Demonic Possession & Lived Religion in Later Medieval Europe by Sari Katajala-Peltomaa

Abstract

Reviewed by: Demonic Possession & Lived Religion in Later Medieval Europe by Sari Katajala-Peltomaa Claire Trenery Carrothers Middle Ages, demonic possession, demoniacs, lived religion, gender and possession, blasphemy, intercourse with demons, Fourth Lateran Council sari katajala-peltomaa. Demonic Possession & Lived Religion in Later Medieval Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. Pp. x + 211. Sari Katajala-Peltomaa's latest monograph investigates some of the most intriguing phenomena of the Middle Ages: the presence of demons in everyday life and their possession of humans. Whilst Katajala-Peltomaa identifies demonic possession as a "spiritual phenomenon" (1), the book is concerned with its physical, mental and—perhaps most particularly—social ramifications. She defines "lived religion" as "a social process, a way to live, interact, and participate in one's community" (2), and she uses this framework to explore demonic possession in terms of the interactions—rather than the polarity—between "individual and collective religious participation" (27). The book's chronological scope runs from the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 (at which the Devil and demons were defined as creations of God, turned evil by their own doing and capable of tempting humans into sin) to the fifteenth century (when ideas previously associated with demonic possession were increasingly co- opted into the concept of maleficium). Geographically, Katajala- Peltomaa sets up an interesting comparison between northern and southern Europe, which serves to illustrate regional distinctions in understandings of demonic possession. She focuses on Swedish and Italian sources, in which cases of demonic possession are "especially numerous" (24). Beyond being a "theoretical framework" (18) for analysis, the concept of "lived religion" is, for Katajala- Peltomaa, the "methodological tool" (19) that guides her reading of the sources. Each document is a reflection not only of widely held cultural understandings of demonic possession but of the specific community that brought about its creation: both monastic or clerical communities that constructed the written records and lay communities that witnessed the actions of demons and testified to their effects. Thus, "careful contextualization" (24) of the source material is crucial. Katajala- Peltomaa's main source base is records made at canonization hearings for prospective saints of miracles they were believed to have performed. Her close attention to context does not mean that she is unable to observe patterns across her sources, but she uses her analysis of the nuances to call for a "critical evaluation of the concept of 'medieval Europe' [as a] single, coherent entity" (27). The chapters are organised thematically based on stages of communal interaction with demons: from causes of demonic interference; to identification of the possessed; to communal responses to demoniacs; and finally, to wider societal and cultural discussions. The first chapter (Chapter 2, since Chapter 1 is an introduction) deals with perceived reasons for demonic possession, with a focus on whether or not the possessed were held responsible [End Page 432] for their affliction. Though not unanimous, the consensus in this period was that sufferers of demonic possession were victims of unfortunate—and often not blameworthy—circumstances. Katajala- Peltomaa sees the "accidental nature of demonic possession" (45) as related to collective but regionally specific anxieties. She illustrates this through a comparison of the environmental conditions associated with demonic possession in northern and southern accounts. For example, in the densely populated Italian city states, the threat of wilderness and forests was connected with demonic activity, whereas, in Nordic accounts, forests, which were a mundane component of daily life for many people, posed only physical threats (such as getting lost or being attacked by wild animals). Chapter 3 takes a closer look at the victims of demonic possession, particularly addressing whether women were seen as both physically and spiritually more vulnerable to demonic attacks than men. Katajala- Peltomaa reads in the accounts of female demoniacs "personal and social anxieties concerning the signposts of physical growth and social maturing" (menstruation, marriage, pregnancy, etc.) (47), but she notes that connections between the female lifecycle and vulnerability to demonic possession were not inevitable and largely came into play "when something went wrong" (47). Demonic possession represented something beyond the norm and necessitated extreme responses from communities, which could include physical restraint. These responses seem to have been practical solutions to the threat...