Il travestimento delle fanciulle tra topos e ribellione: il caso di Papula (Greg. Tur. Gloria confessorum, 16).

The article delves into the brief biography of Papula, a young ascetic known exclusively from Gregory of Tours' Liber in gloria confessorum. Papula's profile proves functional in understanding the construction of female identity and its portrayal in 6th-century Gaul. Moreover, it offers insights into the evolution of female models during late antiquity. To pursue her religious calling, Papula disguises herself as a man, leaves her family home, and retreats to a monastery within the diocese of Tours. She lives there as a monk until shortly before her death. This brief biography provides a perspective on cross-dressing, a practice that occupies a notable niche in the history of Early Christianity.