Autobiography of an Aspiring Saint (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe)

Rating:
Summary: Mental Illness, Religious Vigor, and the Inquisition
Review: Cecilia Ferrazzi (1609-1684) was without doubt a woman who did not fall into the obscure vaults of history. Her story is found like so many belonging to 17th century Italy, etched in the soil of the land with all of its superstition, religious devotion, and mania of the era. At first glance her vitae would sound familiar to students of the cases of other Medieval and Renaissance holy women, such as Margery Kempe "the Madwoman of God" and the Venetian Inquisition. It was spoken of in her own time that she was blessed with the stigmata and visions of the Holy Mother, and was asked by many for her prayers on behalf of their souls; that she was considered on the path of righteousness (for a woman of that time) who, refusing to marry, dedicated herself solely to God and His path for her.

To others though, such as Chiara Bacchis, who denounced her to the Inquisition and brought about the hearings against in her 1664, it seemed the Devil was the only voice in her mind and that she willingly consorted with him as he led her through acts of deprivation. One such instance would be in the suspected poisoning of Ippolita Maffei, a woman who "flattered and petted her so much" that she "began to pray, saying the Rosary of the Most Holy Mother and begged her to free me from this flattery." Ferrazzi experienced a rapture that very night during her prayer, with the Virgin coming to her and promising that this woman would so be removed and within four hours the woman had "miraculously died from a convulsive fever."

With the suspicion of murder upon her, her story has now deviated from the path of our traditional heroine of the holy word, though there were still aspects of her life that would reflect those other more famous kindred women of her time. She ran a home for "girls in danger" those who were in peril by moral deficit or circumstance of becoming prostitutes or falling into disgrace with a man. Chiara Bacchis, the very woman that denounced to the Inquisition, was indeed her rival in such establishment. It would be pure conjecture to say if this accusation from her rival was forged from the mirthful embers of the fires of ambition in women, who had no other resource than that of a good name to make a living from, or indeed if Ferrazzi had poisoned the young and vital woman who had distressed her so as to appeal to the Holy Mother for her aid.


The volume is well presented by Anne Jacobson Schutte, a Professor of History at the University of Virginia. She transcribed it from the original Italian that the documents were archived in and in her introduction provided the person unacquainted with Venice of the 17th century a roadmap of cultural understanding for that era.

In the introduction we are given background and relevant facts that are needed to lay the scene of Ferrazzi's life. From the emphasis on the need for chastity in unmarried women to the disdain of the so-called "women of tears" for God, that made their bread and fame in the exploitation of their faith, but the time you reach the testimony and the autobiography you have a clear understanding of the circumstances surrounding the life of the aspiring saint. It is extremely well edited and very accessible to the modern day reader, there is no language stylistic to keep it from being clearly felt and understood. While many editors of Renaissance text seek to `update' the language for the modern reader and thus remove proper forms of speech for the language of the time, Schutte has preserved the words of the accused in good order. The volume separates from the story of Margery Kempe in that Ferrazzi went mad during her time in captivity while being investigated by the Inquisition. She would `bash her head upon the stones of her cell, to the Devil be rid of," believing that if she could kill herself, "then the Devil would no longer be tempted by my purity and free to God I would be left to His service." She experienced the same personal perils of her other women of God in that for her tears and devotion she was mocked publicly by those `in cruel mirth of her faith' and wore the hair shirt and removed her finery to lower herself even further until she would no longer provoke the ire of her fellow citizens.

Where other scholars have drawn analysis of her solely from the stories of the women who were her forbearers and contemporaries in the persecution of the faithful, Ferrazzi had an uncommon sister in devotion of mission, and that was Veronica Franco, the Honest Courtesan of 16th century Venice. The two women shared the same mission in their establishment and operation of houses for "girls in danger" and at the end of their illustrious careers (both that had landed the two of them before the Inquisition on charges of consorting with the devil and to witchcraft) they were two of the few high-profile cases where the women defended themselves before the Holy Inquisition and saved not only their reputations, but their lives.

The text of the volume is solely in Ferrazzi's words as taken by a scribe of the court. Like Franco, she was one of the few women that was called before the Inquisition whose words were preserved through the annals of time and this volume provides a rare account of her alacrity before the holy court and an insight into the martyrdom that she ascribed to herself as a person designated by God to spread the love of His word throughout the world. Whether she was mad or truly touched by the divine is for only time and the unveiling of other hidden truths to tell, but her oratory skills and grace of person were enough to save her from the fires that plagued these times of burning.

An intriguing woman for certain, she was afflicted with visions, and times of blankness that could not be accounted for when she gave testimony. However, for all of the ills (be it fevers, falling, beatings by her confessors, stigmata that made her side bleed, beatings by the devil, malnourishment, and the vomiting of blood) she lived until the age of 75, quite the accomplishment for someone under the stresses she attested to enduring.

To hear the passion in her conviction towards the belief she held in her religion, in redemption, obedience, and punishment for her vices, was impressive and at times, heart wrenching. The book is not to be held against those who will argue its merit from the modern perspective of science and objectivity, it is a testimony to a time and aspect of faith that has in most contexts passed, yet should be remembered and studied for the true history of the growth and growing pains of the Christian faithful. It is a compelling book for advocates of Renaissance history and the internal war of religion that all humans must one day take their side upon. For Cecilia Ferrazzi her journey to God and through her life with Him is more than a book on women's studies and should be considered an important work by all scholars of religious history.

Rating:
Summary: Mental Illness, Religious Vigor, and the Inquisition
Review: Cecilia Ferrazzi was certainly a woman who did not slip through the cracks of 1600's Italy. Some say she was blessed with the stigmata and visions of the Holy Mother, others that the Devil had his grasp within her mind and led her through acts of temptation and corruption. She ran a home for "girl in danger" those who were in danger of becoming prostitutes or falling into disgrace with a man. She was denounced to the Inquisition by a rival woman who ran the same kind of home and her trial testimony recounts all of the incidents of divine interaction throughout her life. In the introduction we are given background and relevant facts, by the editor, that are needed to lay the scene, but the text of the volume is solely in Ferrazzi's words as taken by a scribe of the court.
An intriguing woman for certain, she was afflicted with visions, and times of blankness that could not be accounted for when she gave testimony. However, for all of the ills she claimed (be it fevers, falling, beatings by her confessors, stigmata that made her side bleed, beatings by the devil, malnourishment, the vomiting of blood) she lived until the age of 73, quite the accomplishment for someone under the stresses she attested to enduring.
I found this book highly engrossing and a better read than most films or novels that have tried to take this internal religious war as a topic. It is the raw truth of the perception of her life and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the course of the Inquisition and what it is to be caught in the void between heresy and sainthood, between grace and insanity.
It is extremely well edited and very accessible to the modern day reader, there is no language stylistic to keep it from being clearly felt and understood.
While I did not agree with Ferrazzi's interpretations of things that she experienced, to hear the passion in her conviction towards the belief she held in her religion, in redemption, obedience, and punishment for her vices, was impressive and at times, mind boggling. After reading all of her testimony it was the first time in all of my study that I thought "I would have had to denounce this person to the court as well." And she denies nothing.
This was a very powerful book and I understand why it was chosen to lead the series.