Social Contexts of the Biblical Quotations in the Letters of Frange

Abstract

Frange was a monk living in Western Thebes, Egypt, in the first half of the eighth century. His epistolary output consists of roughly five hundred pieces excavated in situ in the hermitage he dwelled in. Frange used a wide range of biblical references in some of his letters, from verbatim quotations to mere echoes. This chapter analyses these quotations as an instrument of deliberate audience-focused persuasive strategies. To understand the modality of relations between Frange and his addresses, the conceptual framework employs (1) Bernard Lahire’s model of individual identity as consisting of a set of inherited dispositions, (2) Allan Bell’s concept of “audience design”, and (3) Christopher Stanley’s differentiation between quotations as vehicles of authority and vehicles of community sense. The body of the analysis is focused on the analysis of particular epistolary pieces. It links biblical passages given by Frange with various levels of monastic tradition present in his social contexts.