437
Izvirni znanstveni članek/Article (1.01)
Bogoslovni vestnik/Theological Quarterly 81 (2021) 2, 437—452
Besedilo prejeto/Received: 09/2020; sprejeto/Accepted: 01/2021
UDK: 27-36-1sv.Hieronim
DOI: 10.34291/BV2021/02/Ciglenecki
© 2021 Ciglenečki et al., CC BY 4.0
Jan Ciglenečki in Nena Bobovnik
Blue Deserts: Jerome and the Origins of Insular 
Monasticism in the Adriatic
Modre puščave: Hieronim in izvori otoškega meni-
štva na Jadranu
Abstract: This article focuses on Jerome as one of the first ,ideologists of the des-
ert‘. To this end, it discusses his letters, Vitae, and his personal experience in the 
desert of Chalcis (c. 374–377 AD). Jerome is also an important historical source 
for the 4th-century insular eremitism in the Adriatic: in Ep. 60 to Heliodorus, 
he mentioned Dalmatia as one of the three archetypal deserts, equating it with 
Egypt and Mesopotamia. The article analyses Jerome’s extant references on 
anchoretic communities and ascetic monks residing in Dalmatia. A special place 
among them was given to Bonosus, Jerome’s close friend who around 374 AD 
moved to an unknown Northern Dalmatian island. Jerome depicted Bonosus’ 
ascetic life on an island as an ideal that surpasses even the established forms 
of eremitism in more traditional desert environments. Jerome’s propaganda for 
insulae Dalmatiae raises the question about their possible localization, which 
is shortly discussed in the concluding paragraphs. 
Keywords: Jerome, Bonosus, Insular eremitism, Monasticism, Asceticism, Dalmatia
Povzetek: Članek se osredotoča na Hieronima kot enega prvih ,ideologov puščave‘. 
V tem oziru se obrača tako k Hieronimovim pismom in hagiografijam kakor tudi 
k njegovi osebni izkušnji v sirski puščavi Halkis (ok. 374–377). Hieronim je po-
memben tudi kot zgodovinski vir za začetke otoškega puščavništva na Jadranu 
v 4. stoletju: v Ep. 60, naslovljeni na Heliodora, Hieronim omenja Dalmacijo kot 
eno izmed treh arhetipskih puščav in jo postavlja ob bok Egiptu in Mezopota-
miji. V osrednjem delu članek analizira Hieronimova pričevanja o anahoretskih 
skupnostih in menihih na Jadranu. Posebno mesto med njimi zaseda Bonoz, Hi-
eronimov bližnji prijatelj iz otroštva, ki se je okrog leta 372 preselil na neznan 
otok na področju severne Dalmacije. Bonozovo asketsko življenje na otoku Hi-
eronim vzporeja z najbolj znamenitimi puščavniki tistega časa. Ob Hieronimovi 
propagandi za insulae Dalmatiae se zastavlja vprašanje o njihovi lokaciji, ki ga 
avtorja obravnavata v zadnjem delu članka. 
Ključne besede: Hieronim, Bonoz, otoško puščavništvo, meništvo, asketizem, Dal-
macija
438 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 2
1. Introduction
As historical fatherlands of monasticism, one usually thinks of Egypt, Palestine, 
and Syria.1 In Ep. 60 to Heliodorus, however, Jerome offered a different picture: 
alongside Egypt and the broader regions of the Near East, he mentioned the Ro-
man province Dalmatia as one of the promised lands for zealous hermits (Bratož 
2000, 110). Moreover, Jerome referred to Dalmatia several times in his other let-
ters and his Vitae, hence becoming the first and only source for eremitic tradition 
in the late 4th-century Adriatic. Firstly, this article discusses Jerome’s ,ideology 
of the desert‘ and secondly, it systematically overviews the passages in Jerome’s 
opus that mention monasticism in the Adriatic. Finally, the concluding section 
addresses different speculations about the possible localization of Jerome’s in-
sulae Dalmatiae.
2. Jerome as the ,Ideologist of the Desert‘
Jerome first encountered ascetic modus vivendi during his study years in Trier (be-
fore 370 AD), where he likely came across Athanasius’ famous work Vita Antonii. 
He described this »first conversion« (Campenhausen 1972, 131; Derhard-Lesieur 
2021) to asceticism in Ep. 3, where he wrote that in Trier, he devoted himself to 
God for the first time (Hier., Ep. 3.5.2).2 Rufinus’ account corroborates this in Apo-
logia contra Hieronymum, where Rufinus alluded to Jerome’s knowledge of Greek 
before his conversion (Rufin., Apol. c. Hier. 2.9).3 According to some scholars, the 
two protagonists in Augustine’s famous account of his conversion (Aug., Conf. 
8.6–12) were no other than Jerome and his closest friend Bonosus.4
The next formative stage in the development of Jerome’s vision of ascetic life 
was the time he spent in Aquileia.5 In the second half of the 4th-century, ascetic 
communities in Aquileia were already flourishing (Bratož 2000, 104–110).6 Even be-
fore the arrival of Jerome and Bonosus around 370 AD, the household of the future 
1 For general introduction see Chitty, Derwas. 1966. The Desert a City: An Introduction to the Study of 
Egyptian and Palestinian Monasticism Under the Christian Empire. Oxford: Blackwell; Steidle, Basilius, 
ed. 1956. Antonius Magnus eremita 356–1956. Studia ad antiquum monachismum spectantia. Rome: 
Orbis Catholicus, Herder; Canivet, Pierre. 1977. Le monachisme syrien selon Théodoret de Cyr. Paris: 
Beauchesne. Primary sources for Egypt are: Athanasius, The Life of St. Anthony (critical edition: Bartelink, 
Gerard J. M., ed. 1994. Vie d’Antoine – Athanase d’Alexandrie. Introduction, texte critique et traduction. 
SC 400. Paris: Cerf), and Paladius, Historia Lausiaca (critical edition: Bartelink, Gerard J. M., ed. 1974. 
La storia Lausiaca. Verona: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla). For Palestine and Syria: Theodoret of Cyrus, A 
History of the Monks of Syria: Price, Robert M., tr. 1985 Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications (critical 
edition: Canivet, Pierre, and Alice Leroy-Molinghen, ed. 1977–1979. Histoire des moines de Syrie. SC 
234, 257. Paris: Cerf.)
