The Book of Sainte Foy
The Book of Sainte Foy
translated with an introduction and notes by PAMELA SHEINGORN
The Song of Sainte Foy translated by ROBERT L. A. CLARK
Series: The Middle Ages Series
Copyright Date: 1995
Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press
Pages: 344
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fhq5x
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The Book of Sainte Foy
Book Description:

The miracle stories surrounding Sainte Foy form one of the most complete sets of material relating to a medieval saint's cult and its practices. Pamela Sheingorn's superb translation from the Medieval Latin texts now makes this literature available in English.The Book of Sainte Foyrecounts the virgin saint's martyrdom in the third century (Passio), the theft of her relics in the late ninth century by the monks of the monastery at Conques (Translatio), and her diverse miracles (Liber miraculorum); also included is a rendering of the Provençal Chanson de Sainte Foy, translated by Robert L. A. Clark.The miracles distinguish Sainte Foy as an unusual and highly individualistic child saint displaying a fondness for gold and pretty things, as well as a penchant for playing practical jokes on her worshippers. In his record of Sainte Foy, Bernard of Angers, the eleventh-century author of the first parts of theLiber miraculorum, emphasized the saint's "unheard of" miracles, such as replacing missing body parts and bringing dead animals back to life.The introduction to the volume situates Sainte Foy in the history in the history of hagiography and places the saint and her monastery in the social context of the high Middle Ages. Sheingorn also evokes the rugged landscape of south central France, the picturesque village of Conques on the pilgrimage road, and, most important, the golden, jewel-encrusted reliquary statue that medieval believers saw as the embodiment of Sainte Foy's miracle-working power. In no other book will readers enjoy such a comprehensive portrait of Sainte Foy and the culture that nurtured her.

eISBN: 978-0-8122-0052-2
Subjects: History
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  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. i-vi)
  2. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. vii-viii)
  3. List of Figures
    List of Figures (pp. ix-x)
  4. Preface
    Preface (pp. xi-xiv)
  5. Introduction
    Introduction (pp. 1-32)

    As a compilation of texts that make up the dossier of a saint, this book resembles what medieval people would call alibellus,a “little book” about one saint. And it is appropriate that this should be so, for almost all the texts translated in this book appeared in manuscripts solely concerned with Sainte Foy (see Figure 1). These manuscripts exemplify a type not so well known as the great compilations of stories orlegendaabout many different saints, such as theGolden Legend,that proliferated in the later Middle Ages.¹ One crucial way thatThe Book of Sainte Foy...

  6. Passio: The Passion of Sainte Foy
    Passio: The Passion of Sainte Foy (pp. 33-38)

    When it comes to relating the merit-filled Passions of the great and illustrious saints Caprais² and Foy, words do not suffice to lavish on them the praises they deserve. Out of envy for Christian religion, antiquity wished to remain silent about their deeds and miracles rather than to leave behind any monuments with inscriptions that would commend them to some human memory thereafter. I have found a great deal of information in narratives of their acts, and I have briefly related a few things about them in a stammering style. But where shall I begin, when I know so many...

  7. The Book of Sainte Foy’ Miracles
    • Liber miraculorum sancte Fidis: The Book of Sainte Foy’s Miracles
      Liber miraculorum sancte Fidis: The Book of Sainte Foy’s Miracles (pp. 39-41)

      The beginning of the book of miracles of holy and most blessed Foy, virgin and martyr, related by Bernard, a teacher,¹ master at the school of Angers.

      A letter to the lord Fulbert, bishop of Chartres.

      To the holiest and most learned of men, Fulbert, bishop of Chartres, Bernard, the least of teachers, sends a gift of supreme blessedness.²

      During the time when I was at Chartres, where I had the benefit of your sound conversation,³ I often visited the little church of the martyr Sainte Foy located outside the walls of the city, either to write or to pray...

