"The Miracles of Our Lady of Rocamadour"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the miracle stories in "The Miracles of Our Lady of Rocamadour", a formidable body of work, highlight contemporary medieval thought regarding the issue of need and its relief in the Middle Ages. In particular, the paper explains that the miracle stories show the contemporary thought during the Middle Ages on the issue of need and how it was believed it could be cured through divine belief. The paper also relates that the main point that can be drawn from this large collection of stories about miraculous healings is that people in the Middle Ages had lost hope in an earthly source to resolve the issues of why they were needy. As such, they went to the only sphere in which they believed earthly problems of need could be solved; through the supernatural intervention and 'miraculous holy radiance' of a saint who could remove earthly woes and resolve the causes of human need - in this instance, the miraculous "Our Lady of Rocamadour".

From the Paper:

"Nevertheless, the stories show an almost systematic progression from seeking cure by 'traditional' means to one delivered by prayer and devotion to "Our Lady of Rocamadour". Thus, in a case where a knight is run through the stomach with a lance, it is stated that the doctors' 'skills were not enough to make their patient well', so they seized 'the opportunity to run away' . In the instance of Count Robert, 'doctors applied poultices which did absolutely no good, and they lost the hope that the arm would get better' . Elsewhere, a mad woman could not be helped by 'physician's arts'."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Jotischky, Andrew, The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Medieval England, Penguin Books Ltd, 2005.
• Nilson, Ben, Cathedral shrines of medieval England, Boydell Press, 2001.
• Bull, Marcus, The Miracles of Our Lady of Rocamadour: analysis and translation, Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 1999.
• Finucane, Ronald, Miracles and pilgrims: popular beliefs in medieval England, London, 1977.

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• Term Paper # 96218 : "Our Lady of Guadalupe"
• Book Review # 127485 : "Journal of a Lady of Quality"

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