The Politics of Sanctity in Thirteenth-Century Ferrara

THE POLITICS OF SANCTITY IN THIRTEENTH-CENTURY FERRARA By JANINE LARMON PETERSON The conferral of sainthood was no light matter in the late Middle Ages. An increasing emphasis on the papacy's right to discern between "authentic" and "false" sanctity meant that while many men and women were locally venerated as saints, few were officially recognized to have formally achieved this pinnacle of holiness. Out of the hundreds of new saints that emerged between 1198 and 1431, only thirty-five individuals were canonized.1 Part of the reason for the dearth of holy men and women created by papal mandate in this period was the intrusion of political concerns, which had a tremendous impact on who attained the status of "saint." Spiritual merit, as evidenced by moral virtues and attested miracles, was only one aspect of the medieval canonization process. Another integral facet was compliance with papal ends; in other words, successful candidates often were supported by communities willing to submit to papal wishes.2 Thus when official recognition of sanctity occurred, it came at the cost of not only religious but also political obedience to the papacy. Conversely, those towns whose loyalty to the pope was suspect often found their petitions for a canonization inquiry ignored. Habitually recalcitrant towns might even find their veneration of a putative saint actively opposed by papal agents such as inquisitors . These types of situations occasionally led to protracted battles in which the saint's followers refused to capitulate to authorities and cease venerating the person in question. Armanno Pungilupo of Ferrara is such a disputed saint, one of a group of twenty to thirty cases that peppered the countryside of north-central Italy 1 André Vauchez, Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages, trans. Jean Birrell (Cambridge, 1997), 256 table 10. I appreciate the comments of Dyan Elliott, Leah Shopkow, Ann Carmichael, Wolfgang Müller, and the anonymous readers of earlier versions of this article. This study has greatly benefited from their suggestions and advice; any errors or omissions that remain are mine alone. I would also like to thank Barbara Newman for allowing me to read two of her articles used in this study prior to their publication. 2 Michael Goodich discussed how papal canonizations were used to reward loyalty to the pope during the period of papal-imperial struggles in the late Middle Ages (Vita Perfecta: The Ideal of Sainthood in the Thirteenth Century [Stuttgart, 1982], 40). Tore Nyberg identified this requirement with the modern stipulation that the postulant saint be in agreement with "the intentions of the Holy Father" ("The Canonization Process of St. Birgitta of Sweden," in Medieval Canonization Processes, ed. Gabor Klaniczay, Collection de l'Ecole française de Rome 30 [Rome, 2004], 80). 308TRADITIO in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The history of his cult illustrates how the late-medieval selection and creation of saints was politicized at every level of the process and how this circumstance could become a divisive force within a local ecclesiastical community. In the debate over Armanno's holiness the rival economic and political interests of the bishop and canons on one side, and the mendicants on the other, affected not just Armanno's particular devotees. Ultimately dissension within the clerical ranks helped to place the salvation of every citizen at risk. Yet Armanno's story is also representative of cults surrounding other suspect saints. The majority of these cases reveal cooperation between the lay community and the secular clergy in attempting to establish sanctity, to an extent that local interests often superseded obedience to Rome. Immediately after Armanno Pungilupo's death in 1269 a cult devoted to him blossomed in Ferrara.3 The canons of the cathedral buried him with fanfare in a marble sarcophagus and supplicants from Ferrara, as well as pilgrims from Padua, Parma, Milan — and even as far as Trieste — gathered at his tomb in hopes that their prayers would be answered by a miracle. They were not disappointed, for many were healed of afflictions like paralysis, gout, and cataracts through pledging their loyalty to Armanno by holding vigils at his tomb, offering candles and wax images, and vowing to serve him.4 Yet under cover of darkness one...