    • The First Book of Sainte Foy’s Miracles
      The First Book of Sainte Foy’s Miracles (pp. 42-111)

      Up to the present time in the district⁷ of Rouergue where the most blessed virgin Foy rests, in the neighborhood of the village of Conques, there dwells, still alive, a priest named Gerald.⁸ This priest had a blood relative who was also, according to the sacrament of confirmation administered by the bishop, his godson.⁸ His name was Guibert; he was Gerald’s household servant and vigorously managed his business affairs. Once Guibert had made his way to Conques for the feast day, and after the nighttime activity of the vigil was completed according to custom, on the next day, that is...

    • The Second Book of Sainte Foy’s Miracles
      The Second Book of Sainte Foy’s Miracles (pp. 111-142)

      Let’s remember Gerbert, whom I mentioned in the first book. There I described the restoration of his sight after his eyes had been torn out, a miracle worked in the same way as that by which Guibert was enlightened. Earlier Gerbert had congratulated Guibert for his miraculous healing, and when he first saw Guibert he said that Guibert’s miracle was considered to be greater than any other and called him blessed. It was, of course, through the provident and miraculous dispensation of the Supreme Creator that the same miracle was later performed for Gerbert himself, and he rejoiced with a...

    • The Third Book of Sainte Foy, Virgin and Martyr
      The Third Book of Sainte Foy, Virgin and Martyr (pp. 142-176)

      No one need be surprised and search for complicated reasons to explain why a work as brief as this one has more than one preface. It could be either because this work is comprised of more than one book or because it has more than one author. Had it been written by one person, then it certainly would have been appropriate that the whole work follow behind an ascription to a single author and that the beginnings of the other books be left without such ascriptions. But because it has been necessary to burden the work with a change of...

    • The Fourth Book of Sainte Foy, Virgin and Martyr
      The Fourth Book of Sainte Foy, Virgin and Martyr (pp. 176-221)

      Because I have been set aflame by ardent love for the very glorious virgin and athlete of Christ,² the unconquerable Foy, I feel compelled to lay claim to the time for writing that I once had and for so long since, have not had. I urgently ask to be aided by the glorious assistance of that martyr, most holy and most beloved of God. Though she has been united with the angelic host in the heights of heaven, the remarkable great works of her miracles shine brightly and make her power known to the whole world, while I stand here...

    • Other Miracles of Sainte Foy
      Other Miracles of Sainte Foy (pp. 221-262)

      . . . evildoers, she would remove many from the noose of destruction that they deserve. Through the holy virgin his pardon was granted and he was brought back to breathe the same air as the rest of barbarous humankind. He opened his eyes, which had been closed in death, and when he had regained his strength he immediately burst out with these words, which he punctuated with many a tear-filled sigh:

      “Miserable people, what are we doing? Why are we taken in by the hollow seductions of this world? What we can see amounts to nothing, but what we...

  8. Translatio: The Translation of Sainte Foy, Virgin and Martyr, to the Conques Monastery
    Translatio: The Translation of Sainte Foy, Virgin and Martyr, to the Conques Monastery (pp. 263-274)

    The King of the Heavens is magnificent and eternal. Thus, before the beginning of the world the Father, Whose rule is absolute and Whose wisdom is indescribable, marvelously saw beforehand the end of all creatures along with with their beginning, although they did not yet exist. That is the way He chose those who were later going to be His own Christians. They were the ones who took up the saintly way of life from earliest childhood and contemplated divine mysteries with the inner eye. The privilege of faith had given them great power and they persevered steadfastly during martyrdom,...

  9. The Song of Sainte Foy A prose translation from the Provençal
    The Song of Sainte Foy A prose translation from the Provençal (pp. 275-284)
    Robert L. A. Clark

    1. I heard a Latin book about the old times read under a pine.² I listened to it in its entirety, to the end. There was no meaning that it did not render clearly. It spoke of the father of King Licinius and of the lineage of Maximin.³ These two tormented Christians just as a hunter does stags in the morning: they led them to prison and to death. They left them dead on their backs, lying in the fields like criminals. Their neighbors did not bury them. This was around the time of Constantine.⁴

    2. I heard a song...

  10. Notes
    Notes (pp. 285-310)
  11. Bibliography
    Bibliography (pp. 311-318)
  12. Index
    Index (pp. 319-330)
  13. Back Matter
    Back Matter (pp. 331-334)
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