Textometry as a Method for Analysing Medieval Emotions? The Case of Peter Damian (1007-1072/73) and His Combat Letters

Peter Damian has been called many things : an intellectual, a polemic Church reformer, and even one of the greatest Latinists of his time. His place in the history of medieval emotions, however, remains unclear. In an effort to facilitate a deeper understanding of his emotional vocabulary, we believe a statistical analysis using textometric methods may offer new and useful insights. Textometry, in fact, allows for the exploration of large textual corpora, examining not only the morphosyntactic qualities of individual words, but also taking into account their immediate context and the textual structure in general. By focusing on the data offered by 12 of Peter Damian’s so called “combat letters” – passionate denouncements of simony, sodomy and nicolaism – the statistical analysis enables a thorough examination of his emotion words throughout the 30 years of his ecclesiastical career. Multiple questions may be explored : does Damian’s emotional vocabulary change over time and, if so, in what way? To which extent have religious values or ideas influenced his emotional style? In this case, we will specifically examine his use of the verb "to feel ashamed" (erubescere). The results may broaden our understanding of medieval emotions in general, and Damian’s in particular.