Ask God and You Will Obtain What You Seek”: A study of the sortes sanctorum in the Carolingian cultural-historical context

Abstract

This thesis concerns itself with the study of the sortes sanctorum in the historical context of the Carolingian written culture. It aims to pull the prognostic text from its depreciative association with un-Christian ‘superstitious’ and ‘pagan’ knowledge, into a new perspective that considers the text to be inherently Christian. Through the study of the sortes’ three oldest medieval manuscripts and a zoomed-in look at specifically one of these, it furthermore argues the text was valued as such by those that consulted it. With this will be demonstrated its literary associations with the ‘magical’ and, therefore, ‘backward’ aspects of its popularity in the so- called ‘Dark Ages’ must be left behind and conversely viewed as inherently woven in the cultural context it was studied, copied, and used in. This thesis, therefore, provides a snapshot of the use and cultural significance of prognostic texts in premodern cultures.