medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
that tears it.
two well throwing-downs in one day is one too many, so i can't resist.
Phyllis Jestice <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Florus, Laurus, Proculus, and Maximus.... The local authorities did not
approve, and threw all four down a dry well.
>Hugh of Lincoln (Little).... was a nine-year-old boy who was murdered and
thrown down a well.
whence commeth this curious custom ?
throwing down a well could be a particularly painful and lengthy form of
execution, i suppose (and one well suited for a would-be martyr) ; and it
could serve to hide the body of an already martyred martyr.
but it also had the effect of poisoning the well (provided it were not a "dry"
one), and this *could* have been a motive behind the insidious Jews of
Lincoln's act --but, doing that to a well currently in use would blow the
cover on one's Evil Deed, if the thought was to hide the body.
"Eh, Bill, this water taste a bit dodgey to you, or what?"
"Yep, it must be some more of that Ritual Murdering goings on by
you-know-who."
etc.
i'm put in mind of the "Puits des Saints Fort(s?)" [now] in the crypt of
Chartres cathedral, which got its name following the sack of the city by the
Norsemen in the 9th c., when they made a few martyrs and threw them down a
[pre-existing] well in the church.
perversely, the effect of that was, not to poison the well, but rather to
sanctify the water and make it into a holy pilgrimage site.
seems like there's more to this well-throwing-down business than meets the
eye, at first glance.
best to all from here,
christopher
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