2 »Cum post Romana studia ad Rheni semibarbas ripas /…/ ego primus coeperim velle te colere.« 
3 »Ante enim quam converteretur, mecum pariter et litereas Graecas et linguam penitus ignorabat.«
4 Kelly refutes the hypothesis arguing that Augustine would not describe Jerome and Bonosus as indocti (1975, 
30). For further discussions see Courcelle 1950, 181; Leclerc et. al. 2007, 13; Steinhausen 1951, 134.
5 On Jerome’s personal accounts on his contacts with the Aquileian circle see Bratož 2013, 18–23.
6 Spinelli (1982, 273) labels the group of Aquileian ascetics not exactly as a cenobitic monastic commu-
439Jan Ciglenečki et al. - Blue Deserts
Aquileian bishop Chromatius was organized as an informal religious community, 
monasterium – or this is at least how Rufinus later described it.7 In Aquileia, Jerome 
and Bonosus met a group of ascetics – chorus beatorum (Hier., Chron. a. 374) – that 
nurtured their ascetic zeal. This community lasted until 374 AD, when they were 
parted by a »sudden whirlwind« (subitus turbo), as Jerome put it (Hier., Ep. 3.3).8 
Afterwards, Jerome set out to Syria and into the desert of Chalcis, which 
seemed to him »the most secure harbour for a shipwrecked man« (3.3).9 This 
was a significant turning point in his life, for the change of environment encour-
aged him to write the first eulogies of anchoritic life in the desert. These eulogies 
set the stage for the development of his ideal image of the desert, which he later 
promulgated in his writings. Jerome’s exalted descriptions of eremitism have sig-
nificantly influenced later monastic literature in the West and inspired many other 
ascetics and laypeople. 
,Desert as a paradise‘ became a recurrent topos in Jerome’s writings. A mean-
ingful paradigm shift is found in the opening of Jerome’s Vita Pauli, where the 
classic attributes of paradise are presented as the utmost agony, while the real 
desert with all its hardships is described as a paradise (Šubrt 2000, 125–126). The 
motif of the ,desert as a paradise‘ also occurs in Ep. 2 where Jerome is asking a 
certain Theodosius, leader of the ascetic community in the Syrian desert, to pray 
for him to become worthy of the desert and to be allowed to join that ,admirable 
community‘ (admirandum consortium), since – according to Jerome – the desert 
was »lovelier than any city«10 and ,those lonely spots‘ were »made into a paradise 
by the saints that throng them«.11
This notion of the ,desert as a paradise‘ is further related to Jerome’s exhorta-
tions aimed at various individuals, encouraging them to retreat from society and 
leave behind their city life.12 In Ep. 14, Jerome observed that »a monk cannot be 
perfect in his own country« (14.7.2),13 while in Ep. 58, he suggested to Paulin of 
Nola that he should consider a solitary life if he desires to become a true monk. In 
nity, but with a strong ,fervore ascetico‘ that is manifested in later writings of Jerome, Rufinus, and 
Chromatius.
7 Apol. c. Hier. 2.9. Among the ascetics in the circle were deacon Iulianus, subdeacon Niceas, monk Ch-
rysocomas, Chromatius’ brother Eusebius, who was also a deacon, and upper deacon Iovinus, as well 
as Rufinus. Chromatius, Iovinus, and Eusebius later became bishops. 
8 The translations of Jerome’s letters are, if not stated otherwise, taken from Philip Schaff and Henry 
Wace, ed. 1893. Jerome: Letters and Select Works. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 
6. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co. For the Latin text of Jerome’s letters Hilberg’s CSEL 
editions are used.
9 »Syria mihi velut fidissimus naufrago portus occurrit.«
10 »Spectarem desertum, omni amoeniorem civitatem.« (Hier., Ep. 2)
11 »Viderem desolata ab accolis loca, quasi ad quoddam paradisi instar.« (Hier., Ep. 2) The passage is 
explored in depth in Cain 2009, 20–21.
12 Cf. »They [i.e. the cities] were considered as environments where all wordly wishes (power, money, sex 
and greed for food) prevailed, distracting people from the interest for afterlife and betraying Christ’s 
true teaching.« (Marazzi 2015, 605)
13 »Monachum in patria sua perfectum esse non posse.« Cf. Lc 4,24.
440 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 2
order to abide by the true meaning of the word monachus, therefore, one needed 
to live alone in the desert and leave behind »cities which are the homes not of 
the solitaries but crowds« (58.5.1).14 In Ep. 125, he exclaimed along the same line 
that »a town is a prison and solitude a paradise« (125.8.1).15 In Ep. 14, one finds 
Jerome’s famous eulogy to the desert: »O wilderness, bright with Christ’s spring 
flowers! O, solitude, whence come those stones wherewith in the Apocalypse the 
city of the mighty king is built! O desert, rejoicing in God’s familiar presence!« 
(14).16 Jerome’s praise of the desert thus coincides impeccably with the concept 
of solitude, recently established by the first Christian ascetics as the principal cri-
teria for ascetic life (Bobovnik and Derhard 2020).
In addition to his Epistulae, the formation of Jerome’s ,ideology of the desert‘ 
can be observed in his Vitae of the legendary Desert fathers – Vita Pauli, Vita 
Malchi, Vita Hilarionis –, texts that mark the very beginning of Latin hagiography 
(Leclerc et al. 2007, 20). The first and most influential among these works is Vita 
Pauli, written sometime between 376 AD and 381 AD.17 The text depicts the life 
of St. Paul of Thebes, who is presented as preceding St. Anthony and surpassing 
him in his virtue. With this twist, Jerome re-writes the very origins of the Egyp-
tian eremitic tradition as set out in the Athanasius’ Vita Antonii and establishes 
St. Paul as the ,first hermit‘ (Hier., V. Paul. 1).18 In Jerome’s version of the story, St. 
