medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
<As a matter of personal interest, how were (overheated discussions dealt
<with in monastic houses in the late middle ages?
Well, there is an odd piece of early medieval commentary on this matter: In
Pope Gregory I's Life of Benedict, the young monk Maurus is ordered by
Benedict to rescue another young monk, Placid, who has fallen into a lake.
Maurus obeys so quickly that he runs over the waves, rescues Placid and
returns to dry land before he knows he has gone anywhere. Immediately
following that, Gregory has Benedict and Maurus dispute over who was
responsible for the rescue: Benedict insists that it was due to Maurus'
obedience. Maurus insists it was Benedict's miraculous powers.
In an early 9th century commentary on this text, the Carolingian abbot,
Smaragdus says that this story shows that it is possible to engage one's
abbot in "friendly disagreement"-- but only outside the monastery! (The
discussion took place on the shore of the lake).
jw
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