I've been following the discussion on body parts and reliquaries with
interest (although I haven't yet read today's, so forgive me if this is a
repeat). It seems to me as though Dr. Michelli was asking not only about
reliquaries, but also about the saints' state of mind during martyrdom.
Certainly Bynum does address this (try Fragmentation and Redemption), but
I'd also recommend the following:
"The Ascetic Body and the (Un)Making of the World of the Martyr." Maureen
A. Tilley. _Journal of the American Academy of Religion_. Fall 1991.
467-479.
_The Body in Pain_. Elaine Scarry. Oxford UP, 1985.
You might also look into more modern studies on torture and its
psychological effects.
These studies, ampng other research, lead me to belive that "blissfulness"
was a saintly attribute, not solely an artistic one. This belief has
prevailed even into the present, as numerous saints are praised for their
"stoic acceptance" of bodily illnesses and deprivation.
Michelle M. Sauer
Dept. of English
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164
(509) 335-3021
[log in to unmask]
On Sat, 28 Aug 1999, Pippin Michelli wrote:
> > This is pretty disturbing as well! -- but so many
> >tortured saints are miraculously given not freedom from pain exactly but
> >an imperviousness to it, hence no loss of dignity in their martyrdom.
> >
>
> Well, I'd be interested to know if this is a religious attribute of
> saintliness. I think, myself, that it is an artistic one, going back
> ultimately to the idea of Idealisation - which requires an expressionless
> face at all times (to avoid the uglifying distortion that necessarily ensues
> from expressions) and absolute self-control in all circumstances. Hence,
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|