The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Blaesilla
d. AD 384 · Roman widow · Disciple of Jerome · Rome
The Nicene Age
Who Blaesilla was
The young widowed daughter of Jerome's patron Paula, whose abrupt turn to a severe asceticism under Jerome's direction — and whose death months later at twenty — set Roman tongues blaming his rigor, the funeral crowd murmuring against the monks. Jerome's Epistles 38 and 39, half grief and half self-defense, are the record, and helped drive him from the city.
Jerome's letters alone (Epp. 38–39).
Also listed in women.
Common questions
When did Blaesilla die?
Blaesilla is dated d. AD 384 in the archive, which places Blaesilla in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Blaesilla?
Blaesilla is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Jerome. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Blaesilla from?
The archive associates Blaesilla with Rome.
Who were Blaesilla’s contemporaries?
The archive links Blaesilla to 3 other figures, including Jerome of Stridon, Fabiola and Saint Lea. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Letter 39, To Paula (on the death of Blæsilla)
c. AD 393No page will I write in which Blæsilla's name shall not occur. Wherever the records of my utterance shall find their way, thither she, too, will travel with my poor writings.Jerome · 39 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Blaesilla.
- 1Rome