medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I can't imagine that anyone would wish to find her-/himself at _either_ business end of an angry ass.
On the other hand, these speculations about Sualo's ass run counter to what Ermanric actually says in his _Sermo de vita S. Sualonis dicti Soli_ (available on the free Web in the digital MGH <http://www.dmgh.de/> at Scriptores, vol. 15, pt. 1, pp. 153-63 [starting here: <http://tinyurl.com/pss64cv>]; the account of the miracle is on p. 160 in the _Sermo_'s cap. 9).
According to Ermanric, when Sualo was out riding on his ass he just happened upon the flock in some pasture where they were grazing without the attendance of shepherds. There's no indication that either he or the ass had ever seen the sheep before, let alone have had any prior interaction with them. Moreover, when the ass first sensed danger it became very afraid, reared up, and started to run off into thick woods (or at least thick undergrowth; Ermanric's word for this is _avia_). Sualo became aware of the wolf, understood the ass' fear, and prayed for courage. Then he instructed the ass (who was eager to flee; Ermanric calls it _fugibundus_) to charge the wolf at great speed where it lay preparing to attack the sheep who were unaware of their peril. Thus instructed, the now intrepid ass did just that, the two animals fought, and the ass killed the wolf by kicking and biting it.
Like many clerics who routinely rode upon them, Ermanric was probably quite familiar with typical behaviors of asses, recalcitrant and nasty tempered as they often are. But in this instance the ass was hardly _infuriated_. Rather, it acted as an extension of its owner (a prayerful servant of God) and, by his command but using its own weapons (hooves and teeth), it dispatched their common foe, thus protecting the sheep as Sualo can be thought to have protected his human flock (for the allegory, think of Matt 10:16 and Acts 20:29-30).
Best again,
John Dillon
On 12/05/14, Anne Willis wrote:
> It is quite possible that if the ass had been used to feeding with the
> sheep, and was regarded as 'boss' by the flock that he would have attached a
> wolf. I would not like to be at the business end of an infuriated ass.
>
> Llamas perform the same function nowadays, only foxes are the usual target
> in this country
>
>
>
> Anne
>
>
>
>
> Subject: [M-R] Another Saint for the Day (December 4 or 5): Saint Sualo
> (also Sola, Solus)
>
> ......
> Notable among the miracles attributed to S. by Ermanric is a plainly
> allegorical one in which at his bidding an ass on which he had been riding
> attacked and killed a wolf that was threatening sheep at their graze in a
> pasture with no shepherds present.
>
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