Can blood remain alive even after death? Can a mortal wound inflicted on an innocent person continue to bleed forever? Starting from the different early modern conceptualisations of cruentation and the miracle of Saint Januarius, this article intends to offer a general framework of how blood prodigies were interpreted in various European cultures, with reference also to the way in which the relationships between natural and miraculous, as well as life and death, were understood. In this journey among bloods that come out of wounds, sometimes visible, sometimes not, the element of time was fundamental for the success of the phenomenon: that which is eternal knows how to dominate time and express itself only at the liturgically appropriate moment.
Boiling Blood. Blood Prodigies and Natural Philosophy in Early Modern Europe
Francesco Paolo de Ceglia
2023-01-01
Abstract
Can blood remain alive even after death? Can a mortal wound inflicted on an innocent person continue to bleed forever? Starting from the different early modern conceptualisations of cruentation and the miracle of Saint Januarius, this article intends to offer a general framework of how blood prodigies were interpreted in various European cultures, with reference also to the way in which the relationships between natural and miraculous, as well as life and death, were understood. In this journey among bloods that come out of wounds, sometimes visible, sometimes not, the element of time was fundamental for the success of the phenomenon: that which is eternal knows how to dominate time and express itself only at the liturgically appropriate moment.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
