order, and of local notables acting as generous patrons of their hometowns. It analyses known lives and careers of scribae to arrive at a picture of social opportunities and possibilities of scribae in any given period.