Recounting the Experiences of Illness: First-Person Narratives in Miracle Cycles

• In Event: Bodies on Paper: Writing Injuries and Illness into Being in Early Modern Russia

Abstract

The miracle cycles attached to the vitae of 17th century Muscovite saints occasionally feature narratives by the patients themselves, written in the first person. These narratives contain a wealth of detail about how ordinary people remembered their personal experiences of illness, including physical suffering, the emotional toll of sickness, social dislocation, and the processes of physical and spiritual healing, while shaping their accounts for the purpose of glorifying the saint. This paper will discuss examples from the cycle of St. Nikandr of Pskov recorded in the late 17th century.

Author

• Eve Levin, U of Kansas