ABSTRACT
Saints may not primarily come to mind when thinking about secular music and its media in the medieval and early modern period, at a time when the church was consistently trying to ban secular music from liturgical practice. A closer look at hagiographic texts as well as visual representations of saints, however, shows that in some cases secular music was not only welcome, but practised by saints. In fact, secular music could even serve as an argument toward officially proving their holiness. Some scholars have focused on specific case studies, analysing the role of secular sounds and music-making in the life or iconography of a singular saint, such as St Francis of Assisi and St Caterina de’ Vigri, while others have discussed the role of music in medieval spirituality in general. A systematic investigation of the role of music, and specifically secular music, for constructing sainthood in the Middle Ages and early modernity, however, has never been attempted.
In this chapter, I offer a comparative discussion of the role of secular music in the lives of medieval and early modern saints. I concentrate on three case studies from different periods and/or geographic and cultural contexts: the martyrdom of St Wilgefortis, the preaching of St Francis, and the spiritual practices of St Caterina de’ Vigri. I analyse the role played by secular music in the narratives and visual representations of their lives, as a means for constructing and enhancing their holiness, as well as in the devotional practice related to their worship. In conclusion, I reflect on the potential relevance of my investigations for larger issues concerning conflicting attitudes towards secular music in the sacred sphere in the Middle Ages and early modernity.
