>>And the existence (or not) of independent nuns who (like the story of
>>the 4th-c. St. Brighid) just sort of went out and "set up shop" on their
>>own?
>>
>As you probably know there are grave doubts as to the historicity of St
>Brigid. See, for example , Liam de Paor, 'Ireland and Early Europe', Four
>Courts Press, 1997.
>
But as you may also know, the saint's historicity is not the point. The
point is the territorial and political principal invested in her (or him).
The development of the saint's legend is part of the history of that saint,
so Heather should not be deterred from finding out all she can - just so
long as she remembers that the anecdotes served a historical purpose. They
come under that medieval definition of "art" - which means they don't have
to be true so much as politically useful. Treating the saints as historical
figures and role models is a modern phenomenon, I think - well, not
Medieval, at any rate!
Pippin Michelli, Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Art History, St Olaf College
http://www.stolaf.edu/people/michelli/index4.html
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