Rediscovering Sainthood in Italy: Hagiography and the Late Antique Past in Medieval Ravenna by Edward M. Schoolman

Abstract

Reviewed by: Rediscovering Sainthood in Italy: Hagiography and the Late Antique Past in Medieval Ravenna by Edward M. Schoolman Campbell E. Garland Edward M. Schoolman, Rediscovering Sainthood in Italy: Hagiography and the Late Antique Past in Medieval Ravenna (New York: Palgrave Macmillan US 2016) 202 pp. Rediscovering Sainthood in Italy: Hagiography and the Late Antique Past in Medieval Ravenna by Edward M. Schoolman analyzes the circumstances leading to the creation of the hagiography of Barbatianus, a saint native to Ravenna. Schoolman explains how the vita's writers demonstrated Barbatianus's impact on city of Ravenna during and after his lifetime. The author relies on hagiographies, liturgical texts, commentaries, and some works of art to support his analysis of Barbatianus's life and legacy in its wider historical and cultural contexts. The first chapter, "Barbatianus in Late Antiquity," explains Barbatianus's lifetime role as a Syrian monk that made his way to Ravenna by way of Rome. Schoolman suggests that the association of Barbatianus with Syria further emphasized his sanctity due to his potential association with the Syrian monastic communities. Additionally, the emphasis on Barbatianus's interactions with Galla Placidia, a pious aristocrat with imperial ties, gave extra significance to his story about acquiring the sandal of St. John the Baptist for the city of Ravenna. Altogether, Barbatianus's eastern origins, healing abilities, and connections with Galla Placidia helped elevate his status and reputation as a saint, as well as Ravenna's prestige by extension (97). The second chapter, "The Contexts of Medieval Ravenna," describes the historical developments taking place in Ravenna's society during Late Antiquity. Schoolman begins the chapter by describing the state of Barbatianus's cult during the fifth century following his death; an inscription on a travertine plaque, now housed at the museum in Ravenna, mentioning Barbatianus, although its original context is unknown, may suggest the presence of such a cult. However, the saint remained relatively unknown outside of Ravenna until the ninth century, when the earliest mention of him appears in Agnellus's text, Liber Pontificalis. Several factors played into the rising promotion of Barbatianus's cult in the tenth century. First, the Ottonian emperors had settled nearby Ravenna during the tenth century and began to associate themselves with Ravenna. Then, the local aristocracy sponsored the monastery supposedly founded by Barbatianus, and the monastery gained some attention due to its association with the aristocracy and local bishops of the region. In this manner, the monastery's imperial ties helped its reputation and the promotion of the saint's cult. The third chapter, "The Hagiographic Landscape of Medieval Ravenna," discusses the creation and dissemination of hagiographies for Ravenna's local saints during the early Middle Ages. Barbatianus did not enjoy the same degree of local and international fame as some other local saints, such as Vitalus and Apolloniarus. Yet, Barbatianus's significance derived from his role as a monastic saint, where the others were either martyrs or episcopal saints. In another comparison of saints, Schoolman compares the vita of Barbatianus with that of Probus, archbishop of Ravenna, and notes that their actions as saints, whether by healing or obtaining relics, "…worked to restore or create a narrative of the past supporting the sanctity of each saint…" (65). [End Page 273] The fourth chapter, "The History of the Vita Barbatiani," outlines the surviving extant sources of the vita Barbatiani, which are then parsed for their details and language parallels to ascertain the likely original text of the vita. In addition to the tenth-century Acta sancti barbatani presbyteris et confessori, the hagiography of Barbatianus was found in texts throughout central and northern Italy. An ensuing discussion about the commentaries on Barbabatianus's hagiographies frequently refers to the 1909 commentary of the scholar Francesco Lanzoni, who noted that some of Barbatianus's hagiographies derived from the same source and borrowed content from the hagiographies of other saints. Yet, this does not diminish the vita's significance, as Schoolman notes, "Ultimately, the vita offers a rich source for understanding the cultural context of the period in which it was composed, and offers an avenue for investigating Barbatianus's late antique setting and the hagiographic landscapes of medieval Ravenna" (80). Schoolman...