Download PDF | (The Menahem Stern Jerusalem Lectures) Peter Brown - Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire-University Press of New England (2002).
178 Pages
Foreword
Miriam Eliav-Feldon It is an honor and a pleasure to welcome Professor Peter Brown to Jerusalem on behalf of the Historical Society pf Israel. Almost eleven years have passed since the brutal and senseless murder of Professor Menahem Stern in the Valley of the Cross, just a few hundred meters away from this elegant hall of scholarship where we are gathered today. One could hardly imagine a person less associated with brutality or hatred than the gentle and soft-spoken Professor Stern, who was loved and respected by all, colleagues, students, and acquaintances alike.
His sudden and horrifying death left a wound and a pain that is still felt not only by his family and close friends but also by the entire academic community in Israel and by historians of the classical period around the world. The establishment of the Menahem Stern Jerusalem Lectures is, I believe, the most appropriate way of commemorating the life and contribution of such an erudite and influential scholar. As long as lecture halls are filled to capacity by men and women seeking knowledge and wisdom, as we see here tonight, we know that Menahem Stern's legacy is still maintained. This year, the seventh since the series began, our distinguished guest is Professor Petèr Brown, the doyen of Late-Antiquity historians, whose works encompass several fields that were of particular interest to Menahem Stern. A series of lectures by Professor Brown, on the subject of "Poverty and Leadership in Late Antiquity," is undoubtedly a most fitting tribute to Professor Stern's memory.
Professor Brown needs no introduction to an audience composed of historians. Also, were I to read to you his curriculum vitae, including the list of his publications and of honors he received, there would be little time left for Professor Brown's own lecture. Therefore, I shall only point out a few facts that caught my attention while reading Professor Brown's career description. Born in Dublin, Peter Brown studied at Oxford where he later became a Fellow of All Souls College, a Lecturer, and a University Reader.
Then, after several years in Royal Holloway College at the University of London, Professor Brown taught at Berkeley, and, since 1986, he has been the Rollins Professor of History at Princeton. But, in addition to this brief outline of Professor's Brown distinguished career, please note the titles of his various appointments: at Merton College, Oxford, he was lecturer in medieval history; then he was appointed university reader in late Roman and Byzantine studies; in London he was professor of modern history, while at Berkeley he held the position of professor of history and classics. All these indicate, in part, the unresolved problems of periodization and departmentalization even at the best universities, but they are also evidence of Peter Brown's wide range of interests.
The same breadth of scholarship is reflected in the titles of his books and articles, covering so many fields, historical periods, and areas of expertise: from the first centuries of the Common £ra to the High Middle Ages; besides late Roman history, there is early Christianity, Byzantium, Parthians and Sasanians, and Islam,- alongside Christianization and saints, we find art, sexuality, daily life, and much more. Thus, it is not surprising that every history student, no matter what his field of specialization, is familiar with Professor Brown's works. It is impossible to study any chapter in the history of Christianity without reference to Brown's magnificent Augustine of Hippo: A Biography; first published over thirty years ago but yet to be superseded, or to his analysis of the cult of saints. Brown's handling of the passage from late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages constitutes essential reading for every historian concerned with a period of transition (and what period in history isn't a transition of one kind or another?).
And, finally, any serious scholarly work in what is termed nowadays "gender studies" relies heavily on Peter Brown's pioneering analysis of western attitudes to women and sexuality in The Body and Society as well as in some of his later articles. From m y own experience, in m y attempts to understand a period of European history that is over a millennium later than the age of Augustine, I know that I have incurred an enormous debt to the scholarly insights and beautiful prose of Professor Peter Brown. Thus, for my words of welcome tonight, I would take the liberty of borrowing from him once again. Among his many articles there is one entitled "The Saint as Exemplar"; I should like to present to you Professor Peter Brown—the Scholar as an Exemplar, here in Jerusalem.
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