The legend of Teophilus: between the disbolic pact and the Marian intervention

Abstract

The legend of Teophilus like so many other miraculous stories, appears in the East, however the relationships established between Byzantium and the Latin West during the Carolingian period make this story reach the Carolingian court. Although the corpus of versions is gestated there, it is from the 12^th century that it reaches an important diffusion. In the so-called Marian century where stories of miracles of the Virgin abound, this legend with distinctive features as suggestive as the pact with the Devil unleashes a large literary production as an abundant iconic embodiment. Our proposal will focus on the imago-textual discursive development of the legend, especially in the process of lack, remorse and subsequent repentance of the protagonist and in the choice of a specific moment of the story, to reveal the resources used to express the founding concepts of Christianity such as sin and redemption.