Carolingian Hagiography
Carolingian Hagiography on Divine Dreams
During the 9th and 10th century in Europe a popular genre of writing was forming in the Frankish Realm that focused on the lives of Saints. Nowadays these Saints' lives are a major tool to investigate late ancient cultures of the middle ages. This new genre of hagiography became one of the major forms of literary production at the time. Such saint's lives, or vitae, survive in great numbers because of the genre’s popularity. Careful reading of them reveals, as one might expect, a great deal about the religious life of the periods that produced them as well as the basic social and cultural history. They provide information on: details of daily life; food and drink; organization of local rural and urban …show more content…
Leoba” recounted her unique childhood that was planned out before she could even choose a life of her own. At this time the lives of holy women were regulated by parents first and then the authority of holy male figures within the Church. In the beginning of the work, Rudolf, explains that “Any woman who wished to renounce the world and enter the cloister did so on the understanding that she would never leave it” (Rudolf 259). Ironically at this time it seemed that the women that entered these monasteries had no choice because their decisions were made at a very young age by their parents. In the case of Leoba, the parent’s decision was made prior to her conception because of the divine intervention of God during a dream that urged Leoba’s mother to conceive (Rudolf 262). The fact that God led to this decision helps readers to find justification in the path of Leoba to a life in the Church. Rudolf continues his conventional hagiographic narrative by describing the sanctity and nobility of Leoba’s parents, the circumstances of her birth, and her early education. The holiness of the family is used for the reasoning as to why Leoba was to be born (Rudolf 262). Although Rudolf attempts to make it seem like Leoba decided to devote her life to God, the pressure was entirely from the parents. The only reason she was a nun was because she did not know any other life thanks to the control of women in the Church at the
During the 9th and 10th century in Europe a popular genre of writing was forming in the Frankish Realm that focused on the lives of Saints. Nowadays these Saints' lives are a major tool to investigate late ancient cultures of the middle ages. This new genre of hagiography became one of the major forms of literary production at the time. Such saint's lives, or vitae, survive in great numbers because of the genre’s popularity. Careful reading of them reveals, as one might expect, a great deal about the religious life of the periods that produced them as well as the basic social and cultural history. They provide information on: details of daily life; food and drink; organization of local rural and urban …show more content…
Leoba” recounted her unique childhood that was planned out before she could even choose a life of her own. At this time the lives of holy women were regulated by parents first and then the authority of holy male figures within the Church. In the beginning of the work, Rudolf, explains that “Any woman who wished to renounce the world and enter the cloister did so on the understanding that she would never leave it” (Rudolf 259). Ironically at this time it seemed that the women that entered these monasteries had no choice because their decisions were made at a very young age by their parents. In the case of Leoba, the parent’s decision was made prior to her conception because of the divine intervention of God during a dream that urged Leoba’s mother to conceive (Rudolf 262). The fact that God led to this decision helps readers to find justification in the path of Leoba to a life in the Church. Rudolf continues his conventional hagiographic narrative by describing the sanctity and nobility of Leoba’s parents, the circumstances of her birth, and her early education. The holiness of the family is used for the reasoning as to why Leoba was to be born (Rudolf 262). Although Rudolf attempts to make it seem like Leoba decided to devote her life to God, the pressure was entirely from the parents. The only reason she was a nun was because she did not know any other life thanks to the control of women in the Church at the