Reconsidering silens and clamans in Burchard’s Corrector

Reconsidering silens and clamans in Burchard’s Corrector1
Introduction
Andrea Vanina Neyra
This book is called
the Corrector and the Physician
because it contains
the corrections ofbodies
and the medicines of souls . .. 2
In the medieval world silence and its opposite, cries and other emphatic
vocal manifestations, are customarily viewed as ways of expressing one or the
other extreme of the virtue/vice dichotomy. However, a closer examination of
relevant sources reveals a much more complex panorama, indicating, in my
view, that a reconsideration of this generalisation is in order.
In pursuit of a more nuanced depiction of the topic, in what follows I
critically analyse the tenns si!ens and clamans as employed in the Corrector sive
medicus or Liber XIX. In this penitential from the eleventh-century collection
Decretum compiled by Bishop Burchard of Worrns, various sinful situations are
mentioned, together with the corresponding penance prescribed for coJTecting
penitents‘ misconduct, deviant thoughts, and improper feelings. This enables
sinners who have strayed to retum to God’s path when coJTected.
1 The anicle is based on a paper presented at the 48’h International Congress on Medieval
Srudies, Kalamazoo, Western Michigan University, on May 9, 20 13.
2 From the edition of the Decretum: Liber hic Corrector vocatur et Medicus, quia
correctiones corporum et animarum medicinas plene continet … Burchard von Worms,
Decretorum Libri XX. Ex consiliis et orthodoxorum parrum decretis, turn etiam diversm11m
nationum synodis seu loci communes congesti, ed. G. Fransen and T. Kölzer (Dannstadt:
Scientia Verlag Aalen, 1992), 187r. This edition is also the basis for my contribution, with
the exception of quotations from the Vita Burchardi and the Preface. The latter are taken
from Migne’s edition: Burchardus Wormaciensis Episcopus, Decretum, Patrologia Latina,
vol. CXL, ed. J. P. Migne (Paris: Petit-Montrouge, 1 880), 507-1084. With regard to the
quotations per se, I have used the accepted English translation when available, providing my
own or other authors‘ versions when this is not the case; translarors will be indicated
throughout.
23
Certain sins described in Liber XIX demonstrate the need to revise
established concepts and conceptions related to silence and noise, and virtue and
vice. Silence may be present in the context in which a sinful action is
committed. As will be shown below, a sin may lie hidden behind silence, thus
making the silence itself a sin. By contrast, transgressions described as arising
from superstitious beliefs or practices are, in !arge part, accompanied by loud
vocal expressions like cries and chants.
Following a btief introduction on the author of the Corrector, I will discuss
certain references to the elements under consideration (particularly silence
and noise) in recent secondary Iiterature to continue with the analysis of silens
and clamans in Burchard ’s Decretum.
Burchard of Worms and his Decretum
The author of the Decretum, whose Vita was written by a cleric from
Worms shortly after the bishop’s death,3 was bom into a noble family in Hesse
in 965. Educated at St. Florian in Coblenz and, in all likelihood, the Benedictine
abbey in Laubach, Flanders, he went on to become one of the most powerfttl
ecclesiastics of his time under the guidance of Archbishop Willigis of Mainz,
whom he loyally served according to the biographical information in the Vita.
Consecrated in the year 1000 in a position formerly held by bis brother
Franko,4 the Bisbop of Worms set out to impose order on a number of Ievels:
3 The Vita Burchardi was written by Ebbo or Ebberhard and has been edited and translated
several Iimes: Burchard von Worms, Decretorwn Libri XX, lXr-XVIIv; Burchardus
Wormaciensis Episcopus, Decretum, 507-36; Ebbo von Worms, Vita Burchardi Episcop.
Wormatiensis, ed. G. Waitz, MGH SS, 4. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemano, 1 9 8 1 (1841), 829-
46. On the 900’h aoniversary of Burchard’s death, a German translation of the Vita was
published: Warmafia Sacra. Beiträge zur Geschichte des ehemaligen Bistums Worms. Aus
Anlass der Feier der 900. Wiederkehr des Todestages des Bischofs Burchard (Worms:
Festausschuss, 1 925), 8-42. An English Iranstation is availab1e online: W. L. North, Irans.
The Life of Burchard Bishop of Worms, 1025. Internet Medieval Source Book, 1998: http:
//fordham.edulha1sall/sourcell 025burchard-vita.html (accessed August I, 2013).
4 Accordiog to the Vita Burchardi, after having beeo revea1ed when he would die, Franko
responded to a request trom Emperor Otto III by suggesting that Burchard be his successor:
. . . ep iscopo dies et hora obitus sui divinitus praenotata est. Et hoc ipse postquam domum
reverse sunt Imperatori pronunciavit. Quare Imperator multum contristatus, quem in locum
ipsius habere, vel cui episcopatum ejus committere debuisset, multum lachrymando ab eo
exquisivit. Tune tandem quasi coactus sie respondit: Fratrem unum habeo, si Deo placuisset,
hunc mihi successorem rogassem. Super haec autem omnia Deus unum provideat, in
qua sibi bene complaceat. Tune imperator sub testamento Dei juravif antedictum episcopatum
fratri illius se daturum. Et ut melius ac facilius recordari potuisset, epistolam
deprecatoriam pro hac re ab episcopo accepit, quam in sacculum suum ad testamenturn
posuit. Burchard von Worms, Decretorum Libri XX, Xlr. The Emperor disregarded his pronlise,
appointing Erpho and then Razo, two bishops who died shortly after their consecration.
This was interpreted by the bishop’s biegrapher as a sign that Burchard’s appointment
was God’s will: Mira res, multumque stupenda. Ut unus post electionem et episco-
24
not only did he undertake significant architectural activity, he also succeeded in
expelling Duke Otto of Carinthia, an adversary blamed for much of the
prevailing disorder he was combatting in his bishopric. 5
In his writings Burchard aspires to consolidate his control over the see.
