In:Humour in the Beginning: Religion, humour and laughter in formative stages of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism
Edited by Roald Dijkstra and Paul van der Velde
[Topics in Humor Research 10] 2022
► pp. 63–80
“This joke has gone on for long enough”
Humour, derision, and allusion in the letters of Gregory of Nazianzus
Published online: 27 October 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/thr.10.07ber
https://doi.org/10.1075/thr.10.07ber
Abstract
Gregory of Nazianzus is one of the foundational theologians of Eastern Christianity, greatly contributing to the development of an authoritative body of texts that is generally averse to humour. Due to this, he is generally not read with humoristic interests in mind. Yet, his letters are a genre that is more than others entrenched in the social realities of his time. In these letters, Gregory uses witticisms and playful derision as a means to forge a bond of exclusivity with his epistolary friends. Frequently, these witticisms hinge on intertextual allusions. In these allusions, Gregory plays a game that is based on erudition in both the (pagan) classics and the bible, thus constructing a kind of witty sophisticated discourse that is undeniably Christian, and at the same time meets all the standards of elitist classical paideia.
Keywords: Christianity, Gregory of Nazianzus, Late Antiquity, allusion, epistolography
Article outline
- Attitudes towards gracefulness and play
- Confirming a friendship: Basil and the pontic pontikia
- An invitation to smile: Humour explicitly announced
- How to poke fun at your friends
- Vegetables and interpretive problems
- Conclusion
Notes Bibliography
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