ABSTRACT
The chapter shows how asceticism and chastity repeatedly come into view in connection with certain families: celibacy was, indeed, hereditary and formed an important part of the family heritage for some elite kin groups. It analyzes the immaterial benefits of asceticism for individuals and the family group. The reputation of the ascetics spread throughout Christendom and an ascetic in the family would further contribute to the family status and to the perpetuation of the memory of the whole kin group and its members. The search for welfare, public honours, wealth, power and temporal glory lead to the attempt to leave an enduring memory of oneself. Memory as a means of achieving immortality was an important way of understanding ones continuity in Late Antiquity. Jerome is a good example of a Christian writer who underscored the importance of memory for an individual to achieve earthly renown and continuity.
