Raingarde, the Holy Mother. The Representation of Raingarde de Montboissier († 1134) by Peter the Venerable, in «Pan – Rivista di Filologia Latina», X 2021, pp. 201-205

This article analyses the hagiographic representation of the mother of Peter the Venerable, Raingarde de Montboissier (†1134), whose portrait is delineated by the abbot of Cluny in a long letter from his well-known correspondence. It is an extraordinarily dense and complex text, not only because of the various themes that are developed in it, but also for a series of aspects that we intend to investigate; in particular, we shall dwell on the "narratio" where, surrounded by a hagiographical frame, the profile of Raingarde develops – first as a mother and then as a nun – through which Peter offers a mirror of virtue, an exemplary picture of Christian life, placing particular emphasis on the woman’s ability to prepare for a holy death, one of the central concerns of Cluniac spirituality.