medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (4. February) is the feast day of:
Veronica (?) Most likely a purely legendary figure, Veronica (whose name
means "true image") is supposed to have wiped Christ's face as he went to
be crucified---and his image remained miraculously imprinted on her cloth.
The legend seems to have first appeared in the fourth century, originally
with a miraculous picture of Christ that healed King Abgar of Edessa. By
the sixth century the picture had become a cloth. At some point Veronica
was linked to the woman suffering from a flow of blood, whom Jesus healed
in the gospels.
Phileas (d. 306) Phileas was bishop of Thmuis in Lower Egypt. He was
tortured and then beheaded during the Great Persecution. Part of a letter
from Phileas to his community is still extant, telling of the tortures
suffered by the imprisoned Christians.
Liephard (d. 640) The "martyr" Liephard was an English bishop, killed in
the neighborhood of Cambrai while returning from a pilgrimage to Rome.
Hrabanus Maurus (d. 856) I find it hard to think of Hrabanus as a saint; I
side with Gottschalk. Still, Hrabanus was one of the most important
churchmen of the ninth century, born in Mainz in c. 780, very well educated
at Fulda and Tours. He was abbot of Fulda 822-42, then abdicated (probably
for political reasons) and devoted himself to his theological writings. In
847 Hrabanus became archbishop of Mainz. Perhaps his most lasting work is
the hymn Veni creator Spiritus.
Nikolaos Studites (d. 868) Born on Crete in c. 795, Nikolaos entered the
famous Studion monastery in Constntinople at the age of ten. He was
imprisoned from 813-820, caught up in the Iconoclast Controversy. Later
Nikolaos became abbot of Studion. He voluntarily abdicated twice, but was
serving as abbot again at the time of his death.
Gilbert of Sempringham (d. 1189) The long-lived Gilbert was born in
Sempringham (England) in c. 1090, where he became a parish priest. He
wrote a rule for seven women who wished to live a communal life; this
developed in time into the Gilbertine order, with 13 houses in Gilbert's
lifetime. Gilbert was first head of the order, retiring when he went
blind. He was canonized in 1202.
Obitius of Nardo (blessed) (d. 1204) Obitius, count of Brescia (N. Italy)
was badly wounded in battle. Shocked by a vision of damnation he had at
that time, Obitius immediately entered the monastery of S. Giulia in
Brescia and committed himself to a life of penance.
Jeanne of Valois (d. 1505) As St. Patrick's Church index of saints puts
it, "Saint Joan was the hunch-backed, pock-marked, deformed daughter of
King Louis XI and Charlotte of Savoy." She was married at the age of
twelve to the duke of Orleans who, after he had been crowned as Louis XII
in 1498, had the marriage annulled. Jeanne retained possession of the
chateau of Bourges, where in 1500 she founded the contemplative order Les
Annonciades. Jeanne herself was professed in 1504. Jeanne's tomb was
destroyed by Huguenots in 1562; she was still beatified in 1742 and
canonized in 1950.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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