medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I can think of two possibilities in Irish materials. The marginal notes to
Fe/lire O/engusso Ce/li De/ (Martyrology of O/enugs the Culdee) as edited by
Whitley Stokes contain a story in which a saint meets up with the Devil. He
is depicted as A beautiful man dressed in noble clothes (Irish law ditated
what could be worn by people of each status, so just by looking at a
person's garments, you had a pretty good idea of their rank). The man wanted
to get into heaven, so the saint suggsted various remedies, such as praying
night and day or fasting. The devil said he'd been doing all the remedies
already. The saint then suggested that the Devil bend down in worship, and
the Devil said this was impossible since his knees could bend only
backwards.
The Book of Kells, completed around 800 CE, contains an image of the Devil
or a demon, completely black, no other color. When one considers how
colorful the pages of the Book of Kells are, to have any image that is
completely one color and, furthermore, completely black, is probably saying
something about the figure.
There are a few facsimile versions of the Book of Kells in print. You'll
want one that includes all the pages since the page with the demon is not
usually included in the collectrions that focus on the more popular pages.
Félire Óengusso céli Dé; the martyrology of Oengus the culdee, Henry
Bradshaw Society 29 (London 1905, repr. Dublin 1984
Francine Nicholson
>From: Shang-Ching Cheng <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [M-R] popular depiction of demons
>Date: Sun, 17 Nov 2002 09:59:25 +0000
>
>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
>Dear Listmembers:
>
>I am an undergraduate doing a senior project on demons. So far, I have
>looked at Aquinas, Anselm, Caesarius of Heisterbach and on the trail of
>Thomas de Cantimpre and am hoping to gather more sources from popular
>culture that depicted demons in unusual ways. Can anyone provide me some
>insight and ideas? I would prefer sources in English, since my Latin
>skills are not yet strong enough to skim manuscripts.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Shang-Ching Cheng
>
>**********************************************************************
>To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
>to: [log in to unmask]
>To send a message to the list, address it to:
>[log in to unmask]
>To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
>to: [log in to unmask]
>In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
>[log in to unmask]
>For further information, visit our web site:
>http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
_________________________________________________________________
Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online
http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|