Interpreting Catastrophe: Disasters in the Works of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite, Socrates Scholasticus, Philostorgius, and Timothy Aelurus

Interpreting Catastrophe: Disasters in the Works of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite, Socrates Scholasticus, Philostorgius, and Timothy AelurusJournal of Late AntiquitySyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/NWYLXA3Q/tei

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.EdwardWattsInterpreting Catastrophe: Disasters in the Works of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite, Socrates Scholasticus, Philostorgius, and Timothy Aelurushttp://syriaca.org/cbss/NWYLXA3Qhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/NWYLXA3Qhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/NWYLXA3QJournal of Late Antiquity2:1200979-98This study examines four different fifth- and early sixth-century Christian authors (Pseudo-Joshua, Socrates Scholasticus, Philostorgius, and Timothy Aelurus). It then analyzes the biblically derived interpretative structures that each uses to explain fifth-century political catastrophes such as the decline of western Roman political power. All of these authors incorporated a Christian explanation of disasters into a rhetorical strategy designed to advocate certain behaviors. Not all authors expected this rhetoric to infl uence behavior, but some, such as Pseudo-Joshua and Timothy Aelurus, believed that it could convince people to act in particular ways. The study concludes by arguing that, whereas late antique religious explanations of catastrophe often serve as a literary trope, they need not always be dismissed as empty or ineffectual rhetoric. Watts, Edward. “Interpreting Catastrophe: Disasters in the Works of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite, Socrates Scholasticus, Philostorgius, and Timothy Aelurus.” Journal of Late Antiquity 2:1 (2009): 79–98. Edward Watts, Interpreting Catastrophe: Disasters in the Works of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite, Socrates Scholasticus, Philostorgius, and Timothy Aelurus, Journal of Late Antiquity 2:1 (2009): 79–98.Chronicle of Joshua the StyliteVI CEhistoriographynatural disasters