Cultural References- Jess

Dulcitius and Christianity

• The source material for Dulcitius was the Acta Santorum (Acts of the Saints) a collection of tales about the lives of saints.
• In the Acta Santorum, the three virgins are put to death by Diocletian in Thessalonica in 290 CE.
• Dulcitius tells a version of the story of the three saints Agape (love), Chionia (purity), and Hirena (peace).

Hrotsvitha and Terence

• There are many references to Hrotsvitha and the Roman playwright, Terence.
• Nunneries and monasteries of this time were the preservers of knowledge, so Hrotsvitha had a wealth of knowledge and resources to inform her writing.
• Many sources say that Hrotsvitha disliked Terence’s misogynistic portrayal of women. Women of Terence’s writing were often lascivious or promiscuous.
• Hrotsvitha sought to ‘Christianize’ Terence by writing in the same style, while changing the focus. 
• Hrotsvitha was seen as an early feminist because she made the female characters the protagonists and title characters. 
• The men in the play are twarted in their advances towards the girls and ridiculed, which opposed the idea that women are the “fairer” sex (weak)
• Hrotsvitha often portrayed women as virtuous in contrast to the depraved men of her writing, which was uncommon during her time.

Sources

Hrotsvit of Gandersheim : Contexts, Identities, Affinities, and Performances. University of Toronto

Press, 2004.

Rudolph, Anna Katharina. “Ego Clamor Validus Gandeshemensis Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim: Her Sources, Motives, and Historical Context.” Magistra, vol. 20, no. 2, Winter 2014, pp. 58–90.

Wailes, Stephen L., and Phyllis Rugg Brown. A Companion to Hrotsvit of Gandersheim (Fl. 960) :

Contextual and Interpretive Approaches. Brill, 2013.