medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
This is a large subject, and I have never seen any really good study of
it, but you are certainly right about the votive use of candles. It was
common for someone to be "measured for a candle" in relation to an
expected miracle cure at the shrine of a saint, the candle in question
being either the length of the person or their weight. There were also
trindles, which were long tapers, usually wound into a skein. The city
of Chartres annually offered one to the cathedral that was as long as
the circumference of the city walls. And there were all sorts of
miraculous candles, as well. I believe that S. Maria Maggiore in Rome
claimed one of four candles that were believed to have descended from
heaven around the Virgin Mary at the birth of Christ, and in the early
11th century, the Virgin showed up in person at Arras, leaving the Holy
Candle there, with instructions on how to use its wax to cure the mal
des ardents. It was usually believed that such candles could burn
without being consumed, and other miraculous candles were often created
using bits of their wax.
Cheers,
Jim
Cecilia Gaposchkin wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture Hello all,
> I'm just now catching up on this thread, and it catches my attention
> because I have just been reading some miracle and pilgrimage stories,
> and everyone is always pledging candles, and giving candles, and
> buying candles - candles of quite enormous proportions: candles the
> length of the tomb, candles the length of a sick son, candles the
> length and shape of a lame leg, and so forth - to the shrine.
>
> When, as a graduate student, I used to lecture at the Cloisters, I had
> some pithy and almost certainly inaccurate line about the desire for
> light in churches, the "donations" of candles and [ahem, this is where
> it becomes methodologically dubious], and appearance of stained glass
> with Gothic architecture and the "desire" for "light".
>
> I'm not really asking for an explanation of that crazy argument. But
> rather, if we're talking about medieval lighting, can anyone talk abit
> about the function/economics/aesthetics/and/osprituality of the
> "candle" in the medieval churches. It seems alot of people were
> spending alot of money - even money they didn't have much of - on candles.
>
> cecilia
>
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 12:18 PM, John McCulloh <[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture
>
> I had just looked up the reference to suggest the same article.
> It is fascinating reading. Ekirch presents evidence that, before
> the advent of cheap electrical lighting, people went to bed at
> dusk woke up around midnight to relieve themselves, eat and
> socialize, and then nodded off for their "second sleep."
>
> For medievalists it suggests that monks getting up in the middle
> of the night were not really practicing asceticism. They were
> following a typical sleep pattern. The monastic element in their
> vigils was their prayer.
>
> John
>
> John M. McCulloh
> Professor Office
> tel: 785-532-0373
> Department of History Deptal
> tel: 785-532-6730
> Eisenhower Hall FAX:
> 785-532-7004
> Kansas State University
> Manhattan, KS 66506-1002
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Shannon McSheffrey" <[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 8:21:35 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
> Subject: Re: [M-R] Medieval lighting
>
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture
>
> On preindustrial sleeping patterns, some might find this article
> interesting: A. Roger Ekirch, "Sleep We Have Lost: Pre-industrial
> Slumber in
> the British Isles," The American Historical Review 106:2 (April, 2001)
> http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/106.2/ah000343.html.
>
> Shannon
>
> Dr. Shannon McSheffrey
> Professor and Chair, Department of History
> Concordia University
> 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
> Montreal, Quebec CANADA H3G 1M8
>
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
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