medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Having recently visited the cathedral of Tijuana,
Mexico, I can attest to the fact that what may seem to
us quaint medieval spirituality is in fact alive and
well and part of the fabric of the lives of millions
in the Americas - and elsewhere, I'm sure.
MG
> Why shouldn't medieval people have believed in
> miracles? They still happen.
>
> No, I don't mean in a religious way (although many
> religious people
> still go to Lourdes etc). Remember the etymology,
> from
> "mirari"(colloquially to go Wow! How amazing!).
> The majority of
> miracles that were recorded at shrines and
> pilgrimage spots were
> generally events that still occur. Today people
> tend to look for
> "scientific" explanations to explain why people make
> sudden
> recoveries from illnesses, or see visions, or hear
> voices no one else
> hears. My point is that we, just like medieval
> people, seek to
> explain events that are not commonplace and seem
> strange. There are
> lots of such events that still happen.
>
> The big difference is the way moderns go about
> explaining it. And
> our own manner of explaining is just as much of an
> historical
> construct of course (as this list has already
> noted). Scientific
> methods of identifying and treating schizophrenia
> (to make an
> example) in the West appear to be *less* successful
> than "primitive"
> methods used by (modern-day) societies who believe,
> and treat, this
> "disease" as demonic possession. My point is not
> that this is
> demonic possession, but rather that if we apply
> skepticism to the
> methods we ourselves use to explain our world, there
> are still
> holes... yet we still believe in science and reason
> and all those
> sorts of things.
>
> I raise all of this because there is a frustrating
> tendency
> (especially in students, but "professionals" lapse
> into it too) to
> assume that because medieval people had a different
> conceptual
> framework then we do that they were making mistakes.
> They *ought* to
> have been more critical of the aspects of their
> society that we take
> issue with.
>
> You see this across the board -- people who want to
> see Christine de
> Pizan as a modern feminist, others who want to see
> Cola di Rienzo as
> possessing a proto-marxian class-consciousness, and
> also those who
> want medieval people to doubt the validity of divine
> miracles.
>
> As Chris pointed out, medieval people were perfectly
> aware (at least
> some were) that there was the potential for
> falsification of
> miracles. Why else have an avocatus diaboli in 13th
> c.
> investigations potential saints?
>
> Before we take a superior attitude to medieval
> belief, we should ask
> ourselves how many people today check their
> horoscope, have lucky
> numbers for the lottery, etc...?
>
> It's a human trait, I think.
> --
> Nicole Morgan Schulman
> <[log in to unmask]>
>
>
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