medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I think, they wanted to prevent the - as some people believed -
"sacred" water from misuse. There are many stories about the water
some saints touched and then had healing power. And there are hints,
as somewhere in the works of Gerald of Wales, that some servants were
not so saintly and made a business of it. To practise magic with
things around the sacrament was a temptation for every centuries and
every regions in the Middle Ages; at least it was feared by clergymen.
yours
b.k.
vienna
Am 13. Mär.2007 um 20:10 Uhr schrieb George H. Brown:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture
>
> There seems to be some confusion about the function of the piscina.
> I always understood the need for the piscine to be not for the
> water from the washing of the priest's hands at the
> "lavabo" (they're not THAT sacred), but for the cleansing of the
> chalice (and ciborium) which held the sacred species (even if the
> chalice is rinsed once and the water from it drunk after communion)
> and the cleansing of the priest's or deacon's hands after touching
> the hosts. Most Catholic churches, including cathedrals,have only
> one such sink for the priests or sacristan to use. Even though
> Ockham as a priest used another basin for his shaving razor, I
> don't see any need to multiply piscinae unnecessarily. We should,
> however, check the medieval regulations.
>
> GHB
>
>
>> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
>> culture
>>
>>>>
>>>> A portable altar? Temporary altars, and nave altars? There
>>>> are plenty
>>>> of places in churches where we can be confident that there were
>>>> altars,
>>>> but no trace of a piscina can now be found. I agree that some
>>>> sort of
>>>> arrangement must have been made, but we cannot be certain what was
>>>> actually done.
>>>
>>> Surely a bowl and a jug/pitcher of water on a table beside the
>>> altar
>>> would answer the need.
>>
>> It is the drain that is the main problem - and was obviously seen as
>> essential, as so much effort went into providing a permanent piscina.
>>
>> John Briggs
>>
>>
>> Yes, but was the used water considered sacred in any way?
>> Piscinas drain
>> into the ground. Surely the water from a bowl could be carefully
>> poured
>> into the churchyard?
>>
>> I suppose I am approaching this problem in an entirely practical/
>> housewifely
>> way. A fixed washbasin with a drain is far more convenient than a
>> bowl that
>> has to be carried away and emptied, but the latter is not to be
>> despised if
>> needed.
>>
>> If the nave altar in our church is where I think it would have
>> been, no way
>> could there have been a piscina, unless the Priest was willing to
>> walk to a
>> side chapel to wash his hands.
>>
>> Anne
>>
>> *********************************************************************
>> *
>> 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
>
>
> --
> George Hardin Brown, Professor of English Emeritus
> Department of English, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2087
> Home: 451 Adobe Place, Palo Alto, CA 94306-4501
> Phones: Mobile: 650-269-9898; Fax: 650-725-0755; Home: 650-852-1231
>
> **********************************************************************
> 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
>
**********************************************************************
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
|