Anthony’s older friend Paul is compared to Biblical figures such as the Prophets 
Elias, John the Baptist, and apostle Paul (13).19 In stark contrast to St. Anthony, 
who in Athanasius’ words »could not endure learning letters« (Hier., V. Ant. 1),20 
St. Paul was, according to Jerome, an educated Christian (Hier., V. Paul. 4).21 In 
this way, Jerome intentionally positioned erudition as an integral part of monastic 
life, a notion that later exerted a significant influence on monasticism in the West 
(Hale-Williams 2006, 39).
The three Vitae by Jerome helped to consolidate Egypt, Syria, and Palestine as 
the fatherlands of the 4th-century monasticism: Paul of Thebes was presented as 
the first hermit in the Egyptian desert, the story of Malchus took place in the Syr-
ian desert,22 and Hilarion was an itinerant monk from Gaza. As far as the ,cover-
age‘ of main geographical regions of early monasticism in Jerome’s Vitae is con-
14 »Non sunt solorum habitacula, sed multorum.«
15 »Mihi oppidum carcer est et solitudo paradisus.«
16 Translation by F. A. Wright. »O desertum Christi floribus vernans! O solitudo, in qua illi nascuntur lapides, 
de quibus in Apocalypsi ciuitas magni regis extruitur. O heremus familiari Deo gaudens!«
17 For the attempts to determinate the date see Kelly 1975, 60–61; Rousseau 2010, 133. 
18 »Paulum quemdam Thebaeum principem rei istius fuisse.« 
19 »Vidi Eliam, uidi Ioannem in deserto, et uere in paradiso Paulum uidi.« 
20 Γράµµατα µὲν µαθεῖν οὐκ ἠνέσχετο. 
21 »Litteris tam Graecis quam Aegyptiacis adprime eruditus.«
22 The story of Vita Malchi revolves around the early Christian phenomenon of ‚spiritual marriage‘, a 
favourite topic for Jerome as well, who highly praised the life of ascetic virgins (subintroductae), enco-
uraging them for the ‚unconsummated‘ marriage. For the general discussion on marital practices in Late 
Antiquity see Saje 2019, 989–1000, and Saje 2018, 813–823.
441
cerned, it is interesting to note that an important episode of Vita Hilarionis occurs 
in (southern) Dalmatia.23 Jerome placed the Adriatic region on the map of ideal 
monastic landscapes, an act which he confirms by adding the Dalmatian islands 
to his list of promised monastic lands in Hier., Ep. 60.
3. Insular Eremitism in the Adriatic
Since there were no natural desert environments in the Latin West, monks who 
followed in the footsteps of famous Eastern ascetics looked for extreme solitude, 
remoteness, and wilderness that were characteristic of the deserts in Egypt and 
the Middle East (Marazzi 2015, 605–615; Lebecq 2013, 11). One obvious candi-
date for such an environment were desolate islands, isolated from the rest of the 
world by sea.24 These insular ,cells‘, well-defined by their shores,25 soon became 
a symbol of retreat and asceticism (Gioanni 2013, 100). The same holds true for 
the 4th-century anchoritic communities in the broader Adriatic region. Due to 
the lack of archaeological evidence from this earliest period, all knowledge about 
insular monasticism in the Adriatic comes from Jerome (Bratož 2000, 103–126).26 
It is to this textual evidence that we now turn. 
3.1 Hier., Ep. 60
Jerome’s Ep. 60, written in 396 AD, is a consolatoria (Cain 2006, 504) composed 
for his friend Heliodorus, whose nephew Nepotianus died not long ago. Nepoti-
anus had, like his uncle, abandoned civil or military service (Hier., Ep. 60.9.2) and 
became a presbyter in Altinum, a town in the province of Venetia-Histria, where 
Heliodorus was bishop.27 In Ep. 60, Jerome tried to soothe his friend’s grief by pra-
ising Nepotianus’ traits and impeccable ascetic values. Nepotianus, Jerome wrote, 
would have eagerly left everything behind when he became a monk if the love 
for his uncle would not have prevented him. That is why he contemplated leaving 
for Egypt or Mesopotamia. In this respect, he also considered Dalmatian islands:
»He [sc. Nepotianus] longed daily to make his way to the monasteries of 
Egypt, or to visit the communities of Mesopotamia, or at least to live a 
23 See below.
24 The term ,isolation‘ is etymologically derived from it. isola, which in turn comes from lat. insula, ‚island‘. 
The problem of water shortage could have been partly solved with the use of cisterns, which was a 
common practice at the time, while the abundance of seafood provided better natural resources than 
the harsh desert environments in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine and Syria.
25 Cf. Jerome’s description of the island as a jail: »Abruptae rupes, quasi quemdam horroris carcerem 
claudunt.« (Ep. 3.4.4)
26 For the recent archaeological survey in the North Adriatic region see Čaušević-Bully and Bully 2013; 
2015. Archaeological evidence for early insular monasticism is scarce in other Mediterranean regions 
(e.g. Tyrrhenian Sea, Ligurian Sea) as well (Belcari 2013, 80).
27 Nepotianus was also the addressee of Ep. 52, in which Jerome offers guidance for those struggling to 
combine their ascetic life and ecclesiastical career.
Jan Ciglenečki et al. - Blue Deserts
442 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 2
lonely life in the Dalmatian islands, separated from the mainland only by 
the strait of Altinum. But he had not the heart to forsake his episcopal 
uncle in whom he beheld a pattern of many virtues and from whom he 
could take lessons without going abroad.« (60.10)28
3.2 Hier., Ep. 105
The second testimony that hints at eremitism in the Adriatic is Jerome’s Ep. 105, 
written around 398 AD. It addresses the lost letter that was sent to Jerome by St. 
Augustine. The relevant passage is the following:
»You are sending me letter upon letter, and often urging me to answer 
a certain letter of yours, a copy of which, without your signature, had 
reached me through our brother Sysinnius, deacon, as I have already writ-
ten, which letter you tell me that you entrusted first to our brother Profu-
turus, and afterwards to someone else; but that Profuturus was prevented 
from finishing his intended journey, and having been ordained a bishop, 
was removed by sudden death; and the second messenger, whose name 
you do not give, was afraid of the perils of the sea, and gave up the voy-
age which he had intended. These things being so, I am at a loss to express 
my surprise that the same letter is reported to be in possession of most of 
the Christians in Rome and throughout Italy and has come to everyone but 
myself, to whom alone it was ostensibly sent. I wonder at this all the more 
because the brother Sysinnius aforesaid tells me that he found it among 
the rest of your published works, not in Africa, not in your possession, but 
on an island of the Adriatic some five years ago.« (105.1)29
The passage implies an established (monastic?) community on an unnamed 
insula Hadriae; however, there are no geographical clues that would allow for 
locating this island (Bratož 2000, 111).
