“Miraculous Light” – Natural Phenomena and Divine Salvation in the Medieval and Early Modern World
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William Mahan
Abstract
Until the Enlightenment, natural phenomena like St. Elmo’s Fire were often interpreted as divine miracles or signs from deities. Understanding these events requires considering their significance in both historical and cultural contexts. References to similar phenomena appear as early as in antiquity, with figures like Julius Caesar, Pliny the Elder, and Xenophanes of Colophon documenting them. In reality, St. Elmo’s Fire is a luminous plasma created by a corona discharge from rod-like objects in an atmospheric or electric field; it is a marvelous and rare weather phenomenon, but medieval and early modern observers primarily interpreted this and other marvels as miraculous signs from God, deities or spirits – even demons. Across cultures, these phenomena were often seen as confirmation of divine favor, strengthening the belief in the superiority of leaders and reinforcing faith. However, these signs could also foster excessive pride and delusion, particularly among explorers, leading to their downfall.
In contrast to these folkloric and religious interpretations, some thinkers, like Paracelsus and other alchemists, approached these phenomena through an elemental lens, viewing them as manifestations of spiritual forces or “elemental beings.” This perspective, blending mysticism with early scientific thought, stood in contrast to the later, more rational understanding of such phenomena in the eighteenth century. This paper explores the evolving interpretations of natural phenomena like St. Elmo’s Fire, examining them as miracles, signs of divine power, and elements of superstition in the Middle Ages and early modern period.
Abstract
Until the Enlightenment, natural phenomena like St. Elmo’s Fire were often interpreted as divine miracles or signs from deities. Understanding these events requires considering their significance in both historical and cultural contexts. References to similar phenomena appear as early as in antiquity, with figures like Julius Caesar, Pliny the Elder, and Xenophanes of Colophon documenting them. In reality, St. Elmo’s Fire is a luminous plasma created by a corona discharge from rod-like objects in an atmospheric or electric field; it is a marvelous and rare weather phenomenon, but medieval and early modern observers primarily interpreted this and other marvels as miraculous signs from God, deities or spirits – even demons. Across cultures, these phenomena were often seen as confirmation of divine favor, strengthening the belief in the superiority of leaders and reinforcing faith. However, these signs could also foster excessive pride and delusion, particularly among explorers, leading to their downfall.
In contrast to these folkloric and religious interpretations, some thinkers, like Paracelsus and other alchemists, approached these phenomena through an elemental lens, viewing them as manifestations of spiritual forces or “elemental beings.” This perspective, blending mysticism with early scientific thought, stood in contrast to the later, more rational understanding of such phenomena in the eighteenth century. This paper explores the evolving interpretations of natural phenomena like St. Elmo’s Fire, examining them as miracles, signs of divine power, and elements of superstition in the Middle Ages and early modern period.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Miracles, Wonders, and Human Existence Globally and in the Pre-Modern Age: Also an Introduction 1
- (False) Miracles, Doctors and the potentia of Saints in the Gaul of Gregory of Tours 107
- Apostle’s Miracles and Kings’ Authority in West Francia (ca. 850–ca. 1050) 127
- Fecundity, Motherhood and Healing Karāmāt (Miracles): A Comparative Study of Sayyidah Nafīsah and Christian Women Saints 161
- Intertextuality and the Transcendental Miracle of Abū al-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī’s Risālat al-Ghufrān (The Epistle of Forgiveness) (1033 C.E.) 189
