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Description of  Melania : Early Christianity Through the Life of One Family

Melania the Elder and her granddaughter Melania the Younger were major figures in early Christian history, using their wealth, status, and forceful personalities to shape the development of nearly every aspect of the religion we now know as Christianity. This volume examines their influence on late antique Christianity and provides an insightful portrait of their legacies in the modern world. Departing from the traditionally patriarchal view, Melania gives a poignant and sometimes surprising account of how the rise of Christian institutions in the Roman Empire shaped our understanding of women's roles in the larger world. "The decision to zero in on the two Melanias produces obvious benefits: the interlocking papers build to a sort of thick description of late fourth- and early fifth-century Christianity, and recent analytical approaches to its study . . . this book would make an excellent companion for a special subject or graduate course on asceticism in late antiquity." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review In this tightly focused volume, Catherine Chin and Caroline Schroeder have done a splendid job giving shape to the emergent Christianity of the late Roman Empire through the lens of the Melanias. The work is of a very high caliber. Susanna Elm, Sidney H. Ehrman Professor of History and Classics at the University of California, Berkeley