medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Sunday, August 28, 2005, at 6:42 pm, Phyllis wrote:
> Today (29. August) ... may be the last column
> for several days; I'm about 70 miles inland, but right in the path
> of
> Hurricane Katrina, so the most optimistic forecast is that we'll
> lose
> power for a few days:
In view of the devastation wrought by Katrina, one may hope that
Phyllis suffers nothing worse than power loss. Also, that the several
regular contributors to this list who either live in or grew up in
southeastern Louisiana are themselves safe and that the losses suffered
by their family and friends are few and remediable.
To keep things in some sort of medieval perspective, here's an extract
from Michael of Piazza's account (_Cronaca_, I, 106) of the great
storms and flooding that in December 1354 devastated his city of
Catania and its surrounding croplands:
Quare nubes in pluviam cohacte ab aere, valles replentur aquis, quarum
inundationem retinere non valentes, spargitur per campestria plana, que
per diversos vados disrumpens, telluris planiciem scindit, eamque
concavat, et evulsis diversis segetibus, a radice omnia obruit et
acervat, et accumulata diversimode, insimul torrens maximus fuit
effectus, qui superfusus late circumfluens, Cataniam civitatem,
finesque ejus oppressit, ita ut plura tecta odium [edium??] enormitate
ponderis aquarum, et concussione fluctuum dissoluta, violenter se
precipiti dabant ruyne;... Muros, sepes vinearum, et vites secum
evertendo destruxit, et radicitus evulsit. Et in tantum in predicta
civitate fuit dicta intollerabilis densa tempestas, quod tribus diebus
et noctibus continue non sedavit, et viridarium, quod extra civitatis
muros est, quod dicitur di Oliveri, in tantum ex torrente predicto fuit
aquis plenum, quod ad summam partium arboris ascendebat, stagnum vero
ibi constituens, in qua magna piscatoria scafa, tamquam in palude
maxima, posset ibi commode remigare; quod incognitum, et temporibus
nostris inauditum extitit et remotum.
Michele da Piazza, _"Cronaca"_, a cura di Antonino Giuffrida (Palermo:
ILA Palma, 1980), p. 245.
Michael, who is thought to have been a Franciscan, was writing at a
time when his country (the insular kingdom of Sicily) was undergoing
enormous economic stress and at the same time coming apart in civil
war, conditions that in his view were caused or aggravated by human
failings. Not surprisingly, Michael blamed this disaster on the sinful
behavior of his countrymen, whom he exhorts at the end of the chapter
whence this is taken to return to God, seeking his pardon with pious
prayers and tearful eyes.
Best,
John Dillon
PS: Michael's Latin takes a bit of getting used to. Here's a quick-and-
dirty translation:
"The clouds thus forcibly converted from air to rain, the valleys were
filled with waters whose inundation they were unable to contain. It
spread across the agricultural flatlands; breaking through in diverse
watercourses, it cleaved the earth and hollowed it out. Ripping out
various crops, it tore everything out by the roots, piled it up, and
heaped it together in different ways. At the same time a great torrent
was made, which flowed widely across the surface of the land and so
assailed the city of Catania and its territory that many houses, coming
apart under the excessive weight of the water and the beating of its
waves, collapsed headlong into violent ruin... It destroyed walls and
vineyard hedges and carried along with these the vines themselves,
tearing them out by the roots. In all, in the aforesaid city this
unbearably dense storm did not let up for three days and nights. An
orchard, called "di Oliveri" and located outside the city walls, was so
filled with water from the aforesaid torrent, which rose to treetop
level, that it became instead a mere. In it, as though this were a
great marsh, a large fishing skiff could easily be rowed – something
unknown, unheard of in our time, and totally beyond the pale.”
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