medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Hi brenda! in all the material i am familiar with, primarily
miracle collections, this is NOT the case (but, list members,
I would LOVE counter examples if there are any!)
In ISLAM, on the other hand, death in childbirth can
qualify one for martyr status.
Meg
>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>Following on from this, I have as part of my folk lore the notion that a
>woman who died in childbirth died absolved from her sins no matter what her
>previous life or state of mind/soul was / had been.
>I have NO IDEA where I got this superstition from, but I would be interested
>to know if anyone else has come across it, at what date and if it has any
>(mediaeval) theological underpinning.
>Brenda M. C.
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Aline Hornaday <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 6:46 PM
>Subject: Re: de[con]secration/de-secration (bloodshed)
>> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>>
>> It's perhaps a little late to contribute to this thread, but for the sake
>> of completeness it seems worth mentioning that some canonists upheld a
>> prohibition against holding a church funeral for women who died in
>> childbirth, explicitly stated in Johannis Beleth summa de ecclesiasticis
>> officiis, CCCM 41-41a, 2:315-316 & Honorius Augustodunensis, Gemma animae,
>> PL 172, coll. 583, 589. But the canonist Guillaume Durand de Mende
>> disagreed, noting that if great care is taken to avoid soiling the church
>> with blood, the dead woman's funeral may be held in church (Gullielmi
>> Duranti rationale diuinorum officiorum, CCM 140, 1:62). It is pollution
>> with blood that seems to be the main concern here.
>>
>> Aline Hornaday
>>
>> At 06:58 AM 2/13/01 -0500, you wrote:
>> >Women were not supposed to enter the altar area at all--though I suspect
>> >this was often ignored when it was a question of cleaning. Nevertheless,
>> >purists would not allow women to touch the sacred vessels either. Thus
>any
>> >untoward effect of women's natural functions was contained reasonably
>well.
>> >There is a famous letter attributed to Gregory the Great in Bede's
>> >Ecclesiastical History denying the idea that women could be considered
>> >"polluting" when menstruating or giving birth or otherwise functioning
>> >according to God's plan but in general ecclesiastical authorities were
>> >inclined to take no chances.
>> >
>> >Jo Ann
>> >
>> >The law locks up the man or woman
>> >Who steals the goose from off the common
>> >But leaves the greater villain loose
>> >Who steals the common from the goose.
>> >
>> >-----Original Message-----
>> >From: Stephanie Budin <[log in to unmask]>
>> >To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>> >Date: Monday, February 12, 2001 9:46 AM
>> >Subject: Re: de[con]secration/de-secration (bloodshed)
>> >
>> >
>> > > Many Greetings from a new member,
>> > >
>> > > Concerning bloodshed and sexual acts as defiling, was there any
>> > >prohibition against giving birth within church space?
>> > >
>> > > Stephanie Budin
>>
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Dept. of Philosophy and Religion fax: 843-953-6388
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