Giustizia divina e invasioni saracene: comportamenti "non taumaturgici" nel bios di san Saba da Collesan (seconda metà X secolo) [Divine justice and Saracen invasions: "non-thaumaturgical" behavior in the bios of Saint Saba from Collesan (second half of the 10th century)]

The protagonists of the Italian-Greek hagiographies of the 10th-12th century are bearers of medical knowledge inherited from classicism, but the ritual aspect in the description of healing miracles in their bioi is equally important. This article examines episodes from the life of Sheba of Collesano, composed at the end of the 10th century by Orestes, patriarch of Jerusalem, in which the saint, despite carrying out a ritual performance similar to that of the other Italian-Greek biois, does not seem capable of heal your patient, but simply predict the prognosis. The author relates these episodes to the resurgence of Arab raids in Calabria in the second half of the 10th century, to which famines and epidemics are also linked. "Non-thaumaturgical" behaviors like those of Saint Saba would therefore reveal the difficulty of reconciling trust in a providential plan with the recurring misfortunes experienced by the population. They highlight the saint's impotence in providing material help to the locals, but on the other hand the insistence on his prophetic abilities restores confidence in the existence of a divine plan acting also in this context.