medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Saturday, October 13, 2007, at 10:24 am, Jim Bugslag wrote:
> Two comments on this very interesting thread. Firstly, objects of
> thaumaturgical power
> dropping from the sky is a common topos in ancient Greece, which may
> have a bearing on
> the geographical range being discussed here.
It might very well, though anciently the topos was also more widespread. Think of the original _ancile_ at Rome, a shield central to that city's cult of the warrior god Mars (in a fit of praeterition, I forbear to mention -- since we know about these through originally Greek-language sources -- the Palladium of Troy or the sacred gold objects of the Scythians in the latter's history as recounted by Herodotus). Another instance from Latin Christianity is the _Sacra Cintola_ of Prato, which the BVM is said to have dropped down to St. Thomas during her Assumption into Heaven.
And secondly, miraculous
> lances (or lance
> tips, in any case) recall both the lance of Longinus and the lance of
> St Maurice, both of which
> were not only powerful relics, but ones which were closely associated
> with the maintenance
> and bolstering of imperial power in the east and west respectively.
> That, too, might be
> relevant to the political implications of the lance of St Sergius.
Yes, although in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Trieste's struggle for independence consisted chiefly of resisting conquest by Venice and by Aquileia (the latter seen more as a local power than as an extension of the western empire -- which, of course, it also was).
Did anyone claim to possess the lance of St. Theodore? That was certainly a familiar object in the later medieval upper Adriatic, e.g.:
http://tinyurl.com/38xgrr
Best again,
John Dillon
**********************************************************************
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
|