Cult Of Saints Research Articles

The cult of warrior saints in Kyivan Rus’

The cult of warrior saints in Kyivan Rus’

Saints Gone Monastic: The Dominican Cult of Saints in the Medieval Baltic Sea Region

Unlike several other monastic orders of the Middle Ages, the mendicant orders of Dominicans and Franciscans chose from an assorted list of saints as patrons and patronesses for their friary churches and for their many side altars which were also dedicated to a broad variety of saints. These were not just venerated by the friars internally, but also used in their pastoral connection to the lay public as central figures in sermons, processions, and intercessory prayers. This article identifies a ‘short list’ of particularly popular saints among the Dominicans in the Baltic Sea region, with a comparative look at the local Franciscans as well as the neighbouring Dominican provinces. For both orders an outspoken preference for female saints (the Holy Virgin, Mary Magdalene, St Catherine of Alexandria, and, later, St Anne) can be noted in the region, while devotion to male saints (especially St John, St Nicholas, and St Olav) appears with significant sub-regional variations. Although some veneration of St Dominic and St Peter Martyr can be noted, the Dominican Order never seems to have attempted any major promotion of their own saints in the Baltic Sea region.

From Bones to Sacred Artefact

The cult of saints and the subsequent interest in relics constituted one of the essential characteristics of medieval Western Christianity. In particular, relics and reliquaries are prime examples of the importance of materiality in devotion. In the present article we analyse one of the medieval skull relics of Turku Cathedral and its material characteristics in detail. Previous examinations undertaken in the 1920s and 1940s produced two theories of its origins and identification. By analysing the bone material and the narrative depiction of martyrdom embroidered on the silk wrapping, State Archaeologist Juhani Rinne connected the relic to St Henry, the patron saint of Finland and the cathedral, while State Archaeologist Carl Axel Nordman identified it as belonging to St Eric, the patron saint of the Kingdom of Sweden. By re-examining the central element of the skull relic, the bones, with osteological analysis and radiocarbon dating, we show both theories to be highly problematic. Our analysis reveals the complex material features of the skull relic and the medieval cult of relics.

W poszukiwaniu genezy, rozwoju oraz sensu chrześcijańskiego kultu świętych i ich relikwii. Studium historyczno-teologiczne

The author of this article outlined the rich history of the cult of relics from pagan times to the present day and he drew attention that the Christian cult of saints and their relics appeared only after the death of the twelve Apostles. And it is still valid and meaningful.

Empires, Rituals and Ceremonial Pedagogy, Old and New

En el Imperio Romano, la función de crear parte de la cultura común necesaria para la ciudadanía, fue llevada a cabo por instituciones diferentes de lo que hoy llamamos «sistema escolar».Fue la sociedad antigua en su totalidad, a través de su vasto aparato ritual, la que proporcionó algo equivalente de lo que hoy llamamos «educación cívica».En el Imperio Romano universal, todos los ciudadanos eran educados por medio de esa «pedagogía ceremonial». Era una forma de educación colectiva, basada en símbolos y acciones para que los ciudadanos de las diversas identidades étnicas pudiesen «hablar» un lenguaje universal. Del mismo modo que la Iglesia Católica Romana (heredera de la universalidad del Imperio Romano) también ha utilizado el arte, la arquitectura, los rituales y los símbolos para educar a los fieles de todo el orbe.Hay un grupo de rituales romanos en particular (adventus, amburbium, lustrum), basados en majestuosas procesiones, cuyos vínculos con la educación de los ciudadanos son evidentes. El artículo explorará tales dimensiones educativas de los rituales, en lo que se cree que es una de sus formas supervivientes hoy, la procesión católica romana del santo patrón, la cual fue estudiada etnográficamente en un pueblo del centro de Italia.En Castelfiocco, un pueblo famoso por su campanilismo (fuerte sentimiento de pertenencia local), un sistema ritual basado en el culto a los santos, transmite a la población valores que sobreviven de un orden político más antiguo en el que el estado-nación moderno y global todavía no había aparecido. En este sistema tradicional, la dialéctica no es entre la localidad y la nación-estado, sino entre los miembros de la localidad y la universalidad de la Iglesia.La comprensión de algunos aspectos de tal dialéctica tradicional, y especialmente la comprensión de la forma en que se transmite a la población mediante rituales utilizados como pedagogía ceremonial, es de renovado interés en nuestra era de globalización.

La substitution des images aux reliques, et ses limites, dans la diffusion de lavirtusdes saints (espace français, fin XIIIe-XVes.)

