medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (16. May) is the feast day of:
Audas and Companions (d. 420) Audas (Abdas) was a Persian bishop.
He and seven priests, nine deacons, and seven virgins (I guess we can
assume that none of the other 17 were virginal) were martyred in
Persia, starting another general persecution of Christians.
Possidius (d. c. 440) Possidius was Augustine of Hippo's disciple
and hagiographer. He became bishop of Calama (Numidia), but was
driven into exile by the Vandal invasion and died in Apulia. He was
an important polemicist against Pelagianism and Donatism.
Brendan the Navigator (d. 578) Brendan has a spotless Irish
pedigree, educated by St. Ite, then a disciple of Finian of Clonard.
B. became a great monastic founder; the most important of his
foundations was Clonfert (Co. Galway). But of course what won him
most fame was his great voyage with a hive of disciples, heading west
to find the Isles of the Blessed. One modern theory claims that he
actually found North America. The tale is known from a version
written in the eleventh century.
Domnolus of Le Mans (d. 581) Domnolus was an abbot near Paris who
became bishop of Le Mans in559. He founded a large number of
monasteries and churches.
Holy Land martyrs (d. c. 614) When Shah Chosroes II of Persia
invaded Palestine he sacked the monastery of Mar Saba, killing 44
monks in the process.
Ubald Baldassini (d. 1160) Ubald was dean of the cathedral chapter
at Gubbio (Italy) and successfully "regularized" the clergy there.
After that, U. went on to become bishop in 1128. He was famous for
both bravery and gentleness. U was canonized in 1192, but his cult
was restricted to local calendars in 1969.
Simon Stock (d. 1265) Simon was an Englishman who became
superior-general of the Carmelites in c. 1234. He is mostly famous
for receiving a scapular directly from the Virgin Mary, instituting a
new devotional practice---but this legend is apparently based on a
17th-century forgery. SS has not been formally canonized.
John Nepomuk (d. 1393 (or 1383)) The Bohemian John (from the village
of Nepomuk) became a canon of Prague, court chaplain, and confessor
to Queen Sophia of Bohemia. He met his end drowned in the river at
the king's orders---because JN refused to reveal what the queen told
him in the confessional. He was canonized in 1729.
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