Rumours about vampire epidemics in Eastern Europe reached the west throughout the 18th century. Discussions on revenans en corps brought up complex theological questions which had long divided Catholics and Protestants. These included the nature of ghosts and the possible role played by the Devil. Additionally, vampires, similarly to Catholic saints, seemed not to be subject to putrefaction. Giuseppe Davanzati, Archbishop of Trani, in the Kingdom of Naples, decided to write a dissertation in which, with the help of theological and natural-philosophical arguments, he set forth the Catholic point of view on the issue. His position, doctrinally in line with that of the Holy Roman Church, presented a colour typical of the cultural outpost in which he operated.
The Archbishop's Vampires. Giuseppe Davanzati’s Dissertation and the Reaction of ‘Scientific’ Italian Catholicism to the ‘Moravian Events’
DE CEGLIA, Francesco Paolo
2011-01-01
Abstract
Rumours about vampire epidemics in Eastern Europe reached the west throughout the 18th century. Discussions on revenans en corps brought up complex theological questions which had long divided Catholics and Protestants. These included the nature of ghosts and the possible role played by the Devil. Additionally, vampires, similarly to Catholic saints, seemed not to be subject to putrefaction. Giuseppe Davanzati, Archbishop of Trani, in the Kingdom of Naples, decided to write a dissertation in which, with the help of theological and natural-philosophical arguments, he set forth the Catholic point of view on the issue. His position, doctrinally in line with that of the Holy Roman Church, presented a colour typical of the cultural outpost in which he operated.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
