This doctoral thesis concentrates exclusively on the Historiae adversus paganos, an apologetic history in seven books written by the presbyter Paulus Orosius in the early fifth century AD. This thesis is ultimately an exposition of Orosius's philosophy of history, within which the themes of divine providence, monotheism, and imperial authority are central. This thesis has endeavoured to establish what the Historiae is in terms of content, purpose, and genre, a more complex task than this simple statement suggests. At every stage of analysis this research has worked to uncover the ideology and apologetic underlying Orosius‘s historical narrative, in particular the significance behind Orosius‘s stylistic habit of rhetorical comparison. This thesis consists of six chapters, unified in methodology but encompassing a broad diversity of subject matter. Chapter One examines the constructed text and its genre, as well as issues of opponent, audience and self-representation. Chapter Two provides a philosophical and technical treatment of time. Chapters Three and Four explore the representations of monotheism and imperial authority in the emperors Augustus and Theodosius. Chapter Five is concerned with Orosius‘s representation of warfare, and Chapter Six considers the retributive and redemptive aspect of the sack of Rome.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:637111 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Leonard, Victoria |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/69291/ |
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