Horror vacui in the Royal City. Miracular Spaces of Lublin in 17th- and 18th-Century Books of Urban Miracles

Abstract

Horror vacui – an aesthetic category specific to visual arts is a metaphor for the Old Polish books about miracles discussed in the article. It reflects both the mosaic and multiplicity of old miraculous collections, as well as their dynamic reception, because each time these texts lead to a different face of ancient culture and show diverse aspects of the past. This metaphor in the context of miraculous books and the city from which they come from also reflects the multitude of both Lublin religious texts related to Lublin’s holy places, as well as the places themselves – depositories of images, relics and miracles. Miracle books are considered valuable material for research on the history of religiosity, medicine, culture and mentality; they are fascinating practical texts. The multitude of preserved records prompted the researchers to formulate a thesis about the “miracular sensitivity” characteristic of ancient culture. The miraculous books, although studied in many aspects, especially in terms of religiosity, were not analyzed in terms of connections with the space they refer to, for example, one city. The subject of this article is the specific relationship between miraculous records, printed or handwritten, or descriptions of religious miracles (added to literary works) with the place – the city of Lublin in the 17^th and 18^th centuries.