According to a note to The Friar's Tale, St. Dunstan had the
reputation of being able to control devils.
Regards,
Jim Kerbaugh
Dr. Karen Jolly wrote:
>
> Possibly what your colleague had in mind are the stories wherein a
> saint (or, alternatively, someone practicing magic) captures a devil
> using appropriate Christian rituals, and then forces the demon to speak
> the truth. Examples abound, but I can't pull them out right now. Life
> of Margaret, I think. A bunch in The Golden Legend. Numerous "magical"
> treatises. Perhaps someone with more time that I have this morning
> (last day of class, students stressing over the final exam) can think of
> some specific ones.
> Another possibility is that your colleague was thinking of whether
> the Devil is able to actually "do" anything to or with someone or
> whether everything he does is illusionary, tricking someone into
> believing a false reality and acting on it. This of course involves the
> Devil lying quite a bit. And the saint, of course, sees through these
> deceptions and forces the demon to speak or reveal the truth.
> Karen
>
> --
> Dr. Karen Jolly
> Associate Professor, History
> University of Hawai`i at Manoa
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kjolly
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|