105 Mobility, immobility and sainthood internationally-known pilgrimage site, St Michael’s at Gargano.337 In addition, southern Italy was traversed by pilgrims travelling from Western Europe (or from their previous pilgrimage destination, Rome) to the Holy Land.338 The southern Italian audience of the Life of Elias the Younger could thus be expected to have had direct or indirect knowledge of pilgrimage. The pilgrims passing through southern Italy from Rome to the Holy Land would mostly have been Latin-speaking and Latin-rite pilgrims. Although to my knowledge there are no known sources that provide evidence for an anti-pilgrimage discourse in the region, the association of pilgrimage with Latin-rite Christians may have contributed to negative discourses on pilgrimage among the Greek-rite and Greek-speaking audience. In addition, we know that writings of Gregory of Nyssa, who was negatively disposed towards pilgrimage, were copied in the region. This is attested, for example, by a tenthcentury manuscript from Messina.339 Theological arguments against pilgrimage might thus have revived in the region. In any case, the hagiographer of Elias anticipated scepticism towards pilgrimage on theological grounds, for he mentions explicitly the argument made against it: God indeed is not circumscribed in any one place. However, the hagiographer counters potential critique against pilgrimage by asserting that going on pilgrimage is still valid: places that are associated with a divine manifestation are ‘much desired’ and ‘much beloved’.340 These two examples, of chapter 19 and chapter 30, show that the hagiographer was aware of negative discourses on monastic mobility. He seems to react against the idea that mobility is incompatible with the ideal of hesychia and he equally seems to react against the idea that pilgrimage serves no purpose. In these passages, he therefore may have felt the need to justify Elias’ many journeys. This defensive tone is absent from the two other saints’ Lives discussed. This shows that there were various discourses, both of the hagiographers and the expected audiences, towards monastic mobility in middle-Byzantine hagiography. 2.5 Conclusion This chapter has been driven by the question: (what) can we learn about perceptions on monastic mobility in the middle-Byzantine period by studying an emic term in its narrative contexts in the Lives of Gregory of Decapolis, Euthymius the Younger and Elias the Younger? The term chosen for this is hesychia. The conducted analysis has confirmed that studying 337 It seems that by the ninth and tenth century Gargano was attracting mainly, though not exclusively, Latin-rite pilgrims, both local as well as international pilgrims travelling from western Europe via southern Italy to the Holy Land. Religious control over the shrine during this period was contested between Lombards and Byzantines. Mougoyianni (2018), pp. 75–75; 79. 338 Oldfield (2014). 339 That letters of Gregory of Nyssa were copied in southern Italy in this period is testified by a tenth-century manuscript copied in a monastery of the Saviour in Messina that includes letter 1 of Gregory (London, British Library Add. 36749; Ms B in Pasquali (1959); Silvas (2006). 340 τριπόθητόν and λίαν ἐρασμιώτατοι. Life of Elias the Younger 19, line 373 and 375. 2
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