Whispers of Knowledge: notes on the “other side” of knowledge production and dissemination in early Christianity

Abstract

This article proposes an overview of the role of women in the production, transmission, and reception of knowledge during the first three centuries of Christianity. Challenging scholarship that frames early Christianity as a “golden age” of women’s emancipation, my research shows that women’s engagement with knowledge formed a parallel, often concealed and underground network of learning and teaching across the first three centuries. Drawing on literary, epigraphic, and material sources, the study examines female figures such as Priscilla, Grapte, Marcellina, and the prophetesses of the New Prophecy. It highlights how women taught primarily within domestic or female-only contexts, yet occasionally transgressed gendered boundaries by teaching men and authoring theological texts. The article also considers women’s roles as patrons, copyists, and intellectual interlocutors in Christian communities. By reconstructing these fragmented traces, the study reveals that early Christian women contributed significantly to the shaping and dissemination of theological and philosophical knowledge, despite patriarchal constraints that sought to marginalize their voices. Ultimately, it argues for recognizing women’s intellectual agency as integral to the broader history of Christian thought.