medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Chris (and Gyorgy)
Your comments are of course relevant, but my problem has so specific
features that it stands out from the general attitude to death. The prayer
to the Virgin Mary 'Obsecro te sancta Maria mater Dei' has a clear
distinction between the wish to know the day and hour of the death (here
and now in actual life) and the subsequent plea for her interference for
salvation on the ultimate day. Two different and separate events. Gyorgy
Gereby has a point in bringing Mark 13,32-37 into consideration. The
'Vigilate' is, however, excusively about the coming of the ultimate day and
not about timely death. I am not a theologian, but it would not surprise me
if the Carmelites had mingled the passage to fit all purposes.
My working hypothesis is that the concept originated sometime around 1350
and was spread from the papal court in Avignon shortly after by way of an
indulgence.
It did not play any major role in England, but ended there in 1502 in a
printed Book of Hours in a completely corrupted rubric mixing all the
elements together and placed before an entirely irrelevant prayer in this
connection:
"Quicunque hanc orationem sequentem devote quotidie dixerit, genibus flexis
(!), non morietur sine confessione: nullus hostis visibilis neque
invisibilis ei nocere potest illa die: et gloriosissimam virginem Mariam
videbit ante diem exitus sui in adjutorium sibi." (cf. Hoskins: Sarum and
York Primers p.123).
Is the expressed common fear of sudden death (mors subitanea) not a
relatively late phenomenon, mainly playing a prominent role in the
generation following the black death and the understandable panic it
provoked?
The German 'Totentanz' originated in 1350 and the first artistic expression
of real horror that comes to mind is the Camposanto in Pisa (Triumph of
Death).
Earlier representations of the horror of death were always connected with
Hell and the Last Judgment and not the actual timely death of individuals.
Best
Erik
At 10:53 +0100 11/02/03, Chris Daniell wrote:
>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
>As far as I can gather from my reading it is commonplace for saints and
>other holy people to know the time of their impending death and so be able
>to prepare for it thoroughly. This certainly occurs in Anglo-Saxon
>literature (for example St Cuthbert) though the foreknowledge does not give
>a precise time, rather along the lines of 'he knew he was about to die ...'
>A variation on this something happens just before death (having been in a
>coma the saint speaks just before death etc). This is of course different
>from your average person knowing when they were going to die.
>
>The alternative to this is that sudden death (without preparation) is seen
>as very bad.
>
>Foreknowledge and sudden death occur very frequently in literature (I have
>written about this is 'Death and Burial in Medieval England 1066-1550). One
>aside is that from a literary perspective some deaths (virtually all
>sudden) denote an evil person (drowning, being struck by lightning ...)
>whilst good people have foreknowledge and preparation time.
>
>Chris Daniell
_____________________________________________________________________
Mag.art. Erik Drigsdahl CHD Center for Haandskriftstudier i Danmark
Kapelvej 25B 3.tv Phone: +45 +35 37 20 47
DK-2200 Copenhagen N Email: <[log in to unmask]>
DENMARK http://www.chd.dk
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