Aromatic characteristics in Cistercian visionary texts of the XIIIth century (Herbert of Clairvaux, Caesarius of Heisterbach, Richalm of Schoental)

Abstract

This article focuses on the role of olfactory images in visionary literature. The main sources are three Cistercian works: the Liber miraculorum of Herbert of Clairvaux, the Dialogus miraculorum of Caesarius of Heisterbach, and the Liber revelationum of Richalm of Schoental. Sensuous perception of Grace is an important motif in visionary experiences, which gives them legitimacy and an emotional quality. Mystical experience, combined with olfactory impressions, gives the hero and reader a sense of the ‘real time’ event. A fragrance often becomes the mean of determining the presence or absence of Grace, because it is more difficult to falsify a smell than a visual image.