A Companion to Discussing Death and Illness in Norman Sicily: Aeneas of Gaza’s Theophrastus and Philagathos of Cerami
Abstract
This study presents new evidence on the transmission and circulation of Aeneas of Gaza’s Theophrastus in twelfthcentury Norman Sicily. It highlights its influence on Philagathos of Cerami’s homiletic reflections on death and sickness, revealing a previously unknown source that informed Byzantine discussions on the problem of theodicy and, in particular, it offers evidence of contemporaneous conceptions of impairment and disability. Taken together, the findings provide grounds for reassessing the ostensibly limited medieval afterlife of Theophrastus.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Byzantine Studies and History
Medieval Literature and History
History of Medicine Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik
- Volume
- 1
- Pages
- 75–94
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- DE