medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear All,
I'm appending my message to this one since I can't seem to send with the
address I have in my address book, included below. If anyone sees anything
wrong in the address, please let me know:
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Altars of the poor
From: <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, October 17, 2003 3:43 am
To: "medieval religion" <[log in to unmask]>
I'm currently reading a novel by Zola (anti-clerical to the core but
scrupulously "true to life") in which a couple get married at an "altar
of the poor," the high altar being reserved for the rich and famous.
Could anyone tell me how old this practice is and how it even began to
square with the teachings of the Church? It may have been a practice
that was technically forbidden but done nonetheless by wayward clerics
here and there. Zola's priest also charges the couple for the nuptial
mass, another no-no, and the groom and the priest haggle over the price.
But the phrase, "altar of the poor," somehow rings true. To anyone's
knowledge, was this a medieval practice?
Thanks,
MG
-----------------------------------------
This email was sent using FREE Catholic Online Webmail.
http://webmail.catholic.org/
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture
>
> On Thu, 16 Oct 2003 13:08:07 -0700
> Phyllis wrote:
>
>>Today (16. October) is the feast day of:
>
>>Gall (d. c. 645) ...
>>became a hermit at the site where the great monastery of St. Gall was
>> later founded. A very attractive legend tells that Gall saved the
>> neighborhood from the ravages of a bear, making an agreement that the
>> beast would be fed gingerbread daily (or maybe just bread in the
>> original version) and would in return perform household chores like
>> carrying wood.
>>
>
> There is a similar legend in the Life of the eponym of San Marino, St.
> Marinus the Dalmatian. But here's it's not so much an agreement as a
> punishment of labor service imposed upon the beast who had killed M.'s
> mule. Causing savage animals to become submissive is a topos in saint's
> lives. Is there a good discursive treatment of it?
>
> St. Marinus and his bear were represented a few years ago on one of San
> Marino's postage stamps. See http://www.aasfn.sm/previous97/ef3i.htm
> (the bear -- yes, that's what the brown lump is supposed to be -- is in
> the stamp reproduced on the left).
>
> Best,
> John Dillon
>
> **********************************************************************
> 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
-----------------------------------------
This email was sent using FREE Catholic Online Webmail.
http://webmail.catholic.org/
**********************************************************************
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
|