Melania the Younger

Common questions

Who was Melania the Younger?

Melania the Younger (383–439) — Granddaughter of Melania the Elder. Together with her husband Pinianus she renounced one of the largest fortunes in the late Roman world, freeing thousands of slaves and endowing monasteries across the Mediterranean. After residing in North Africa during the Vandal advance, where she met Augustine and Alypius, she settled in Jerusalem and founded monasteries on the Mount of Olives. Her Greek and Latin Vita, by her chaplain Gerontius, is a major source for early 5th-century asceticism and aristocratic Christianity.

Who taught Melania the Younger?

Melania the Elder.

Who did Melania the Younger meet?

Augustine of Hippo and Cyril of Alexandria.

Sources for biography

• Gerontius, Vita Sanctae Melaniae Iunioris primary
• Palladius, Historia Lausiaca 61 primary
• ODCC s.v. Melania the Younger, St secondary

documented connections(2)

• met Augustine of Hippo
  Gerontius's Vita records Melania and Pinianus residing near Hippo c. 410-417 and meeting Augustine and Alypius; Augustine's Letter 124 is addressed to them.
  Gerontius, Vita Melaniae Iunioris 20-21 · Augustine, Epistula 124
• taught by Melania the Elder
  Granddaughter; the Vita stresses Melania the Elder's ascetic example as decisive for the younger Melania's vocation.
  Gerontius, Vita Melaniae Iunioris 1, 6

tradition connections(1)

• met Cyril of Alexandria
  Vita Melaniae reports a visit to Alexandria where she received Cyril; primary attestation rests on the Vita alone.
  Gerontius, Vita Melaniae Iunioris 34