Marie of Oignies, of Nivelles, or of Villers: The Multiple Textual Identities of a 13th-Century Holy Woman

Abstract

Nancy Bradley Warren (2005: 133) maintains that ‘female spirituality and the revelations of holy women were valuable, and extremely valuable, sources of symbolic capital’ in the pre-modern era. In this article, I dissect the ways in which various authors harnessed the ‘symbolic capital’ of the 13th-century holy woman Marie of Oignies (d. 1213). Jacques of Vitry composed Marie’s vita in c. 1215. Most of what we know about the holy woman’s life is contained in this text, which offers us the first extant account of a new form of female spirituality which blossomed in the era, the beguine lifestyle. But Jacques’ account is only one of several iterations of Marie’s life. Two other texts offer significantly different textual constructions of the holy woman: a 13th-century liturgical office in Marie’s honour, and a chronicle of the foundation of Oignies’ priory. Each text manufactures distinct versions of Marie in order to siphon off the holy woman’s ‘symbolic capital’ to their own reserves. This entails a re-situation of Marie in each work – both literal and metaphorical – as she becomes a special patron not just of Oignies, but Nivelles, Villers Abbey, and the entire diocese of Liege. This investigation operates as a case study for the ways in which the precise contours of a saintly individual’s individuality may be fashioned differently by interested parties – specifically that of a hagiographer (Jacques of Vitry), monastic institution (Villers Abbey), and spiritual community (Oignies priory) – as a means to assert their own identity. Modern actors continue to trade on Marie’s reputation, as various Belgian towns seek to claim the holy woman as ‘one of their own’. In my conclusion, then, I demonstrate the ways in which Marie has become a tradable asset in the cultural heritage of the Walloon region.