medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Bernard of Chartres used to say that we are like dwarves perched on the shoulders of giants, and thus we are able to see more and farther than the latter. And this is not at all because of the acuteness of our sight or the stature of our body, but because we are carried aloft and elevated by the magnitude of the giants.
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe 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: unsubscribe 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/medieval-religion--Years ago a Benedictine abbot gave a talk to one of my classes where he suggested, among other, loftier things, that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs sounded a bit like a mythologized description of a monastery. Like monks, the dwarfs live, work, sleep, and eat in community. Like the precious metal liturgical plate of a monastery, they have a treasury of gold earned by their mining. They guard a body preserved in a glass coffin, like a reliquary. I see that another Benedictine, Bro. David Steindhl-Rast, has also playfully suggested this connection in a web piece, “Paths of Obedience: Fairy Tales and the Monk's Way” (http://www.gratefulness.org/readings/dsr_FairyTales.htm)I come up empty, but does anyone know if there has ever been any serious exploration of this idea?Best,JohnJohn Shinners
Professor, Schlesinger Chair in Humanistic Studies
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
Phone: 574-284-4494 or 574-284-4534
Fax: 284-4855
www.saintmarys.edu/~hust
"Learn everything. Later you will see that nothing is superfluous." -- Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1141)