Souls under siege : stories of war, plague, and confession in fourteenth-century Provence

This book explores how the inhabitants of southern France made sense of the ravages of successive waves of plague, the depredations of mercenary warfare, and the violence of royal succession during the fourteenth century. Many people, the book finds, understood both plague and war as the symptoms of spiritual sicknesses caused by excessive sin, and they sought cures in confession. The book draws on a rich evidentiary base of sixty-eight narrative testimonials from the canonization inquest for Countess Delphine de Puimichel, which was held in the market town of Apt in 1363. Each witness in the proceedings had lived through the outbreaks of plague in 1348 and 1361, as well as the violence inflicted by mercenaries unemployed during truces in the Hundred Years’ War. Consequently, their testimonies unexpectedly reveal the importance of faith and the role of affect in the healing of body and soul alike. Faced with an unprecedented cascade of crises, the inhabitants of Provence relied on saints and healers, their worldview connecting earthly disease and disaster to the struggle for their eternal souls. The book illustrates how medieval people approached sickness and uncertainty by using a variety of remedies, making clear that “healing” had multiple overlapping meanings in this historical moment.

In Souls under Siege, Nicole Archambeau explores how the inhabitants of southern France made sense of the ravages of successive waves of plague, the depredations of mercenary warfare, and the violence of royal succession during the fourteenth century. Many people, she finds, understood both plague and war as the symptoms of spiritual sicknesses caused by excessive sin, and they sought cures in confession.

Archambeau draws on a rich evidentiary base of sixty-eight narrative testimonials from the canonization inquest for Countess Delphine de Puimichel, which was held in the market town of Apt in 1363. Each witness in the proceedings had lived through the outbreaks of plague in 1348 and 1361, as well as the violence inflicted by mercenaries unemployed during truces in the Hundred Years' War. Consequently, their testimonies unexpectedly reveal the importance of faith and the role of affect in the healing of body and soul alike.

Faced with an unprecedented cascade of crises, the inhabitants of Provence relied on saints and healers, their worldview connecting earthly disease and disaster to the struggle for their eternal souls. Souls under Siege illustrates how medieval people approached sickness and uncertainty by using a variety of remedies, making clear that "healing" had multiple overlapping meanings in this historical moment.

In Souls under Siege , Nicole Archambeau explores how the inhabitants of southern France made sense of the ravages of successive waves of plague, the depredations of mercenary warfare, and the violence of royal succession during the fourteenth century. Many people, she finds, understood both plague and war as the symptoms of spiritual sicknesses caused by excessive sin, and they sought cures in confession. Archambeau draws on a rich evidentiary base of sixty-eight narrative testimonials from the canonization inquest for Countess Delphine de Puimichel, which was held in the market town of Apt in 1363. Each witness in the proceedings had lived through the outbreaks of plague in 1348 and 1361, as well as the violence inflicted by mercenaries unemployed during truces in the Hundred Years' War. Consequently, their testimonies unexpectedly reveal the importance of faith and the role of affect in the healing of body and soul alike. Faced with an unprecedented cascade of crises, the inhabitants of Provence relied on saints and healers, their worldview connecting earthly disease and disaster to the struggle for their eternal souls. Souls under Siege illustrates how medieval people approached sickness and uncertainty by using a variety of remedies, making clear that "healing" had multiple overlapping meanings in this historical moment. In Souls under Siege, Nicole Archambeau explores how the inhabitants of southern France made sense of the ravages of successive waves of plague, the depredations of mercenary warfare, and the violence of royal succession during the fourteenth century. Many people, she finds, understood both plague and war as the symptoms of spiritual sicknesses caused by excessive sin, and they sought cures in confession.Archambeau draws on a rich evidentiary base of 68 narrative testimonials from the canonization inquest for Countess Delphine de Puimichel, which was held in the market town of Apt in 1363. Each witness in the proceedings had lived through the outbreaks of plague in 1348 and 1361, as well as the violence inflicted by mercenaries unleashed by truces in the Hundred Years' War. Consequently, their testimonies unexpectedly reveal the importance of faith and the role of affect in the healing of body and soul alike. Faced with an unprecedented cascade of crises, the inhabitants of Provence relied on saints and healers, their worldview connecting earthly disease and disaster to the struggle for their eternal souls. Souls under Siege illustrates how medieval people approached sickness and uncertainty by using a variety of remedies, making clear that "healing" had multiple overlapping meanings in this historical moment Souls Under Siege 1 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 12 List of Abbreviations 14 A Note on Names 15 Introduction: Telling Stories of Danger in Fourteenth-Century Provence 20 1. Bertranda Bertomieua and the Death of King Robert of Naples, 1343 40 2. Bishop Philippe Cabassole and the “War of the Seneschals,” 1347–1349 57 3. Master Nicolau Laurens and the Mercenary Invasion of 1357–1358 85 4. Lady Andrea Raymon and the Great Companies, 1361 115 5. Master Durand Andree and the Sacrament of Penance as a Moment of Danger 141 6. Sister Resens de Insula and the Desire for Certainty 163 Conclusion: Lord Giraud de Simiana and the Health of Body and Soul 182 Notes 190 Bibliography 240 Index 270 A 270 B 271 C 272 D 273 E 273 F 273 G 274 H 274 I 274 J 275 K 275 L 275 M 276 N 276 O 277 P 277 R 278 S 278 T 279 U 279 V 279 W 279 X 280 Y 280 Z 280 Telling stories of danger in fourteenth-century Provence -- Bertranda Bertomieua and the death of King Robert of Naples, 1343 -- Bishop Philippe Cabassole and the "War of the Seneschals," 1348-1349 -- Master Nicolau Laurens and the mercenary invasion of 1357-1358 -- Lady Andrea Raymon and the great companies, 1361 -- Master Durand Andree and the sacrament of penance as a moment of danger -- Sister Resens de Insula and the desire for certainty -- Lord Giraud de Simiana and the health of body and soul "Between 1343 and 1363, people in Europe endured two waves of plague and surging mercenary violence. Plague killed an estimated 1/3 of the population while tens of thousands of mercenaries fought in the Hundred Years War, raiding and occupying towns during lulls. This book shows that many people understood both plague and war as spiritual sicknesses that revealed excessive sin" -- Provided by publisher