A Reading of the Canons of Laon Story

Abstract

Amid the plethora of tales and episodes related to saints in European literature, relic tales are one category that is by and large associated with a localized religiosity rather than a universal reverence. Significantly, these are stories linked to and promoted by those Church institutions that preserve the relics concerned. However, in some instances, there is a demand for implanting translated relic tales into literatures distant from the establishment that produced them. One is tempted to hypothesize on the causes behind such translations and speculate on whether they can be seen as arguments for or against matters that are being debated in the target language. In the case of Iceland, relics of a foreign origin are rarely mentioned in vernacular sources and relic tales are mostly found in the sagas of the three Icelandic saints, Þorlákur, Jón, and Guðmundur. In Maríu saga, a collection of miracles from various manuscripts edited by C.R. Unger in 1871, we find the story of the canons of Laon, a translated medley of tales where relics play a large part (Mariu saga: 639–654). This is an exception to the regional emphasis of most relic tales, and it seems worthwhile to consider how this text reflects Icelandic society at the time of its translation. The story of the canons of Laon is an account of two fundraising tours carried out in order to rebuild a cathedral that was burned down in a riot. It is presumably based on real events that happened in the wake of a revolt in 1112 when the people of Laon turned against their bishop, Waldric, and burned down his house. The burning of the cathedral was unintentional and happened by accident. The translated text is somewhat unclear about how this all came about; it simply says that Bishop Waldric wanted to “prevent the townsfolk from keeping that oath they had wrongly sworn”. We are not told what oath or why it was wrongly sworn. It is an abrupt beginning, and the narrator seems eager to get to his main concern, the ensuing travel story. There is actually an even earlier prelude to the narrative. It all begins with a murder in the cathedral of Laon, where a certain Gérard of Quierzy is brutally killed by his enemies while he is kneeling in prayer. As with the revolt against Bishop Waldric, we are not given the backstory; we have practically no idea who this Gérard is or what he did to deserve his harsh fate. But Gérard’s blood is spilled on the church floor and cannot be washed off. Anselm, dean of the cathedral, is said to have secretly whispered to his assistants that he was afraid that Gérard’s blood could never be washed off unless the cathedral was purged by fire. So, when the revolt against Bishop Waldric breaks out and the flames engulf the cathedral of Laon, it is not a complete misfortune. The cathedral had already been blemished by the spilling of innocent blood, and the overall motivation behind our story is the need to build a new cathedral in Laon.