The calamus and the cross : the Christianization of the written word and the fate of classical culture in Late Antiquity (1)

The transition from paganism to Christianity is probably the phenomenon that most profoundly affected the ancient world in every respect. Its historical importance explains why it has long been the subject of so much study - even if each generation continues to raise new questions and develop new approaches to answer them. This new cycle of lectures will look at Christianization from a less scrutinized angle, that of its influence on written culture. How did the development of Christianity change the way the Ancients wrote and read, as well as their literary tastes ? How did teaching, based on the works of ancient pagan culture, evolve under the influence of the new religion ? And what effect did the new religion have on the forms of literary creation and everyday writing ? The papyri (some of which have never been published before, and will be presented for the first time) provide incomparable documentation for answering these questions, and for tracing as concretely as possible the impact of Christianization on ancient writing and the way in which classical culture reacted. They invite us to embark on a veritable archaeology of written culture between the ^4th and ^7th centuries.