The Multifunctionality of a Medieval Hagiography
A historical case study of the "Gesta et Passio" and the making of the Danish royal Saint Cnut (c. 1100)
By (author) Fiona Fritz
Paperback (Published)
(February 2024)
ISBN: 9783515135979
6.69 x 9.49 inches
Price: $75.00
In stock
The Gesta et Passio’is a Latin hagiographic text written around 1112 by Aelnoth of Canterbury about the Danish king Cnut who was killed in 1086 and later venerated as St. Cnut. The analysis of the text considers both the historical context of its production and various textual moves and strategies employed by the author. Over and above the results attained in relation to the Gesta et Passio as an individual text, the present study can be taken as a general exploration of methods for the analysis of the potential of hagiographical texts for various functions and for multifunctionality.
The ‘Gesta et Passio’ is a Latin hagiographic text written around 1112 by Aelnoth of Canterbury about the Danish king Cnut who was killed in 1086 and later venerated as St Cnut. Due to its textual complexity Aelnoth’s work has been considered heterogeneous and strangely structured. With her study Fiona Fritz aims to show that this complexity reflects the systematic multifunctionality of the text and that the text’s construction afforded Aelnoth the opportunity to express his perception of contemporaneous ecclesiastical and secular political matters. Relevant textual functions include the construction of Cnut as a royal saint, propagating the cult of St Cnut, furthering ecclesiastical interests, presenting an ideology of kingship, and enhancing the legitimacy of the ruling dynasty. The analysis of the text considers both the historical context of its production and various textual moves and strategies employed by the author. Over and above the results attained in relation to the ‘Gesta et Passio’ as an individual text, the present study can be taken as a general exploration of methods for the analysis of the potential of hagiographical texts for various functions and for multifunctionality.
Fiona Fritz was a Research Assistant at Kiel University in the research project on “Holy Heroes – Heroic Saints” funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) from 2015 to 2017. Since 2018 she works at the Körber-Stiftung in the History and Politics department, since 2021 as Programme Director of eCommemoration, a project on digital memory culture.
- By (author) Fiona Fritz
Other Titles in this Series
Unterwegs im Namen der Religion. Bd. 2 / On the Road in the Name of Religion. Vol. 2
Wege und Ziele in vergleichender Perspektive – das mittelalterliche Europa und Asien / Ways and Destinations in Comparative Perspective – Medieval Europe and Asia
Patriotische Heilige
Beitrage zur Konstruktion religioser und politischer Identitaten in der Vormoderne
Volume 5
Heiligenverehrung in Süditalien
Studien zum Kult in der Zeit des 8. bis beginnenden 11. Jahrhunderts
Die hagiographischen Werke Hildeberts von Lavardin, Baudris von Bourgueil und Marbods von Rennes
Heiligkeit im Zeichen der Kirchenreform und der Réécriture
Heilige Funde
Reliquienauffindungen und „Inventiones reliquiarum“ im karolingisch-fränkischen Raum (4.–12. Jahrhundert)
Konfigurationen des Wunders
Texte, Praktiken und Funktionen in Spätantike, Mittelalter und Früher Neuzeit
Unterwegs im Namen der Religion / On the Road in the Name of Religion
Pilgern als Form von Kontingenzbewältigung und Zukunftssicherung in den Weltreligionen / Pilgrimage as a Means of Coping with Contingency and Fixing the Future in the World's Major Religions
Der heilige Vinzenz von Zaragoza
Studien zur Präsenz eines Märtyrers zwischen Spätantike und Hochmittelalter
Die Stadt Köln und ihre Heiligen
Lokale Geschichtsvorstellungen in der Hagiographie des 10.–12. Jahrhunderts
Visionen und ihre Kontexte
Kodifizierung, Autorisierung und Authentisierung von Offenbarung (12.–17. Jahrhundert)
Heiligkeiten
Konstruktionen, Funktionen und Transfer von Heiligkeitskonzepten im europäischen Früh- und Hochmittelalter
Gesta, Fama, Scripta
Rheinische Mirakle des Hochmittelalters zwischen Geschichtsdeutung, Erzahlung und sozialer Praxis
Volume 7
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