TUJAMSS Volume 9 Number 3 2025

PLEASURES OF READING AND CHRISTIAN PIETY: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF TERTULLIAN’S ON THE SPECTACLES IN THE LATE ANTIQUE TO MEDIEVAL CULTURAL MILIEU

Azan, Baba James Sanza, Kefas Agyas
Abstract

This study critically examines Tertullian's On the Spectacles within the context of the Late Antique to Medieval cultural milieu, exploring the tensions between Christian identity and pagan spectacle. The purpose of this study is to investigate the rhetorical strategies employed by Tertullian to critique the spectacles of Late Antiquity and analyze the implications of his critique for the development of Christian identity. Grounded in cultural critique and rhetorical analysis, drawing on scholars like Michel Foucault and Mikhail Bakhtin, this study reveals that Tertullian's treatise represents a scathing critique of Late Antique spectacle, which reflect and shape the emerging Christianity's cultural and theological landscape. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages' cultural and theological dynamics.

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