248 exorcism
support of a doctrinal, religious, or moral exposition or
injunction. It was systematically developed in the revival
of PREACHINGby the MENDICANT ORDERSin the 13th cen-
tury. To be understood better by those whom they were
trying to influence, and keep their attention, preachers
spiced up their sermons with exemplary and interesting
didactic stories and anecdotes. Without the time or
manuscripts at hand to research such anecdotes, they
needed easy access to portable manuals. Among the first
was JAMES OFVITRY, but the most important was by the
Dominican Stephen of Bourbon (d. ca. 1261). His Treatise
on Various Matters for Preachinggathered almost 3,000
biblical and patristic citations and scholastically reasoned
arguments. These works soon developed indexes by key
word for easier consultation. They were, so to speak,
stored in the manuscript in Latin but were deployed to
audiences in the vernacular. The sources for such collec-
tions of exemplawere the Bible, saints’ lives, historical
narratives, fables, legends and folklore traditions, and the
personal experiences of the collector. These exemplacan
be instructive about the beliefs, models for behavior, and
doctrines taught to the faithful.
Further reading:Joseph A. Mosher, The Exemplum in
the Early Religious and Didactic Literature of England
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1911); Larry
Scanlon, Narrative, Authority, and Power: The Medieval
Exemplum and the Chaucerian Tradition (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1994).
exorcism Exorcism was a ritualized and solemn
demand made explicitly in the name of Christ to the
powers of evil to compel them acknowledge the omnipo-
tence of GODand hence to depart from places or people.
Christ did this himself in the New Testament of the
Christian Bible. From 416, Pope Innocent I (r. 401–417)
limited the use of exorcism to priests and deacons acting
only with the express authorization of a bishop.
Everything blessed and consecrated could be the
object of an exorcism. It was done to remove the influ-
ence of the DEVILor his minions. The set formulas used
in these rituals were old, but new ones were introduced
in the 11th and 12th centuries. The liturgy of exorcism
reflected numerous popular beliefs by blaming demons or
DEVILS for all catastrophes. There were exorcisms and
incantations made during epidemics of contagious dis-
eases. The most common use of exorcism to restrain the
powers of evil during the Middle Ages was as a usual pre-
liminary act at baptisms to catechumens or those desiring
the sacrament. It was rarely applied to cases of perceived
diabolical possession. These rites were modeled on those
of adult baptism and prepared the recipient for entering
into membership in the church.
Further reading:Brian P. Levack, ed., Possession and
Exorcism (New York: Garland, 1992); Giovanni Levi,
Inheriting Power: The Story of an Exorcist,trans. Lydia G.
Cochrane (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988);
St. Elmo Nauman, Jr., ed., Exorcism through the Ages
(New York: Philosophical Library, 1974).Extreme Unction SeeSEVEN SACRAMENTS.exultet rolls They are rolls of long strips of parchment
or vellum with the prayers, canticles, and lessons of the
liturgy of the midnight MASSof EASTEReve to accompany
the blessing and lighting of the Paschal candle. That can-
dle symbolized the pillar of fire guiding the Israelites in
the desert and the Resurrection of Christ. The ceremony
originated in the seventh century.
There are about 30 surviving manuscript examples of
the rolls. Strongly influenced by the BYZANTINErite, they
were produced from the 11th to the 13th century chiefly
in southern ITA LY. Many of the finest were from the BENE-
DICTINEmonastery of MONTECASSINO.
On Easter eve a deacon carried the roll in a proces-
sion to the pulpit or to a rood screen. As he chanted its
stories of the Creation, the crossing of the Red Sea, the
arrival of the JEWSin the Promised Land, and the fate of
JERUSALEM, he allowed the roll to unwind over the top
edge of the pulpit or screen. These manuscripts were
illustrated with pictures of the events he described. With
the images upside down to him, they were unrolled right
side up to help the congregation to follow his narrative.
Further reading:Myrtilla Avery, The Exultet Rolls of
South Italy(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1936);
Thomas Forrest Kelly, The Exultet in Southern Italy
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996).Eyck, Hubert van (Hubrecht, Lubrecht)(ca. 1370–
1426)and Jan van(ca. 1395–1441)painters
Of Hubert we know very little except that he was an
artist active at GHENTin 1425 and died there on Septem-
ber 18, 1426, after beginning the Altarpiece of the Mystic
Lambor the GHENTAltarpiece. It was finished by his
younger brother, Jan, on May 8, 1432. Of Jan we know
neither his date of birth, probably between 1390 and
1400, nor the conditions of his education. He was in the
service of John of Bavaria (r. 1419–25), count of Hol-
land, at the Hague from 1422 to 1424; from 1425 to his
death in June 1441 he went to the court of PHILIP THE
GOOD, the duke of Burgundy. Highly esteemed by Philip,
he performed several secret missions for him and in
1428 accompanied an embassy charged with negotiating
the prince’s marriage with Isabel of PORTUGAL. He died
on July 9, 1441.
To Hubert are attributed the conception of the cen-
tral panels of the Altarpiece of the Mystic Lambat Ghent
and a representation of the Three Maries at the Tombin