The Lexfamiliae Wormatiensis ecclesiae was written between 1023 and 1025.6
Devoted to secular law, its thirty-two clauses take into consideration a wide
range of controversial situations and offences such as homicide, revenge, theft,
aggression, and debt, in addition to conflicts involving marital law and land
possession. 7 The purpose of the Lex was to regulate contlictive areas of civic life
in order to keep the peace by restricting the violence produced by private
disputes; it also aimed at forestalling abuses by establishing a legal fi·amework
for resolving the problems mentioned above. 8
Written during the first quarter of Burchard’s episcopacy, the Decretum
actually precedes the Lex. It was presumably compiled with the help of Bishop
Walter of Speyer and Abbot Olbert of Gembloux.9 The twenty books
patus acceptionem quartum decimum diem non vidisset, alter vero quartum diem non vi.xisset!
Hic in/eiligere necnon et mirabilia Dei possumus videre. Non est enim sapientia neque
prudentia, nec ullum consilium contra Dominum. Quod enim hominibus placuit, Deo
displicuit. Quod imperator elegit, Deus rejecit, et elegit infirma, ut confunderet fortia. Sciebat
enim suum se timentem, se diligentem, se totis viribus co/entern … Burchard von Worms,
Decretorum Libri XX. Xlr. See also Andrea Vanina Neyra, „La Vita Burchardi: Ia
constntcci6n de un relato sobre el obispo Burchard y su ciudad“, in Palimpsestos:
Escrituras y reescrituras de las Culturas Ant igua y Medieval (Bahia Blanca: Ediuns, 2013),
237-44.
5 Burchard fomented the constntction of a oumbcr of religious buildings, the reconstruction of
the pans of the city destroyed by the Hungarians, and the renovation of the Marienmünster
monastery. The Cathedral of St. Peter was consecrated in 1018 in the presence of Emperor
Henry li. Otto of Carinthia was granted the territories of Bruchsal and Lußhardt as
compensation for abandoning his burg in the city of Worms. See Andrca Vanina Neyra,
„Ob /ibertatem civitatis: el poder episcopal como liberador de una ciudad,“ Anales de
Historia Antigua, Medieval y Mode1na 44 (2011), in press.
6 Das Hofrecht des Bischofs Burchard von Worms. ed. H. G. Gengier (Erlangen: n.p., 1859);
Lex Fami/iae Wormatiensis ecclesiae, ed. Heinrich Boos, Urkundenbuch der Stadt Wonns,
I. Bd. 627-1300 (Berlin: Weidmatmsche Buchhandlung, 1886).
7 Knut Schulz, „Das Wonnser Hofrecht Bischof Burchards,“ in Bischof Burchard von Worms,
ed. Wilfricd Hanmann (Mainz: Selbstverlag der Gesellschaft ftir Mittelrheinische Kirchengeschichte,
2000), 251-78.
8 „Abgesehen von den zuvor erwähnten Neuenmgen, die unterschiedlich bewertet, teils
zurückgewiesen oder teils erst herbeigeführt wurden, basiert die Lex familie Wormaciensis
ecclesie auf Gewohnheitsrecht, das cum consilio c/eri et militum et lolius familie, also auch
mit Rat der familia selbst, gewiesen worden ist.“ Schutz, „Das Wormser Hofrecht“, 257.
9 Neue Deutsche Biographie 3, online, s. v. „BUichard I, Bischof von Wonus,“ by Walter
Bulst, http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz69540.html (accessed August I , 2013). Greta
Austin suggests the use of Burchard ’s name as „an umbrella term“, since a number of different
hands seem to have contributed to the elaboration of the earliest manuscripts in his
collection. Greta Austin, Shaping Church Law Araund the Year 1000 (Famham: Ashgate,
2009), 16-17.
25
comprising the Liber decretorum became the most important canonical
collection of its time; copied extensively, around eighty manuscripts have
survived.
The intention common to both written works is to clarify what was
deemed the extreme diversity and confusion of the existing legal framework
goveming the bishopric of Worrns. The compiler makes this clear in the
prologue, where he states that the discrepancies, carelessness, and Iack of
authority characterising ecclesiastical law and the penitential system were an
obstacle to priests‘ daily work:
. . . because in our diocese the laws of the canons and the judgments for
those doing penance are confused, varied, and disordered, just as if they
were completely neglected, and are both greatly in disagreement among
themselves and supported by the authority of almost no one, so that
because of the discord they scarcely can be disentangled by experts.
Whence it frequently happens that for those fleeing to the remedy of
penance, both on account of the confusion of the books and also the
ignorance of the priests, help in no way is at hand. 10
To this he adds: „I do not ask that it passes beyond the boundary of our
bishopric, but Iet it remain to be studied by our own.“1 1
Nevettheless, Burchard’s Decretum was widely circulated both geographically
and over time: 12 it was the most important collection of canons until
the appearance of Gratian ’s work of the same name. 1 3
1 0 .. . quia eanonurn Jura et judicia poenitentiurn in nostra dioeeesi sie sunl eonjitsa atque
diversa et ineulta, ae sie ex toto negleeta, et inter se valde diserepantia, et pene nu/lius
auctoritate suffolta, ut propter dissonantiarn vix a seiolis possint diseerni. Unde fit
plerurnque ut eonfugientibus ad rernediurn poenitentiae, tarn pro librorurn eonfusione
quarn etiarn presbyterorurn ignorantia, nu//atenus valeat subveniri. Burchardus
Wormaciensis Episcopus, Deereturn, 499C/D. In this case the reference is from Migne’s
edition. The translation cited is taken from Robert Somerville and Bruce Brasington, trans.,
Prefaees to Canon Law Books in Latin Christianity. Seleeted Translations, 500-1245 (New
Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998), 99. 1 1
Non rogo ut nostri episeopii firnen transeat, sed nostris addiseendurn rernaneat. Burchardus
Wormaciensis Episcopus, Deereturn, 502A. Like above, this reference is from Migne’s
edition. The trans1ation is taken from Somerville and Brasington, Prefaces to Canon Law
Books, 104. In their book containing translations of canon law prefaces, Robert Somerville
and Bruce C. Brasington associate the suggested Iimits to the circulation of the Decreturn
with the power of bishops and the tendency at the time toward privileging what was
regional: „Until the ecclesiastical refonn movement of the eleventh century, local or
regional orientation continued to predominate in canon law, a sign of the bishops‘ control
of the canons and the weakness of any centralized authority.“ Somerville and Brasington,
