By Dorothy Africa
Published in Eolas: Journal of the American Society for Irish Medieval Studies, 2024.
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Abstract

The continental recension of the vita of the sixth-century Irish saint Íte survives only in five independent manuscript witnesses of the Magnum Legendarium Austriacum [MLA], a vast, sprawling collection of hagiographical texts culled from a great variety of sources in the late twelfth century. The recension is anonymous in all five witnesses, but internal and circumstantial evidence points to Paul of Bernried (c. 1080 - c. 1145) as the reviser of this vita. Paul was an Augustinian canon best known for his Life of Pope Gregory VII (1073-85) which also survives in the MLA. The most likely reason for his interest in this early Irish saint is the affinity he saw between her and the Bavarian holy woman Herlucca of Bernried (c. 1060-1127/8) whom he knew and revered. Although separated by space and time, Íte and Herlucca provided a common spiritual model that resonated with Paul despite his support for a Gregorian reform movement tainted by misogyny.