The vitae I've read (admittedly none later than the early
> > twelfth century) have most saints curing all sorts of odd ailments.
This is my sense as well. I was once warned by Christopher Hohler
against assuming "specialization" of saints before the late middle
ages (by which, i think, he meant the 14th -15th centureis.)
in the material i deal with, date and location are far more
important than specilization - you call on the saint whose feast is
approaching, or whose church you happen to be near.
> Considering the large number of saints who were apparently
> euhemerized gods or at least took over the functions of erstwhile deities, I
> rather doubt that there was a specific date at which saints started becoming
> "specialized." In many cases, they were taking over pre-established
> functions.
many cases, perhaps, but not all. it would be wonderful to
reliable references from an early period to such parallelism
of function.
I wonder, though, how well it would spread. missionaries
presumably work one church at a time - and the saint at that
church would be THE saint in that area. you wouldnt want the
new converts going back to the old gods just because the
local patron saint specialized in toothache rather than
stomach trouble!
Margaret Cormack [log in to unmask]
Dept. of Philosophy and Religion fax: 843-953-6388
College of Charleston tel: 843-953-8033
Charleston, SC 29424-0001
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