Print

Print


Michael E. GOODICH, *Violence and Miracle in the Fourteenth Century.
Private Grief and Public Salvation*. Pp. xi+220. Chicago and London:
University of Chicago Press, 1995. ISBN 0-226-30295-4.

A book which has been much discussed on this list (and elsewhere), with
many new and original insights, all based on a close reading of a vast
quantity of texts. Of many aspects of interest to our group, I shall cite
below a list appearing on pages 7 and 8, consisting of the types of items
appearing as elements in the verification of reported miracles in the
fourteenth century:

1  the date of the testimony
2  the name of the witness
3  the geographical origin of the witness
4  the witness's place of residence
5  the profession of the witness
6  the age of the witness at the time of testimony
7  the name of the person who had experienced the miracle
8  his or her age
9  his or her geographical origin
10 his or her place of residence
11 his or her profession
12 the amount of time which had elapsed since the alleged miracle had
	occurred
13 the date and time of the alleged miracle
14 the site of the miracle
15 the problem or injustice (disease, natural disaster, etc.) which had
	been miraculously resolved
16 the time the problem first occurred
17 the precise symptoms (if the subject was a miraculous cure) or causes
	of the difficulty or injustice
18 the natural means attempted to cure the disease (fracture, etc.) or
	solve the difficulty
19 the reputation of the miracle-worker or relics
20 the identity of the person making the vow
21 the conditional terms of the vow taken by the penitent, victim, or
	bystander
22 the vow itself
23 the results of the vow (the miraculous event per se)
24 a description of the vow's execution
25 a report of the offering made by the penitent
26 the names or identity of those who could corroborate the story

This is the most complete typology of the later medieval miracle I have
seen; and is all the more valuable because it is based on how medieval
people viewed the miracle themselves. The rest of the book devotes itself
to elaborating this list with regard to the themes announced in the title.
An extremely rich and provocative work, for scholars in many areas of
medieval religion.

George Ferzoco


%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%