To err is divine: A structuralist analysis of medieval Irish hagiography

The lives of Brigit and Patrick are presented as a 'control-group' arranged according to composition date. Changes in the miracle are traced along the timeline. The miracles are typed according to the degree of control the saint has over the supernatural power involved: the saint is either in control or not in control . This typology reiterates the binary model of deep structures advanced by Levi-Strauss.;The saints' lives to be examined are preserved in the three collections---Codex Kilkenniensis, Codex Insulensis and Codex Salmanticensis. The codice lives are also arranged according to their compositional order and this paradigm is set against the 'control group' paradigm. The combined paradigms reveal two patterns.;One pattern, from the eighth century to the tenth is marked by an amplification of traditional miracle forms. The second pattern, from the late eleventh century through the thirteenth century, shows a reduction in the use of miracles to one type. These patterns are correlated to the historical context. Social gatherings were primarily feasts, with which storytelling was associated. At such events both traditional and ecclesiastical forms of storytelling were practiced. The social and political context provoked competition between the old order of the filid, traditional lore keepers, and the new order, the monastic writers. Thus we see in hagiography the high incidence of the pre-Christian material and amplification.;The second pattern, i.e. a reduction of the miracle types used and the compression of amplification and resurrection type miracles, matches a phase in hagiographical composition marked by an increase in economic concerns. All of these later developments correlate to the period of diocesan reform that followed from the Anglo-Norman invasion of the late eleventh century. In hagiography, depictions of violence accomplished by the saints were warnings against anyone who intended ill for the monastery associated with the saint. The compression and increased economic concerns reflects the threat to local autonomy felt by the monasteries confronted by diocesan reform. The changes observed in hagiography between the first pattern and the second reflect a redefinition of the deep structures that shaped the lives.