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Subject: TMR 08.04.26 Goodich, Miracles and Wonders (Cooper-Rompato)
Goodich, Michael. <i>Miracles and Wonders: The Development of the
Concept of Miracle, 1150-1350</i>. Aldershot, UK and Burlington,
Vermont: Ashgate Publishing, 2007. Pp. xii, 148. $99.95. ISBN: 978-0-
7546-7875-7.
Reviewed by Christine F. Cooper-Rompato
Utah State University
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Goodich's <i>Miracles and Wonders</i>, appearing in the Ashgate series
<i>Church, Faith and Culture in the Medieval West</i>, explores the
increasingly strict guidelines applied to miracle accounts in
canonization investigations during the period 1150-1350. The desire on
the part of the church to ensure the accuracy and credibility of
miracle accounts developed in response to disbelief voiced by
skeptics, heretics, and non-believers. Goodich sets up the fourfold
aims of the book in the conclusion: first, "to explore the
relationship between reason and revelation in the medieval
understanding of miracles"; second, "to link the desire to provide a
more rational foundation to the Christian belief in miracles with the
rise of heresy and other forms of disbelief"; third, "to compare and
contrast 'popular' and learned understanding of the miraculous," and
fourth, "to trace the application of the rules of evidence in the
examination of miracles in the central Middle Ages" (117). This
fascinating and provocative study draws on rich source material and
will be of great interest to many.
The book opens with a heartfelt preface by Gary Dickson entitled
"Appreciating Michael Goodich," who passed away in 2006. Chapter one
("Introduction") introduces a number of themes that are developed in
the study and explores the historical value of miracle accounts. The
details included in accounts, Goodich suggests, "may assist us in
recapturing the voices of otherwise inarticulate folk" (4), an effort
that he acknowledges is problematic because of the many different
voices present in miracle accounts, as well as the way in which
miracles conform to expectations that "may rob any particular case of
its credibility" (6). He then raises a number of important questions
about miracle accounts, some of which he promises to address in the
book but which left this reader wanting a fuller discussion of all the
questions.
Chapter two, "<i>Signa data infidelibus non fidelibus</i>: The
Theology of Miracle," ambitiously attempts to set forth the
understanding and theology of the miracle throughout the Middle Ages.
It discusses the preoccupations of medieval scholars with classifying
miracles and explores their attempts to distinguish divine miracles
from demonic or magical occurrences that merely appeared miraculous.
Goodich analyzes in some detail the influential approaches of
Augustine and Aquinas toward the miracle, summing it up quite
succinctly by declaring that "compared to Augustine, Aquinas preferred
to view the miracle not as an acceleration of nature, but rather as
the suspension of nature's normal processes" (21). Goodich emphasizes
the important role of the miracle in combating heresy, and the impulse
to authenticate the miracle so that its veracity was unquestionable.
He argues that by the early fourteenth century, "a theoretical
foundation had thus been amassed which could guide the notary and
hagiographer in the credible presentation of the miracle. All of the
commissions appointed by Rome to investigate miracles employed
distinguished theologians who were familiar with scholastic
arguments.[...] The introduction of Aristotelian sources to the
schools in the mid-thirteenth century enabled the application of the
premises of natural philosophy to the attempt to limit the number of
phenomena regarded as miraculous..." with the effect that "[t]he
systematic analysis of the miracle by scholastic theology enhanced the
credibility of the Christian miracle in the face of continuing doubts
voice by non-believers, heretics and wavering Christians" (26).
Chapter Three, "The Miracle in Contemporary Sermons," argues that
beginning in the thirteenth-century sermon literature produced by
high-ranking ecclesiastical figures deemphasized the miracle account
in order to focus on the virtues of the saints as models for the
audience. Goodich examines the sermons of "spokesmen" of the church
including Odo of Châteauroux, cardinal bishop of Tusculum and
chancellor of the University of Paris, and Pope Clement VI, and
concludes, "In sum, while the performance of the miracle remained one
of the principle achievements of the saint, the learned preacher
preferred to stress virtues and acts of charity and to use the life of
the saint as a means of encouraging the believers to penance" (45).
