Edited by Roald Dijkstra and Paul van der Velde
[Topics in Humor Research 10] 2022
► pp. 64–80
Gregory of Nazianzus is one of the foundational theologians of Eastern Christianity, greatly contributing to the development of an authoritative body of texts that is generally averse to humour. Due to this, he is generally not read with humoristic interests in mind. Yet, his letters are a genre that is more than others entrenched in the social realities of his time. In these letters, Gregory uses witticisms and playful derision as a means to forge a bond of exclusivity with his epistolary friends. Frequently, these witticisms hinge on intertextual allusions. In these allusions, Gregory plays a game that is based on erudition in both the (pagan) classics and the bible, thus constructing a kind of witty sophisticated discourse that is undeniably Christian, and at the same time meets all the standards of elitist classical paideia.