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TRANSLATION ACCOUNTS AND REPRESENTATIONS OF POPULAR BELIEF IN THE HAGIOGRAPHY OF THE COMMUNITY OF ST FILIBERT

TRANSLATION ACCOUNTS AND REPRESENTATIONS OF POPULAR BELIEF IN THE HAGIOGRAPHY OF THE COMMUNITY OF ST FILIBERT

Harding, Christian (University of St Andrews, Scotland)

Quest, Issue 6, Spring (2009)

Abstract

In late 830, Einhard, onetime courtier to the late emperor Charlemagne, wrote an account of the transfer of the relics of saints Marcellinus and Peter that he had recently acquired from Rome. When describing what happened when he united all of the relics at their final location at Mulinheim, some having been appropriated by a rival en route, the account took on an aspect that revealed a highly charged social response to their arrival. What follows is a quotation from his account:

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At this point the crowd that had left the palace (of Aachen) with us, after adoring and kissing the sacred relics and after shedding many tears, which they could not restrain because everyone was filled with so much joy, returned home. Then another crowd met us and these people joined in singing the Kyrie eleison without stopping until we reached another place where we were overtaken by others also hurrying to meet us. Then, just as before, the [second] crowd said prayers and returned home. In this way, we were joined every day from dawn to dusk by crowds ofpeople praising the Lord Christ, and, with the Lord watching (we continued on).


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