medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I can _guess_ at several reasons why the Christmas
carol "Good King Wenceslas" exists. The events related
in the carol take place on the feast of Stephen,
December 26th. And the story related in the song is
part of the Wenceslas legend, I assume. The facts that
"the frost was cruel" and the snow was "deep and crisp
and even" lend themselves nicely to the season. These
are just guesses; perhaps someone else has the facts.
MG
--- Phyllis Jestice <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval
> religion and culture
>
> Today (28. September) is the feast day of:
>
> Exuperius (d. 411) Exuperius was bishop of Toulouse
> from 405 until his
> death. He gained a great reputation for caring for
> the poor and needy,
> selling all of the gold altar gear of the diocese to
> raise money for his
> charities---he celebrated mass with a glass chalice
> after that. Exuperius
> was a friend of St. Jerome, and through Jerome also
> aided the poor in
> Palestine and Egypt. In 407/408 he led the defence
> of Toulouse against the
> Vandals.
>
> Salonius of Genf (d. c. 455) Salonius was one of
> the important church
> figures and authors of the fifth century. He was
> born in c. 400, the son
> of Bishop Eucherius of Lyons, and was educated at
> Lerins. Salonius became
> bishop of Genf (Switzerland in c. 437/438). A
> letter he wrote to Pope Leo
> I is still extant.
>
> Faustus of Riez (d. c. 460) Faustus was born in c.
> 408 in Brittany. He
> became a monk at Lerins, and abbot there in 433. In
> 459 he became bishop
> of Riez in southern France. He was an active
> combatant against Arianism
> and Pelagianism.
>
> Lioba (d. prob. 782) Lioba was a kinswoman of St.
> Boniface, born in c. 710
> in Wessex. She was educated at the nunnery of
> Wimborne, and at a young age
> became magistra of the school there. Lioba
> responded to Boniface's appeal
> for support in his missionary endeavors, moving to
> the continent and taking
> the leadership of Boniface's foundation of
> Tauberbischofsheim. Several of
> her nuns there later became abbesses of new
> convents, with Lioba
> maintaining supervision over them. Lioba developed
> close connections to
> the Carolingian court, especially with Queen
> Hildegard.
>
> Wenceslas (d. 929 or 935) Wenceslas was born in c.
> 904 in Bohemia. His
> grandmother raised him as a Christian, and when
> Wenceslas became duke of
> Bohemia in 922 he made great efforts to convert his
> land to Christianity.
> His vitae report his deep piety and asceticism,
> which apparently won
> considerable admiration, but also turned many of the
> Bohemian nobles
> against their duke. Wenceslas' brother Boleslav
> succeeded in having his
> brother murdered. [Does anyone know why the
> Christmas carol "Good King
> Wenceslas" came into being?]
>
> Eberhard of Tuntenhausen (c. 1370) Bavaria seems to
> have a surprising
> number of servant/shepherd folk saints. Eberhard,
> according to legend, was
> a shepherd in the region near Freising. He is
> credited with miraculous
> powers; wherever he stuck he shepherd's crook into
> the ground, a tree grew.
> Eberhard is believed to have died in c. 1370, and
> his cult first appears
> in extant sources in 1428. Papal permission for the
> cult was granted in
> 1734, but Eberhard has never been formally
> canonized. He is primarily a
> farmers' saint; in earlier times, earth from his
> grave was mixed with
> cattle food to cure cattle sicknesses.
>
> Bernardino of Feltre (blessed) (d. 1494) Bernardino
> was a Franciscan, born
> in 1439 in Feltre (Italy) He became one of the
> greatest popular preachers
> in Italy, apparently emulating his namesake of
> Siena.
>
> Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
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