Beautiful eyes, a donkey, and a holy man converting harlots, or the unknown hagiographic story of Robert of Arbrissel Cover Image

Piękne oczy, osioł i święty mąż nawracający ladacznice, czyli nieznana opowieść hagiograficzna o Robercie z Arbrissel
Beautiful eyes, a donkey, and a holy man converting harlots, or the unknown hagiographic story of Robert of Arbrissel

Author(s): Antoni Grabowski
Subject(s): History of Church(es), Social history, 6th to 12th Centuries, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: exemplum; Robert of Arbrissel; Fontevraud; eyes; donkey; prostitutes;

Summary/Abstract: The subject of the author’s research is the story of Robert of Arbrissel, founder of the Abbey of Fon- tevraud, who visited a brothel and converted the prostitutes working there. The story has been known only from two modern copies of a lost manuscript. The article presents two medieval manuscripts that attest that the story functioned in the Middle Ages: one, kept in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris (MS Latin 3239), and the other, preserved in the British Library (MS Additional 26770). They present the tale as part of a broader cycle about a preacher who was hindered in his prayers by a donkey and a nun who plucked out her eyes to defend her virtue. The article analyses all three stories. The text includes a source appendix.

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: 61
  • Page Range: 35-57
  • Page Count: 23
  • Language: Polish