ISSN: 0213-2060 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14201/shhme202038297116 PEASANT AGENCY AND THE SUPERNATURAL La agencia campesina y lo sobrenatural Thomas KOHL Seminar für mittelalterliche Geschichte. Philosophische Fakultät. Universität Tübingen. Keplerstr. 2 72074 TÜBINGEN. C. e.:
[email protected];
[email protected] Recibido: 2020-06-16 Revisado: 2020-08-03 Aceptado: 2020-10-26 ABSTRACT: Engaging with supernatural forces was a necessity for Carolingian peasants – Christian authorities expected this and the belief in the inevitability of these acts seems to have been widely shared by contemporaries who lived in a world far beyond their control. Miracle collections show that peasants (and others) made conscious decisions about the way in which they wanted to interact with supernatural forces. In doing this, they also took into account the networks of individuals and institutions who controlled the saints’ resting places, which could provide invaluable support for those seeking help. Others chose practices beyond what contemporary elites regarded as legitimate, such as hiring weather- makers to prevent bad weather. In some cases, peasants actively sought to enter into a saint’s dependency, either by giving themselves to the saint or by convincing their lords to hand them over to a saint and his or her shrine. Keywords: Peasants; Miracles; Saints; Heresy; Legal status. RESUMEN: Comprometerse con fuerzas sobrenaturales era una necesidad para los campesinos de época carolingia - las autoridades cristianas así lo esperaban y la creencia en la inevitabilidad de estos actos parece haber sido ampliamente compartida por los contemporáneos que vivían en un mundo que estaba mucho más allá de su control.