Marulić’s Discourse of Virginity in De Institutione and Euangelistarium Cover Image

Marulićev diskurs o djevičanstvu u Instituciji i Evanđelistaru
Marulić’s Discourse of Virginity in De Institutione and Euangelistarium

Author(s): Dubravka Dulibić-Paljar
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Gender Studies, Croatian Literature, Philology
Published by: Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku
Keywords: Marko Marulić; De institutione bene uiuendi per exempla sanctorum; Euangelistarium; hagiography; virginity studies;

Summary/Abstract: Marulić’s moral and theological work De institutione bene uiuendi per exempla sanctorum (1506) is a collection of saints’ lives and inspiring episodes from the Holy Scripture which have been narratively transformed into the literary form of an exemplum. Set out to provide spiritual edification by means of moral examples, De institutione particularly addresses ascetic female readers (virgins and widows). In doing so, Marulić’s practical moral narrative does not develop a systematic conceptualisation of virginity, while in Euangelistarium (1516), a moral and theological work complementary to De institutione, virginity is elaborated upon extensively, mostly according to 1 Corinthians 7 and Jerome’s exegesis on virginity. Based on these notions, this article focuses on the discourse of virginity in Marulić’s writings. More specifically, the article examines Marulić’s exemplification of female hagiography in De institutione with particular regard to the phenomenon of female ascetic virility which was characteristic for early types of female sanctity.

  • Issue Year: 56/2019
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 125-141
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Croatian