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Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum

Latin collection of capitularies

Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum
Summary

Latin collection of capitularies

Facsimile reproduction of the first twenty chapter headings of the ''Indiculus''.

The Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum (Small index of superstitions and paganism) is a Latin collection of capitularies identifying and condemning superstitious and pagan beliefs found in the north of Gaul and among the Saxons during the time of their subjugation and conversion by Charlemagne.

From the original manuscript only the cover remains, which lists thirty chapters. The manuscript is held in the Vatican Library in a collection (Codex Palatinus Latinus 577) which probably originates from Fulda and thence traveled to Mainz, arriving there in 1479. From Mainz it went to the Bibliotheca Palatina in Heidelberg, and arrived in Rome at the latest in 1623. Preceding the Indiculus is the so-called Old Saxon Baptismal Vow. The text is edited in the Karlomanni Principis Capitulare, published by the Monumenta Germaniae Historica.

Contents

This list is made up from heathen practices that were forbidden by the church. It is about venerating holy places in nature such as springs, trees and rocks. Also about magical practices as spells or magic words, amulets, fortune-telling, rituals for the dead, feast in honor of pagan gods and the worshipping of the moon.

LatinEnglish
De sacrilegio ad sepulchra mortuorum
De sacrilegio super defunctos id est dadsisas
De spurcalibus in Februario
De casulis id est fanis
De sacrilegiis per aecclesias
De sacris siluarum quae nimidas vocant
De hiis quae faciunt super petras
De sacris Mercurii, vel Iovis
De sacrificio quod fit alicui sanctorum
De filacteriis et ligaturis
De fontibus sacrificiorum
De incantationibus
De auguriis vel avium vel equorum vel bovum stercora vel sternutationes
De divinis vel sortilogis
De igne fricato de ligno id est nodfyr
De cerebro animalium
De observatione pagana in foco, vel in inchoatione rei alicuius
De incertis locis que colunt pro sacris
De petendo quod boni vocant sanctae Mariae
De feriis quae faciunt Jovi vel Mercurio
De lunae defectione, quod dicunt Vinceluna
De tempestatibus et cornibus et cocleis
De sulcis circa villas
De pagano cursu quem yrias nominant, scissis pannis vel calciamentis
De eo, quod sibi sanctos fingunt quoslibet mortuos
De simulacro de consparsa farina
De simulacris de pannis factis
De simulacro quod per campos portant
De ligneis pedibus vel manibus pagano ritu
De eo, quod credunt, quia femine lunam comendet, quod possint corda hominum tollere juxta paganos

Date

Codex Palatinus Latinus 577 itself appears to have been copied ca. 800 in either Fulda or Mainz. Alain Dierkens argues, on the basis of word choice (the correspondence between the phrase superstitionem et paganiarum and the diction used by Boniface in his 742 letter to Pope Zachary) and a comparison between the content of the Indiculus and the conclusions of the Concilium Germanicum (744), that the Indiculus was indeed appended to or pertained to the decisions made at the Concilium Germanicum and the two consequent Frankish synods at Estinnes and Soissons. In other words, they were not the product of a late-seventh century scribe at Fulda, nor were the prohibitions aimed specifically or exclusively at the Saxons.

Significance

The index provides valuable insight into the religious culture of the pagan Saxons (from the Christian point of view) and into the daily practices of Christian missionaries working in that area. Since it is more or less contemporary with the activities of Saint Boniface in modern-day Germany, he has been called a "guiding influence" on its compilation. According to Alain Dierkens, the Indiculus, which he thinks derives from the "entourage" of Boniface, evidences the ongoing practice of pre-Christian practices, including divination, the use of amulets, magic, and witchcraft, and suggests that the church allowed or transformed certain practices which it had been unable to extirpate.

Editions

References

;Notes ;Bibliography

  • Homann, Holger. Der Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum und verwandte Denkmäler. PhD diss., Faculty of Philosophy, University of Göttingen, 28 November 1966.
  • Homann, Holger; Eckard Meineke, and Ruth Schmidt-Wiegand. Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum. In: Heinrich Beck, Dieter Geuenich, Heiko Steuer (eds.), Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde Volume 15. Berlin / New York: de Gruyter, 2000. . pp. 369–384.
  • Saupe, Heinrich Albin. Der Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum, ein Verzeichnis heidnischer nnd abergläubischer Gebräuche und Meinungen aus der Zeit Karls des Großen, aus zumeist gleichzeitigen Schriften erläutert. Programm der Städtischen Realgymnasiums zu Leipzig, 1890.

References

  1. Dierkens 24.
  2. (en) Y. Hen (1995), Culture and Religion in Merovingian Gaul, A.D. 481–751, p. 178-180, Brill, ISBN 9004103473
  3. J. van Eijnatten en F. van Lieburg, p. 56-58
  4. Marilyn Dunn, Belief and Religion in Barbarian Europe C. 350–700, (2013), p 27 – 28
  5. Tangl, letter 50, 80ff.
  6. Dierkens 23.
  7. [https://books.google.com/books?id=qh1lrIM5nd4C&pg=PA173 Filotas 173.]
  8. Dierkens 25–26.
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