Sacred Space and Landscape of Medieval Conques in the Light of Textual Sources (10th–12th Centuries)

Sabina Rosenbergová

Conques (Conques-en-Rouergue, department of Aveyron), a medieval monastery and pilgrimage site, was a place of production of a rich corpus of written sources, mainly Latin hagiography, from the 10th to the 12th century. This project analyses the topography of the Liber miraculorum sancte Fidis (Book of the Miracles of Saint Faith), an account of the miracles attributed to the patroness of the abbey, Saint Foy. The Liber miraculorum is a composite source: the first two books were written by Bernard of Angers (in 1010 and 1020), and the last two were added by three different anonymous authors, probable monks of Conques, during the second half of the 11th century. The miracles as recounted in the stories were performed mainly in the vicinity of the monastery, and the authors usually give specific locations for these places. According to medieval theology, these places can be understood as the territory of the Conques saint. Using a modern geographical map, I have visualized the sites of Saint Foy’s miracles within this project. This tool makes it possible to appreciate how the individual authors of the Liber interpreted the topography. From a temporal perspective, the Liber’s authors show different preferences for the sites of the miracles of Saint Foy. The agency of the individual authors suggests that the Book of Miracles was adapted to the monastic community’s changing social and political needs. The new intake of pilgrims was most likely a decisive development since the later miracles occurred mainly around the route between Conques and other important religious sites, Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon, and Le-Puy-en-Velay. This project is part of a larger research grant on Conques in the Global World. Transferring Knowledge: From Material to Immaterial Heritage (MSCA-RISE), which aims to create a more complex picture of the construction of this medieval site as an illuminating case study in the formation of (pre)modern European culture.