Publication details
How Blissful is the One who Can See the Light : The Hierophany of the Archangel at Mont-Saint-Michel
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The cultic place devoted to the Archangel Michael located in the today’s Normany attracted an attention even before the arrival of the Christin monastic community in the 8th century thanks to its particular natural conditions – for being an tidal island. Moreover, the place became an important pilgrimage side beginning in the 9th century. The aim of the conference was to reflect over the perception of the person approaching the place. The Mountain is located in the flat region and therefore is clearly visible from a great distance. The pilgrim, thus, could see the place one day before the actual arrival. Afterward he had to wait (at least) for several hours on the shore to wait for an ebbtide. On other words, he encountered the sacred place many hours before was able to step on its very land. This fact created around the place a certain “liminal zone” of waiting and expectations. The argument was developed further in a concordance with the medieval sources describing the night apparitions of the Archangel in the form light, which were observed by people from the shore. For this kind of appearance, I found fitting the term hierophany signalling the appearance of the sacred. In the core of the presentation, the body in movement towards the sacred is discussed. |