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La Confessio di Patrizio d’Irlanda: il ruolo dell’elemento autobiografico nella letteratura confessionale tardoantica

  • Noelia Bernabeu Torreblanca

This article studies the role of the autobiographical element in confessional literature, particularly in St Patrick’s Confessio . After a general reflection on the function of autobiography in 5th-6th century confessions as subordinate to the praise of God, I analyse Patrick’s text, whose special situation – it was born as a self-defence before a court and later transformed into a confessional work – shows the link between the genus iudiciale and the confession/autobiography and allows to reflect on other aspects of the confessional genre, such as the ideas of the homo interior and self-knowledge, as paths to the love of God and neighbour, achieved by true devotion, which Patrick cultivates not only through his ministry and thanks to his designation as apostolus vocatus , successor of St Paul and the apostles; but also through the writing of his text.

  • Keywords:
  • Autobiography,
  • Late Antiquity,
  • Latin Literature,
  • Patrick,
  • Confessions,
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Noelia Bernabeu Torreblanca

University of Salamanca, Spain - ORCID: 0000-0002-8471-9797

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  • Publication Year: 2025
  • Pages: 225-237

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  • Publication Year: 2025

Chapter Information

Chapter Title

La Confessio di Patrizio d’Irlanda: il ruolo dell’elemento autobiografico nella letteratura confessionale tardoantica

Authors

Noelia Bernabeu Torreblanca

Language

Italian

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0676-1.20

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2025

Copyright Information

© 2025 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY-SA 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

In aula ingenti memoriae meae. Forme di autobiografia nella letteratura tardolatina

Book Subtitle

Atti dell’International Workshop - Siena, 13 e 14 giugno 2024

Editors

Filomena Giannotti, Daniele Di Rienzo

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

240

Publication Year

2025

Copyright Information

© 2025 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY-SA 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press, USiena Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0676-1

ISBN Print

979-12-215-0675-4

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-0676-1

eISBN (epub)

979-12-215-0677-8

Series Title

Studi di Antichistica

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