Fiction, memory, and identity in the cult of St. Maurus, 830-1270
John B. Wickstrom (Author)
"This book explores one of the most significant medieval saints' cults, that of St. Maurus, the first known disciple of Saint Benedict. Despite the centrality of this story to the myth of medieval Benedictine culture, no major scholarly work has been devoted to Maurus since the late nineteenth century. Drawing on memory studies, this book investigates the origins and history of the cult, from the ninth-century Life of St. Maurus by Odo, abbot of Glanfueil, to its appropriation and re-shaping by three powerful abbeys through to the thirteenth century--Fossés, Cluny, and Montecassino. It traces how these institutions deployed caches of mostly forged documents (many translated here for the first time) to adapt the cult to their aspirations and, moreover, considers how the cult adapted itself further, to face the challenges of the modern world." --Provided by publisher
xiv, 388 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
9783030869441, 303086944X
1272866996
ebook version :
Introduction: "Facts," "fictions," and "history"
A perfect monk and the mission to Francia
Constructing the shrine and its story
Ruin, restoration, and reform
The bishop and the abbot : inventing the cult
Appropriating the cult : Glanfeuil, Fleury, and Fossés
Patronage and prosperity
New freedoms, new liturgies, and expansion
The cult of Maurus and the monastic "empires"
Glanfeuil and Montecassino : fictive histories and constructed memories
Maurus at Montecassino : friction, exemptions, and crisis
Epilogue : redefining Maurus and his shrine for the modern world