12 Prefaees to Canon Law Books, 62.
„His Deereturn was the most widely received and subsequently used of a series of
collections assembled from the tradition to meet local needs.“ Somerville and Brasington,
Prefaees to Canon Law Books, 75. „Designed to meet the needs of bis own clergy, the
Decreturn soon obtained generat circulation, and it was constantly employed by canonists
of the subsequent period.“ John T. McNeill and Helena M . Gamer, trans., Medieval
26
Some brief reflections on studies of silence and clamour in the Middle Ag es
My aim here is not to cany out a comprehensive review of the topic of
silence and clamour in recent secondary Iiterature as a whole, but rather to single
out certain texts that have inspired my efforts to achieve a more nuanced
comprehension of the subject based on a detailed analysis of the Corrector sive
medicus.
In addition to generat studies of language, its social functions, and ways
of communicating by means of word and gesture,14 researchers (especially those
influenced by disciplines such as Cultural Studies and Anthropology) have
begtm to pay more attention to sound, voice, noise, and silence. In Sensing the
Past. Seeing, Hearing, Smelling, Tasting and Touching in History, Mark M.
Smith has summarised their contributions to the history of the senses. 1 5
Although not devoted specifically to medieval studies, his introduction to this
field of academic research underscores the fact that the senses are indeed
Handbooks of Penance. A Transfotion of the Principaf Libri Poenitentialcs (New York:
Columbia University Press, 1 990 [ 1 938]), 32 1 . Contrariwise, James Brundagc thinks that
the Decretum could not have been used so widely because of its size, which would have
meant that only a few culmral centres could bave copied it. James A. Brundage, La ley, el
sexo y Ia sociedad cristiana en Ia Europa medieval (Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Econ6mica,
2000). Inversely, Sarah Hamilton suggests the circulation of copies of the entire collectiou.
Sarab Hamilton, The pracrice of penance 900-1050 (Suffolk: The Royal Historical
Society!fbe Boydeli Press, 2001), 33.
13 Paul Foumier enumerates the reasons for such a success: I ) the Decretum is organized
methodically; 2) it is not a revolutionary work, but instead that of a „moderate
conservative“ who is on good tenns with both imperial and cpiscopal powers; 3) there is
harmouy between traditional texts and current needs. In his own words: “ . . . le Decret de
Burchard ne contient ni le droit theorique ni le droit de l’antiquite: l’evequc de Worms a
tenu, autant que possible, a exponer Ia legislation de son temps. 11 met en harmonie !es
textes anciens, qu’il prod\1it en si grand nombre, avec !es faits actuels; et lorsqu’il se tait
sur un usage suivi dans I“ Eglise du Xle siecle, c’est qu ‚il a de bonnes raisons pour cela; ses
omissions sont significatives pour Je lecteur perspicace. En outrc, le Decret contenait,
comme on l’a vu, un code penitentiel tres abondant, adapte a l’usage quotidien. Ce
caractere actuel et pratique etait bien fait, a mon avis, pour recommander le Decret aux
membres du clerge charges du ministere pastoral.“ Paul Fournier, Melanges de droit
canonique I (Aalen: Scientia, 1983), 434-35.
14 Peter Burke, Hab/ar y ca/lar. Funciones sociales del lenguaje a traves de Ia historia
(Barcelona: Gedisa, 1 996); Oswald Ducrot, EI decir y Ia dicho (Buenos Aires: Hachette,
1984); Michael Richter, „Beyond Goody and Grundmann“, in Oral history of the Middle
Ages, ed. Gerhard Jaritz and Michael Richter (Krems: Medium Acvum Quotidianum,
2001), 1 1- 1 8.
15 Mark M. Smith, Sensing the Past. Seeing, Hearing, Smelling, Tasting and Tauehing in
History (Berkeley/ Los Angeles: University ofCalifornia Press, 2007).
27
historical and cultural. Fmthermore, it is worth noting that power relations are
also made manifest within this sphere. 16
Two decades ago Lester K. Little explored the topic of clamour in
Benedictine Ma ledictions: Liturgical Cursing in Romanesque Fr ance, where he
analysed it in comparison with maledictory fo rmulas. 17 His interest in clamour a
juridical tenn employed during Late Antiquity and the Carolingian era for
presenting petitions before tribunals -was aroused by the way the term became
redefined and reoriented within religious communities around the year 1000 as a
tool in their quest for justice. 18 My own reconsideration of the term does not
fo cus on its legal ramifications; instead I analyse its opposition to silence, and
the relation of both terms to vice and virtue.
In this regard, the treatment of the interaction of so und, silence, and sin in
I peccati della lingua by Carla Casagrande and Silvana Vecchio has been
significant to researchers on the subject.19 The book begins with an overview of
the history of peccata oris (sins related to language), each manifestation of
which is then studied in depth. Evidence is drawn from manuals for preachers
written during the twelfth century, the period when these sins became an obj ect
of investigation and systematisation. Little attention is devoted specifically to
silence; however, the authors do introduce the distinction between peccata oris language
sins (vitium linguae) – and silence sins (mala taciturnitas) made by
Pien·e Je Chantre in his handbook fo r preachers, Ve rbum abbreviatum. 20 They
also review the motives and occasions for silence enumerated by the French
theologian Raoul Ardent in his Summa de vitiis et virtutibus or Sp eculum
universale, which are as fo llows: silence is excellent when someone waits for
the appropriate time to speak; it may be benign if the person has nothing
meaningful to say; or it can be evil if it hides know ledge from others. Silence is,
16
For instance, a well-known superstition implies that tempestarii call for storms to ruin
crops; as counter-magic, church bells are rung. The pealing of church bells is not
considered superstitious because the authority of the Christian church upholds it: the
church as institution decides what is acceptable and what is not because it has the power
and authority that enable it to proceed this way. Valery I. J. Flint, The Rise of Magie in
Early Medi eval Europe (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1991), 185-93;
Jean-Claude Schmitt, Historia de Ia superstici6n (Barcelona: Critica, 1992), 61; Keith
Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magie (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997
[1971]), 32.
