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applyparastyle “fig//caption/p[1]” parastyle “FigCapt” 292 Mediaevistik 33 . 2020 2020 These are not the only instances of this pardon can ultimately help the nation. facts omitted. There is mention of the Bri- Pardoning a racist criminal, however, a tish triumph over Northumbrian forces at threat to our nation, who is ready to incite “Meigen” in 633 (p. 223), but nothing on it the mob further is like punching yourself 00 as Hatfield Chase, near Doncaster. Doubts in your face. studies since the late 1990s. expressed in Rachel Bromwich, Trioedd Andrew Breeze 00 Ynys Prydein, 2nd edn (Cardiff, 1978), p. University of Navarre·31009 Pamplona 152, can be dismissed. The conflict was ·[email protected] 1 in south Yorkshire and not on the Welsh border, as she assumed. A further bloody page 292 encounter, the fifth-century slaughter of Welsh princes at “Caer Caradoc” (p. 360), Hagiographie et prophétie (VIe‒XIII is left unidentified by Rebecca Try. We e siècles), ed. Patrick Henriet, Klaus 2020 say here that Geoffrey of Monmouth put Herbers, and Hans-Christian Leh- this (mythical) event at Salisbury, arbitra- ner. Micrologus Library, 80. Florence: rily given the name of Caradoc, a village Sismel – Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2017, south of Hereford. His literary crime may 267 pp. be deduced from J. E. B. Gover, Allen Ma- Hagiographie et prophétie opens with wer, and Frank Stenton, The Place-Names a short introduction by Patrick Henriet of Wiltshire (Cambridge, 1939), p. xxxix, (3–14). Departing from the definitions of and E. Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dic- prophets by Augustine and Gregory the tionary of English Place-Names, 4th edn Great, Henriet suggests that saints often (Oxford, 1960), p. 86. play the role of the prophet. This relati- Dr. Guy and his team have produced onship between “saint” and “prophet” is a work of interest for specialists in Welsh the focus of this essay collection. historiography. It is a pity that its chief les- Marie-Céline Isaïa addresses the noti- son is in showing them as unaware of, or on of “prophecy” as a specific approach to chosing to ignore, much that has happe- writing history in saints’ lives in the Early ned in Welsh Kenneth Lasson, in his guest Middle Ages (15–50). Prophesying saints opinion (1-12-21) recommends that Biden escape human temporality, and their Vitae should pardon Trump because it would si- indicate an original examination of time, gnal „that the outgoing president is not a destiny, vocation, and predestination. target and help calm tensions.” This adds Isaïa distinguishes a changing function insult to injury. Do the rioters in DC and of prophecy: initially, prophetic charisma elsewhere really just want to protect their indicates sanctity (6th–7th c.), and later it beloved Trump, who has done so much for emphasizes a teaching authority (8th–9th them over the last 4 years, especially be- c.). She observes a transformation in the traying our country to Russia numerous characterization of saints: Until the 8th times, consistently lying to the public, and century, hagiographers were interested in attacking the foundation of our democracy the saints who are beyond this world and to propel himself to the throne of a dicta- time; starting in the 8th century, saints are tor? Bravo, what a leader, what a braggart, immersed in human history, predestined what a bully, what a cheater! Pardon a per- to play a role in God’s design. son only works and is the right thing to do Edina Bozoky examines the Life of Co- when there is true contrition, when the per- lumba (51–70), a work written at the end of petrator might have been a victim of cir- the 7th century by Adomnan, the ninth Abt cumstances or too narrow laws, and when of Iona, the monastery founded by Colum- Mediaevistik 33 . 2020 293 ba (521–597). It contains some hundred akness and prophetic authority, the new prophecies, thus constituting an exception genre of “spiritual autobiography,” and both in Irish and continental hagiographi- the relevance of the History of Salvation. cal literature. Adomnan glorifies Colum- Laurence Moulinier-Brogi assesses the ba’s monastery, whose prestige should be mystical and hagiographical literature writ- recognized not only by the Irishmen, but ten by women in the late Middle Ages (193– also by the menacing Anglo-Saxon. 