While it offers an intriguing argument, this chapter has several
problems and raises a number of unanswered questions. Goodich claims,
"The often blatant absence of references to miracles...indicates the
clear desire to encourage believers to think more about the exemplary
quality of the saint than about his alleged supernatural powers, which
critics such as Guibert of Nogent, Erasmus, Thomas More and others,
not to speak of heretics and nonbelievers, regarded with skepticism or
even disdain" (31). To make his point more convincingly, Goodich would
need to have included more contemporary criticism of miracles, rather
than referring to More and Erasmus. Goodich also claims that "the
temptation to report undocumented, questionable miracles, and thus do
scandalous damage to the church, required a reasoned treatment of the
nature of the true miracle" (36). How damaging was the undocumented
miracle to the church in the central Middle Ages? More evidence of
particular discredited miracles and their damage would be helpful.
Lastly, Goodich mentions that at least 60,000 sermons survive from
this 1150-1350. Of course it would be a life-long work to characterize
the attention paid to the miraculous in all of these, but I am not
entirely convinced that the sermons in this chapter are representative
of those produced by other church spokesmen. This particular chapter
therefore could have been developed as a book on its own, and I
anticipate the questions raised therein will generate much discussion.
The following three chapters are perhaps the strongest of the book,
with their provocative arguments and wealth of source material and
detail. The exciting fourth chapter, "'Popular' Voices of Doubt,"
explores the ways in which doubt (of Jews, nonbelievers, heretics,
skeptics, and blasphemers) encouraged those conducting canonization
investigations to be more rigorous in applying uniform standards to
the recorded miracle. Goodich pays much attention to the important
role of doubt in the miracle itself and cites many examples in which
doubters are punished with divine vengeance. He argues that these are
not just examples to bolster the saint's fame or prove his/her
efficacy; rather they illustrate the important role of doubt in the
community and were regarded as an effective tool against heresy and
disbelief in general, for "[m]edieval hagiography fulfilled a
propagandistic role against heretical doctrine and all available media
were harnessed to this end" (51).
In this chapter Goodich classifies and explores several different
kinds of doubt or "blasphemy" in the miracle accounts. Blasphemy could
arise from political opposition, as well as in response to suspicion
of clerics who profited from miracles or invented false ones. Goodich
also notes that heretical views such as those of the Waldensians
"found occasional echo in hagiographical reports of blasphemy" (64).
His last section, "Divine Vengeance," explores how blasphemous acts,
including theft from pilgrims or failure to confess before approaching
a relic, are punished by divine vengeance, which Goodich links in part
to a kind of "local patriotism which informed every shrine" (65). The
blasphemer of miracles becomes a threat to social unity, and the
vengeance miracle demonstrates a desire to control that threat and to
reintegrate that person into the community.
Chapter Five, "Theory and Public Policy: Canonization Records," picks
up the argument that beginning in the thirteenth century the church
stressed the virtuous life of the saint over his/her miracles. At the
same time, Goodich argues, the popular focus on miracles was not
diminished. Since saints' lives were effective means for combating
heresy, the church recognized that there was a need to apply the
highest standards of proof to the alleged miracle, especially since
Satan could perform what looked like a miraculous act, or the
uneducated could mistakenly interpret something non-miraculous as
miraculous. The canonization process therefore adopted the
"inquisitorial method of inquiry" and relied on credible witnesses who
testified before qualified judges (70).
Goodich offers the case of Elizabeth of Thuringia (d. 1231) as an
example of the stricter regulations applied to testimonies in
canonization investigations. According to Goodich, hers is "the first
dossier in which we can judge the standards employed to determine the
reliability of reports of miracles" (72), and the first case in which
we can compare several witnesses' testimonies attesting to the same
miracle, for the notaries recorded the degree to which witnesses'
testimony agreed or disagreed. That "raw testimony" can then be
compared with the papal bull and subsequent biographies, to appreciate
what standards were in place. Goodich also claims that Elizabeth's
case is the first that "explicitly indicates the impact of Augustinian
theology and early scholastic thought on the definition of the
miracle" (74). I believe that more discussion of the role of the
candidate's gender in relation to perceived doubt would have been
helpful in this chapter.
In this chapter Goodich also briefly discusses Phillip of Bourges,
Louis IX of France, Pope Celestine V, and Thomas of Hereford, and how
their cases demonstrate concern about the degree of agreement among
witnesses. Although Hereford is not discussed in great detail, Goodich
argues, "this document concerning Thomas of Hereford, and the others
that preceded it, indicate that curial officials were very much
concerned to ensure that only those miracles which conformed to the
highest standards of verifiability were accepted. Although few
internal records survive, they all indicate that genuine efforts were
made to integrate the rules of evidence taken from Roman law into the
inquisitorial procedures developed in the early thirteenth century...