17 Lester K. Little, Benedietine Ma ledictions: Liturgieal Cursing in Romanesque Franee
(New Y ork: Comell University Press, 1993 ). 18
The legal aspect of clamour in the Correetor involves individual proclamations conceming
disputes over maritat status and rights: the abandonment of the wife or husband, as weil as
separation. Burchard highlights the role of the church as intermediary institution: the
bishop or his Iegate are the ecclesiastical offleials in charge of resolving the conflict;
penance is the remedy. Burchard von Worms, Decretorum Libri XX, 193r and 196v. 19
Carla Casagrande and Silvana Vecchio, Les peehes de Ia Iangue (Paris: Cerf, I 991). 20
Ibid., 17.
28
at any rate, superior to words?1 The above Observations shed light on the
perspective and thematic object of my particular area of analysis.
Other scholars have tumed their attention to silence in monastic
environments. Glauco Maria Cantarella reconstructs the daily life, rites, norms
regarding behaviour, and atmosphere of silence in monastic life in I monaci di
Cluny.22 Oronzo Giordano’s Higiene y Buenas Maneras en Ia Alta Edad Media
investigates the roJe of good rnanners, especially cleanliness and hygiene, in the
rnonastery, together with the place and time for talking, keeping silent, and
gesturing as part of a monk’s education. Indeed, novices did go through a whole
process of acculturation meant to teach them how to behave when addressing
others in different circumstances.23 Scott G. Bruce exarnines the Cluniac tradetion
of sign language in his book Silence and Sign Language in Medieval
Monasticism. The Cluniac Tradition c. 900-1200. 24 This silent language
allowed rnonks and novices to convey specific information without using their
voice, thus, respecting highly-valued religious silence.
The above references to this material, albeit partial and consequently
unjust, are intended to serve as a backdrop for understanding Burchard’s preoccupation
with the subject discussed below.
Silens and clamans in the context of Burchard’s Decretum
Burchard of Worms does not theorise about the vast, complex world ofsin
and sinners, although an analysis of his work reveals a hierarchy (however
arnbiguous) of faults, which was the subject of my dissertation on superstitions,
EI Corrector sive medicus de Burchard de Worms: una visi6n acerca de las
21
„Le silence bon est plus sur que la parole bonne, ct doit don’t etre pratique plus intensement
et plus fn!quemment. La superiorite du silence sur la parole est demomree par le fait que
dans certains cas meme les paroles bonnes ne doivent pas etre prononcecs: devant un
auditoire lasse, a un momnet inopportun, en un lieu non propice, en presence d’un locuteur
ou d’un auditeur indigne, les bonnes paroles doivent ceder Ia place ä la pratique plus
rassurante du silence.“ Ibid., 54.
22 Glauco Maria Cantarella, I monaci di Cluny (Torino: Einaudi, 2005 [1993)).
23 Oronzo Giordano mentions the rote of silence, taking into consideration the Antiquiores
Consuetudines Cluniacienses among otber monastic consuetudines: „Al oir Ia seiial de
silencio, debe dejar sin terminar Ia palabra que estä pronunciando: ipsum verbum quod
habet in ore non perflcir; si tiene Ia necesidad de comunicar o de pedir algo indispensable,
puede recurrir al lenguaje de los signos: en los monasterios se habia formado, en efecto,
todo un lexico mimico para cada ocasi6n y para cada objeto que sc queria indicar, pero se
debia recurrir a el s6lo en caso de absoluta oecesidad y con mucha discreci6n, para que los
gestos no distrajeran o turbaran de alglin modo a quienes no estaban interesados.“ Oronzo
Giordano, Higiene y buenas maneras en Ia Alra Edad Media (Madrid: Gredos, 200 l ), 35-
36.
24 Scott G. Bruce, Silence and Sign Language in Medieval Monasticism. The Cluniac
Tradition c. 900-1200 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007).
29
supersticiones en Ia Europa medieva/.25 In the present study, the complex rote of
silence and clamour as characteristics of a sinner’s mistaken behaviour, not the
appointed penance, is the object of analysis.
The Liber XIX or Corrector comprises 1 59 chapters devoted to penance
and the obti􀀑ations of sinners and confessors. After the long questionnaire in
chapter five, 6 intended as a sort of guide for priests hearing confession from
those members of the faithful who had taken the wrong path and were expected
to correct their misconduct, the next two chapters of the Corrector sive medicus
reproduce, to some de.pree, the structure of the description of transgressions
from Christian norms:2 Chapter six28 deals with the eight main vices (Burchard
is influenced here by both Jolm Cassian and Gregory the Great through Regino
of Ptüm), 29 whereas chapter seven mentions the virtues that can help overcome
them. 30 In this sense, virtue is the medicine for the illness of vice.
Within this framewerk clamour is described in chapter six as arising from
wrath, accompanied by otherpeccata orsi :31
From wrath are derived quarrels, swelling/excitement of the mind,
insults,32 clamoux, indignation,33 presumption,34 blasphemy,35 shedding
blood, hornicide, eagemess for revenge, recollection of injlllies. 36
25 Thc dissertation was defended in May 201 I at the Facultad de Filesofia y Letras of the
Universidad de Buenos Aires.
26 Chapter five is one of the three chapters in the Corrector that does not contain any inscriptio
(attribution to a source). The other two sharing this characteristic are chapters thtee
and seven. Hoffmann and Pokorny, Das Dekret, 232-39.