After an earlier study regarding the Italian corpus, this article continues for the French territory an ample research started from the pioneering views of Andre Vauchez regarding the substitution of images for relics in the employment of the virtus of saints away from their tomb. – The article does not deal with images of the Virgin. – On the chronological level, the French corpus fits these views much better than the Italian, since the phenomenon is only really observed there from the 14th cent. In addition, a series of new data confirm that various images became “focal points” of the cult of saints far away from their tomb. But, as for the Italian corpus, in the texts studied it is more often contact relics and tiny first-class relics that appear as efficacious carriers of virtus. The last pages of the article underline how much the presentation, in spite of everything, only gives a very partial picture of a particularly complex reality.

La "Grotta dell'affresco": Il fenomeno del monachesimo sul confine tra il Ducato di Amalfi e il Principato di Salerno

During the Middle Ages, a migratory wave of Byzantine monks arrived in the Amalfi Coast. This phenomenon affected both the Duchy of Amalfi and the Principality of Salerno. The written sources of this period mention the translation of the relics, the adoption of the cult of Byzantine saints and the arrival in the territory of specialized craftsmen. The site, object of the study, is situated between the municipalities of Cetara and Maiori. The geological conformation and the ruggedness of the territory is excellent for the experience of Oriental troglodyte monasticism. However, for the same reason, systematic studies on the occupation of caves and high altitude settlements are scarce. The "Grotta dell'affresco", in the area of Monte Piano, represents the site with the most notable evidence of Middle Age material culture. The surface survey revealed the presence of several fictile fragments and a fresco, dating to the medieval period. The caves complex of Monte Piano is part of a wider area of Byzantine religious settlements which occupy the territory of Campania between late 9th and 11th centuries

The Miracles and Cult of St Margaret of Scotland

Queen Margaret (1070–93) has been the subject of much historical research. Previous studies of the queen and later saint have been undertaken from several different perspectives, including the biographical, institutional and hagiographical. In addition, some scholars have focused on her piety and later cult. Although a saint's miracles were one of the significant elements affecting the development of a cult, far less interest has been shown in the geopolitical importance of the miracles attributed to St Margaret and the relationship between the miracles and the saint's cult. The intention of this paper is to examine the miracles attributed to St Margaret and to identify their characteristics within the context of their contribution to, and influence in, the development of her cult.

La Création Et La Vénération Des Saints Au Maroc

This article, which is part of social and religious relations, tries to study the sainthood and the cult of saints in Morocco. In order to achieve the objective of this work, we adopt an empirical method, which is based essentially on documentary research. To analyze the cult of saints in Morocco, this article presents, at first, the definitions of the words " sainthood " and " saint ". Then, the different appellations used byMoroccan people to designate a saint, and the types of existing saints in the Kingdom. Finally, the reasons for which these saints are created and venerated.

ブルネイにおける聖者信仰の現状 : マレー・ムスリム村落での調査から

ブルネイにおける聖者信仰の現状 : マレー・ムスリム村落での調査から

インド・イスラームの聖者信仰 : ニザームッディーン廟の事例から

インド・イスラームの聖者信仰 : ニザームッディーン廟の事例から

チュニジアにおける聖者崇拝の機能と変化 : 文化的レベルと社会的レベル( イスラーム)

チュニジアにおける聖者崇拝の機能と変化 : 文化的レベルと社会的レベル( イスラーム)

Chrześcijański kult świętych i ich relikwii wciąż żywy. Turyński relikwiarz świętego Dominika Savio

The author of this article drew attention that the Christian cult of saints and their relics is still valid. This article was created on the occasion of the 160th anniversary of the death of St. Dominic Savio and the 10th anniversary of the pilgrimage his reliquary in Poland. The author of this study believes that the latter event confirms this thesis.

Un relato de traslación de reliquias en la Castilla del siglo XV: la obra de Alonso de Cartagena

El relato de traslación de reliquias es un género de literatura religiosa que no tuvo amplio desarrollo en la Castilla medieval. Pero Alonso de Cartagena contribuyó a éste notablemente. En 1453, durante una visita pastoral, decidió trasladar las reliquias de santa Juliana a un lugar más honorable. Compuso un relato de los hechos que se ajusta con rigor a los rasgos del género. Escrito en castellano, contiene una exposición sobre la conveniencia del culto a los santos y sus reliquias de intensa inspiración tomista, que expone con rigor y claridad cuestiones teológicas. Las disposiciones sobre la decoración de la capilla de las reliquias ofrecen por su posición equidistante un interesante testimonio del debate sobre la imagen religiosa que se desarrollaba entonces en Castilla.

