Blaesilla, also known as Blesilla (364–384), was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

and disciple of

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

. She was born into a wealthy senatorial family in Rome, the eldest daughter of

Paula of Rome Paula of Rome (AD 347–404) was an ancient ancient Rome, Roman Christianity, Christian saint and early Desert Mothers, Desert Mother. A member of one of the richest Roman Senate, senatorial families which claimed descent from Agamemnon, Paula wa ...

and sister of Eustochium, who were members of a group of wealthy Christian women who followed the teachings of Jerome. Blaesilla was widowed at the age of 18; at first, she enjoyed her freedom as a widow, but after a life-threatening fever, became "a changed woman"Salisbury, p. 32 and a severe

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

, practicing

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

as a spiritual discipline. Her fasts dramatically weakened her, and she died within four months, at the age of 20. Blaesilla's death caused "bitter controversy" in Rome; many Romans blamed Jerome for her death and demanded that he be removed from Rome. Eventually, Jerome left Rome, with Blaesilla's mother and sister, to live as an ascetic in the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

. Most of the knowledge about Blaesilla's life comes from the writings of Jerome, in which he described her piety and virtue. She also inspired Jerome to translate the book of

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...

. Modern writers and researchers have connected Blaesilla with the eating disorder

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

; she has been called "this ancient woman who starved herself in death in the name of Christ"Salibury, p. 33 and "the first victim of anorexia nervosa, described in the literature",Docx and Govaert, p. 26 and has been compared to modern patients with the disorder.

Life

If it were not for the writings of Jerome, in which he described her piety and virtue, we would know very little about Blaesilla. Blaesilla was born in Rome in 364, into a wealthy aristocratic family, the eldest daughter of

, the widow of Toxotius, a wealthy Roman senator. Toxotius' brother was a former

vicarius ''Vicarius'' is a Latin word, meaning ''substitute'' or ''deputy''. It is the root of the English word "vicar". History Originally, in ancient Rome, this office was equivalent to the later English " vice-" (as in " deputy"), used as part of th ...

of Rome and

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

of Africa. Blaesilla had three sisters, one of which was Eustochium. Both Paula and Eustochium were part of "the vigorous Christian community" in Rome during the 4th century that was made up of wealthy women like Paula and Asella, and advised by

. Blaesilla was described as "a beautiful, talented young girl who loved the merry life of aristocratic Rome"; she enjoyed the theater, dinner parties, and socializing with other young people. When Blaesilla was 18, she married Furius, a son of Titiana, who was devoutly Christian like Blaesilla's mother. Blaesilla's husband died seven months after they were married, leaving her a wealthy widow. She mourned his death, but as historian Joyce E. Salisbury stated, Blaesilla was too young to "forego the exciting life she loved", living as other young widows did at the time, lavishly spending her time and money on her dress, appearance, and parties, and enjoying her freedom as a widow. Jerome, who advocated

asceticism Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...

and extreme

as a spiritual practice because he believed that it helped his followers control their flesh and focus more on God, chastised her for "her frivolous life". Shortly after her husband's death, Blaesilla became ill with a fever; she recovered and became "a changed woman". Writer Joan Carroll Cruz said that Blaesilla had "yield dto the promptings of grace" and chose to spend "the rest of her short life in great austerity". She studied scripture, learned to speak Greek with a perfect accent, learned Hebrew in a few months, carried books with her wherever she went, and demanded that Jerome write commentaries for her to study. Jerome, speaking about her intellectual talent, said: "Who can recall without a sigh the earnestness of her prayers, the brilliancy of her conversation, the tenacity of her memory, and the quickness of her intellect?" Blaesilla became an ascetic, wearing plain clothes and participating in extreme fasts that dramatically weakened her. Historian John Matthews conjectured that Blaesilla's behavior was due to depression and a response to a life-threatening illness. Her family grew alarmed about her declining health. She was not able to withstand the demands that her asceticism had on her body, and she died within four months, in 384, at the age of 20.