3.3 Hier., Ep. 118
The third reference to eremitic communities in the Adriatic is found in Jerome’s 
Ep. 118, dated 407 AD. In this letter, Jerome writes to a certain Julian, his com-
patriot or perhaps a neighbour (Suić 1986, 236), praising his benefactory deeds:
28 »Cumque arderet cotidie aut ad Aegypti monasteria pergere aut Mesopotamiae invisere choros vel 
certe insularum Dalmatiae, quae Altino tantum freto distant, solitudines occupare, avunculum pontifi-
cem deserere non audebat tota in illo cernens exempla virtutum domique habens, unde disceret.«
29 »Crebras ad me epistolas dirigis, et saepe compelis, ut respondeam cuidam epistolae tuae, cuius ad 
me, ut ante iam scripsi, per fratrem Sisinnium diaconum exemplaria pervenerunt absque subscriptione 
tua et quam primum per fratrem Profuturum, secundo per quendam alium te misisse significas, et in-
terim Profuturum retractum de itinere et Episcopum constitutum veloci morte subtractum, illum cuius 
nomen retices, maris timuisse discrimina et navigationis mutasse consilium. Quae cum ita sint, satis 
mirari nequeo, quomodo ipsa epistola et Romae et in Italia haberi a plerisque dicatur et ad me solum 
non pervenerint, cui soli missa est, praesertim cum idem frater Sisinnius inter caeteros tractatus tuos 
dixerit eam se non in Africa, non apud te, sed in insula Hadriae, ante hoc ferme quinquennium reperis-
se.«
443
»I would not, therefore, have you offer to the Lord only what a thief may 
steal from you or an enemy fall upon, or a proscription confiscate, what is 
liable to fluctuations in value now going up and now down, what belongs 
to a succession of masters who follow each other as fast as in the sea wave 
follows wave, and – to say everything in a word – what, whether you like it 
or not, you must leave behind you when you die. Rather offer to God that 
which no enemy can carry off, and no tyrant take from you, which will go 
down with you into the grave, nay on to the kingdom of heaven and the 
enchantments of paradise. You already build monasteries and support 
in the various islands of Dalmatia a large number of holy men. But you 
would do better still if you were to live among these holy men as a holy 
man yourself.« (118.5)30
The plural term monasteria and phrase multus numerus sanctorum suggest 
that several separate ascetic communities in the Adriatic already existed around 
400 AD (Čaušević-Bully and Bully 2015, 79). However, Jerome’s use of the term 
monasteria does not necessarily denote a coenobitic monastery but rather refers 
to a semi-anchoretic colony (laura) or a solitary hermitage (Bratož 2000, 110). 
Apart from the general mention of Dalmatia, no geographical details can be de-
rived from this passage. 
3.4 Hier., Apologia contra Rufinum
Further to the Epistulae, monastic communities on the Adriatic islands were men-
tioned twice in Jerome’s Apologia contra Rufinum: 
»Whence then, I beg you to consider, did the report of you [sc. Rufinus] 
having written these books reach me? Who was it that sowed them 
broadcast through Rome and Italy and the islands of the coast of Dalma-
tia? How did these charges against me ever come to my ears if they were 
only lurking in your desk and those of your friends?« (3.3.12–16)31
Jerome again mentioned Dalmatia in a later passage:
»After I repelled your charges, that is your praises, and without showing 
an ill will to you personally, answered the accusations, not the accuser, and 
inveighed against the heretics, to show that, though defamed by you, I was 
a Catholic; you grew angry, and raved and composed the most magnificent 
works against me; and when you had given them to all men to read and re-
30 »Nolo tantum ea offeras domino, quae potest fur rapere, invadere inuadere, proscriptio tollere, quae 
et accedere possunt et recedere et instar undarum ac fluctuum a succedentibus sibi dominis occupan-
tur atque – ut uno cuncta sermone comprehendam – quae – velis nolis – in morte dimissurus es; illud 
offer, quod nullus tibi hostis possit auferre, nulla eripere tyrannis, quod tecum pergat ad inferos, immo 
ad regna caelorum et ad paradisi delicias. Exstruis monasteria, et multus a te per insulas Dalmatiae 
sanctorum numerus sustentatur; sed melius faceres, si et ipse sanctus inter sanctos viveres.«
31 »Et unde, oro te, librorum tuorum ad me fama pervenit? Quis eos Romae, quis in Italia, quis per Dal-
matiae insulas disseminavit? Si in scriniis tuis et amicorum tuorum latebant, ad me quomodo mea 
crimina pervenerunt?«
Jan Ciglenečki et al. - Blue Deserts
444 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 2
peat, letters came to me from Italy, and Rome and Dalmatia, showing each 
more clearly than the last, what all the encomiums were worth with which 
in your former laudation you had decorated me.« (3.7. 32–40)32
In these two passages Jerome reported that Christian communities in the Adri-
atic were aware of concurrent affairs, particularly about an ardent polemic he 
had with Rufinus (Bratož 2000, 111). Jerome’s former friend was now sending 
malicious letters across the ,Dalmatian islands‘ (per Dalmatiae insulas) in order 
to discredit him among his compatriots (Bratož 2013, 9). Like with the letters, it is 
impossible to locate these islands on the grounds of the text alone. 
4. Eremitae Dalmaticae: Hilarion, Bonosus, Castricianus
4.1 Hilarion
In Vita Hilarionis, the eponymous saint was presented as a forefather of the ascetic 
movement in the broader Adriatic region. According to Jerome, Hilarion travelled 
extensively in his late years in order to escape the crowds of admirers that appea-
red at his every place of residence. The same applied to Sicily, his last stop before 
setting sail for Dalmatia. In this context, Jerome wrote that Hilarion
»wanted to go to certain barbarous races where his name and fame were 
unknown. He [sc. Hesychius] therefore brought him to Epidaurus, a town 
in Dalmatia, where he stayed for a few days in the country near but could 
not be hidden.« (28.1–2)33
Ironically, Dalmatia, the country of ,barbarous races‘, was Jerome’s fatherland.34 
With ,barbarous races‘ he might have alluded to the pagan population of this re-
gion, which was only partly Christianised in the mid-4th-century. 
