medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
George, with regard to flying saints it may be worthwhile to check the literature on Joseph of Cupertino. He was investigated by the Inquisition in Naples in the 1630s (?) and released without charge. I'm not sure if whatever documentation was produced by that process has been published or if there are any non-credulous studies of him. Supposedly he levitated before Urban VIII, but subsequent popes were not favourably disposed to him and he was mostly required to live in isolated houses. Perhaps there is some serious study based on the documents which must have been produced by these controversies, but I have only ever seen popular/legendary works of scarce value. He is an interesting case because at least on some occasions those who claimed to have seen his flights took the trouble to make depositions before notaries, expecting of course that they would not be believed. That is unusual, I think. -- Paul
Paul Chandler, O.Carm.
Holy Spirit Seminary | Banyo. Qld. 4014
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On 29/12/2011, at 12:02 PM, George FERZOCO <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> Dear medieval-religion colleagues,
>
> The image Gordon sent to the list, of a vengeful Thomas Becket hovering in the air, reminds me to ask the list's members about the post-mortem representation of saints in the visual arts. Was it common for them to be portrayed as flying or hovering in the air, horizontally or swooping downward? Or perhaps in an upright position, but suspended above the earthly actors?
>
> On a closely related issue, are any of you aware of scholarship related to pre-early-modern 'flying saints', whether in art or in textual form?
>
> Many thanks for your considerations. Best wishes, George
>
> --
> George FERZOCO
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