medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Phyllis and other Fellow List-Members
One of the surprises in making one's first acquaintance with the
commemoration of saints in the Balkans and in Greece is the popularity
of Paraskeve - or rather the three Paraskeves, there being Paraskeve of
Epibatas or Trnovo (1023-57, f.d. October 14), and Paraskeve of Iconium
(a reputed Diocletian martyr, f.d. October 28) with whom Parasceve of
Rome, the saint mentioned in today's List and associated with the reign
of Antoninus Pius, has become conflated. She/They appear everywhere, it
seems, and Parasceve of Rome is accounted, like her fellow dragon-slayer
George, one of the 'Megalo-Martyrs'.
July 26 is given in several sources as the feast day of the
second-century Paraskeve, so it would be interesting to know how a feast
on March 20 arose, especially if it appears in a Western source. Does it
appear so in your German inventory, Phyllis?
Two further questions to colleagues in general: Can anyone recommend a
good commentary on the Paraskeve saints, and has anyone any comments on
the possible deeper meanings behind the name, which is normally
translated as 'St Friday'. Though sometimes explained as 'Born on a
Friday', St Friday happens to be also the name of a medieval devotion
which crops up in medieval English devotional bequests (there was even a
St Friday's Bridge here in Leicester). Do we know what this
commemorated? Does it represent the Passion, or something else? A
further intriguing issue is to what hebdomadal cycle Paraskeve relates,
since in the Balkans she is also known as 'Petko', that is, Fifth Day.
In the Christian week, Friday is, of course, the sixth day. Only if the
week begins on Monday can Friday be the fifth day. At the same time, as
I understand it (and I would be very happy to be corrected on this
point) Paraskeve means literally 'the day of preparation'; which if
Friday is meant, would relate to a weekly cycle fixed to the Jewish
Sabbath, the seventh day with Friday as the sixth.
What's going on here?
Best wishes
Graham
>Today (20. March) is the feast day of:
>Parasceve (d. 138/161) Parasceve was a particularly beloved saint in
the
>Middle Ages, and a rich body of legends developed around her.
Parasceve
>was a virgin martyr, probably killed in the reign of Antoninus Pius in
>Palestine. Legend reports that Parasceve was imprisoned and tortured
>several times, but remained miraculously uninjured; the emperor was so
>impressed that he accepted baptism. After that, Parasceve traveled
widely
>and preached Christianity with great success---at one point she even
killed
>a dragon, impressing yet another ruler so much that he converted.
****************************************
Dr Graham Jones
Lecturer in English Topography
University of Leicester
Centre for English Local History
Marc Fitch Historical Institute
5 Salisbury Road
Leicester LE1 7QR
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)116 252 2764
Fax: +44 (0)116 252 5769
e-Mail: [log in to unmask]
Web pages: http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/grj1
-----Original Message-----
From: Phyllis Jestice [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 20 March 2002 01:21
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [M-R] saints of the day 20. March
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
culture
Today (20. March) is the feast day of:
Parasceve (d. 138/161) Parasceve was a particularly beloved saint in
the
Middle Ages, and a rich body of legends developed around her. Parasceve
was a virgin martyr, probably killed in the reign of Antoninus Pius in
Palestine. Legend reports that Parasceve was imprisoned and tortured
several times, but remained miraculously uninjured; the emperor was so
impressed that he accepted baptism. After that, Parasceve traveled
widely
and preached Christianity with great success---at one point she even
killed
a dragon, impressing yet another ruler so much that he converted.
Claudia (d. c. 300) A legendary passio relates that Claudia was
martyred
in Asia Minor by being hanged, flayed, and finally burned in an oven.
Martin of Braga (d. 579 or 580) From c. 550 on, Martin worked as a
missionary among the Arian Sueves in the region of Braga (NW Iberian
peninsula), successfully converting them to catholicism. From c. 556
on,
Martin was first bishop of Dumium, and from 570 on archbishop of Braga
(now
Portugal)
Cuthbert (d. 687) Cuthbert is one of the great saints of England; his
nickname was "miracle worker of Britain." Cuthbert was born in 634 and
in
651 entered the monastery of Melrose (Scotland). In 664 he became prior
of
Lindisfarne. He lived for six years as a hermit, becoming ever more
famous, and in 685 was named bishop of Hexham (the see soon transfered
to
Lindisfarne). His tomb was opened eleven years after his death, and the
body was found uncorrupt.
Herbert of Cumberland (d. 687) The English priest Herbert was a
disciple
of St. Cuthbert. He venerated Cuthbert so greatly that he prayed to die
on
the same day as his hero, which he did.
Wulfram (d. 700 or 720) Wulfram was a monk, and in c. 690 became
archbishop of Sens (France) However, he soon left his bishopric and
worked
with Willibrord as a missionary in Frisia.
Remigius of Strassburg (blessed) (d. 783) Remigius was a son of the
duke
of Alsace and a nephew of St. Odilia. After a time as abbot of Munster
near Colmar (Alsace), from 776 he served as bishop of Strassburg. Pope
Leo
IX beatified Remigius in 1051.
John of Parma (blessed) (d. 1289) John, a member of the Buralli family,
was born in Parma probably in 1209. In 1233 he entered the Franciscan
order, and over the following years held a number of offices in the
order,
including serving as general minister from 1247 to 1257; he was one of
the
reformers of the young order. John was sent as papal legate to
Constantinople in 1288, but died on the journey. He was beatified in
1777.
Mauritius Pannonius (Csaky) (d. 1336) Never formally canonized, but
with a
major cult in Hungary. Mauritius was a member of the Hungarian royal
family, born in c. 1280. He married, but after three years separated
from
his wife and entered a monastery in Budapest. He was highly honored for
his asceticism, humility, and intensity of prayer.
Baptista Spagnoli of Mantua (blessed) (d. 1516) The Carmelite Baptista
of
Mantua was a great Catholic humanist and important author who was
sometimes
likened to Vergil. Baptista was born in 1448 in Mantua, and entered the
Carmelite order at the age of fifteen. He held several high offices in
the
order, besides composing about 55,000 verses. He was beatified in 1885.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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