According to Jerome, Hilarion arrived to Epidaurus (present-day Cavtat near 
Dubrovnik) around 366 AD and performed two miracles. First, he saved the local 
population from a gigantic savage snake (28), and second, he tranquillized the 
sea after a devastating earthquake (29). These miracles were so remarkable that 
»Epidaurus and all the region roundabout tell the story to this day, and mothers 
teach their children to hand down the remembrance of it to posterity« (29.4).35 
32 »Postquam repuli crimina, id est laudes tuas, et absque invidia tui nominis respondi criminibus, non 
criminatori, atque, ut me catholicum a te infamatus probarem, invectus sum in haereticos, irasceris, 
furis, et loculentissimos libros contra me cudis. Quos cum legendos et cantandos omnibus tradidisses, 
certatim ad me de Italia et urbe Roma atque Dalmatia scripta venerunt, quibus me laudatur pristinus 
ornasses praeconiis.«
33 »Velle ad barbaras quasdam pergere nationes, ubi et nomen et sermo suus incognitus foret. Duxit itaque 
illum ad Epidaurum, Dalmatiae oppidum, ubi paucis diebus in vicino agello mansitans non potuit abscondi.«
34 For a discussion of Jerome’s Dalmatian origins, see Bratož 2013, 8–15.
35 »Hoc Epidaurus et omnis illa regio usque hodie praedicat, matresque docent liberos suos ad memoriam 
in posteros transmittendam.« This anecdote is mentioned also by Sozomenus in HE V.10.2–3 (Cedilnik 
2004, 291–292). 
445
Jerome further added that his fame spread as far as Salona (29.7),36 leaving Hi-
larion no other choice but to escape the crowds. Thus, he sailed away »secretly 
by night in a small boat« (29.7).37
Another passage in Vita Hilarionis should be considered in the context of the 
previously discussed ,ideology of the desert‘ and its insular forms.38 Hilarion was 
beset by familiar problems with admirers already in Egypt long before he visited 
Dalmatia. To this end, he contemplated on how to avoid them:
»Having then left Bruchium, he entered the oasis through the trackless 
desert and there abode for a year, more or less. But, inasmuch as his fame 
had travelled thither also, he felt that he could not be hidden in the East, 
where he was known to many by the report and by sight, and began to think 
of taking ship for some solitary island, so that having been exposed to pub-
lic view by the land, he might at least find concealment in the sea.« (23.7)39
Described here is an ideal of the insular ascetic life that Hilarion himself never 
wholly fulfilled. While he lived in Sicily and Cyprus, these two islands did not cor-
respond to his idea of a small and solitary island (sola insula), primarily due to 
their size and population density. The ideal of insular eremitism, envisaged by 
Hilarion, was yet to be fulfilled by later generations of ascetic monks in Dalmatia.
4.2 Bonosus
According to Jerome, the most remarkable insular hermit was his close friend 
Bonosus. Jerome considered him as an inseparable brother, writing in Ep. 3 that 
they were »fostered in the bosoms of the same nurses, and carried in the arms 
of the same bearers« (3.5).40 Afterwards, they were schoolmates in Rome, lived 
together in Trier (3.5.2), where they became interested in asceticism and later 
moved to Aquileia (Ep. 3; 7; Apol. c. Ruf. 1.4; Chron. a. 374). After the quarrel in 
Jerome’s Aquileian ascetic circle in 374, Bonosus decided to pursue eremitic life 
and moved to an unknown island. Although never explicitly stated by Jerome, we 
can arguably assume that Bonosus settled down on one of the islands in the Adri-
atic, on the shores of which the city of Aquileia stood (Bratož 2000, 110). 
Jerome described him as a »new inhabitant of paradise« (novus paradisi colo-
nus) (Hier., Ep. 3.4.2), living »in the safe shelter of his island« like John (of Patmos) 
(7.3).41 Bonosus’ island is depicted in a highly poetic manner:
36 »Mirabatur omnis civitas et magnitudo signi Salonis quoque percrebuerat.«
37 »In brevi lembo clam nocte.« 
38 For Jerome’s contribution to Late Antique conception of insular eremitism cf. Marazzi 2015, 606. 
39 »Egressus ergo de Bruchio per inviam solitudinem intravit Oasim, ibique anno plus minus exacto, quia 
illuc qouque sua fama peruenerat, quasi iam in Oriente latere non posset, ubi multi illum et opinion et 
vultu noverant, ad solas navigare insulas cogitabat, ut quem terra vulgaverat, saltem maria celarent.«
40 »Idem nos nutricum sinus, idem amplexus foverint baiulorum.«
41 »In tuto insulae /…/ ad exemplum Ioannis.«
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446 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 2
»For here you have a youth educated with us in the refining 
accomplishments of the world, with an abundance of wealth, and in rank 
inferior to none of his associates; yet he forsakes his mother, his sisters, 
and his dearly loved brother and settles like a new inhabitant of paradise 
on a dangerous island, with the sea roaring round its reefs; while its rough 
crags, bare rocks, and desolate aspect make it more terrible still.« (3.4.2)42
And in the following passage:
»Around the entire island roars the frenzied sea, while the beetling crags 
along its winding shores resound as the billows beat against them. No grass 
makes the ground green; there are no shady copses and no fertile fields. 
Precipitous cliffs surround his dreadful abode as if it were a prison.« (3.4.4)43
These descriptions, which are perhaps only Jerome’s inventions, again offer no 
firm grounds for establishing the island’s location. According to Suić’s theory, the 
above passage could refer to one of the islands in the Brioni archipelago, which 
lies along the Western coast of Istria (Suić 1986, 266). However, Jerome’s explicit 
depiction of Bonosus’ island as a solitary place in Ep. 3.4.2 is an argument against 
the theory because Brioni islands lie in close proximity to the densely populated 
Western coast of Istria.44 Thus, it would be more plausible to place Bonosus’s island 
farther South or/and East of Istria among the insulae Dalmatiae.
