104 KEYWORDS: Catholicism, women, saints, heretics, religious power DOI: https://doi.org/10.4079/2578-9201.1(2022).09
The Venerated and the Despised: Dualities in the Catholic Church’s Responses to Pious Women LAUREN KIKER
PSYCHOLOGY & HISTORY, CCAS ‘23, lkiker25@gwu.edu
ABSTRACT
Throughout the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church remained a pervasive force in Christian society, setting social and religious standards for the laity by canonizing spectacular examples of devoted Christians. At the same time, the Church also faced a battle against those seen as a threat to their recently stabilized authority. Receiving very different treatment for their actions, women put in both of these categories, saints and heretics often violated the same authority and autonomy norms. These differences can be seen between the treatment of saints Christina Mirabilis, Clara of Assisi, and Catherine of Siena and women in the Cathar, Beguine, and Waldensian heresies. Sainted women took on religious authority that went against traditionally gendered roles, but instead of being punished for it as many women deemed heretical were, the Church saw value in the work of these women, choosing instead to praise them. Similarly, the women viewed by the Church as heretics and saints often took severe poverty vows. Interestingly, only those seen as heretical were persecuted for their beliefs. Violation of social autonomy norms also led to different treatment, with women seen as heretics persecuted heavily taking on roles of authority without the supervision of male Church leaders but women declared saints were praised despite often operating independently without male authority. Through examining these women’s stories, it can be seen that the Church’s decision to persecute or praise these women was not random, but originated in the Catholic Church’s perception of how useful the women’s narratives were to achieving the Church’s goal: maintaining authority.
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INTRODUCTION Over a thousand years after the death of Christ, another resurrection story found its way into Biblical texts, but this time centered on a woman. Dead at the age of twenty-one, Christina Mirabilis was laid to rest in a coffin that was moments away from burial.1 However, before the priest could close the coffin, Christina burst forth, levitating in the rafters above the congregation to the amazement and confusion of all below.2 After the priest performed an exorcism, Christina returned to the ground and spoke of her travels to Purgatory and Heaven, revealing that she was sent back from heaven in order to reduce the discomfort of those trapped in Purgatory.3 This was only the start of Christina Mirabilis’ peculiar second life. Accounts tell of Christina jumping into
fires, baking herself in ovens, and enticing dogs to attack her, leading her to suffer much physical pain, however none of these encounters resulted in physical wounds on Christina’s body.4 The spectacular life of Christina Mirabilis is only one of many examples of marvelous women in the Middle Ages whose lives take on a supernatural character through their piety. The accounts of these women, selected by the Catholic Church and often recorded by male Church officials in Saints’ Lives, survive to serve as examples of women in the Middle Ages whose remarkable lives left a lasting impression on medieval society and Christianity. At the same time as miraculous women, such as Christina Mirabilis, were amazing crowds, the Catholic Church was grappling with a very different issue: heresy. During the beginning of the Middle
1 Thomas de Cantimpré and Margot H. King, The Life of Christina Mirabilis (Toronto, Ont.: Peregrina, 1995). 2 de Cantimpré and King, Christina Mirabilis. 3 de Cantimpré and King, Christina Mirabilis. 4 de Cantimpré and King, Christina Mirabilis.
