HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES - Julian Emperor

146 THOMAS J. HEFFERNANWhat were Gregory’s new emphases? For Gregory of Tours, thefigure of saint as thaumaturge, as a reservoir of almost magical power,as a posthumous miracle maker who intercedes for his devotees, wascentral. In Gregory’s Life of Saint Benedict, however, the emphasis ison the saint as a pastoral mediator of God’s grace, whose power isalways subordinated to God’s and whose deeds focus almost exclusivelyon the betterment of his new foundation. Of the thirty-six miraclesthat Gregory attributes to Benedict, only one is posthumous,and even that miracle is accomplished without the woman’s knowledgethat it was the saint who cured her (II.38). Gregory the Greatunderscores that Benedict’s miracles are res gestae done while he lived,sometimes mediated by other worthy individuals, but utterly dependenton God’s grace. 75 Most of Benedict’s miracles are not dramatichealings or exorcisms but have a pragmatic bent. These miraclestypically illustrate his concern that his monastery prosper: the restorationof a lost scythe iron, the removal of a devil who sat atop alarge rock and thus impeded the building project, the private healingof the monk hurt while building a wall, or the creation of a wellfor the use of a monastery. Such utilitarian depictions undoubtedlyappealed to a pope beset with a thousand different worldly cares,who likely saw Benedict as an alter ego and longed himself for anopportunity to live the contemplative life. When Gregory does illustrateBenedict’s healing power, he does it by shrouding the incidentwith God’s mysterious power. He clarifies the opacity of these anecdotesof the conjunction of the divine in the world through dialog,interrupting the narrative for a colloquy between the fictive figuresof Gregory and Peter. For example, in the single resurrection miracleGregory records, that of Benedict raising the dead peasant child,Benedict, when asked to help, first acknowledges his limitations, claimingthat he is unable to work such miracles: “Such miracles are notfor us, but for the holy apostles”. Benedict prays over the child’sbody; he does not touch the body, but appeals to God to overlookhis sinfulness and acknowledge the faith of the father who asks forthe favor: “O Lord, do not look at my sins, but consider the faithof the man who asks that his son be revived”. The boy is restoredto life. At this point Gregory breaks into the narrative, addressesPeter and comments: “Obviously, Peter, this miracle was not in his75Ward (1981), 2.