As far as Bonosus is concerned, retreating from Aquileia to an unknown island, 
he became the second known Western insular hermit after St. Martin of Tours 
(Bratož 2000, 110), who settled on the island of Gallinaria along the Ligurian coast 
some 15 years before (Sulp. Sev., V. Mart. 6.5).45 However, the conditions in whi-
ch Bonosus lived seem to have been more austere than those of St. Martin. The 
latter’s insular episode lasted only a couple of years (c. 358–360 AD) that he spent 
accompanied by a presbyter. On the other hand, Bonosus seems to have remained 
a solitary insular hermit his entire life (Bratož 2000, 110, n. 53).46 
Jerome painted Bonosus’ saintly life as an unattainable exemplum. This can be 
observed in the following passage, full of biblical allusions and symbolism:
42 »Ecce puer honestis saeculi nobiscum artibus institutus, cui opes adfatim, dignitas adprime inter aequa-
les, contempta matre, sororibus et carissimo sibi germano insulam pelago circumsonante navifragam, 
cui asperae cautes et nuda saxa et solitudo terrori est, quasi quidam novus paradisi colonus insedit.«
43 »Totam circa insulam fremit insanum mare et sinuosis montibus inlisum scopulis aequor reclamat; 
nullo terra gramine viret; nullis uernans campus densatur umbraculis; abruptae rupes quasi quemdam 
horroris carcerem claudunt.«
44 Cf. discussion on Brioni below in „Conclusion“.
45 »Cedendum itaque tempori arbitratus ad insulam, cui Gallinaria nomen est, secessit comite quodam 
presbytero, magnarum virtutum viro. Hic aliquamdiu radicibus vixit herbarum: quo tempore helleborum, 
venenatum, ut ferunt, gramen, in cibum sumpsit.« Critical edition: Halm, Karl, ed. 1866. Sulpicius Seve-
rus, Opera. CSEL 1.
46 Jerome mentions that even Bonosus’ closest friend was not with him on the island: »Nullus ibi agrico-
larum, nullus monachorum ne parvulus quidem quem nosti, Onesimus, quo velut fratre minusculo 
fruebatur, in tanta vastitate adhaeret lateri comes.« (Ep. 3.4.2) Cf. Bratož 2000, 110; Gioanni 2013, 101.
447
»You tell me that Bonosus, like a true son of the Fish, has taken to the 
water. As for me, who am still foul with my old stains, like the basilisk and 
the scorpion, I haunt the dry places. Bonosus has his heel already on the 
serpent’s head, while I am still as food to the same serpent which by divine 
appointment devours the earth. He can scale already that ladder of which 
the psalms of degrees are a type; while I, still weeping on its first step, hardly 
know whether I shall ever be able to say: I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, 
from whence comes my help. Amid the threatening billows of the world, he 
is sitting in the safe shelter of his island, that is, of the church’s pale, and it 
may be that even now, like John, he is being called to eat God’s book; while 
I, still lying in the sepulchre of my sins and bound with the chains of my iniq-
uities, wait for the Lord’s command in the Gospel: ›Jerome, come forth.‹ But 
Bonosus has done more than this. Like the prophet Jeremiah, he has carried 
his girdle across the Euphrates (for all the devil’s strength is in the loins) and 
has hidden it there in a hole of the rock.« (Hier., Ep. 7.3)47
Not only was Bonosus described as »a new inhabitant of paradise«, but Jerome 
also went even further, likening him to Jacob (Hier., Ep. 3.4)48 and comparing him 
with Moses (3.4)49 and John (of Patmos) (7.3).50 He further described him as some-
one who surpasses even the Apostles (3.4),51 claiming that Bonosus experiences 
similar visions as John (of Patmos) (3.4).52 In a telling metaphor, he described 
Bonosus as »a son of the Fish« (filius, ἰχθύος), who set out to the solitary island. 
He »has taken to the water« (petere aquosa) (Ep. 7.3), while Jerome, consider-
ing himself too sinful, was still »haunting the dry places« (arentia sectari) (7.3).  
The last testimony of Bonosus in Jerome’s opus is a short passage from Chro-
nicon, written around 380 AD, where Bonosus, Florentinus, and Rufinus are de-
scribed as insignes monachi of the Aquileian circle (Hier., Chron. a. 377).53
47 »Bonosus, ut scribitis, quasi filius ἰχθύος, id est, piscis, aquosa petiit, nos pristina contagione sordentes 
quasi reguli et scorpiones arentia quaeque sectamur. Ille iam calcat super colubri caput, nos serpenti 
terram ex divina sententia comedenti adhuc cibo sumus. Ille iam potest summum graduum psalmum 
scandere, nobis adhuc in primo ascensu flentibus nescio an dicere aliquando contingat: ›Levavi oculos 
meos in montes, unde veniat auxilium mihi‹ (Ps 120,1) Ille inter minaces saeculi fluctus in tuto insulae, 
hoc est, ecclesiae gremio, sedens ad exemplum Iohannis librum forte iam devorat, ego in scelerum 
meorum sepulchro iacens et peccatorum vinculis conligatus dominicum de evangelio exspecto clamo-
rem: ›Hieronyme, veni foras‹. Bonosus, inquam, – quia secundum prophetam omnis diaboli virtus in 
lumbis est – trans Euphraten tulit lumbare suum ibi illud in foramine petrae abscondens.«
48 »Scalam praesagatam Iacob somniante iam scandit.«
49 »Et sacramento Moysi serpentem in heremo suspendit.«
50 »Ille inter minaces saeculi fluctus in tuto insulae, hoc est ecclesiae gremio, sedens, ad exemplum Io-
hannis librum forte iam devorat.«
51 »Videt gloriam dei, quam etiam apostoli nisi in deserto non viderant.«
52 »Et fortasse ad exemplum Iohannis aliquid videt, dum in insula commoratur.«
53 »Florentinus, Bonosus, et Rufinus insignes monachi habentur.« To this passage alludes also Rufinus 
(Apol. c. Hier. 2.28.44).
