Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021)
Research Article

The Novelty of Bohuslav Balbín’s Biographies about Saint John of Nepomuk and their Role in Proving His Veneration

PDF
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47075/CEC.2021-2.03

Published 2021-12-20

Keywords

  • Saint John of Nepomuk,
  • Bohuslav Balbín,
  • Pope Urban VIII,
  • cult of saints

How to Cite

Kis, Tímea N. 2021. “The Novelty of Bohuslav Balbín’s Biographies about Saint John of Nepomuk and Their Role in Proving His Veneration”. Central European Cultures 1 (2):59-83. https://doi.org/10.47075/CEC.2021-2.03.

Copyright (c) 2021 Author(s)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

I am focusing on the attributes of three biographies written about Saint John of Nepomuk by Bohuslav Balbín (1621–1688) Czech Jesuit monk and historian. I am searching for the answer for the question that how can the features of ecclesiastic discipline of cult of saints after the council of Trient and the question of public respect before the canonization be caught out in these texts.
This biographies of Saint John of Nepomuk has been written to be more than simple hagiographies. Due to their complexity and structural features they have become suitable to enter into a contoversy with Pope Urban VIII’s Coelestis Hierusalem decree, in which he firmly forbid the veneration of individuals not approved by the Holy See. Balbín wanted to prove it that the veneration to Saint John of Nepomuk has been existing continuously since his death, and its manifestations characterize the contemporary communities as well, finally, this devotion becomes ever more intensive therefore it is not inconsistent with the Pope Urban VIII’s restrictionary arrangements.

PDF