[HOME] [Guideline] [Author] [College of Foreign Languages] [Fu Jen University]
ABSTRACT
[HOME] [Guideline] [Author] [College of Foreign Languages] [Fu Jen University]
ABSTRACT
There is only little research literature about odors
and their representations in history. Regarding this subject, the long
medieval history remains an unexplored field. Having noticed the large
diffusion of the theme of "the odor of sanctity" during and after the Middle
Ages, the author presents here the most significant lexical and syntactical
aspects of this theme. They are listed in a variety of Latin texts of the
High Middle Ages, i.e. the period during which the concepts and representations
connected to the phrase "the odor of sanctity" were formed, transformed
and clarified.
The analysis of the vocabulary of the exhalations'
narratives shows the relative poverty of the substantives and the verbs
directly related to the olfactory field, an inheritance of the limits of
Classical Latin. Nevertheless, the use of a larger number of verbs of common
usage evidentiates the different particularities of the extraordinary odors:
they penetrate and at the same time emanate from the depth of the person;
they delimitate particular, sacred places; and odors and ardor appear to
be closely related.
An analysis of syntactical structures reveals that
these narratives constitute a kind of witness: their main function is to
confirm the supernatural origin of certain phenomena, in view of granting
knowledge, and, ultimately, faith. In other words, the "odor of sanctity"
narratives present a coherent discourse whose elements correspond to one
another, and they call to mind more ancient cultural sources.
[HOME] [Guideline] [Author] [College of Foreign Languages] [Fu Jen University]