| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.4

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 107.4 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Europe: Early Modern and Modern

Anne Jacobson Schutte. Aspiring Saints: Pretense of Holiness, Inquisition, and Gender in the Republic of Venice 1618–1750. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2001. Pp. xvi, 337. $45.00.

In this book, Anne Jacobson Schutte investigates the fascinating historical phenomenon of what Inquisitors have termed "pretense of holiness." On the basis of twelve protocols of trials conducted against sixteen men and women accused of pretending to experience mystic visions, to live off very small amounts of food, and to work miracles, among other things, the author gives a vivid portrait of the spiritual and ecclesiastic culture of baroque Venice. 1

Too sober, rational, and urbane to attribute a divine or diabolical origin to inedia, ecstacies, and other public manifestations of "holiness," the Venetian Inquisition chose to investigate instead whether and to what extent those alleged signs of God's grace were the product of intentional fraud. Schutte's analysis of trial records is enriched by extensive additional archival and bibliographical research. The author attempts to explain the phenomenon of fake sainthood by giving detailed information on the defendants' lives, and by situating her analysis in the context of a study of post-Tridentine criteria for canonization on the one hand and accusations of diabolical obsession and witchcraft on the other, while also considering exorcism and medical treatments as alternative responses to persons who claimed to possess divine gifts. She furthermore examines the operational procedures of the Inquisition in Venice; gives an overview of the theological literature on how to distinguish among divinely inspired visions, diabolical obsession, natural causes, and intentional fraud; looks at the defendants' use of rings and other "holy" paraphernalia; considers the geographical settings and time frames of the fake saints' activities; and analyzes the trial proceedings under the categories of gender and sexuality. . . .

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