Caroline T. Schroeder is Professor of Classics and Letters at the University of Oklahoma. She is the author of Monastic Bodies (2007), co-editor of Melania (2016), and co-founder of the ground-breaking digital project Coptic Scriptorium.

'an important and comprehensive contribution that will be very much appreciated by the academic community. Students and scholars of the late antique world, the history of Christianity and monasticism, and the Eastern Mediterranean will all find [Schroeder's] nuanced work meaningful and valuable … Her ultimate contribution, in my opinion, is illustrating how classical virtues and institutions were baptized and immortalized in the history of Christianity.' Mary Ghattas, Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies

• Introduction; Part I. Finding children: 1. Documenting the undocumented: Children in the earliest Egyptian Monasteries; 2. The language of childhood; Part II. Representations: 3. Homoeroticism, children, and the making of monks; 4. Child sacrifice: From familial renunciation to Jephthah's lost daughter; 5. Monastic family values: The healing of children; Part III. A social history: 6. Making new monks: Children's education, discipline, and ascetic formation; 7. Breaking rules and telling tales: Daily life for monastic children; 8. The ties that bind: Emotional and social bonds between parents and children; Conclusion: Monastic genealogies; Bibliography.

Caroline T. Schroeder is Professor of Classics and Letters at the University of Oklahoma. She is the author of Monastic Bodies (2007), co-editor of Melania (2016), and co-founder of the ground-breaking digital project Coptic Scriptorium.

'an important and comprehensive contribution that will be very much appreciated by the academic community. Students and scholars of the late antique world, the history of Christianity and monasticism, and the Eastern Mediterranean will all find [Schroeder's] nuanced work meaningful and valuable … Her ultimate contribution, in my opinion, is illustrating how classical virtues and institutions were baptized and immortalized in the history of Christianity.' Mary Ghattas, Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies

• Introduction; Part I. Finding children: 1. Documenting the undocumented: Children in the earliest Egyptian Monasteries; 2. The language of childhood; Part II. Representations: 3. Homoeroticism, children, and the making of monks; 4. Child sacrifice: From familial renunciation to Jephthah's lost daughter; 5. Monastic family values: The healing of children; Part III. A social history: 6. Making new monks: Children's education, discipline, and ascetic formation; 7. Breaking rules and telling tales: Daily life for monastic children; 8. The ties that bind: Emotional and social bonds between parents and children; Conclusion: Monastic genealogies; Bibliography.

Caroline T. Schroeder is Professor of Classics and Letters at the University of Oklahoma. She is the author of Monastic Bodies (2007), co-editor of Melania (2016), and co-founder of the ground-breaking digital project Coptic Scriptorium.

'an important and comprehensive contribution that will be very much appreciated by the academic community. Students and scholars of the late antique world, the history of Christianity and monasticism, and the Eastern Mediterranean will all find [Schroeder's] nuanced work meaningful and valuable … Her ultimate contribution, in my opinion, is illustrating how classical virtues and institutions were baptized and immortalized in the history of Christianity.' Mary Ghattas, Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies

• Introduction; Part I. Finding children: 1. Documenting the undocumented: Children in the earliest Egyptian Monasteries; 2. The language of childhood; Part II. Representations: 3. Homoeroticism, children, and the making of monks; 4. Child sacrifice: From familial renunciation to Jephthah's lost daughter; 5. Monastic family values: The healing of children; Part III. A social history: 6. Making new monks: Children's education, discipline, and ascetic formation; 7. Breaking rules and telling tales: Daily life for monastic children; 8. The ties that bind: Emotional and social bonds between parents and children; Conclusion: Monastic genealogies; Bibliography.