Robert Wagman

CHAPTER XXIII

I am also going to speak openly on this. Those who want to appear especially devoted to sacred objects, when they want to find out about the condition of someone who is far away and no one knows whether he is dead or alive, first they recite prayers of some sort under their breath; then they light up a torch, or a lamp, and put it outside in the open air and into the wind, even during the fiercest weather. Others hang it in front of sacred icons. If the light goes off before the resin or the oil is consumed, they conclude—just as if they were relying on the most positive of proofs, rather than on a silly conjecture—that the man’s life is over and that he has already joined the ranks of the dead as one whose life has been extinguished. If the light stays on, even in the worst of weather, then he is still alive and well. They also claim that they are able to tell, from the color of the light, the type of illness and how he might have died, or whether his life is safe or in danger. Once I was in Venice, many years ago, talking to some people in St. Mark’s square about my concerns. A distinguished and clever gentleman, who happened to be present, told me then of a statue of the Holy Virgin which was venerated in that very square. Among many other faculties, it also had this extraordinary power: if someone, concerned about another person’s life, lit a candle in front of her, he could find out beyond any doubt whether this person was still among the living. For, if alive, the light of the candle would not go off in any kind of storm; if dead, even in the calmest air, with no winds or other compelling force, the light of the candle would still go off. Other distinguished gentlemen supported this report with their own testimony. On this subject, one can cite what Pachymeres says about lamps in his History, book 8, chaper 14,

On the fourteenth day of October, following his nomination, Athanasius walked up to the church and in a short time he was ordained. Then the familiar sign occurred: as everyone in the clergy believed, when there was no wind, the lamps hanging down from the dome in the middle of the station could signal the patriarch’s ejection. For they would flicker when the hymns were sung, thus letting the observer know that a patriarch had been ejected. They had done so for Arsenius, Germanus, Joseph, John and Gregorius. And they happened to be flickering in this occasion also, causing many observers to comment on the event.

In the last chapter of book 9 of the History, Pachymeres also gives this account about Simonis, the daughter of Andronicus Palaeologus the elder,

The emperor was concerned about losing daughters, even before they would come to the light: for it had happened to him two or three times in the past. So when this baby girl was about to be born and a great fear had seized him that the same thing might happen, a woman very famous for her dignity and experience in these matters gave him advice, far and above traditional practice, on what to do to save the baby. This is what she recommended: they had to light candles in front of the twelve foremost apostles, one for each icon and all of the same size and weight. Then they had to sing prayers for the health of the newly born, continuing to do so until the fire consumed the candles. When all candles but one were gone, the baby was be named after the saint whose candle had lasted longest: that way she would come to the light alive and safe. The emperor then ordered her instructions to be followed. And since Simon’s candle outlasted all the others, they called the newly born Simonis, so that she could bear the apostle’s name for her own protection.

NOTES

Forthcoming