medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> I am working on Martin of Braga, who in the latter half of the sixth
> century names individual Greek gods and equates them with demons/[wo]men
> of evil repute.
Dear Angus,
Someone else has already provided information on the Latinity of your
gods, but in terms of equating them with demons, Richard Krautheimer,
in his Rome: Profile of a City 312-1308 (Princeton, 1980), p. 72,
discusses the reticence in Rome to Christianize pagan temples because
of the belief that they were "haunted" by evil spirits. The first
such conversion was that of the Pantheon in 609 as the Church of S.
Maria Rotonda under Pope Boniface IV. Legend has it that Pope
Gregory the Great had driven the demons out of the Pantheon.
Krautheimer points out, moreover, that after this, almost 300 years
passed before another Roman temple, of Fortuna Virilis, was turned
into a church, between 872 and 882. He claims, as well, that Rome
appears to have been distinctive in this reticence, since in the
East, such conversions had been made as early as the 4th century, and
there are examples in the West by the 6th century. He cites Gregory
the Great's instructions to his English mission to reuse pagan
sanctuaries as churches after destroying the idols, but says that, in
doing so, "expediency seems to have won out over superstitious
reluctance".
Cheers,
Jim Bugslag
**********************************************************************
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
|