Proving Woman by Dyan Elliott Read Free Book Online Page A

legal petitions of the deserving
     poor. 88 Raymond’s remarkable scholarly achievements were also recast. Thus the writing of the Summa of Penance is described as an act of humility and obedience, undertaken only at the repeated requests of his brothers. The commission
     of the Decretals is likened to Christ’s voluntary assumption of the cross, which, borne in humble obedience, seemed light. 89 And Raymond’s first miracle—which is also the one that is most compelling, and most fully described—fittingly relates how
     Raymond was responsible for restoring the powers of speech to a dying man so that the latter could make his confession. 90
    But the anonymous life, interestingly, did not avail itself of the spectacular miracle attending his election as master of
     the Dominican order:
    A miracle occurred in the election of Master Raymond of PeÑafort. . . . Once the [electors] were shut in, every one else returned
     to the church praying and beseeching the Lord that he should provide them with a suitable shepherd. . . . A certain devout
     brother then stood before the tomb of the blessed father [Dominic], and, with the hand of the Lord upon him, he saw through
     images in a certain vision all the electors leaving the room and proceeding to the church. They erected unanimously a single
     marble column bespattered with drops of blood from top to bottom, which reaching from the floor of the church and touching
     the ceiling, helped keep up the rest of the entire church. . . . Scarcely was there time to say one nocturn when behold: the
     electors left the room and, calling the chapter, announced that Brother Raymond of PeÑafort was unanimously chosen. . . .
     The brothers were exultant that so holy and so famous a man was divinely given to them; the scholars especially rejoiced about
     so out-standing and excellent a man as master. And that day, by chance, the reading in the refectory was, with God ordaining,
     from the Book of Joel: “Children of Sion, rejoice, and be joyful in the Lord your God: because he has given you a teacher
     of justice” (2.23). 91
    The tale of Raymond’s election is from the eyewitness account of Stephen of Salagnac. It would be retold in about 1300 by
     another Dominican, Bernard Gui, the famous inquisitor and author of one of the most widely circulated of inquisitional manuals.
     But the episode was related in a much more condensed fashion with no indication of how the visions should be understood. 92 The anonymous life was written at least several decades later, possibly by Nicolas Eymeric (d. 1399)—also a Dominican confrere,
     renowned inquisitor, and author of yet another celebrated inquisitional manual. But whoever wrote the life was surely aware
     that inquisitors made poor candidates for sanctity. And, indeed, Raymond’s pivotal role in the creation of the inquisition
     may well have compromised his case. In any event, by the time that the anonymous hagiographer was writing, a bloody pillar
     representing a teacher of justice had lost its savor. Silence hangs over Raymond’s exertions on behalf of the inquisition,
     not only in the vita itself but, with the exception of Peter Marsilio, in all contemporary references as well. 93 Repeated efforts on behalf of Raymond’s canonization foundered, probably because his achievements were too arcane and recondite
     to inspire a popular following. He may also have been hampered by his association with the inquisition, which, as will be
     seen below, was a decided liability. His case was reopened by Pope Paul III in 1542. The timing is significant. This was the
     same year that Clement, responding to the threat of Protestantism, would establish the reorganized and more centralized Roman
     Inquisition. 94
    THE SEAL OF CONFESSION AND “KNOWING AS GOD”
    “Confess your sins to the priest and after they will make fun of you and joke among themselves about your sins.” (Petrus Maurinus
     (fl. 1320), shepherd of Montaillou) 95
    Despite Lateran