27 The general structure maintained throughout thc Corrector is the mention of a sin followed
by an appropriate penance. ln addition, penitential questions sometimes give reasons for
the misbehaviour and/or indicate an authoritative source which shows the way for what is
expected of good Christi ans.
28 Burchard von Wonns, Decretorum Libri XX. 201 r-v.
29 Burchard ascribes chapter six to the Penitential of Theodore: however, Hartmut Hoffmann
and Rudolf Pokorny, who did a comprehensive study of Burchard’s sources, were not able
to identify its original source. Hartmut Hoffmann and Rudolf Pokorny, Das Dekret des
Bischofs Burchard von Worms. Textstufen – Frühe Verbreitung – Vorlagen (Municb:
Menumenta Germaniae Historica, 1991 ), 233. On this point Burcbard is following Regino.
Textual analysis sbows that Burchard and Regino follow Gregory the Great regarding tbe
order of vices and the supremacy of superbia, while separating the lauer from vanagloria
as John Cassian does. See Andrea Vanina Neyra, „Consideraciones sobre Ia tipologia del
pecado en cl Corrector de Burchard von Wonns,“ Revista Signum, I I , no. I (2010): 108-
30 (http://www.revistasignum.com/signum/index.php/revistasignumn 1 1/article/view/6/5 –
accessed August I, 2013).
30 Burchard von Wonns, Decretorum Libri XX, 20lv-202r.
31 Regarding the peccata oris, it is relevant to keep in mind Augustine’s division of the
realities of the world into two categories: things (res) and signs (signa). Signs are natural
or conventional. All these elements should be considered when dealing with silence,
words, loud noises, superstitions, and communication between rnen and demons. San
Agustin, De doctrina christiana (Madrid: Biblioteca de autores cristianos, 1965).
30
Neither the word clamour nor any of its morphological derivatives are
used by Burchard in bis description of the different kinds of sins in Liber XIX,
with the exception of clamoribus when depicting a „pagan“ tradition punished
by a two-year penance. Given that these beliefs and practices were confessed by
Christians to their confessors, it would actually be more accurate to refer to them
as superstitions:
Hast thou observed the traditions of the pagans, which, as if by hereditary
right, with the assistance of the devil, fathers have ever left to their sons
even to these days, that is, that thou shouldst worship the elements, the
moon or the sun or the course of the stars, the new moon or the eclipse of
32 Contumelia: „Significa, cn general, injuria o insulto verbal . . . oo es posible encontrar una
sola definici6n univoca dc c. que abra caminos de analisis. Claro esta que constituye, por
excelencia, un pecado de Ia lengua. Por sus caracteristicas acompafia los cambios culturales
dados particulam1ente entre los siglos XI y XIII, ya que el iosulto se viocula con las
diferentes valoraciones sociales. EI contenido de Ia c. es siempre un mal, un pecado, un
delito, algo infamante o aun meramente indecoroso . . . el mal ajeno se convierte en c. en Ia
boca de alguien a traves de una denuncia o manifestaci6n abierta y directa, a diferencia de
Ia derractio, que se profiere sin que Ia persona objeto dc ella lo sepa. Por otra parte, supone
al menos uo oyente, a difereocia tambien de Ia maledictio o de Ia blasfemia. Todos estos
tipos de insulto son, en definitiva, verba viwperationis. De este modo, Ia vir uperatio
vincula el insulto con Ia intenci6n del sujeto injuriaote que los autores medievales siempre
b.an adscrito a Ia ira. Se suele reservar el termino opprobium para Ia ofensa recibida, es
decir, para Ia c. desde el punto de vista de Ia persona que es objeto de ella. En gcneral, Ia
norrna moral aconsejada es Ia no reacci6n. „Con tume/ia,“ in Lexico tecnico de Filosofla
Medieval, ed. Silvia Magnavacca (Buenos Aires: Mifio y Davila; Universidad de Buenos
Aires, Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, 2005), 1 76-77.
33 „La indignaci6n proviene de Ia ira en su dimensi6n etica . . . Por eso, asi como se puede dar
una ira mala y una ira bona, Ia misma ambivalencia preseota el termino que nos ocupa. En
efecto, se habla escolasticamente de Ia i. en cuanto enojo contra alguien de quien se ha
recibido una ofensa que el injuriado cree, equivocadamente, no merecer, es decir que se
considera indignus de clla.“ „lndignatio,“ in ibid., 360.
34 „En los textos medievales, con este vocablo se suele mentar Ia presunci6n en cuanto
conjetura. Cabe subrayar que es, pues, un termino predomioantemente psico16gico y que
solo tiene que ver con el conocimiento en cuanto que este forma pane de los procesos del
alma. No se trata, entonces, de lo que hoy se denominaria una ‚categoria epistemo16gica‘.
En Ia medida en que Ia p. no implica el proceder prolijamente mediante hip6tesis, es frecuente
que se subrayc su futilidad mediante el afiadido dcl adjetivo vana. „Praesumptio,“
in ibid., 553.
35 „La blasfemia es el mas grave de los asi llamados ‚peccata oris‘ o pecados de Ia lengua.
Consiste en Ia acci6n de injuriar a Dios con palabras o gestos. Los autores del periodo
patristico Ia b.an presentado ya como hija de Ia soberbia, ya como hija de Ia ira en cuanto
pecados capitales. Asi lo hacen Casiano y Gregorio, respectivamente.“ There are two
medieval traditions linked to this sin: on thc one hand, the tradition fonnulated by
Augustine, which emphasizes the falseness aspect, and on the other, the tradition which
relates blasphemy to an offence against God. „Biasphemia,“ in ibid. , 1 1 2 .
36 De ira oriuntur rixae, tumor mentis, contumeliae, c/amor, indignatio, praesumptio,
blasphemiae, sanguinis effosio, homicidia, ulciscendi cupidiras, injuriarum memoria. Burchard
von Worms, Decrerorum Libri XX. 201 v. My translation cited above.