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448 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 2
4.3 Castricianus
Besides Hilarion and Bonosus, Castricianus, a blind man of Pannonian origins, is the last 
insular hermit in the Adriatic mentioned by name. In Ep. 68, dated to 397 AD, Jerome 
wrote that Castricianus’ journey to Bethlehem with the intention of visiting Jerome 
did not last long. When he reached Cissa, he was convinced by his ,brothers‘ to stay: 
»My reverend son Heraclius the deacon has reported to me that in your 
eagerness to see me you came as far as Cissa, and that, though a Pannonian 
and consequently a land animal, you did not quail before the surges of the 
Adriatic and the dangers of the Aegean and Ionian seas. He tells me that 
you would have actually accomplished your purpose had not our brethren 
with affectionate care held you back. I thank you all the same and regard 
it as kindness shown. For in the case of friends, one must accept the will 
for the deed.« (68.1)54
This passage confirms that there was a community of monks present in Cissa 
around 397 AD. 
5. Conclusion
Insular eremitism in the Adriatic holds a special place in Jerome’s writings. Je-
rome presented it as an ideal that surpasses even the established forms of mo-
nasticism in more traditional desert environments. He openly praised Bonosus’ 
ascetic life on an island (petere aquosa) over the life of those who lived in desert 
places (arentia sectari) (Hier., Ep. 7.3). Considering the high status of the Adriatic 
islands in Jerome’s ideal image of the desert, his propaganda for insulae Dalma-
tiae raises the question about their possible localization. While it is certainly not 
possible to establish their exact location based solely on the figurative descripti-
ons in Jereme’s texts, the above-discussed passages nevertheless provide some 
general indications. 
The toponym Altinum, which according to Jerome’s Ep. 60 was separated from 
the Dalmatian islands only by a strait (fretum) of the sea, can form the basis for 
cautious speculation about their location. Altinum was a Roman town in Venetia-
Histria, located on the border of the West Adriatic lagoons, opposite the Torcello 
island.55 In strictly geographical terms, the first impulse would be to interpret 
Jerome’s phrase quae Altino tantum freto distant as the archipelago along the 
Italian coast right in front of the ancient Roman town. Nevertheless, it would be 
highly improbable for the educated Jerome, who must have been well acquainted 
54 »Sanctus filius meus Heraclius diaconus mihi retulit, quod cupiditate nostri Cissam usque venisses et 
homo Pannonius, id est terrenum animal, non timueris Adriatici maris aestus et Aegei atque lonii subi-
re discrimina et, nisi te pius fratrum retinuisset affectus, voluntatem opere complesses. Habeo itaque 
gratiam et in acceptum refero. In amicis enim non res quaeritur, sed voluntas.«
55 For Altinum see Scarfì and Tombolani 1985. 
449
with the broader region from his time in Aquileia, to count the tiny islands on the 
Italian coast among the insulae Dalmatiae. Moreover, Altinum had a busy port in 
Jerome’s time, which alone would have highly diminished the solitude of hermits 
living on the islands in its immediate vicinity. 
A similar argument can be further used for dismissing the identification of Je-
rome’s ,Dalmatian islands‘ with the islands on the Western coast of Istria, oppo-
site the Italian mainland.56 For this to be true, the Latin word fretum must be read 
as ,a stretch of the sea‘ (a possible alternative to its primary meaning ,strait‘),57 
which corresponds to approximately 100 kilometres of seawater separating the 
Istrian coast from Italy. However, the hypothesis about the islands on the Western 
coast of Istria seems again implausible, for Jerome would hardly confuse this re-
gion, which ecclesiastically and jurisdictionally belonged to Italy, with the Roman 
province of Dalmatia. In that period, the Western borders of Dalmatia followed 
the river Arsia (Raša), running through the Eastern part of Istria, while in turn, the 
whole Western coast was part of Italy.58 It is clear from the famous passage about 
Jerome’s birthplace Stridon in De viris illustribus (125)59 that he was well aware 
of the nearby provincial borders between Pannonia and Dalmatia.60 Considering 
the border between Italy and Dalmatia, we can therefore assume that Jerome, a 
native from the same area, would not ignore the well-known fact that important 
early Christian centres, such as Pola (Pula) and Parentium (Poreč), as well as the 
islands along the coast did not belong to Dalmatia. 
A further argument speaking against the localization of Jerome’s insulae Dalma-
tiae on the Western coast of Istria is their proximity to the economically flourish-
ing, agriculturally well developed, and densely populated coastal region (Bratož 
2014, 403, 406; Matijašić 1998, 334–366), altogether making the whole archipel-
ago highly inadequate for the zealous solitude-seeking ascetics of Jerome’s time. 
If we discard the above hypotheses about the possible semi-anchoritic settlements 
in the Altinum archipelago and the Western Coast of Istria, Jerome’s vague phrase 
quae Altino tantum freto distant could designate the broader Kvarner region further 
to the East,61 from where it was possible to reach the coast of Altinum via direct mari-
time routes with no intermediate stops. This same argument would also apply to the 
56 These possibilities were proposed by Bratož and Suić, who have cautiously identified the ,Dalmatian islan-
ds‘ with the Brioni archipelago north-west of Roman city of Pula (Pola) (Bratož 2000, 112; Suić 1986, 266). 
57 In Latin fretum can mean ,a strait‘, ,sound‘, ,channel‘ as well as (even if used more in poetry) ,the sea‘, 
as suggests Lewis-Short’s Latin Dictionary with given examples: the sea (syn.: mare, oceanus, pelagus, 
pontus). Plur.: »fervet fretis spirantibus aequor«, Verg., Gerog. 1.327: »in freta dum fluvii current.«; Id., 
Aen. 1.607; cf. Ov., Met. 1.36: »pastor cum traheret per freta navibus Idaeis Helenen.«; Hor., Carm. 
1.15.1: »fretis acrior Hadriae.«.
58 Cf. the map of the borderlines between Dalmatia and Italy in Cedilnik 2004, front inner page.
59 »Hieronymus natus patre Eusebio, oppido Stridonis, quod a Gothis eversum Dalmatiae quondam Pan-
noniaque confinium fuit.«
60 For discussion on ubication of Stridon see Bratož 2013, 8–15.
61 For a historical overview of archaeological excavations on Kornati islands and speculation about possi-
ble early monastic locations see: Radić Rossi, Irena, and Tomislav Fabijanić. Arheološka baština Kornata. 
