medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Jessalyn Bird, via [log in to unmask] wrote:
>I became so fascinated in the topic that I'm now writing an article on it.
ahhhh, an Expert.
Good-O.
my interest (and, to a certain extent, also Jim's, i believe) in this question
is partially connected to the Great Walkabout which The
relic(s?) of Chartres cathedral (the _Sancta Camesia_, Virgin's Nativity
shift) was taken on shortly after the 1194 fire, in order to raise money for
the construction of the new (and present) cathedral building.
it seems that the Holy Shirt (presumably inside its spectacular reliquary) was
carried (or driven?) all around Northern France and, i believe, to England as
well.
such "Voyages" for various purposes (usually to raise money) were by no means
unusual, it seems, and Pierre Héliot & Marie-Laure Chastang did a pretty good
job of collecting evidence of well more than a dozen instances of the
phenomenon ("Quêtes et voyages de reliques au profit des églises françaises
du moyen âge..." Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique, vol. LIX, 1964, pp.
789-822; vol. LX, 1965, pp. 5-32).
there is also a more recent --though somewhat collateral-- and in-depth
discussion of several of these matters in the very erudite work of Gabriela
Signori, _Maria zwischen Kathedrale, Kloster und Welt: hagiographische un
historiographische Annäherungen an eine hochmittelalterliche Wunderpredigt._
(Sigmaringen: Jan Thorbecke, 1995. 336pp., maps).
(though slogging through the latter is rather tough going for someone whose
never-really-extant command of German has grown more than somewhat rusty over
the intervening decades. i've got a couple of chapters of this rather scarce
book in digital form and would give them a "fair use" sharing if contacted
off-list.)
Signori's Bibliography appears quite exhaustive, but i'd be interested to hear
of other significant primary or secondary works on the subject.
>fund-raising preachers labelled as "quaestores" by reformers from Peter
the Chanter's circle
might you share references to the sources, Jessalyn?
it would seem that these practices must have had something of a history, if
they were so out of hand by the later 12th c. that they required "reforming"
and rather drastic regulation (?)
Heliot & Chastang trace the earliest documented ones back to the tenth
century, i believe; though apparently things didn't really Take Off till the
eleventh.
at least, from the *surviving* accounts.
>they would promise anything to obtain offerings from the faithful...
i'd be particularly interested to hear of any texts which, in addition to
whatever "spiritual benefits" might have been involved, speak of *material
objects* (e.g., any sort of tokens or "souvenirs") having been given in
exchange for Donations.
interesting topic.
like to hear more.
best to all from here,
christopher
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