The Miracles and Decoration of Sainte-Radegonde

Abstract

Chapter 5 examines the efforts of the canons of Sainte-Radegonde to enhance their community’s status in the thirteenth century. The canons commissioned new manuscripts, building projects, and church decoration that challenged previous depictions of Saint Radegund controlled by the abbess of Sainte-Croix, and asserted stronger ties between the saint and the canons’ church. Decoration, including a program of stained-glass windows, created a new biography for the saint that shifted Radegund’s power from the monastery to the church; new miracle tales recording healings at Radegund’s tomb demonstrated the power housed within the church. The canons also drew in royal patrons by focusing on Radegund’s royal, rather than monastic, identity. The canons worked subtle challenges in text and image to oppose the nuns’ control of the saint’s cult. Their work resulted in greater patronage and prestige, which placed new pressures on the abbess of Sainte-Croix, and new difficulties in asserting her authority.