Beyond Guadalupe: The Eucharist, the Cult of Saints, and Local Religion in Eighteenth-Century Mexico City

This article charts new ground within the historiography on colonial Mexican piety by arguing that the Virgin of Guadalupe did not dominate devotions in Mexico City even in the late colonial period. Rather, the single most important focus for pious attention was the Eucharist. Even in terms of Marian devotions, Our Lady of Sorrows figured as importantly as Guadalupe. Universal devotions like the Eucharist and Our Lady of Sorrows have received scant attention in scholarly literature on colonial Mexican piety, which has been guided by the concept of local religion, an analytical lens that largely overlooks the universal Church and its liturgy. This article calls upon scholars to attend more closely to the Mass and liturgy.

La relique, le reliquaire et le récit hagiographique : des relations ambiguës (diocèses de Mende et de Toulouse) ?

Relics, reliquaries and hagiographie stories : ambiguous narratives (dioceses of Mende and of Toulouse) ? The relationship between relics and hagiography appears quite clear. A systematic examination of this relationship in Languedoc shows however that it is not perhaps useless to question this evidence. The several tales of the translation or discovery of relics of southern French saints that it is proposed to study initially raise important problems, of how to date them, of publication and of circulation. It should be noted that relics have been the object of devotion without any hagiographie stories and have been found to strengthen the promotion of their cults. The case of the successors of St. Semin is in this regard is characteristic, even if one of these, Exupery, is seen to be endowed with a story that emerges from the Gregorian crisis at Toulouse, after the monks of Moissac occupied for a while the abbey of St. Semin. The latter, towards 1100, compiled the biggest written list of relics ever produced in a southern French monastery. This comprised more than 150 different saints, and it was intended to compare this with the 150 saints found indeed in the biggest book of saints ever produced in France in the XIth century, and also with the cult of saints as it appeared in the later liturgical manuscripts of this abbey. What comes out of this study is that a relic is not always accompanied by a hagiographic tale, and is not always the object of a cult. What therefore is its function in the heart of the monastic space ? The relic can extend beyond the hagiographic description, by integrating a reliquary of which the iconography allows the extension of the hagiographie legend, as is the case of an exceptional Toulousan reliquary of the XIIIth century, in which the Life of St. Exupery of Toulouse is rewritten and augmented with images. This illustrates perhaps how the relic has superior power over a hagiographic story. It alone structures the urban space of episcopal cities. Its location in the city brings a condition of different identities, and, in return, the production of new hagiographic stories at the end of the Middle Ages, in cathedrals deprived of prestigious relics of holy bishops which are preserved in other urban sanctuaries (Rodez, Toulouse, Albi). Thus, the absence of a relic can be as favourable to the creation of a hagiographic text as its possession.

Cults, Congregations, andconversi: The Cistercians of Coupar Angus and their Chapels

Chapels were commonly found in Cistercian ownership throughout Europe but remain an understudied topic, particularly in medieval Scotland. Yet their study has the potential to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the ways in which Cistercian houses interacted with local culture and lay populations through the cult of saints. This article examines those chapels which pertained to the abbey of Coupar Angus, considering the forms of worship which took place within them. It offers an interpretation of 'chapels on grange lands' as not necessarily synonymous with 'grange chapels' as they have typically been understood, while giving equal attention to chapels under Coupar's control elsewhere. In doing so, insight is gained into the evolving religious landscape of medieval Scotland and the role played by this abbey within it.

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

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...

Les reliques de l ’ancienne abbaye cistercienne de Grandselve

The relics of the ancient Cistercian abbey of Grandselve. On the site of the ancient Cistercian abbey of Grandselve (Grandissilva) one no longer finds any archaeological remains as a result of the destruction of the monastic buildings, (abbey church, cloisters...). Only seven gilded reliquaries, dating from the 1250s, have been preserved, and this goldsmith’s treasure has been protected for two centuries in the parish church of Bouillac (canton of Verdun-sur-Garonne, Tam-et-Garonne). On the basis of inventories drawn up in the XIXth century, one can get an idea of the contents of the four reliquary chests in the form of churches. Three reliquaries, called “phylacteries”, in the form of a tower (reliquary of the Holy Thom), the tables of the Law (the True Cross) and in discoidal form are ornamented with metal plaques (silver, copper). One of these is engraved, in beautiful, uncial writing, with the list of relics that it contains. Inside the wooden caskets covered with enamelled copper, are also found papyri allowing one to identify wrapped fragments of precious material. In addition to the bones are vegetable matter (sacred trees), minerals (stones, earth containing liquid (water, blood, oil) and numerous textiles (liturgical vestments). From this heteroclite collection is released the impression that the abbey wanted to assert its spiritual authority, by developing the cult of Cistercian saints (St. Bernard and other celebrated abbots). The shrine of St. Livrade offers a trace of a popular cult linked to the religious history of Gascony.