Reactions to her death

Contemporary reactions

According to Jerome in one of his letters to Paula, in which he described Blaesilla's death, Paula became so overwhelmed by grief during Blaesilla's funeral that she collapsed during the procession and had to be taken away unconscious. Jerome, in his attempt to console her, proclaimed Blaesilla "the victor in the struggle against Satan". Historians Finley Hooper and Matthew Schwartz reported that Blaesilla's death caused "bitter controversy" in Rome. Salisbury reported that many in Rome were outraged at Blaesilla's premature death and blamed Jerome. They accused him for the demise of the lively young woman, and his insistence to Paula that Blaesilla should not be mourned and hid complaints that her grief was excessive, were seen as heartless, polarising Roman opinion against him. Romans saw that she had been killed by fasting, and demanded that monks be expelled from Rome. While in Rome, Jerome served as secretary to

Pope Damasus I Pope Damasus I (; c. 305 – 11 December 384), also known as Damasus of Rome, was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death in 384. It is claimed that he presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list ...

. Jerome's criticism of the Roman clergy of Rome brought increased hostility towards against him from the clergy and their supporters. Damasus died in December 384. Shortly after the pope's death, an inquiry was brought questioning the relationship between Jerome and Paula and he was forced to leave his position. Jerome left Rome for Antioch, before heading for Jerusalem. Paula and Blaesilla's younger sister Eustochium soon followed; they did not seem to blame him for Blaesilla's death but were certain that "she had died in a state of grace". Jerome spent the last 34 years of his life living as an ascetic supported by Paula, who founded a double monastery for him and herself at Bethlehem.

Modern criticism of Jerome

Hooper and Schwartz were critical of Jerome, stating that his beliefs about asceticism and monasticism demonstrated an attitude that would prevail in Christianity for centuries.

Modern diagnose: anorexia

Paula's collapsing during Blaesilla's funeral procession has been analysed by historian John Matthews as caused by Paula's own asceticism, and that she had been weakened by the lack of food. Modern writers and researchers have connected Blaesilla with the eating disorder

. Salisbury called Blaesilla "this ancient woman who starved herself to death in the name of Christ", and writer Leonard Shlain stated that she "died from anorexia". Researchers Martine Docx and Paul Govaert called Blaesilla "probably the first recorded case of death due to anorexia"Docx and Govaert, p. 25 and "the first victim of anorexia nervosa, described in the literature". They compared modern patients with anorexia to religious ascetics of the past like Blaesilla, stating that the "refusal of food both in antiquity and in modern society by the anorexic patient is an extreme form of self-discipline to pursue a new, better identity".Docx and Govaert, p. 27 They also stated that the refusal of food offered ascetics like Blaesilla "a spiritual transcendence", while the goal for modern patients was the pursuit of the "perfect body". They suggested that Blaesilla's motivation might also have included a desire to earn the love and approval of Jerome, her mother, and her sister, much like the way in which modern patients become anorexic to earn the love and approval of their families and society.

Legacy and veneration

Cruz reported that Jerome translated the book of

at Blaesilla's request. Blaesilla's feast day is 22 January.

References

Citations

Works cited

* Docx, Martine K. F., and Paul Govaert (November 2016)
"The First Deadly Victim of Anorexia Nervosa in History Called Blaesilla. Blaesilla, the First Reported Case of Anorexia"
''Acta Psychiatrica Belgica'', 3:116, pp. 25–28. * Salisbury, Joyce E. (2001)

''Encyclopedia of Women in the Ancient World''. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. . . pp. 32–33. * Schaff, Philip, ed. (2007)
"Letter XXXIX. To Paula."
''Jerome: Letters and Select Works''. New York: Cosimo Classics. . {{oclc, 949545924. pp. 49–54. 364 births 384 deaths 4th-century Christian saints 4th-century Roman women 4th-century Romans Ancient Christian female saints