@phdthesis{8609825,
  abstract     = {{This doctoral thesis provides a literary study of seven late antique Latin hagiographical narratives about chaste couples. It intends to go beyond the traditional focus on the texts as historical sources, which could be categorised in terms of their historical value and authenticity. To this purpose, it considers the texts as literary constructions which were written with particular communicative goals. The doctoral thesis argues that the texts, although they are highly different, all aim to evoke the reader's belief by particular literary and rhetorical strategies. These are elucidated by means of a narratological analysis that combines both ancient and modern theoretical tools. Moreover, it contends that the texts invite for a type of belief which transcends "mere" consent, always implying a dual dynamic of immersion and distance when it comes to the truth of narrative and the moral credibility of the characters. Because of their focus on chaste couples, the texts are highly interesting to explore the concept of belief. On the one hand, the texts are thematically linked to ancient fictional traditions, such as the Greek love novels, and thus raise questions of narrative credibility. Moreover, they thematise the problem of moral credibility, focusing on a form of domestic asceticism which was seen with suspicion already in the early Church. As each of the text approaches the concept of belief in its own idiosyncratic manner, the doctoral thesis gives insight in the versatile nature of late antique Latin hagiographical narrative.}},
  author       = {{Staat, Klazina}},
  keywords     = {{Latin,Literature,Hagiography,Christian Literature,Classical Literature,Late Antiquity,Narratology,Belief,Credibility,Fictionality,Chastity,Marriage,Asceticism,Christianity.,ERCNovelSaints}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{XXVIII, 214}},
  publisher    = {{Ghent University. Faculty of Arts and Philosophy}},
  school       = {{Ghent University}},
  title        = {{In good faith : belief and credibility in Late Antique Latin hagiographical narratives about chaste couples}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}