Description
Book SynopsisTempting the Tempter considers how far fifteenth-century Italian mystics would go to imitate Christ, even in his encounters with the Devil in the desert. Elena of Udine, Caterina of Bologna, and Colomba of Rieti created their own desert experience through their austere devotional practices, and they suffered and overcame temptations from the Devil. This work explores how these women actively pursued encounters with the Devil, and how these private temptations prepared them for a public ministry of miracles, contributed to their perception as living saints, and allowed their biographers to promote them as true imitators of Christ, worthy of sainthood.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments List of Maps and Figures Introduction 1 The Emergence of the Quattrocento Santa viva 1 The Influence of the Observants 2 The Influence of a Thriving Print Culture 3 Attributes of the Living Saint 4 The Prototype: St. Catherine of Siena 5 The Hagiographic Tradition 6 Conditions on the Italian Peninsula 2 Beata Elena Valentini da Udine, Augustinian Tertiary 1 From Widow to Bride of Christ 2 “Of the Temptations and Beatings Given to Her by the Devil” 3 Santa Caterina Vigri da Bologna, Franciscan Nun 1 From Afflicted Novice to Beloved Abbess 2 Spiritual Weapons against the Devil’s Tricks 4 Beata Colomba Guadagnoli da Rieti, Dominican Penitent 1 From Spiritual Prodigy to Miracle-Working Prophet 2 The Holy Virgin vs. the Enemy of Virtue 5 Imitatio Christi in Its Feminine Form 1 The Tradition of Imitatio Christi 2 A Culture of Imitation 3 Woman’s Body and Christ’s Suffering 4 Woman and Redemptive Suffering 5 Temptation as Imitation 6 Temptation in the Hagiographic Tradition 6 The Provocative Holy Woman 1 Divine Deception in the Desert 2 Solitude and the Creation of the Desert 3 Fasting and Eucharistic Piety 4 Praying without Ceasing 5 Punishment of the Flesh 6 Heroic Asceticism and Diabolical Attraction 7 The Holy Woman as Discerner of Spirits 1 The Power of Discretio Spirituum 2 Of Heretics and Demons 3 Jean Gerson and the Need for Discernment 4 Johannes Nider and the Makings of a Witch Stereotype 5 Heinrich Kramer and the Witch Defined 6 Of Discerners and their Detractors 8 The Santa viva in Society 1 Service to the Roman Church at Large 2 Service to the Observant Reform Movement 3 Service to the Local Community 9 Postmortem Veneration and the Making of a Saint 1 Virtus and the Vox Populi 2 The Living Saint: Transgressor or Talisman? 3 Holy Conjuring or Righteous Provocation? 4 Who Made the Saint? 5 Self-Fashioning through Imitation Conclusion Bibliography Index
