Of Locustae and Dangerous Men: Peter Damian, the Vallombrosans, and Eleventh-century Reform1
In a letter to the people of Florence in the early part of 1067, the ardent reformer, Peter Damian, denounced a group of monks as locustae. These unnamed monks—whom it has long been accepted were the Vallombrosans—had been waging a campaign against their bishop, Peter Mezzabarba of Florence, whom they accused of obtaining his office by simony. Although Damian, who had been cardinalbishop of Ostia as well as prior of the eremitical community at Fonte Avellana, readily acknowledged that Mezzabarba might have a case to answer at Pope Alexander II's forthcoming council in Rome, he condemned their intrusion into matters of ecclesiastical politics that were none of their business. Yet it was clearly more than a matter of inappropriate activities. For he went on to dismiss in the bitterest of terms the dangerous pretensions of these monks to a superior holiness. Referring to their sanctity as odiosa, Damian concluded by saying that if monks like the Vallombrosans wanted to be holy they should not flaunt a spiritual arrogance in the face of weaker brethren. For Damian, the duty of monks was strictly defined by function: their calling was to weep for sins, not to announce them.
No âmago da epistolografia medieval: tipologia epistolar e política na correspondência de Pedro Damiano (1040-1072)
Abstract Between XIth and XIIth centuries, the art of writing letters got prominence among men who dominated the writing. The epistolography acquired a new impetus under the medieval man's feather, both by the amount of text produced and preserved, as for the improvement of the techniques of composition. Therefore, we consider appropriate to investigate the epistolography in XIth century, notably, in a set of letters that represents its socio-political weight as a means of communication. Specifically, we chose to follow the epistolary trajectory of Peter Damian, an important reference to dictatores in XIIth century. Peter Damian did use his correspondence as an instrument for the communication of cenobitic and eremitical precepts. He gave us a complex scene of the relationships established by the improvement of epistolary communication mechanisms. These letters demonstrate his attempt to intervene in doctrinal debates and political strategies adopted by both the papacy, as the regional clerical leaders with whom he spoke.
"The history of ideas and doctrines of canon law in the Middle Ages", Stephan Kuttner, London 1980 : [recenzja] / W. U.
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