3 1
the moon; that thou shouldst be able by thy shouts or by thy aid to restore
her splendor, or these elements (be able) to succour thee, or that thou
shouldest have power with them – or hast thou observed the new moon for
building a house or making marriages? lf thou hast, thou shalt do penance
for two years on the appointed fast days; for it is written ‚All, whatsoever
ye do in word and in work, do all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ‘. 37
In this instance, as in many other „pagan“ or superstitious practices, the Bishofs
of Worms characterises the devil as subministrante, docente or instigante. 8
Adoration of the elements is practiced by people shouting in the name of
supposedly-defeated traditions, and not in the name of Christ. 39 1t should be
remernbered that other mentions of „pagan“ practices, such as vigils for the
dead, were described as accompanied by chants, laughter, dancing and drinking
– all taught by the devil, making the Christians involved forget sympathy and
piety.40 In the above cases, noise and loud vocal manifestations (shouts, singing
and laughing) petformed by sinful parishioners were inspired by beliefs and
practices that ignore Christian teachings and vittues.
37 Si observasti traditiones paganorum, quas, quasi haereditario jure diabolo subministrante,
usque in hos dies semper patres filiis reliquerunt, id est ut elementa coleres, id est lunam
auf solem, aut stellarum cursum, novam lunam, aut defectum lunae, ut tuis clamoribus aut
auxilio sp/endorem ejus restaurare valeres, auf illa elemenra tibi succurrere aut tu illis
posses, aut novam lunam observasti pro domo facienda aut conjugiis sociandis? Si fecsi ti,
duos annos per legitimas ferias poeniteas, quia scripturn est: «Omne quodcunque facitis in
verbo et in opere, omnia in nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi facite.)) Burchard von
Worms, Decretorum Libri XX, 1 93r-v. Burchard quotes Paul’s lener to the Colossians,
3 : 1 7 : „Y todo lo que haceis, sea de palabra o de hecho, hacedlo todo en el nombre del
Seii.or Jesus, dando gracias a Dios Padre por medio de el.“ The translation of Burchard’s
penitential question above is taken from McNeill and Gamer, Medieval Handbooks of
Penance, 330.
38 I have studied the figure and role of the devil i:l the supcrstitions described by Burchard in a
paper presented at a congress in Bucnos Aires in 20 l 0: Andrea Vanina Neyra, „llusiones y
ensefianzas diab6licas: algunas pistas sobre Ia interpretaci6n de las supersticiones en el
cristianismo altomedieval“, in IV Jornadas de Reflexion Monstruos y Monstruosidades
(Buenos Aircs: Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, Univcrsidad de Buenos Aires, 2012), in
press.
39 The penitential ascribed to Bede – one of the penitentials recognised as authoritative by
Burchard – also contains a passage on conjurers and fortune-tellers who act with cries and
magical arts during lunar eclipses. However, the text continues describing other practices
and prescribes a penance of three to five years (a Ionger period than Burchard’s penance).
McNeill and Gamer, Medieval Handbooks ofPenance, 229.
40 Observasti excubias funeris, id esr, inrerfuisti vigiliis cadaverum mortuorum ubi Chrsi tianorum
corpora ritu paganorum custodiebanrur, et cantasri ibi diabolica carmina, er
fecisti ibi saltationes quas pagani diabolo docenre adinvenerunt: et ibi bibisti, et cachinnis
ora dissolvisti, et omni pietote et affectu charitatis postposito, quasi de fraterna morte
exsultare visus es? Si fecisti, XXX“ dies in pane et aqua poeniteas. Burcbard von Worms,
Decretorum Libri XX. l95r.
32
Before focusing on silence as a sin, it is worth mentioning that it is
possible to find examples of silence functioning as just another element
contributing to a superstitious scene and atmosphere. For instance, according to
Burchard, the silence of the night may be interrupted by women wandering
araund with Diana41 or who think they can traverse closed windows to kill
baptized men, eat their boiled flesh, and bring them back to life by replacing
their hearts with wood or straw;42 they may even fly over the clouds in order to
fight with other women for no reason other than the battle itself.43
Altematively, according to Burchard, silence could express the way that,
at the sight of a dead man, some women act seeking a eure by silently fetehing a
jug of water and poUJing the liquid under the coffin:
Hast thou done or consented to those vanities which foolish women are
accustomed to enact, (who) while the corpse of a dead person still lies in
41 Credidisti aut particeps fuisti illius incredulitalis, quod quaedam sceleratae lnlJiieres retro
post Satanam conversae, daemonum illusionibus et phanrasmatibus seductae, credunt et
profiten/ur se nocturnis horis cum Diana paganorum dea, e/ cum innumera multitudine
mulierum equitare super quasdam bestias, et multa terrarum spatia intempestae noctis
silentio pertransire ejusque jussionibus velut dominae obedire et certis noctibus ad ejus
servitium evocari? Sed utinam hae solae in perfidia sua perissenr, et non muttos secum in
infirmitatis interitum perlraxissent. Nam innumera multitudo hac falsa opinione decepta,
haec vera esse credit, et credendo a rectafide deviat, et in errore paganorum volvitur, cum
aliquid divinitatis aut numinis extra unum Deum esse arbitratur. Sed diabolus Iransformat
se in diversarum personar-um species atque similitudines, et mentem, quam captivam tenet
in somnis deludens, modo laeta, modo tristia, modo incognitas personas ostendens, per
devia quaeque deducit, et cum solus Spiritus hoc patitur, infidelis mens haec non in animo,
sed in corpore evenire opinatur. Quis enim non in somnis et nocturnis visionibus extra
seipswn educitur, et multa videt dormiendo quae nunquam viderat vigilando? Quis vero
tarn stultus et hebes sit qui haec omnia, quaein solo spiritu fiunt, etiam in corpore accidere
arbitretur? Cum Ezechiel propheta visiones Domini in spiri/71 non in co1pore, vidit et
audivit, sicut ipse dicit: Statim, inquit, fui in spiritu. Et Paulus non audet se dicere rapturn
in co1pore. Omnibus itaque publice annuntiandum est quod qui talia et his similia credit,
fidem perdit.· et qui fidem rectam in Deo non habet, hic non est ejus, sed illius in quem
credit, id est, diaboli. Nam de Domino nostro scrip111m est: Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et
sine ipso factum est nihil. Si credidisti has vanitates, duos annos per legitimas ferias
poeniteas. lbid., 1 94v-195r.
