LAUSIAC HISTORY

LAUSIAC HISTORY. A history and series of portraits of the early Desert Fathers (q.v.), accompanied by personal reminiscences, written by Palladius (ca. 363-ca. 431) around the year 419. The title derives from the book’s dedication to a certain Lausas, the court chamberlain of Emperor Theodosius II. Palladius’s little book provides an indispensable guide for historians of the period. It continues to be read with profit by Orthodox monks, laypeople, and theologians because of its moving portrayals of the earliest monks and the transmission of their wisdom.