Miracle sign
In the early modern era, natural phenomena were called miraculous signs , which apparently occurred "against the usual course of nature". They could as a supernatural sign or warning ( Omen be construed). The term developed from the Latin word prodigium in the 16th century . The term thus goes beyond the mere concept of miracles .
Miracle Sign Literature
By the 17th century at the latest, an extensive literature of miraculous signs emerged. Reports on unusual nature observations were communicated in book form and as one-page or multi-page leaflets , the so-called "New Newspapers".
All types of miracle signs had one thing in common in their design in the book or on leaflets: After a description of the alleged facts with information on the place and time, witnesses were called in to confirm the facts. These could be named persons or the author of the printed work himself appeared as a witness. It was then pointed out that the miraculous signs heralded something bad in the sense of God's punishment. A subsequent third part indicated the need for repentance and conversion.
history
Belief in miraculous signs had a heyday from the 16th century. Famine , plague epidemics and wars aroused the desire to interpret the earthly fate of the people. At the same time they could be made known to a wider public through book printing , which was becoming more and more important as a means of communication .
One of the first collections of miraculous signs reports to appear in the vernacular is the book by Conrad Lycosthenes , published in 1557 , “Wunderwerck or God's unfathomable model, which he in all his creations, so celibate, so loyal ... from the beginning of the weld, bit ours this time, let it appear ...: Everything adorned with beautiful images ... “ , which is the miraculous sign of the year 3959 BC. Until 1556 reported. Individual reports were distributed on leaflets. Signs of miracles, it was argued, are seen more and more often and thus an indication of the imminent end of the world.
In 2008 the Augsburg Book of Miracles was presented to the public .
From the 17th century, the interpretation of the miraculous signs as supernatural omens was gradually replaced by scientific explanations of the sightings. In place of a theological interpretation, there was increasing research and explanation of unusual phenomena with the help of recognized natural laws. At the same time, magical acts to ward off the indicated disaster were replaced by considerations and acts to ward off and protect against dangers.
Classification of the miracle signs
In the heyday of the miracle signs from the 16th century onwards, different types or main groups can be distinguished.
Most frequently celestial signs such as halos (sun rings, sub-suns ), northern lights or special cloud formations were observed, in which one believed to recognize fire storms, fighting armies, crosses, rods or the like as an indication of impending dangers.
The blood miracles were regarded as divine signs in which rivers and lakes were colored blood red; a special variety was blood sweating, which could appear on objects and people and was interpreted as a symbol of special holiness.
In the case of the food miracles, on the one hand people (mostly young girls) who can live without food were reported, and on the other hand there was a rain of grain that caused food to fall from the sky. In both cases the apparitions were considered to have been given directly by God, were embellished like legend and could give rise to trips to the miraculous place.
Random appearances in the coin image, such as the tear of the stamp through the neck of the Lord Protector on the Cromwelltaler from 1658 or the broken Kurschwert of Elector Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous on some Schmalkaldic Bundestalers from 1547, the year of his capture, were made ahead of time the Enlightenment sometimes viewed in retrospect as a good or bad omen.
literature
- Jürgen Beyer: Prodigien, in: Enzyklopädie des Märchen. Concise dictionary for historical and comparative narrative research, Vol. 10, Berlin a. New York 2002, col. 1378-1388
- Rolf Wilhelm Brednich : The tradition of the grain rain. A contribution to the history of early leaflet literature , in: Helge Gerndt, Georg R. Schroubek ( eds .): Dona Ethnologica. Contributions to comparative folklore, Munich 1973, pages 248–260
- Michaela Schwegler: Terrifying miracle sign "or" natural phenomenon? Early modern miracle sign reports from the perspective of science , (= Bavarian writings on folklore; Volume 7), Munich 2002 ISBN 3-7696-0457-1
Individual evidence
- ^ Jürgen Beyer: Prodigien. In: Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales ; Volume 10 (2002), Col. 1378-1388