42 Credidisli quod multae mulieres retro Satanam conversae credunt et affirmant verum esse,
ut credas inquietae noctis silentio cum te collocaveris in lecto tuo, et marito tuo in sinu tuo
jacenre, te dum corporea sis janusi c/ausis exire passe, et terrarum spacia cum aliis simili
errore deceptis pertransire valere, et homines baptizatos, et Christi sanguine redemptos,
sine armis visibilibus et interficere, et decoctis carnibus eorum vos comedere, et in loco
cordis eorum Siramen aut lignum, aut aliquod hujusmodi ponere, et commestis, iterum
vivos facere, et inducias vivendi dare? Si credidisti, quadraginta dies, id est carrinam in
pane et aqua cum septem sequentibus annis poeniteas. lbid., 1 99v.
43 Credidisti quod quaedam mulieres credere solenr, ut tu cum aliis diaboli membris item
inquietae nocris silenrio c/ausis januis in aerem usque ad nubes subleveris, et ibi cum aliis
pugnes, er ur vulneres alias, er tu vulnera ab eis accipias? Si credidisti, duos annos per
legitimas ferias poeniteas. lbid., 200r.
33
the house, run to the water and silently bring a jar of water, and when the
dead body is raised up, pour this water under the bier, and as the body is
being carried from the house watch that it be not raised higher than to the
knees, and do this as a kind of means of healing? lf thou hast done or
consented to this, thou shalt do penance for ten days on bread and water.44
Although the author does not specify the purpose of this ritual (except for the
unspecific mention of „a eure“), it is important to note that, as the French
historian Jean-Claude Schmitt observed in his well-known Historia de Ia
superstici6n, attintdes toward death were one of the dividing lines between
Christian beliefs and superstition.45 In all likelihood, the practice recounted in
the Corrector (like many others related to funerary customs not discussed
here)46 reflects concern about the attention paid by superstitious people to
corpses, the world of the dead, and funerary practices. These rites are
condernned in this penitential, in contrast to the care lavished on souls valued by
the Church.47
Burchard explicitly takes into consideration two kinds of „silent sinners“
(i. e. someone whose fault was to remain silent when he or she should not have
done so). The first indicates a certain consent of evil-doing. He imposes a
penance on the person who keeps another’s offence a secret:
Have you kept silent regarding your brother, who was about to die, and
have you not helped him, have you not rebuked him so that he became
44 Fecisfi il/as vanifates aut consensisfi quas stultae mulieres facere solent, [quae.j dum
codaver morfui hominis adhuc in domo jacet, currunt ad aquam, er adducunt tacite vas
cum aqua, et, cum sublevatur corpus mortui, eamdem aquam fundunt subtus feretmm, et
hoc observant, dum extra domum asportatur funus, [ut} non altius quam ad genua
elevetur, ef hoc faciunt pro quadam sanifate? Si fecisri, al/1 consensisri, X dies in pane ef
aqua debes poenitere. fbid., l95v. Thc translation is from McNeill and Gamer, Medieval
Handbooks of Penance, 334.
45 Sch.mitt, Hi sforia de Ia supersfici6n, 63.
46 I have studied some fi.merary practices connected with the treatment of children ’s corpses in
the context of violence against children in a paper prescnted at a congrcss in Buenos Aires
in 2006 and published the following year: Andrea Vanina Neyra, „Violencia sobre nifios en
Ia Edad Media: practicas y creencias supersticiosas·‘, in Monstruos y monstruosidades.
Perspecfivas disci plinarias Il (Buenos Aires: Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, Universidad
de Buenos Aires, 2007}, 688-97.
47 Tbc role of the ecclesiastical iostitution in the release of the soul is described by Burchard
in chapter 1 12; there are four methods, all representing some kind of involvement of the
Christian church. CAP. 112 – Quot modis animae defunctorum solvi debeant. (Ex dictis
Origenis.) Animae defunctorum quatuor modis solvunfur, aur oblarionibus sacerdotum, auf
precibus sanctontm, auf char01-um eleemosynis, aut jejunio cognaforum. Burchard von
Worms, Decreforum Libri XX, 2 1 5r. According to Hoffmann and Pokomy, the original
source of the chapter is Collectio Hibernensis XV 1, Hoffmann and Pokomy, Das Dekret,
238.
34
reasonable and have you not helped the brother who was under pressure?
lf you haven’t, you shall do penance for as long as you kept silence.48
The fratemal correction is related to Matthew 1 8 : 1 5 , where it is stated that
„lf thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and
him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother“. A Christian must
exhort a sinner to confess, repent and, in this way, cotTect his behaviour and
soul. But he has also to answer for his own consent if he allows a sin to happen
or does not keep it from happening.49 Consensus in malo, in spite of serving as
title for only three penitential questions in the Corrector (including the one cited
above), is mentioned in many other inquiries, particularly those related to
superstitions. 50 It is interesting to note that in the question discussed above there
is no predetermined length of time set for the penance: it nmst last as long as the
sin did, that is, as long as the penitent remained silent.
This penitential question is treated in the same way in Regino’s Libri duo:
„He who is silent about his brother’s sin which is unto death, and hasn’t rebuked
him, nor has he told the church of God so that he was corrected, he shall do
penance for as long as he consented.“51
There are other noteworthy details regarding the above quote. The passage
is not part of Regino’s Ordo ad dandam poenitentiam; it figures in Liber
Primus, a book devoted to clerics and not the laity, so the admonition is linked
to the clergy’s obligations. 52 This is the reason why the third person is used instead
of the second: the penitent is not being directly addressed here.
