ABSTRACT
The saints occupied an important place in medieval liturgy. Given how little evidence actually survives in liturgical books of the period, it is especially worth investigating whether these hagiographical accounts can tell us anything about how exorcisms were performed in the central Middle Ages. In terms of the liturgical sources from Western Europe, examples of exorcistic formulae survive in various Carolingian manuscripts; these are derived from the rites for catechumens. One of the features of the exorcisms in the life of St Norbert is that they are often connected with the mass. The stories of exorcisms in the vitae of Norbert, their length and their failures suggest it was sometimes difficult for medieval clerics to succeed in treating cases of possession. In the manner of Christ, who knew how to improvise and find the appropriate actions and prayers for every situation, Norbert is shown as able to free himself from the constraints of the formal liturgy in his fight against Satan.