- The Miracles of Solomon: A Comparative Study of Al-Thaʿlabī’s Qiṣaṣ Al-Anbiyāʾ and “The City of Brass,” a Tale in the Arabian Nights Collection 215
- Miracle Accounts as Teaching Aids and Learning Tools: Caesarius of Heisterbach’s Dialogus Miraculorum as a Mirror of Everyday Life and the History of Mentality 241
- The Ultimate Miracle: Revival of the Dead in Alfonso X’s Cantigas de Santa Maria 275
- Miracle of Miracles: Improbable Choices and Impossible Outcomes in Dante’s Paradiso 299
- Miraculosa gratia: Discerning the Spirit, Discerning the Body in the Liber of Angela of Foligno and in the Vita of Clare of Montefalco 337
- Miraculous Revelation in the Middle English Pearl 375
- The Miracles of the Immaculate Conceptions in the St. Anne’s Legend and the Middle English Joseph of Aramathie 405
- “Many ferlis han fallen in a fewe ȝeris”: Debt, Obligation, Godly Presence, and Grasping the Miraculous in Piers Plowman 427
- Margery Kempe and Miracles: Guarding Understanding and Interpretation of Experience 459
- Where Has God Gone in the Vernacular Renderings of Lanfranc’s Chirurgia magna? 477
- Non vidit, sed firmiter credit – The Many Roles of Jews in Christian Miracle Narratives 505
- “Never of Myselff”: Failure and Interiority in Malory’s “The Healing of Sir Urry” 555
- Between Wonders and Miracles. The Use and Abuse of Natural Substances in the Healing Rituals of Late Medieval and Early Modern Popular Culture 581
- Between Wonder and Science: Alchemy in Augurello’s Mini-Epic Chryrsopoeia (1515) 619
- “Miraculous Light” – Natural Phenomena and Divine Salvation in the Medieval and Early Modern World 647
- Biographies of the Contributors
- Index
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Miracles, Wonders, and Human Existence Globally and in the Pre-Modern Age: Also an Introduction 1
- (False) Miracles, Doctors and the potentia of Saints in the Gaul of Gregory of Tours 107
- Apostle’s Miracles and Kings’ Authority in West Francia (ca. 850–ca. 1050) 127
- Fecundity, Motherhood and Healing Karāmāt (Miracles): A Comparative Study of Sayyidah Nafīsah and Christian Women Saints 161
- Intertextuality and the Transcendental Miracle of Abū al-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī’s Risālat al-Ghufrān (The Epistle of Forgiveness) (1033 C.E.) 189
- The Miracles of Solomon: A Comparative Study of Al-Thaʿlabī’s Qiṣaṣ Al-Anbiyāʾ and “The City of Brass,” a Tale in the Arabian Nights Collection 215
- Miracle Accounts as Teaching Aids and Learning Tools: Caesarius of Heisterbach’s Dialogus Miraculorum as a Mirror of Everyday Life and the History of Mentality 241
- The Ultimate Miracle: Revival of the Dead in Alfonso X’s Cantigas de Santa Maria 275
- Miracle of Miracles: Improbable Choices and Impossible Outcomes in Dante’s Paradiso 299
- Miraculosa gratia: Discerning the Spirit, Discerning the Body in the Liber of Angela of Foligno and in the Vita of Clare of Montefalco 337
- Miraculous Revelation in the Middle English Pearl 375
- The Miracles of the Immaculate Conceptions in the St. Anne’s Legend and the Middle English Joseph of Aramathie 405
- “Many ferlis han fallen in a fewe ȝeris”: Debt, Obligation, Godly Presence, and Grasping the Miraculous in Piers Plowman 427
- Margery Kempe and Miracles: Guarding Understanding and Interpretation of Experience 459
- Where Has God Gone in the Vernacular Renderings of Lanfranc’s Chirurgia magna? 477
- Non vidit, sed firmiter credit – The Many Roles of Jews in Christian Miracle Narratives 505
- “Never of Myselff”: Failure and Interiority in Malory’s “The Healing of Sir Urry” 555
- Between Wonders and Miracles. The Use and Abuse of Natural Substances in the Healing Rituals of Late Medieval and Early Modern Popular Culture 581
- Between Wonder and Science: Alchemy in Augurello’s Mini-Epic Chryrsopoeia (1515) 619
- “Miraculous Light” – Natural Phenomena and Divine Salvation in the Medieval and Early Modern World 647
- Biographies of the Contributors
- Index