Retuming to Burchard’s compilation, chapter 1 1 8 of the Corrector points
to the person who is silent about his own sin: „Cap. 1 1 8 – On those who keep
silence about their sins for a long time (From Beda’s Penitential). However, it is
48 Rericuisri peccarum frarris quod erar usque ad morrem, neque corripuisri eum, nec
exhortatus es eum, ur resipisceret, nec succurristi fratri sub onere jacemi? Si fecisti, tarn
diu poeniteas quam diu reticuisti. Burchard von Worms, Decretorum Libri XX. 198r-v. My
translation.
49 The sixteenth book of the Decretum appears under the title De Accusatoribus et Testibus
Burchard von Worms, ibid., 169v-173r. Jt would be useful to study it in light of some o f
tbe topics discussed i n this paper, the rote of silence, peccata oris, and consent, for
example.
50 „Fecisti … aur consensisri … ? is the fommla used by Burchard. Neyra, „Consideraciones
sobre Ia tipologia del pecado en el Corrector de Burchard von Worms,“ 1 23-24.
51 Qui reticuerit peccatum fratris quod est ad martern, nec eum corripuerit, aur Ecc/esiae Dei
ur ernende/ur dixerit, quandiu consensit, randiu poenileat. Reginonis abbatis prumieusis,
Libris duo de synodalibus causis er dsi ciplinsi ecc/esiasricis, Patrologiae Latinae, vol.
CXXXII, ed J. P. Migne (Paris: Petit-Montrouge, 1880), 231A. My translation.
52 I have studied some aspects of the problematic related to Regino’s and Burchard’s
canonical tcxts and their addressees in a paper presented at a congress in 201 I : Andrea
Vanina Neyra, „Peoitenciales y colecciones can6nicas: fuentes para el estudio de Ia
superstici6n medieval“, in XIII Jornadas lnrerescuelas/Departamentos de Hi storia, Departamento
de Historia de Ia Facu/tad de Humanidades de Ia Universidad Nacional de
Caramarca, San Fernando del V alle de Catamarca, August 10-13, 201 1 .
35
true that penance should be increased for as Jong as he is in sin.“53 According to
Hoffmann and Pokorny, the attribution to Bede is incorrect; the source of the
text is the Excarpsus Cummeani praef54 In fact, this penitential contains a
chapter which could have inspired Burchard to encourage confession and avoid
silencing sins:
He who is silent about his brother’s sin which is unto death, shall rebuke
him with confidence, and for so long a time as he was silent he shall live
on bread and water. If it was a slight sin that he kept silent about, he shall
indeed rebuke him, but he shall do penance with psalms or fasting
according to the judgment of his priest. 5
Furthermore, the Excarpsus Cummeani prescribes silence as part of the penance
for those who Iied, caused injury or expressed their anger: „For it is an old
proverb: the contraries are healed by the contraries . . . „56
Conclusion
A close reading of Burchard’s Corrector sive medicus gives some idea of
the complexity of the world of silence and clamour which falls between the
extremes of virtue and vice. Keeping silent does not necessarily mean one is
virtuous, as I have endeavoured to show with the example of the sinner
condernned for not encouraging confession, thus resulting in the omission of
fratemal correction; another instance is the silent behaviour accompanying a
superstitious funerary practice allegedly performed by women. On the other
53 Cap. 1 1 8. – De illis qui diu reticent pecca/a sua. (Ex Poenitentiali Bedae presbyteri.)
Sciendum vero est, quanto quis Iernpore moratur in peccatis, tanto ei augenda est poenitentia.
Burchard von Wonns, Decrerorum Libri XX, 2 15v. My translation.
54 Hoffmann and Pokomy, Das Dekret, 238.
55 Reticens peccahm? fratris quod ad martern, arguet eum cum flducia, et quanto Iernpore
reticuit, tan/o cum pane et aqua vivat; si peccatum parvum reticuit, arguet quidem eum,
sed psalmis sive jejunio judicio sacerdotis poenitear. (Excwpsus Cummeani, 993C). The
quotations of the Excarpsus Cummeani ar:: from Liber de mensura poenitentiarum,
Patrologiae Latinae, vol. CXXXYII, cd. 1. P, Migne (Paris : Petit-Montrouge, 1 863), 979-
98. The translation is taken from McNeill and Gamer, Medieval Handbooks of Penance,
1 10.
56 Vetus namque proverbium est: contraria contrariis sanentur [sanantur]. .. lbid., 981B. As
above, the translation is taken from McNei II and Gamer, Medieval Handbooks of Penance,
I I 0. The Regula Coenobialis of Columbanus also prescribes silence for peccata oris: “ . . .
The talkativc person is to be sentenced to sileucc, the disturber to gentleness, the
gluttonous to fasting, the sleepy fellow to watchfulness, the proud to imprisonment, the
deserter to expulsion. Each shall suffer things corresponding to what he deserves, that the
righteous may live righteously. Amen.“ McNeill and Gamer, Medieval Handbooks of
Penance, 265. Moreover, Burchard mentions vinues (or eures) against the vices in chapter
7 of his Liber XIX, following the idea that contraries are the eure for contrarics, as was
shown above: „Cap. 7.-ltem de virtutibus quibus eadem vitia superari possint, et de
conclusione poenitentiae.“ Burchard von Worms, Decretorum Libri XX, 201 r.
36
hand, clamour in the sense used here only appears as an element of „pagan“
(actually, superstitious) worship directed at the moon, sun, and stars. Similarly,
because they disturb the silence ofthe night it is possible to infer that the women
who tly through the sky fighting and eating the hearts of Christian men or
following the goddess Diana perform these rites as clamantes.
These passages would seem to indicate the advisability of reconsidering
and revising certain established concepts and conceptions regarding silence and
vocal noise and expressions as representative of vittue and vice respectively;
this despite the fact that, with the exception of liturgically-stipulated Christian
chants and prayers, other loud vocal expressions are customarily categorised as
transgressions of some sort.
Careful examination of sources such as the Corrector makes evident the
need to pay close attention to the nuances and particularities of each text in order
to avoid generalising and over-simplification. In this sense, it would be
beneficial to continue exploring similar lines of research.
37