medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: John Dillon <[log in to unmask]>
> Naming after a saint in the Middle Ages and, for many, even today
brought/brings about a _personal_ association between the one being
named and the saint(s?) of her/his name, to whom the now named one could
in future turn for intercession and, _deo volente_, perhaps even a
timely miracle or two. Lenin and other "secular saints" are not, as far
as I know, usually understood to function for their devotees in quite
the same way.
presumably Professor Prozorov would know a bit more about this particular cult
than you or i, but, while i'm not sure about "intercession", the idea that
there was a hoped-for "_personal_ association between the one being named and
the saint(s?) of her/his name" isn't so far-fetched, is it?
a parent names his son after a Hero, surely with the hope (at least) that the
kid will grow up emulating the Hero's Heroic Deeds, thereby gaining Heaven, or
the Hero of the Soviet Union medal or whatever is most valued by the society
he's in.
> Without wishing to get into their relative degrees of closeness to
secular sainthood, I might add that another modern falling into this
category is Karl Marx.
can't really hold a candle to the Lenin Cult, can it.
well, it can now, perhaps, but not in the latter's hayday.
i can't think of anything approaching that Lenin Cult in modren times:
-- a tomb, purpose built in the most Dramatic and Up-To-Date style,
stratigically placed as part of a pre-existing Power Center/Holy Site ;
http://www.africaninspace.com/home/gallery/russia/16.shtml
http://www.goamcan.com/photos/dscn2832.html
http://mwebster.com/Russia/Moscow/Moscow%20-%20Large%20Image%20-%20View%20of%20Kremlin%20and%20Lenin's%20tomb.htm
-- houses the "incorruptable" [yeahrite] body of the Saint, which is visible
through a partially glass coffin ;
http://www.engr.uiuc.edu/international-StudentExperience/RussiaExperience/Alexander_Russia_SU02/Russia/Lenins_Tomb.htm
http://www.thisisthelife.com/photos/experiences/large/lenins-tomb.jpg
-- is the Object of a Great Pilgrimage, bringing pilgrims from all over
Lenindom, far and wide, who stand in line for hours and hours to get a chance
to approach and view the Precious Relics ;
http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~powellm/lenin2.gif
-- witnessing the liturgically-orchistrated "Changing of the Guard"
periodically ;
(no picture of that that i can find at the moment.)
-- presumably buying appropriate Pilgrims' Souvenirs before they leave the
site ;
(nor of those)
-- the sale of which is strictly controlled by the Mother Church (which also
makes a few bob off of selling them) ;
-- other, minor sites commemorating various moments in the Holy Man's life are
also the object of more modest Pilgrimage for the less well endowed (or
geographically fortunate) Faithful (i've only seen pictures of his "study",
which is kept "just as he left it", but assume that there are/were others) ;
http://www.destinationrussia.com/htm/ctgspbsmolny1f.htm
-- the Holy Man's Works are kept in print _in perpetuum_ (with an *Idealized*
Author Portrait frontispiece in each and every volume), and widely studied in
all the monastic centers of the land, a thorough knowledge of them being
requisite for anyone who wishes to join the Hierarchy ruling the country
founded by the Holy Man ;
>I observed this years ago when the Foreign Students Office (Akademisches
Auslandsamt) of the University of Heidelberg sponsored a bus trip to Trier and
when, upon our arrival, most of my fellow passengers headed off immediately
for the Karl-Marx-Haus
a.k.a. John Baptist to Lenin's Jesus.
alas, it's now closed for "restoration"
http://redaktion.trier.de/praefectus/trier?set_tourismushttp://www.trier.de/tourismus/sehenswertes/marx.htm
while I, poor sod, visited the famous Roman sites and
> And, of course, it houses the Holy Tunic:
>
http://www.dominformation.de/internet-de/servlet/broker_uMen,d1b703d2-c3da-26f5-4abd-11d8bc1d2b31,ts.html
> Boarding the bus for the return trip, I asked a couple of Danes who had
been eager to see the Karl-Marx-Haus how their pilgrimage to the holy
place had gone. That seemed to be a new thought for them.
the most telling sign of The True Believer.
True Belief is never Conscious.
best,
c
**********************************************************************
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
|