medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
lrna wahlgren <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>...Nicholas sends him an Irish knife, 'cultellum Hiberniticum', with a
magical handle...This handle is said to have been fashioned from a tree
planted by a saint and to have the magical property of averting poison.
...Any Celtic scholars out there who could help?
i'm sure that there are, but i'm surely not one of them.
a couple of thoughts did occur, not necessarily related to your problem.
there's the account of a somewhat "magical" knife in the Life of (i believe)
St. Columba (from a misty memory): the saint is busy writing in his cell when
a fellow comes to the door and asks him to "Bless this object i have in my
hand, Father."
Without looking up from his work, The Man of God does so, and the guy goes
away.
a fellow monk nearby is somewhat shocked, and asks the Saint if he realises
what it was that he had just blessed.
The Man of God says that he doesn't.
"It was a knife," says the brother.
i forget the Saint's response, but the fellow with the knife discovers that
the cow he wanted to kill can't be killed with this now-Blessed Knife, which
has been rendered harmless for any such destructive purpose.
perhaps there's more to be found on this "magic knife" motief in
folklore/hagiography.
certainly the motief of objects made from wood from trees planted or
associated with "Saints" can be found elsewhere, i should think
(Stith-Thompson?).
not really related, but one of the more interesting uses of knives i've come
across is their presence in --and sometimes *attached to*-- charters recording
gifts to ecclesiatical institutions in the 11th-13th cc.
in the closing sections of quite a few charters, something like: "And X placed
this gift [the charter] on the altar of the church, together with a knife [or,
sometimes, a "baton"], in the presence of these witnesses..."
there survive(d) at least one example of a knife attached to a charter, a
color lithograph of which was published by the Chartraine archiviste Lucien
Merlet in the Memoires of the local archeological society in the 1870s or so.
quite a nice knife it was too, with a large, thick blade and handle (of wood
or bone, i couldn't tell) to match.
i've never understood, exactly (or even approximately), what the significance
of the knife was --some kind of symbolic stand-in for the gift?
or was there a more complex, "magical" significance?
anyone have a clue?
>Did the Italians already have a bit of a reputation?
probably.
certainly more than likely.
best from here,
christopher
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