Accipite Iudith viduam (Hier. Prol. Iud. 11)

Jerome’s Ideas of Christian Widowhood in the Book of Judith of the Vulgate

Abstract

In the Book of Judit of the Vulgate the figure of protagonist is notably refashioned in comparison to the main witnesses. Judith is emphasized as a model or ideal of widow and widowhood. Such reworking is brought about particularly through Vulgate’s unique additions or Sondergut, which emerge as instructive glosses to the readership of JudithVg by work of Vg’s narrator. The present study explores particularly the harmony of the ideas of JudithVg in their special material and Jerome’s Christian views, in this case, regarding widows and widowhood, found elsewhere in his writings, particularly in his letters.