The foundation of this conscientious enterprise was undoubtedly the
fear that heretics, Jews, and skeptics--some of whom appear in
contemporary saints' lives--could easily put the faith to ridicule and
scorn should unreliable cases of supernatural intervention be
authorized by the church" (85). Although I remain not entirely
convinced about the central role that doubt played on the articulation
of miracle accounts, I do anticipate Goodich's argument will inspire
much scholarly conversation.
Chapter Six, "Canonization and the Hagiographical Text," is quite
exciting as it offers two different kinds of case studies in order to
demonstrate the developing stricter standards for miracle accounts
included in canonization bulls. Beginning in the thirteenth century,
those officials in charge of determining authenticity of miracles in
canonization cases were instructed to ask witnesses a list of
questions that "reduces the miracle to a series of over 30 elements
which will guarantee its reliability, authenticity, and credibility in
accordance with the standards of contemporary theology, philosophy,
and canon law" (88). Goodrich's first case study analyzes a miracle
account from Urban IV's canonization bull of Richard of Chichester
concerning a child crushed by a wheel of a runaway cart. Goodich
breaks down the account in relation to the 30 questions or elements,
including such categories as, "If said miracles occurred above
[<i>supra</i>] or against [<i>contra</i>] nature" and "If...faith or
devotion had grown among those persons at whose invocation or petition
said miracles had occurred" (90); he concludes that the account fits
nearly all the requirements.
The second case study, "A Hagiographical Topos: The Child Rescued from
Drowning," examines a number of thirteenth-century accounts of
children who drowned and then were miraculously revived. The details
of these accounts increase "as the church became more bureaucratized
and the standards for achieving canonization became more stringent"
(94). Goodich points out many fruitful avenues for further study
offered by these miracles, including notions about childhood and
peasant understandings of time. While the examples are fascinating,
the chapter did leave several questions unanswered. There does appear
to be substantial evidence to prove that a great number of miracles
related to dangers of childhood were recorded in the central to late
Middle Ages. Why do the miracles involving children increase so
dramatically during this period, and how is this increase related to
the sharpened scrutiny of miracles insisted upon by canonization
investigators? Were there generally more witnesses to children's
deaths, or were children's deaths more easily verifiable? Once again,
this chapter could have been developed into a much longer study.
The final chapter, "<i>Vidi in Somnium</i>: The Uses of Dream and
Vision in the Miracle," argues that because dreams and visions could
not be "proved" in way that other miracles could be, they were
generally not included in papal bulls of canonization. They were,
however, extremely popular miracles and represent a large body of
miracles discussed during canonization processes. Goodich explores the
many ways in which dreams and visions appear in the accounts. Most
interesting are his accounts of papal dreams, those dreams or visions
that help to convince a pope to canonize a particular holy person. He
suggests, "despite the growing attempt to base belief in the
miraculous in rational foundations, even the pope might chasten his
learned legalism with a cautious belief in the providential role of
the dream and vision" (105). An example of this is Innocent III, who
was allegedly persuaded to announce the canonizations of two saints
after receiving a prophetic dream. Dreams and visions could also
encourage local authorities to initiate canonization investigations
and proceedings.
In many ways the conclusion to the book would work well as an
introduction, for it sets out the argument of the book most clearly
and states how Goodich first became interested in the work, as he
noticed the "growing legalistic desire of those entrusted with their
[miracle tales'] composition to ensure accuracy and credibility"
(117). Goodich has a tendency not to lead with his argument, but
rather to come to his main points at the end of chapters. Therefore,
it is not surprising that the most succinct articulation of his
project is found in the conclusion.
In sum, this is an extremely interesting and stimulating book, and it
suggests a number of further avenues for research. Perhaps the book's
main weakness lies in its tendency to prove its arguments anecdotally,
which is of course difficult to avoid when dealing with such a large
body of evidence that has not been systematically and statistically
analyzed. The manuscript was in its final stages of revision when
Professor Goodich passed away, so any criticism of the book must be
tempered with the understanding that it was a work in progress. I must
emphasize how stimulating I found this study; I must also express my
profound appreciation for Michael Goodich, whom I never met but whose
work has had a profound effect on my understanding of medieval
hagiography.
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