medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Re: [M-R] Medieval lighting
I work on miracle stories in Spain and offerings of candles and, particularly, of wax are extremely common. I should probably note that none of the saints I have studied in depth were canonized in the Middle Ages (though one was the Virgin). The offerings in general were highly valued and I have several regulations revolving around who gets to collect the offerings left at altars and what they can do with them; this seems to be a recurring problem in Vic, for example.
Additionally, I have wondered – and Vauchez and Thompson don’t really address this – about the physical malleability of the wax. As many of you know, wax offerings (and other votive offerings) were often made of the diseased/injured part either before it was healed (as in the problem was portrayed in the wax) or afterwards (a perfect arm, for example). I have seen prayers and miracle descriptions which seem to suggest that people are seeking, with the wax, to mirror what they want God and the saints to do – reshape their bodies. I wonder if, as in miracles from the 11th and early 12th century (Compostela) what we have is related to the physical actions taken by the saints to work miracles. James of Compostela in one of his miracles, for example, appears and physically sails a ship in a storm; the account includes wonderfully vivid details. Finucane in particular talks about the importance of candles measured to the sick as an offering, but, again, does not address malleability or even the physicality of wax. Has anyone seen anything similar or secondary work related to this topic?
Michelle Garceau
On 10/19/09 10:09 PM, "Andrew Larsen" <[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]> wrote:
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Cecelia,
The article in question is "Patronage of Saints and Civic Religion in the Italy of the Communes" in The Laity in the Middle Ages (Notre Dame, 1993) (I think it might be a reprinted article, but I'm not sure).
At Orvieto, in 1350, the city sent a 50 lb candle to the cathedral for the Virgin and a second smaller one (weight unspecified in the article) to the cathedral for a local saint. The Dominican house received 2 20 lb candles, one for Dominic and one for a local saint. The Franciscans received a similar pair of candles, and the Augustinians 1 candle. Statutes required that the candles remain in place for 1 full year, when they would be replaced.
In 1314, Orvieto issued a statute specifying that its candles "should serve exclusively to illuminate the body of Christ and should remain lit until the end of the Elevation." If a candle was not kept for a whole year, it was not to be replaced. A notary was required to visit the church every three months to ensure the candle was in the proper location.
In 1315, Poggibonsi declared a candle-lit procession for a local saint. Beginning in 1321, the town annually calculated the number of candles to be used, which varied between 200 and 500. They were donated to the local Franciscan house. An equal number of merchants were required to donate candles and participate in the procession. The number of candles dropped from 500 in 1348 to 350 in 1350.
Also in Poggibonsi, on the feast of a local saint, the guilds conducted a torch-lit procession to the saint's church and then donated the torches, on penalty of a fine. The next day, the town presented wax to the same church.
In 1451, Amandola decreed an annual donation of a 50-solidi candle. After 1471, the value of the candle went up to 10 pounds.
In 1391, Spoleto decreed a donation of 30 lbs of wax every year to the Dominican church, although in 1397 this was reduced to several (4, I think)candles of 3 lbs each. Two more candles of equal weight were given to another church. The remaining 12 lbs of wax was given to clergy who participated.
Most of the saints involved were uncanonized saints, so the towns in question were giving civic approval to these saints and thereby skirting church control of canonization.
So to answer your questions, it seems that the candles were expected to be used, although the requirement to check up suggests that there was a worry they wouldn't be used. At Orvieto, the town tried to ensure exactly when the candles were used during the service, and exactly where they would be shedding their light. The economic value of the candles was clearly an issue in some cases, since at Amandola they increased the cost, while at Spoleto, because of quarrels between churches, they decided to rebalance how the candles/wax was being given away. The fact that Poggibonsi fined those who failed to donate their candles suggests that some people resisted the required donation. So although the value of the candles was symbolic and practical (Orvieto did want them used for lighting) to the town government, they were aware of the economic aspects of the issue and tried to control them.
Hope this helps.
Andrew E. Larsen
On Oct 19, 2009, at 7:49 PM, John Dillon wrote:
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Cecilia,
It's a little hard to get answers to these question when we don't have the title or venue of Vauchez's article. But if you take the time to look at the pertinent pages in Augustine Thompson's book via the link I provided in my previous post, you will find answers to some of your questions, albeit not in enough quantity or detail to permit useful generalizations.
Best again,
John Dillon
On Monday, October 19, 2009 7:28 pm, Cecilia Gaposchkin wrote:
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
OK, Good. But what was the value of the candle? Did the church use these
candles? Were they used to light the church? Was the wax sold for
income? It
clearly had alot of symbolic capital. What I'm not getting is the ultimate
value of the votive object. Was it practical? Economic? purely symbolic?
Were these candle used? lighted?
cecilia
On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 8:15 PM, Andrew Larsen <[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]> wrote:
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Andre Vauchez has an interesting article about how Italian cities managed
saints cults partly through donations of candles. In at least one city,
they sent an official around to check if the church in question was
keeping
the city's (massive) candle on its altar all year. Those that
didn't were
penalized. The gift of the candle was a sign of official approval
by the
city.
Andrew E. Larsen
On Oct 19, 2009, at 6:54 PM, Dr Jim Bugslag wrote:
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]">[log in to unmask] <mailto:
[log in to unmask]>">[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]">[log in to unmask]
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To: [log in to unmask]">[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
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