Vox in Rama

Vox in Rama (Latin: A voice in Rama[1]) is a papal bull written by Pope Gregory IX in 1233 / 1234 (in some sources it allegedly was published in 1232) condemning a new German heresy of Luciferian, a form of devil worship. The title is taken from the incipit of the bull, making reference to the Book of Jeremiah:[2]

A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.[3]

The letter was sent to King Henry, son of Emperor Frederick II, on 13 June 1233[4] and subsequently Archbishop Siegfried III of Mainz and his subordinates shortly after.[5][6]

Contents

Contents

Beginning the bull, Pope Gregory IX outlines the information given to him by Conrad of Marburg, his inquisitor, concerning an alleged satanic sect that has sprung up in the ecclesiastical province of Mainz,[5] followed by a condemnation of its activities.

The bull then outlines, in some detail,[7] the initiation rite of the sect, claiming:

Various crimes concerning defiling of the Eucharist are then described and the practice condemned.

The text

The bull begins with the incept and introduction from Pope Gregory, who condemns the heresy and goes on to describe the cult and its practices.[9]

The following rites of this pestilence are carried out: When any novice is to be received among them and enters the sect of the damned for the first time, the shape of a certain frog [or toad] appears to him.[10] Some kiss this creature on the hind quarters and some on the mouth, they receive the tongue and saliva of the beast inside their mouths. Sometimes it appears unduly large, and sometimes equivalent to a goose or a duck, and sometimes it even assumes the size of an oven.[11] At length, when the novice[12] has come forward, [he] is met by a man of wondrous[13] pallor, who has black eyes and is so emaciated [and] thin that since his flesh has been wasted, seems to have remaining only skin drawn over [his] bone. The novice kisses him and feels cold, [like] ice, and after the kiss the memory of the [C]atholic faith totally disappears from his heart. Afterwards, they sit down to a meal and when they have arisen from it, the certain statue, which is usual in a sect of this kind, a black cat[14] descends backwards, with its tail erect. First the novice, next the master, then each one of the order who are worthy and perfect, kiss the cat on its buttocks. Then each [returns] to his place and, speaking certain responses, they incline their heads toward to cat. “Forgive us!” says the master, and the one next to him repeats this, a third responding [says], “We know, master!” A fourth says: “And we must obey.”
When this has been done, they [put] out the candles, and turn to the practice of the most disgusting lechery. [They] make no distinction between strangers and family. Moreover, if by chance those of the male [sex] exceed the number of women, surrendering to their passions, [...] men engage with depravity with men. Woman change their natural function[15] making this itself worthy of blame among themselves. [When] these most abnormal sins have been completed, and the candles have been lit again and each has resumed his [place], from a dark corner of the assembly[16] a certain man come[s], from the loins upward, shining like the sun. His lower part is shaggy like a cat.[5]

Here a dialogue, similar to the one above, ensues between the master and the creature.[5] The bull then goes on to describe crimes committed against the Eucharist:

They even receive the body of the Lord every year at Easter from the hand of the priest, and, carrying it in their mouths home, they throw it into the latrine in contempt of the Saviour.[5][17]

A summary of the cults beliefs regarding the coming of Satan and the overthrow of God on the Day of Judgement follows.[5] The bull continues with a summary of their beliefs in the eyes of the church:

They acknowledge all acts which are not pleasing [to the] Lord, and instead do what he hates.[5]

The bull then concludes with more condemnations and a command to the relevant authorities to stop the practice.[5]

Vilification of felines

The text is credited with the vilification of cats as the instrument of the Devil.[18] This is due to several descriptions used in the bull, ascribing to a participant in the heretical banquet feline as well as wondrous qualities:

a certain man […] from the loins upwards gleaming more brightly than the sun […] whose lower part is shaggy like a cat [...][5]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ Sometimes translated as: There was a voice in Rama.
  2. ^ Chapter 31:15. In the Biblia Sacra Vulgata it is rendered, haec dicit Dominus vox in excelso audita est lamentationis fletus et luctus Rachel plorantis filios suos et nolentis consolari super eis quia non sunt. The International Standard Version reads, "This is what the LORD says: 'A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah – mourning and weeping unrestrained. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted – for her children are dead.'"
  3. ^ The Holy Bible: The Authorized King James Version. London: Holman Bible Publishers. ISBN 1558192506. 
  4. ^ Date by the calendar of the time.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Vox in Rama, Pope Gregory IX; K. Rodenberg (ed.) Epistolǣ sæculi XIII (1883). Merlin. 
  6. ^ Insofar as they are named in the bull and are historical factual figures. Little evidence can be found that they received it.
  7. ^ a b Lambert, Malcolm (1998). The Cathars (Peoples of Europe). London: Blackwell. ISBN 063120959X. 
  8. ^ Supposedly an incarnate Satan.
  9. ^ This a translation of the substantive parts of Vox in Rama, as found in the edited collection of K. Rodenberg, M.G.H., Epistolǣ sæculi XIII, I (Merlin, 1883), no. pp. 537, pp. 423-5. Three manuscripts are available, those being three different printings of the work, and variations are included in the footnotes. Translated by Alexander Amatosi for Wikipedia as no translations of the work appear to be in the public domain.
  10. ^ One manuscript adds: which some are accustomed to call a toad.
  11. ^ Can also be translated: furnace.
  12. ^ Can also be translated as: initiate.
  13. ^ Can also be translated as: miraculous, marvellous.
  14. ^ Some manuscripts add: about the size of an average dog
  15. ^ One manuscript adds: (which is against nature)
  16. ^ Two of the three manuscripts add: which is not lacking in the most damned of men
  17. ^ One manuscript adds: of the world
  18. ^ libraryindex.com. "The History of Human-Animal Interaction –– The Medieval Period". nntp2http.com. http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2149/History-Human-Animal-Interaction-MEDIEVAL-PERIOD.html. Retrieved 2 November 2010.