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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture On Sunday, January 3, 2010, at 5:29 pm, Marjorie Greene wrote: > The "pouring bishop" image is probably a whim of the painter. No tale > of the consecration of St. Gen mentions anything but the laying on of > St Germain's hand and the handing over to St Gen of a medal or cross > (the day following her consecration), which she was ordered to wear > always. This is probably a conflation of the rite of consecration of > clergy and that of a female religious. In fact, the pouring of oil > over the head has distinctly OT undertones. > MG The only Vitae of Genovefa that I've been able to consult quickly are BHL 3334 (earliest witness in BHLms is said to be dated to C11), BHL 3336 (earliest witness in BHLms is said to be dated C8ex./9in.), and BHL 3339 (the text in Grässe's ed. of the _Legenda aurea_; an expansion of BHL 3334 or of a very similar text). In all three the object presented by St. Germanus to G. is a bronze coin (_nummus aereus_) bearing a _signum crucis_ that he gathers up from the ground where he has just observed it. In BHL 3334 and BHL 3339 the coin is expressly said to have been brought to Germanus by divine will; in both of these this scene occurs on the day following G.'s vow of consecration. In the simpler account in BHL 3336 the operation of divine will is not expressly stated and no time is said to elapse between G.'s promise of virginity and the presentation of the coin (which latter in all three accounts she is to wear while spurning adornments of this world). In none of these three accounts is there any subsequent ceremony of consecration. I have no idea what the other Vitae or the French-language text that the illumination in BnF, ms. Français 185 accompanies may actually say about these matters. Nor, at this remove, can I recall what my source was several years ago for the ceremony when G. was fifteen. 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