Word, Image and Experience: Dynamics of Miracle and Self-Perception in Sixth-Century Gaul

by Nie,Giselle de

• ISBN13: 9780860789338
• ISBN10: 0860789330
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-28
• Publisher: Variorum

Summary

Focusing on the works of bishop Gregory of Tours (539-594) and the poet-hagiographer Venantius Fortunatus (540-c.604), in later life bishop of Poitiers, Dr de Nie gives in these innovative studies a new understanding of the miracle stories around which much of their writing revolves, but whose bizarre dynamics appear to defy sense, which has often resulted in their dismissal as useless to the historian. These authors' perceptions of miracles - and their renderings of the human self-awareness through which miracles are perceived and happen - are analysed as attempts, mostly rooted in models from the Bible, to adjust the early Christian tradition so as to make sense of, and protect themselves in, the highly insecure environment of 6th-century Frankish Gaul.Drawing on modern anthropological and psychological studies, notably in the area of spiritual healing practices, as well as on philosophical and theological reflections about verbal and mental imagery, she demonstrates how these can be used to throw fresh light on late antique society and its spirituality, exploring views of mind, affectivity, body, sensory phenomena, symbols, and the perception of women as well as of the qualities of images, verbal language and texts. The volume includes five essays not previously published in English.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Visions of the Heart	ix
Acknowledgements	xiv
SELF-PERCEPTION: A PERMEABLE VESSEL
I Is a Woman a Human Being?
Precept, Prejudice and Practice in Sixth-Century Gaul	1	(1)
First Published in Dutch as 'Is een vrouw een mens? Voorschrift, vooroordeel en praktijk in zesde-eeuws Gallie', in Het raadsel vrouwengeschiedenis, ed. FF de Haan et al. Tiende Jaarboek voor Vrouwengeschiedenis 10. Nijmegen, 1989, pp. 51-74
II The Body, Fluidity and Personal Identity in the World View of Gregory of Tours	1	(246)
First published in French as 'Le corps, la fluidité et l'identité personnelle dans la vision du monde de Grégoire de Tours', in Aevum inter utrumque. Mélanges offerts à Gabriel Sanders, ed. M. van Uytfanghe and R. Demeulenaere. Instrumenta Patristica 23. Steenbrugge, 1991, pp. 75-87
III Contagium and Images of Self in Late Sixth-Century Gaul	247	(273)
Purity and Holiness. The Heritage of Leviticus, ed. M.J.H.M. Poorthuis and J. Schwartz. Jewish and Christian Perspectives Series 2. Leiden, 2000
IV Images of Invisible Dynamics: Self and Non-Self in Sixth-Century Saints' Lives	520
Studia Patristica 35, ed. MF Wiles and E.J. Yarnold. Leuven, 2001
SYMBOLIC ACTION: MIRACLE - OR MAGIC?
V Caesarius of Arles and Gregory of Tours: Two Sixth-Century Gallic Bishops and 'Christian Magic'	170	(99)
Cultural Identity and Cultural Integration: Ireland and Europe in the Early Middle Ages, ed. D. Edel. Dublin, 1995
ICONIC ALCHEMY: THE DYNAMIC OF IMAGES
VI A Broken Lamp or the Effluence of Holy Power? Common Sense and Belief Reality in Gregory of Tours' Own Experience	269
Mediävistik 3. Frankfurt am Main, 1990
VII Seeing and Believing in the Early Middle Ages: A Preliminary Investigation	67	(1)
The Pictured Word. Word and Image Interactions 2, ed. M. Heusser et al. Studies in Comparative Literature 12. Amsterdam, 1998
VIII Gregory of Tours' Smile: Spiritual Reality, Imagination and Earthly Events in the "Histories"	68	(193)
Historiographie im frühen Mittelalter, ed. A. Scharer and G. Scheibelreiter. Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Osterreichische Geschichtsforschung 32. Wien, 1994
IX History and Miracle: Gregory's Use of Metaphor	261
The World of Gregory of Tours, ed. K. Mitchell and L Wood. Cultures, Beliefs and Traditions 8. Leiden, 2002
X The Poet as Visionary: Venantius Fortunatus's "New Mantle" for Saint Martin	49	(109)
Cassiodorus 3. Catanzaro, 1997
XI Iconic Alchemy: Imaging Miracles in Late Sixth-Century Gaul	158
Studia Patristica 30, ed. E.A. Livingstone. Leuven, 1997
XII Word, Image and Experience in the Early Medieval Miracle Story	97
Language and Beyond. Actuality and Virtuality in the Relations between Word, Image and Sound, ed. P Joret and A. Remael. Studies in Comparative Literature 17. Amsterdam, 1998
XIII Fatherly and Motherly Curing in Sixth-Century Gaul: Saint Radegund's Mysterium	53
Women and Miracle Stories. A Multidisciplinary Exploration, ed. A.-M. Korte. Namen Book Series. Studies in the History of Religions 88. Leiden, 2001
XIV Poetics of Wonder: Dream-Consciousness and Transformational Dynamics in Sixth-Century Miracle Stories	1	(1)
First published in German as 'Eine Poetik des Wunders: bildhaftes Bewusstsein und Verwandlungsdynamik in den Wundererzählungen des späten sechsten Jahrhunderts', in Mirakel im Mittelalter: Konzeptionen, Erscheinungsformen, Deutungen, ed. M. Heinzelmann, K. Herbers and D.R. Bauer Beiträge zur Hagiographie 3. Stuttgart 2002, pp. 135-150
THE MIRACLE IN LANGUAGE
XV The 'Power' of What is Said in the Book: Word, Script and Sign in Gregory of Tours	1	(114)
First published in Dutch as 'De "kracht" van wat in het boek gezegd wordt: Woord, schrift en teken in zesde-eeuws Gallie', in Oraliteit en Schriftcultuur, ed. R.E. V. Stuip and C. Vellekoop. Utrechtse Bijdragen tot de Mediëvistiek 12. Hilversum, 1993, pp. 63-88
XVI Text, Symbol and 'Oral Culture' in the Sixth-Century Church: The Miracle Story	115
Mediävistik 9. Frankfurt am Main, 1997
XVII The Language in Miracle - The Miracle in Language: Words and the Word according to Gregory of Tours	1	(1)
First published in German as 'Die Sprache im Wunder - das Wunder in der Sprache. Menschenwort und Logos bei Gregor von Tours', in Mitteilungen des Instituts fir Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 103. Wien, 1995, pp. 1-25
Index	1