Yes, Julia,
I agree with you that the shifting to St. Peter's may be interpreted as one
of the main legacies of Urban V and that it was also one of the causes of
his widespread diffusion in the devotion of common people in the Later
Middle Ages. I'd like to add what is said in a passage of ser Luca Dominici,
a chronicler of Pistoia in 1399: during the procession of the Bianchi, a
girl sees tears shed from her private images portraying the Virgin and Pope
Urban V; this second figure is literally full of tears. When she touches
them, she becomes paralytic. I sincerely wonder which is the meaning of such
a tale.
Michele Bacci
Scuola Normale Superiore
Pisa (Italy)
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|