I continue to be haunted by Ste. Tulle's story. Maybe 'haunted' is a bit too strong a word, but she is a saint after all! Why can't I find any historical reference to her? Thank goodness for the internet...how did I ever satisfy my curiosity before its invention? Sleuthing with Google, I discovered that I had the wrong year for Ste. Tulle's plague. The year was actually 1720; it was truly the Plague, la Peste, that came ashore at Marseilles that year. There would be other epidemics, notably the cholera epidemic that swept through the area in 1832, but in 1720, la Peste struck fear into the hearts of villagers. So much fear that they built a wall to keep the plague from spreading north. I discovered a document in French that lists the mortality rates for Provence from the deadly epidemic. In Cucuron, the plague lasted from 1 October to 15 December 1720. The village population was 3,500 souls; of these 730 died from the plague. 20% of the village's inhabitants died; every household must have been touched. Kind of gives these empty old shoes I photographed sitting on a worn doorstep in Cucuron a poignancy that echoes across the centuries. My curiosity about the plague somewhat assuaged, I continued to search for references to Ste. Tulle. All I can find are variations on this: Ste. Tulle is the patron saint of Cucuron celebrated for protecting the village from the plague in 1720. Nothing about the woman, her Order if she was a nun, or how she supposedly did this protecting (not very well, I think, since over 700 people died inspite of her efforts!). I'll keep searching and get back to you.Monday, May 25, 2009
Haunted
I continue to be haunted by Ste. Tulle's story. Maybe 'haunted' is a bit too strong a word, but she is a saint after all! Why can't I find any historical reference to her? Thank goodness for the internet...how did I ever satisfy my curiosity before its invention? Sleuthing with Google, I discovered that I had the wrong year for Ste. Tulle's plague. The year was actually 1720; it was truly the Plague, la Peste, that came ashore at Marseilles that year. There would be other epidemics, notably the cholera epidemic that swept through the area in 1832, but in 1720, la Peste struck fear into the hearts of villagers. So much fear that they built a wall to keep the plague from spreading north. I discovered a document in French that lists the mortality rates for Provence from the deadly epidemic. In Cucuron, the plague lasted from 1 October to 15 December 1720. The village population was 3,500 souls; of these 730 died from the plague. 20% of the village's inhabitants died; every household must have been touched. Kind of gives these empty old shoes I photographed sitting on a worn doorstep in Cucuron a poignancy that echoes across the centuries. My curiosity about the plague somewhat assuaged, I continued to search for references to Ste. Tulle. All I can find are variations on this: Ste. Tulle is the patron saint of Cucuron celebrated for protecting the village from the plague in 1720. Nothing about the woman, her Order if she was a nun, or how she supposedly did this protecting (not very well, I think, since over 700 people died inspite of her efforts!). I'll keep searching and get back to you.
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2 comments:
Bonjour Evelyn,
By doing some research on the internet about Cucuron, I found out that the movie "The horseman on the roof", that I had recomended you watching, was filmed there...
As well as "A good year", a more recent movie with Russel Crowe.
I found some info on the village called Sainte-Tulle, which is also in the Alpes de haute Provence. But nothing much on the real Saint yet!
I've found all those same things as well. Yes, I bought the DVD of The Horseman on the Roof and it was fun to watch...didn't realize it was filmed around Cucuron until I started this sleuthing around.Let me know if you find anything on Ste. Tulle! The only bit of info that I did find that might explain her was on a Catholic saint website. It said that people other than the Pope can name a patron saint. Maybe that's what happened with Ste. Tulle..the village just took it upon themselves to bless her as a saint!
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