In: Toponimija kornatskog otočja, Vladimir Skračić, ed. Zadar: Sveučilište u Zadru, 2013, 86–87.
Jan Ciglenečki et al. - Blue Deserts
450 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 2
more isolated outer line of islands stretching from southwestern Kvarner (islands Unije, 
Susak, Žirje, Dugi otok etc.) towards Kornati archipelago in the South. On the other 
hand, it seems rather implausible that Jerome’s phrase »a short strait from Altinum« 
(Hier., Ep. 60) would also comprise islands located further south than these regions. 
Apart from the legend of Hilarion that took place in Epidaurus, no other explicit indi-
cation in Jerome points to central parts of Dalmatia.62 
The suggested localization of Jerome’s insulae Dalmatiae in Ep. 60 in the Kvar-
ner region can be further corroborated by the toponym Cissa (Hier., Ep. 68), men-
tioned in the context of Castricianus, who intended to visit Jerome in Bethlehem, 
but was held by brethren with loving care at Cissa. Based on Pliny the Elder’s 
mention of the two islands with the name Cissa in his Naturalis historia,63 scholars 
distinguish between Cissa Pullaria (Istria) and Cissa Liburnica (island Pag). While 
the identification of the latter as island Pag is generally accepted, the question 
of localization of Cissa Pullaria has raised heated debates among scholars (Šonje 
1980–1981, 105; Marušič 1990, 403; Suić 1996, 693; Bratož 2004, 554–556; Škunca 
2011, 333). As far as our present discussion is concerned, however, the main que-
stion is not the exact location of Cissa Pullaria, but foremost the question, which 
of the two islands of Cissa, mentioned in Pliny, the Elder – Cissa Pullaria (Istria) or 
Cissa Liburnica (Kvarner) – Jerome had in mind in Ep. 68.
According to Suić’s theory, the island where Castricianus interrupted his jour-
ney to visit Jerome in Bethlehem is Cissa Pullaria. He derives his conclusions by 
identifying the island Cissa mentioned in Pliny the Elder (3.129) with the Brioni 
archipelago, for which he finds confirmation in Jerome’s account of Castricianus 
(Hier., Ep. 68), who allegedly started his journey from Aquileia. Nevertheless, as 
there is no clue in Jerome that Castricianus indeed set sail from Aquileia, Suić’s 
argument for the identification of Jerome’s toponym Cissa with Brioni islands 
forms a petitio principii. An argument against Suić’s theory is Jerome’s description 
of Castricianus as homo Pannonius (Hier., Ep. 68.1), which would suggest that his 
point of departure was Pannonia and that for him, the shortest route towards 
Adriatic was not via Aquileia, but directly to Tarsatica (Rijeka), Senia (Senj) or any 
other port in broader Kvarner region.64 According to this itinerary, the toponym 
Cissa in Jerome’s Ep. 68 would have necessarily referred to Cissa Liburnica (island 
62 Noteworthy, however, is the argument proposed by Nikolina Uroda (2013, 114) who connects the name 
Ausonius, to whom Jerome entrusts the letter 118, with the inscription from Podstrana near Split, dated 
to the 5th-century AD. The inscription mentions a certain Ausonius (vir spectabilis) and is the only 
evidence for this name in the territory of the Roman province of Dalmatia.
63 »/…/ iuxta Histrorum agrum Cissa, Pullariae et Absyrtides, /…/ iuxta eas Electrides« (3.129) and »Insu-
lae eius sinus cum oppidis /…/ Absortium, Arba, Gissa, Portunata« (3.152).
64 Suić seeks to diminish those drawbacks to his argument by referring to the Gothic invasion which has at 
the time caused an unstable situation on the roads in the Illyricum and could have prevented Castricianus 
from taking the more direct road to Kvarner (Suić 1996, 693, n. 17). This argument is not very convincing 
since the same would be true also regarding the roads leading from Pannonia to Aquileia. Suić seems to 
contradict his own claim that Jerome’s Cissa is the Brioni islands while attempting to undermine Šonje’s 
theory about ,basilica urbana‘ in Cissa in Novalja, arguing that the church might have as well been a 
monastic one. He sees the proof for this argument in Jerome (Suić 1996, 708), thus ironically supporting 
the Šonje’s argument of identification of Jerome’s Cissa with Cissa Liburnica on island Pag.
451
Pag), from where Castricianus could embark on a ship to Salona and continue his 
journey overseas towards Bethlehem (Šonje 1980–1981, 106).
The final point to consider in Jerome’s words quod cupiditate nostri Cissam in 
Ep. 68 is whether the toponym Cissa means the town (modern-day Novalja), which 
was a populated urban area at that time, or it more generally refers to the epony-
mous island Pag (Cissa). As mentioned above, Jerome’s use of the term monasteria 
(Hier., Ep. 60; 118) in the late 4th-century refers to semi-anchoritic colonies rather 
than to coenobitic communities. Thus, it is more probable that the fratres, with 
whom Castricianus stayed in Cissa, were a semi-anchoritic community that de-
liberately moved away from urban centres. In this case, the ambiguous toponym 
Cissa in Ep. 68 would refer to the island rather than to the town. Island Pag (Cissa) 
can arguably be counted among the insulae Dalmatiae, mentioned in Jerome’s 
Ep. 60 as one of the three promised monastic lands. Even if a more precise local-
ization of other Dalmatian islands is not possible based on Jerome’s texts alone, 
Ep. 60 and Ep. 68 at least seem to both point towards the broader Kvarner region. 
Abbreviations
 Apol. c. Hier. – Apologia contra Hieronymum.
 Apol. c. Ruf. – Apologia contra Rufinum.
 Aug., Conf. – Augustinus, Confessiones.
 CCSL – Corpus Christianorum Series Latina.
 Chron. – Chronicon.
 CSEL – Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum.
 Rufin. – Tyrannius Rufinus.
 SC – Sources Chrétiennes.
Sulp. Sev., V. Mart. – Sulpicius Severus, Vita Martini.
 V. Ant. – Vita Antonii.
 V. Hilar. – Vita Hilarionis.
 V. Pauli – Vita Pauli.
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