medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (13. February) is the feast day of:
Fosca (d. c. 250) Fosca was the daughter of an influential non-Christian
family of Ravenna. Against her father's will, her grandmother instructed
Fosca in Christianity. Grandmother and granddaughter were both seized by
Roman authorities, tried as Christians, and executed.
Ermenhild (d. c. 700) Ermenhild was a royal daughter, born in Kent and
married at a young age to the king of Mercia. She converted her husband to
Christianity and was very influential in the christianization of Mercia.
After her husband died, Ermenhild became a nun at Sheppey and later abbess
of Ely.
Relindis and Harlindis (d. 745, c. 750) Relindis and Harlindis were
sisters, born in Maeseyk (Belgium). They were consecutive abbesses of the
nunnery of Aldeneyck on the Maas, which their parents had founded in c.
725.
Jordan of Saxony (blessed) (d. 1237) Jordan succeeded St. Dominic as
general of the Order of Preachers. He was born sometime before 1200 in
Borgberge (Germany), studied in Paris, and there in 1220 was brought by
Dominic into the young Dominican order. Jordan completed the foundation of
the order, and is responsible for its spread throughout Germany and into
Denmark. He also was a missionary to the Muslims. On his return from a
visitation in Palestine, Jordan was drowned on the Syrian coast near Acre.
He was beatified in 1826.
Christina of Spoleto (Augustina Camozzi) (blessed) (d. 1456) Augustina
Camozzi, born in c. 1435, married, and then led a very active religious
life after her husband's early eath. She became an Augustinian tertiary,
engaged in harsh penitential practices, and soon began to have mystical
experiences. Thus Christina became an object of veneration, a process she
tried to fight by withdrawing into complete solitude. She was beatified in
1834.
Eustochia of Padua (d. 1469) Eustochia, born in Padua in 1444, entered a
Benedictine nunnery at the age of seventeen. She suffered from severe
psychosomatic illnesses which were interpreted as hysteria and demonic
possession, as a rseult of which she was imprisoned and treated harshy. As
one of my sources puts it, she "bore all with great humility and patience."
At the age of 25 Eustochia died, and when her body was prepared for burial
the name of Jesus was discovered burned on her breast. A major cult
developed in Padua, which one formal approval in 1763.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
[log in to unmask]
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|