<論説>「聖人伝」に現れる砂漠の苦行僧 : 古代末期東地中海世界の社会変容におけるその役割

Abstract

古代末期の地中海世界の社会変容に関連して、最近注目されているものの一つに、隠者的な「聖人」の存在がある。彼らは修道土の起源であり、とくに東方では社会を規定する重要な要素の一つとなった。本稿では、この修道士「聖人」成長の社会的意味を、主として「聖人伝」史料から探ってみた。隠者たちは、砂漠や岩山の洞穴に、孤独な禁欲の苦行生活を送った。苦行のさなか、彼らは臨死体験や悪霊の誘惑を受けるが、神の助力で再生する。神に通じる「カ」を得た苦行者の許には、病いやしから村のもめ事の調停まで、多種多様な嘆願が持込まれた。このような「力」を持つ者が、「聖人」としてもてはやされた背景には、国家や教会のキリスト教布教の意図があった。だが、それに加えて、彼らの「力」を結集軸とする、古代末期東方の村落社会における、自律的再秩序化の動きが見てとれるのである。

Hermitic "holy men" or "saints" and their relation to social change in the Late Antique Mediterranean World have recently become a focus of scholarly attention. These men were the anticedents of monks, and they became an important element in society, especially in the East. This paper is an attempt to discover the social meaning of the rise of these "saints" from hagiographical sources. These hermits led ascetic lives in the desert or in the caves of rocky mountains. During their practice of asceticisms, they experienced metaphoric death or the attacks and temptations of demons, but they survived through the charity and help of God. In so doing, they were entrusted with divine "power" by God. Villagers brought various requests, from the healing of diseases to the reconcillation of discord among villagers. The propagation of Christianity by the church and the state constituted the background of the rise of "saints" with divine "power." However, in addition to this, there was also an autonomous movement of social redistribution within village societies in Late Antiquity that centered around the divine "power" of ascetic "saints."