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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Hi, Henk As I noted when I first brought this up), the text -- and therefore its intended audience -- is considerably later than the seventh century. When I last thought about its dating (back in 2005), I accepted the view that it probably was written in the later twelfth century. But that's only a guess. The Vita could be later still. Does anyone on the list know when the St. Jerome version of the trick (which I presume is earlier) is first attested? Not that that's likely to matter much in the issue of the clothing. Underlying all this is Deuteronomy 22:5, a text that presumes differentiation between men's and women's clothing. That text, however unverisimilar it may have been in the seventh century or in the twelfth, will have been known to Christian religious of every century. The Vita's placing of Vitalian's final years at the future site of the Benedictine abbey of Montevergine suggests a monastic origin (either at Montevergine or at some house elsewhere wishing to lay a claim to that abbey's legendary past). And therefore a monastic audience. So, whereas verisimilitude might not have been important for the Vita's author in the matter of different clothing for men and women -- just as it apparently was not in the Vita's story of V.'s enemies at [inland] Capua putting him in a sack which they then cast into the sea but from which V. escapes and then _rows_ [in what?] all the way to Ostia --, verisimilitude could well have been an issue in respect of the Liturgy of the Hours. The saintly bishop is said to have been officiating at Matins, not celebrating a Mass, and conditions of light in the chancel at the outset of Matins (before it begins to be light outside) are something with which a monastic audience will be quite familiar. Best again, John Dillon On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at 12:58 pm, Henk wrote: > Poppycock and balderdash. If this saint was a 7th c person the differnend > could not have been clear at all. It is well known that clothing of males > and females at that time only differed in length not in cut. And priests > wore their cottes long, down to the feet, like monks. And women. There > was > no real difference between women's clothing and the dress of clerics except > maybe for the colour, as the latter tended to be of more sombre hue. And > there was certainly no difference at all between shoes for men and women. > Celebrating mass as a bishop of Capua further obliged him to don liturgical > dress in the shape of a wide whitish linen garment called an alb, worn > over > the normal clothing and falling to his feet. After that there came the > chasuble, which was a wideish poncho like mantle, a stole and a mitre. > There > was no way that people could see he was wearing women's clothing under > all > that, and if they had it would not have been clear that it was women's > clothing either. > > Henk > > I'm sorry: Vitalian of Capua is a saint of the Regno who, having been > absent > from "saints of the day" for a couple of years, is perhaps not as familiar > as many of his fellows. He has a brief Vita (BHL 1254) whose repeated > sensationalism is powered by an improbability drive of some magnitude. > According to this text, V.'s enemies at Capua (who later successfully > got > rid of him) placed women's clothing and women's shoes in his bedroom one > night in the correct expectation that when he arose on the following > day he > would in the darkness dress himself in these and, so attired, celebrate > Matins before the people and clergy. As the light grew, it became apparent > to others how V. was dressed; it was widely assumed that V.'s sartorial > embarrassment arose from unchaste behavior on his part. > > The incident is adapted from one in the legendary Vitae of St. Jerome > where, > with similar intent, the same trick is played and J. goes to Matins > similarly dressed. Probably the easiest version of that to find will > be the > one in the _Legenda aurea_. > > Best again, > John Dillon ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html