Thesis advisor: Matilda Tomaryn Bruckner / This study demonstrates the essential connection between literature and history by examining the way selected saints’ lives were read and rewritten in Latin and Old French from the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. Building on the concept of the horizon of expectations developed by Hans Robert Jauss, it argues against both the model of literature as a series of timeless classics whose meaning is apparent to the intelligent reader of any age and the tendency to reduce literature to the more or less successful imitation of historical realities. Not only does the interpretation of a saint’s life change over time as the text is read in different religious and cultural contexts, but the narrative is in turn capable of influencing the way its readers understand themselves and the world in which they live. By comparing different versions of each saint’s life, I am able to isolate variations in form, tone, characterization, and action, and relate them to the experiences of specific historical figures whose lives illustrate the important religious and cultural issues of their time. In order to do this, I examine three saints’ lives in light of the sometimes troubled relationship between the clerical order of the church and the laity. Two Latin and two Old French versions of the Life of Saint Alexis are read along with the life of Christina of Markyate, an English woman who fled from her husband to become a recluse. Alexis’s and Christina’s refusal of marriage illustrates the tension between the monastic model of fleeing from the world to save one’s self and the pastoral ideal of working for the salvation of others. I compare the figure of the mother in two very similar Old French versions of the Life of Pope Saint Gregory, a story of incest, penance, and redemption, to Ermengarde of Anjou, a countess who could never commit herself to life in a convent. Like Ermengarde and countless other lay men and women, Gregory’s mother faces the question of whether she can live a sufficiently holy life as a lay person or needs to enter a convent to expiate her sins. Finally, I read Latin and Old French verse and prose versions of the Life of Saint Mary the Egyptian in light of the similar yet opposing experiences of Valdes of Lyon and Francis of Assisi in relation to the question of heresy and orthodoxy. My understanding of the medieval religious historical context, particularly the history of the laity in the Church, builds on the foundational work of Raoul Manselli, Etienne Delaruelle, and André Vauchez, as well as more recent work by Michel Grandjean, who compares the different visions of the laity held by Peter Damien, Anselm of Canterbury, and Yves of Chartres. My dissertation shows that the different versions of saints’ lives not only reflect the evolution of attitudes about human relationships, salvation, and orthodoxy that characterize the time and place in which they were written, but also question the practices of later readers and offer solutions to new problems in new contexts. As my study demonstrates, ideals like the monastic identification of holiness with asceticism shape the way people understand and direct their lives, and the source for these ideals can often be found in literary texts like saints’ lives. These texts do not communicate these ideals transparently. The juxtapositions, tensions, and conflicts they depict can lead the reader to come to a more nuanced understanding or even a total reconsideration of his or her beliefs. The study of rewriting and medieval saints’ lives can help us better understand this interplay between narrative, ideal, and lived experience. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Romance Languages and Literatures.

Thesis advisor: Margaret E. Guider / Thesis advisor: Michael Simone / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Adelaide, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (v. 1, leaves 356-387).

Bibliography: v. 1, leaves 356-387.

Ten slides in pocket. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Durante a Idade Média, o homem português expressava sua fé de algumas formas. A peregrinação se constituía em uma dessas formas. Neste sentido, observamos um Mosteiro na região da Estremadura Castelhana, onde frades da Ordem de São Jerônimo guardavam uma imagem de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe. Este Mosteiro foi alvo de peregrinação de simples portugueses, passando por membros de vários estratos sociais e até de um monarca, D. Afonso V. Para analisarmos esta peregrinação no século XV, utilizamos como fonte o Livro de Milagres do Mosteiro, onde os Jerónimos recolhiam os motivos da peregrinação e, assim, possuindo instrumentos para a divulgação do culto à virgem de Guadalupe. A análise da documentação leva-nos a descobrir aspectos da espiritualidade do português medieval, assim como também a observarmos que não somente de fé vivia a rota para o Mosteiro, visto que um jogo político igualmente fazia sua peregrinação. / During the Middle Age, portuguese man used to express their faith in many ways. Peregrination was one of theses ways. In this sense, we observed a Monastery located in the region of the Castilian Extremadura, in which friars of the Order of Saint Jerome kept an image of Saint Mary of Guadalupe. This Monastery was the target of peregrination of mere Portuguese man, members of different social classes and even a monarch, D. Afonso V. The analysis of XV century peregrination was based on the Book of Miracles of the Monastery, where hieronymites collected the reasons of the peregrination and, thus, had instruments to spread the cult to the virgin of Guadalupe. The analysis of the documentations reveals aspects of Portuguese man spirituality. We also observe that the route for the Monastery was not motivated only by faith, considering that the peregrination also constituted a political game.

Durante a Idade Média, o homem português expressava sua fé de algumas formas. A peregrinação se constituía em uma dessas formas. Neste sentido, observamos um Mosteiro na região da Estremadura Castelhana, onde frades da Ordem de São Jerônimo guardavam uma imagem de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe. Este Mosteiro foi alvo de peregrinação de simples portugueses, passando por membros de vários estratos sociais e até de um monarca, D. Afonso V. Para analisarmos esta peregrinação no século XV, utilizamos como fonte o Livro de Milagres do Mosteiro, onde os Jerónimos recolhiam os motivos da peregrinação e, assim, possuindo instrumentos para a divulgação do culto à virgem de Guadalupe. A análise da documentação leva-nos a descobrir aspectos da espiritualidade do português medieval, assim como também a observarmos que não somente de fé vivia a rota para o Mosteiro, visto que um jogo político igualmente fazia sua peregrinação. / During the Middle Age, portuguese man used to express their faith in many ways. Peregrination was one of theses ways. In this sense, we observed a Monastery located in the region of the Castilian Extremadura, in which friars of the Order of Saint Jerome kept an image of Saint Mary of Guadalupe. This Monastery was the target of peregrination of mere Portuguese man, members of different social classes and even a monarch, D. Afonso V. The analysis of XV century peregrination was based on the Book of Miracles of the Monastery, where hieronymites collected the reasons of the peregrination and, thus, had instruments to spread the cult to the virgin of Guadalupe. The analysis of the documentations reveals aspects of Portuguese man spirituality. We also observe that the route for the Monastery was not motivated only by faith, considering that the peregrination also constituted a political game.

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2005. / Vita. "May 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-65).

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2005. / Vita. "May 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-65).

The cult of the Virgin Mary reached its climactic point in Europe during the Middle Ages, and was particularly strong in Spain. Literature became a concrete expression of Marianism because it reflected the beliefs of the populace. Gonzalo de Berceo, a Castilian monk, greatly influenced by the ever-growing Marian piety, wrote a collection of poems in which the activity of the Blessed Mother in everyday human life is documented. I propose to do a detailed miracle-by-miracle analysis of Mary's interactions with others by focusing on Berceo's characterization of her in her principal role as a mother. In addition, I will analyze the characters to whom Mary renders assistance since they are representative of Berceo's audience and are people to whom the common people were able to relate. Finally, I will consider the visions of Mary that occur during the miracles, particularly whether or not she appears, to whom she appears, and why. Through this study of the Milagros, it will become apparent that while Berceo incorporates elements of the predominating theology into his miracles, the stories are primarily a reflection of the popular belief. Berceo demonstrates the influence of theology by depicting in his miracles all of the maternal qualities Mary embodied that appealed to people looking for a motherly figure to turn to in time of need. In addition, the role of Mary as an all-powerful intercessor who decides on her own who receives miracles, and who does not, reflects the common faith of the people living in the Middle Ages.