At the end of the thirteenth and during the first half of the fourteenth century, Thomas's corpse was in the lands of the respectable Cistercian Monastery of Fossanova. The reputation of its thaumaturgic power had spread quickly around the neighbourhood, especially to towns and villages such as Priverno, Sonnino, Sezze, and Sermoneta. During the course of the fourteenth century, the cult spread throughout Europe, in particular among the Dominicans and university people. The lay cultic centre remained, however, in Southern Italy, in the area which I define as ‘Saint Thomas's land’ or ‘Terra sancti Thomae’. The boundary of this area can be roughly drawn between Rome and Salerno along the Ernici Mountain chain. The most active centre of Thomas's lay cult, however, was much smaller: it remained within a 10-kilometre radius of Thomas's tomb in Fossanova (radius Priverno—Fossanova—Sonnino; see the Map).

In this chapter, I study the interaction between Saint Thomas Aquinas and his devotees in the core of his cult area, as well as in devotional centres on the edge of the cultic zone. The focus is on the possibility to experience the Saint's presence in a lay community and the practices that created it. The Saint's material presence, that is, the relic or the whole body, was always at the centre of attention: in a monastery nearby, the presence was tangible and immediate. It is worth noting that when the Cistercians had Thomas's corpse at their monastery they guided or even determined the form of the experience and chose those who were to be allowed contact with the corpse. The lay perception beyond the Monastery walls was not controllable in this way and different methods of experiencing and creating the praesentia outside the Monastery can be analysed from the source material. In some places studied in this section Thomas's presence was material—that is, there were relics or other objects located there which reminded people of him. In some other places, the sources do not support the presence of a relic in the local community, but Thomas's praesentia was nevertheless perceived strongly. It appears that narratives and prayers were effective in creating a presence that was also strongly connected to the corporeal themes.