214). The author departs from the usual Sumi Shimahara explores whether Old perspectives that focus on national borders Testament prophets served as models for and religious orders, seeking instead a bro- Carolingian hagiography (71–110). While ader view of the reception of several wri- saints and prophets constitute a lineage tings by spiritual women across Europe. of just men beginning with Genesis, they This reveals a dynamic image of the places belong to two different times in the His- where mystical writings originated over the tory of Salvation: after and before the In- centuries (202–204) and of the relationship carnation. Prophets were one possible pa- between Latin and vernacular languages. radigm among others for hagiographers. Hans-Christian Lehner considers the The paradigm for excellence was Christ. link between prophecies and the figure of Patrick Henriet analyzes the cosmic vi- Bishop Henry I of Lübeck (†1182) in the sions contained in various hagiographies Chronica Slavorum written by Arnold of from the 6th to the 12th centuries (111–126). Lübeck in 1210 (215–234). In this work, In such visions, the saint sees with her/his almost all prophecies are related to de- interior eyes the earth and sky in the form scriptions of the life of Henry, Arnold’s of a globe. These visions, influenced by a mentor. Henry’s (dream) visions and the vision of Saint Benedict recounted by Gre- justification of the credibility of visions gory the Great, consider not only space, but underscores the sanctity of the visionary also time – in particular, the end of time. in a historical setting. Klaus Herbers considers visionary and Jean-Marie Sansterre explores predic- prophetic aspects in the lives and posthu- tions and presages that take place when mous miracles of saints (127–144), focu- Christian images are suddenly and tem- sing on the hagiographies of pope Leo porarily animated (235–252). The image IX and Heribert of Cologne, Chancellor changes its appearance announcing events of Otto III., from the 11th century, and such as fires, famines, etc.; or they are of Emperor Henry II and Charlemagne, used as oracles. Three examples explore from the 12th. Their visions have different this relationship of image with prophecy functions, indicating that the ability to in the last centuries of the Middle Ages. receive visions and prophecies was proof André Vauchez’s conclusion summari- of a person’s sanctity. zes the way prophecy within hagiography Uta Kleine examines the life and changed throughout history (253–260). At works of the visionary Elisabeth of Schö- the time of the Church Fathers, there are nau (145–192). Elisabeth represents the no longer any prophets. Prophecy lived on, “prophetic turn” of the 12th century, in but as an element of sanctity. In the 6th and which “visualization” came to be a com- 7th centuries, hagiographers attributed pro- mon mode of prophecy. Kleine describes phetic charisma to hermits and cenobites. well-known aspects of Elisabeth’s life Starting in the 9th century, saintly bishops and visions: the tension between intima- solidified their role in society with pro- tely received vision and its public expres- phetic words. Other literary genres such as sion, the ambiguity between physical we- eschatological visions began to appear in applyparastyle “fig//caption/p[1]” parastyle “FigCapt” 294 Mediaevistik 33 . 2020 2020 the 10th century. The 12th century witnes- the fourth to the sixteenth century. The sed the emergence of visionary women, entries in each volume treat the hagiogra- and in the 13th century, supernatural re- phical corpus of a distinct region during a velations characterized women hagiogra- particular period of time. The book under 00 phies. By the end of 15th century, however, review is the seventh volume in the series the Church had broken the bond between and shares both the strengths and idiosyn- 00 prophecy and hagiography. crasies of its predecessors. The strengths The collection would have benefited are manifold. Chief among them are the 1 from more unifying themes. Several to- depth of research presented in each ar- pics have been discussed here, including ticle. Unfettered by the constraints of page 294 the conception of time in the description academic journals or standard edited of prophetic events, the (political) moti- collections, the essays in Hagiographies vation for designating someone as a clair- tend to be very long and comprehensive, 2020 voyant saint, the role of prophetic traits in sometimes over 100 pages in length, with the reception of hagiographical or histo- good maps and expansive bibliographies. riographical works. A common theme of A shortcoming of the series is its bricola- several contributions is the well-known ge character. The individual volumes ge- fact that prescience and clairvoyance nerally have very little thematic, geogra- were signs of sanctity. This leaves unans- phical, or chronological unity. As a result, wered how we should assess the import- a reader looking for articles on the histo- ance of prophecy in hagiography. Quan- ry of hagiography in a distinct region or titative studies examining the place and during a particular time period often has function of prophecy in hagiographies to consult essays in multiple books in the may help. But this anthology succeeds in series. Fortunately, the editors have inclu- showing that still much work is needed to ded a “table générale des matières” (5-8), understand the relationship between pro- updated with each new volume, which phecy and hagiography and the function provides a table of contents of all of the of saints in medieval society.

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