Hieronymus Romanus

Ingo Schaaf, Emanuela Prinzivalli, Barbara Feichtinger, Caruso, Giuseppe (Augustinian friar)

Rome, be it as a concrete space, be it as a concept and idea, occupies an outstanding place in the thoughts and actions of Jerome of Stridon (c. 347-419). Glowing propagandist of the ideal of asceticism in the Latin sphere and highly influential scholar of the Bible, he received his philological education here as well as his baptism. Beyond this background of study and adherence to the church of Rome, the Urbs continued to hold a key position for him, who under the pontificate of Damasus established himself as a mediator between East and West and translator of Scripture. A sharp-tongued and increasingly controversial figure at the same time, Jerome subsequently turned into the target of antiascetic criticism and, once bereft of papal protection, had to leave Rome for good. However, even in distant Palestine, the city on the Tiber and its memories remained present in the writings of...