The Middle Ages in the Modern World: Twenty-First Century Perspectives by Bettina Bildhauer and Chris Jones

Reviewed by: The Middle Ages in the Modern World: Twenty-First Century Perspectives by Bettina Bildhauer and Chris Jones Marina Gerzić Bildhauer, Bettina, and Chris Jones, The Middle Ages in the Modern World: Twenty-First Century Perspectives (Proceedings of the British Academy, 208), Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017; hardback; pp. xx, 346; 21 b/w, 16 colour illustrations; R.R.P. US$135.00, £85.00; ISBN 9780197266144. The Middle Ages in the Modern World: Twenty-First Century Perspectives offers a fascinating array of international and multidisciplinary reflections on medievalism. The introduction by Bettina Bildhauer and Chris Jones presents a broad history of the continuing evolution of the idea of ‘the Middle Ages’ from the fourteenth century to the present day. The collection is then divided into three themed sections, with various genres and areas, such as film, literature, politics, and Byzantinism, discussed across all the sections. One of the major strengths of this wide-ranging collection is its diversity of voices and of subject matter, with topics ranging from how Old Norse sagas are used as evidence by climate change deniers, to the way that Lady Gaga employs medieval iconography in her music videos. Part I of the collection looks at medievalism in politics and histories. Bruce Holsinger’s chapter traces the origin of the idea of the ‘medieval Warm Period’ to a naïve reading of Landnámabók, highlighting the afterlife of the idea of the ‘Warm Period’ in political discourse regarding climate change in order to argue for a more engaged relationship between natural sciences and the humanities. Eamon Byers, Stephen Kelly, and Kath Stevenson examine the connection between cultural nationalism and the figures of Cú Chulainn and Saint Patrick in their chapter, showing how these figures were used to give legitimacy to political affiliations during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Patrick Geary argues that nineteenth-century scholars such as Alexandre Herculano, Jules Michelet, and Felix Dahn served as proto-celebrities, whose writings reflect a time when medieval origin myths were used to bolster European nations. Andrew Lynch’s chapter analyses the attitudes towards and representation of the Middle Ages in a selection of children’s histories from the eighteenth and nineteenth century, arguing that these works often feature the beginning of the British nation, war, and religion as ‘the chief signifiers of the Middle Ages’ (p. 90). [End Page 194] Part II of the collection looks at practising medievalism. Celebrated German author Felicitas Hoppe reflects on her experience in adapting Hartmann von Aue’s verse romance Iwein into the young-adult novel genre, highlighting the importance of female characters Laudine and Lunette, both in von Aue’s original and in her adaptation. Museum curator James Robinson’s chapter draws on his experience of curating the Treasures of Heaven exhibition at the British Museum to outline the parallels between the medieval cult of saints and contemporary celebrity culture. Composer and musician Graham Coatman’s chapter analyses the way that medieval music is used by British composers such as Benjamin Britten, Peter Maxwell Davies, and Judith Weir, arguing for their role as examples of a broader trend of medievalism in twentieth- and twenty-first-century avant-garde music. Archivist Fani Gargova demonstrates that ‘the political dimension of medievalism […] can only be understood through an investigation of archival material’ (p. 152), examining previously unknown photographs that prove the sustained contact of three early twentieth-century Byzantine scholars. Chris Jones’s chapter provides a rich overview of medievalism in recent British and Irish poetry, highlighting the renewed turn to the medieval in contemporary verse, and offering insightful reflections of his own involvement with two projects: the translation of Seamus Heaney’s versions of Robert Henryson’s Fables into a digital app; and the creation of poetic riddles capable of being published on Twitter. The joint chapter between Tommaso di Carpegna Falconieri and Lila Yawn focuses on the medieval revival festival Calendimaggio held in Assisi, and Pasolini’s left-wing medievalist Trilogy of Life, and provides insight not only into the nostalgia for, and a selective reevocation of, the medieval past, but also the importance of medievalism in Italian culture and politics. Part III of the collection centres on medievalism...