Physical Disability and Marriage in Later Medieval (c. 1200–1500) Miracle Testimonies
By Jenni Kuuliala
Mirator, Vol.14:2 (2013)
Introduction: In September 1470, a man called Laurencius Rawaldi from Linköping in Sweden was struck by a severe condition in his eyes. The illness left him blind for three years, during which he—according to his own testimony—was useless for both himself and others. Following the advice of the abbot of Alvastra Abbey, he made a vow with his wife and children to Catherine of Vadstena, promising that if the saint cured his blindness, he would travel to her shrine and bring two wax eyes. When the vow was done, ‘jugs of water’ streamed from his eyes and he regained his vision. Afterwards he travelled to Vadstena with his family without anyone guiding him.
The testimony Laurencius gave of his miraculous cure in the 1470’s is only one example of the thousands of similar testimonies included in later medieval canonisation hearings. Beginning in the early thirteenth century, the popes wanted to take more control on the veneration of saints, which had earlier been in the hands of local bishops. As a result a procedure known as the canonisation process developed.
It always started with a local cult, and if the Pope considered it worth investigating, he sent a commission to interview people about the life, merits and miracles of the putative saint. During these interrogations, priests, monks, nuns and also a large number of laymen and laywomen testified under oath about the miracles they had experienced or witnessed, and the sources can be compared with other juridical sources of the era. The witness accounts are strongly influenced by the practicalities and legal aspects of the canonisation hearing, by the preferences of the commissioners, by the typicalities of the said cult, and by the widely accepted and internalised views about the miraculous.
Moreover, the witnesses often gave their testimonies years, even decades after the actual event, and thus time as well as communal discussions and opinions undoubtedly distorted the retellings. It was, however, important that the witnesses’ replies were recorded accurately and the testimonies were read to them so that possible mistakes could be corrected. Thus it has been concluded that the message delivered in the testimonies is that of the witnesses, even if the language belongs to notaries and other civil servants.
Physical Disability and Marriage in Later Medieval (c. 1200–1500) Miracle Testimonies
By Jenni Kuuliala
Mirator, Vol.14:2 (2013)
Introduction: In September 1470, a man called Laurencius Rawaldi from Linköping in Sweden was struck by a severe condition in his eyes. The illness left him blind for three years, during which he—according to his own testimony—was useless for both himself and others. Following the advice of the abbot of Alvastra Abbey, he made a vow with his wife and children to Catherine of Vadstena, promising that if the saint cured his blindness, he would travel to her shrine and bring two wax eyes. When the vow was done, ‘jugs of water’ streamed from his eyes and he regained his vision. Afterwards he travelled to Vadstena with his family without anyone guiding him.
The testimony Laurencius gave of his miraculous cure in the 1470’s is only one example of the thousands of similar testimonies included in later medieval canonisation hearings. Beginning in the early thirteenth century, the popes wanted to take more control on the veneration of saints, which had earlier been in the hands of local bishops. As a result a procedure known as the canonisation process developed.
It always started with a local cult, and if the Pope considered it worth investigating, he sent a commission to interview people about the life, merits and miracles of the putative saint. During these interrogations, priests, monks, nuns and also a large number of laymen and laywomen testified under oath about the miracles they had experienced or witnessed, and the sources can be compared with other juridical sources of the era. The witness accounts are strongly influenced by the practicalities and legal aspects of the canonisation hearing, by the preferences of the commissioners, by the typicalities of the said cult, and by the widely accepted and internalised views about the miraculous.
Moreover, the witnesses often gave their testimonies years, even decades after the actual event, and thus time as well as communal discussions and opinions undoubtedly distorted the retellings. It was, however, important that the witnesses’ replies were recorded accurately and the testimonies were read to them so that possible mistakes could be corrected. Thus it has been concluded that the message delivered in the testimonies is that of the witnesses, even if the language belongs to notaries and other civil servants.
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