Demonic Possession and Lived Religion in Later Medieval Europe by Katajala-Peltomaa Sari;

Author:Katajala-Peltomaa, Sari; [Katajala-Peltomaa, Sari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press USA - OSO
Published: 2020-02-07T00:00:00+00:00

Speaking the Devil: Speaking the Saint

Shouting, insulting, cursing, and blaspheming were among the daily troubles the demoniacs caused in their communities. This alarmed the community and facilitated the diagnosis. Such symptoms are only mentioned in passing; they are not exemplified in the form of direct quotations or systematically scrutinized by the inquisitorial committee. Not all demonic speech was silenced in the records, though. On some occasions, the words uttered by the demon via the demoniac were evidently a crucial element in the narration; they could form firm evidence for the miracle.

For example, a certain Helena de Pille in Siena was possessed by a demon and the affliction lasted for fourteen years. She was eventually cured at the shrine of Saint Ambrose of Siena in 1287. During the first seven years her torments were not visible to others, but during the last seven her vexation was obvious to everybody: Helena tore her clothes, scratched her face, and pulled her hair. She could hardly be held still by twelve persons. This case was recorded in a register at the shrine and confirmed by witnesses; many dignified ladies testified to Helena’s possession and recovery. A significant detail, the words of the demoniac, helped in the categorization. When interrogated about the source of the infirmity, the demon inside Helena replied that he was one of Lucifer’s angels that had been driven out of heaven. The malign spirit was further interrogated as to his intentions: for how long was he going to invade the poor woman? The demon did not respond, but his victim raised three fingers. Three years? was the next question. No, was the reply. Three weeks? No. Three days? Yes. The third day the demon started to shout, yelling: ‘I can’t remain here any longer since Saint Ambrose is driving me out.’ The demoniac was rushed to the shrine of Saint Ambrose, where she was cured.3

Similarly, a demon inside a young girl, the daughter of Rolandus de Reza, claimed that Raymondinus ought to expel him. The bystanders needed to verify the remedy and asked where this Raymondinus was. The saint meant by the demon was Raymond of Piacenza (Raymundus Palmarii), and the girl was taken to his shrine and cured. The journey was not easy, however, since the demoniac exhausted her co-pilgrims, and the demon inside continued his offences, crying, ‘Raymondinus, may you have bad fortune.’ But once at the shrine the affliction stopped immediately because of the intercession of the said Raymond.4 The utterances of the demon were a curious mix of certainty about the saint’s powers of exorcism and the malice of the demon in the form of an insult. ‘Raymundinus’ was a diminutive version of the saint’s name. In another similar case, the demoniacs called out for Saint Clare of Montefalco, mocking her as ‘Chiaruccia, Chiaruccia,’5 which was clearly a pejorative variant of the name Chiara. The demeaning nicknames were a verbal form of combat: by belittling these saints, their position, and their power, the demons were simultaneously asserting that Raymond and Clare were saints with the power to expel them.

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