Carl-Louis Raschel (Collège de France)
This presentation aims to study the influence of professional association regulations on monastic rules in Byzantine Egypt. While writing my Ph.D. thesis, I noticed similarities between these two kinds of texts that deserve a closer examination.
Monastic rules have been widely studied for their relationship with the Holy Scriptures and for the information they give about the life of the first monks, rather than for their link to pre-Christian Egyptian culture. Scholars such as Lüddeckens (1968), p. 209-210, or Desprez (1998), p. 239-241, have long ago brought evidence for the similarity between the organization of an Egyptian monastery and all kinds of associations, but without focusing on the similarity of regulations. The founders of the first monasteries, such as Pachomius, and those who joined them shared, however, representations and values that they inherited from their close social background, and which cannot be entirely reduced to Christian faith.
I first discuss literary and papyrological evidence showing that Egyptian monks were frequently craftsmen (and kept practicing their trade for the monasteries or groups they belonged to) or came from families of craftsmen. This background had a real impact on the monastic common imaginary, which can be seen in the recurring metaphors from the hagiographic literature relating to the world of craftsmen: for instance, the body of the monk as a potter’s vessel, the monks themselves as workmen, their cells as a blacksmith, etc.
From this, we can ask whether the membership in a professional association, as we know it from several papyri (especially P.Mich. 5.243 to 245) and from their latest study by Venticinque (2016), could have influenced the representation of an ideal community governed by inviolable and God-given rules. The comparison between monastic (especially Pachomian) rules and professional association regulations can be made in two areas: the use of close formulas (such as « if one of us/them neglects this aspect, let him be punished... ») and the similarity of several stipulations and concerns. Among them, we can mention the duty to attend funerals of other members, or to assist them when they face difficulties, the precise seating arrangement during the gatherings, and even a far more specific stipulation like the Pachomian prohibition of picking up fruits on the ground. This reminds us of the fine applied among the hunters of Aphrodito for robbing pieces of wood that were found either on the ground or in the water (SB 3.6704).
However, the monastic rules are a lot both deeper and wider than professional association regulations, which do not apply to all aspects of the life of craftsmen or merchants. Professional association regulations were silent on the work itself, whereas the Pachomian monastery hold absolute control over production and work conditions, as if monasteries would claim to correct the imperfections of the organizations which used to regulate professions outside.