Monsters, Miracles and Missionary Journeys: Exploring a Historiographical Conundrum

Miracles and wonders that testify to the power of the Christian God and his agents feature prominently in ancient and medieval missionary narratives and hagiography. A particularly dramatic example from the sixth century describes Columba vanquishing a river monster in Christ’s name to the wonderment of the heathen Picts. The conventions of modern historiography require that we demythologize a story like this. Yet a contemporary missionary narrative from Africa describes a similar encounter between an evangelist and a monster. By reading the two accounts analogously, this article challenges scholars of mission to move beyond limiting western intellectual postulates.