Neo-Latin commentaries and the management of knowledge in the late middle ages and the Early modern period (1400-1700) - - ebook

Bodily suffering and patient, Christlike attitudes towards that suffering were among the key characteristics of sainthood throughout the medieval period. Drawing on new work in medieval dis/ability studies, this book analyses the meanings given to putative saints' bodily infirmities in late medieval canonization hearings. How was an individual saint's bodily ailment investigated in the inquests, and how did the witnesses (re)construct the saintly candidates' ailments? What meanings were given to infirmity when providing proofs for holiness? This study depicts holy infirmity as an aspect of sanctity that is largely defined within the community, in continual dialogue with devotees, people suffering from doubt, the holy person, and the cultural patterns ascribed to saintly life. Furthermore, it analyses how the meanings given to saints' infirmities influenced and reflected society's attitudes towards bodily ailments in general.

Isidore of Seville (560-636) was a crucial figure in the preservation and sharing of classical and early Christian knowledge. His compilations of the works of earlier authorities formed an essential part of monastic education for centuries. Due to the vast amount of information he gathered and its wide dissemination in the Middle Ages, Pope John Paul II even named Isidore the patron saint of the Internet in 1997. This volume represents a cross section of the various approaches scholars have taken toward Isidore's writings. The essays explore his sources, how he selected and arranged them for posterity, and how his legacy was reflected in later generations' work across the early medieval West. Rich in archival detail, this collection provides a wealth of interdisciplinary expertise on one of history's greatest intellectuals.