medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
For all of us who struggle to explain some of the features of the medieval cult of saints that raise the eyebrows of our students, this story is too good not to share. (But apologies in advance if it strays too far from our purpose.)
Under the headline "Did Gipper's ghost help dig up the echoes? Was team saved from defeat by dirt from ND hero's grave site?", it appears on the front page of yesterday's "South Bend Tribune," my local newspaper (which doesn't seem to have its tongue planted that far in its cheek). The gist:
During last weekend's football game between the University of Notre Dame and its rival the University of Michigan, the alumni chaplain of the ND marching band sprinkled dirt from the grave of legendary 1920s ND player "the Gipper" and holy water in the ND end zone. Notre Dame won the game after a player scored a touchdown "directly over the spot [the priest] blessed."
(It does strike me that this is why canonists forbade participants in ordeals like judicial combat to hide charms or relics on themselves!)
The full article will be available at this link to the South Bend Tribune free of charge for the next few days: http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2004/09/14/local.20040914-sbt-MARS-A1-Did_Gipper_s_ghost_h.sto
Best,
John
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