Comparison Of Miracles In Einhard Ugolino And Boccaccio

During the Middle Ages, the notion of God was present in many aspects of life, whether celebrating life, mourning death, or acknowledging him in church. It is no wonder miracles would be noticeable and dwelled upon as people went about their lives. Extraordinary occurrences could favor those who pleased God or punish sinners who disregarded for righteousness. In their works, Einhard, Ugolino, and Boccaccio convey two types of realistic miracles: good miracles and moral miracles, both of which relate the God’s omnipresent essence in evaluating man’s inner desires.
To begin, good miracles are those that benefit the main character and improve his standing. One prime example is Ser Ciappelletto, an evil man, who eventually was made a saint after
Although some seem a bit outlandish, their consistent nature from book to book would seem very convincing as truth for the average lay man or woman. This was also strengthened by the fact that miracles emulated Biblical events. In one instance found in Decameron, the Angel Gabriel made an appearance to a monk who desired to sleep with a woman (Boccaccio 252). Correspondingly, when St. Francis and his companions are merely merely discussing God in a fervent manner, he suddenly appears to them “filling them with grace and sweetness” (Brunforte 23). God revealed himself in the same manner as the prophets in the Old Testament and to Jesus in the New Testament. These literary explanations served to promote the Bible’s authenticity and lasting effects, making God’s truth more real to lay persons. Parallelism could also be seen in the description of bright lights, which were common in all three of the texts when holy people communicated with God in prayer. Such Biblical emphasis of stories would make people want to copy these good deeds so they could have positive, godly experiences in their
Notker and Boccaccio both make it clear that corrupt clergy are strongly affected by moral miracles. The former describes a deacon with a bad heart who innocently gets bit by a spider while reciting hymns and then dies. Later on, there is a very literate and knowledgeable cleric who failed to acknowledge God and was disappeared right before the eyes of Charlemagne, who was left smelling burnt coal (Notker 83-84). Similarly, because of the anticlericalism Boccaccio displays, one section of his stories mention “a miracle to hear of a cleric acting with generosity” (Boccaccio 578), completely parallel to the way Notker displays clergy, as typically selfish in their acts. Conversely, Ugolino stresses faith and proselytizing in almost all of St. Francis’s actions. Little Flowers reflects a more positive view of the church and highlights the humility in the great deeds of St. Francis and his friar disciples. The Wolf of Gubbio story demonstrates the great and awesome power of God, through St. Francis’ faith, to triumph over the power of evil (Brunforte 35). All in all, there is a clear sense the authors push readers towards having a greater trust in God rather than man, even church leaders, whom are fallible and apt towards sinful