medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (25. October) is the feast day of:
Fronto & George (1st cent.) According to legend, Fronto was a Jew, one of
the 72 disciples sent out by Jesus. He was baptized by Peter and worked
with Peter for a while, but was then sent with the "priest" George to
evangilize Gaul. He is considered the first bishop of Perigord.
Minias (Miniato) of Florence (d. c. 250) Minias was a soldier who lived in
Florence and worked to convert his comrades. He was martyred under Decius.
Legend makes him an Armenian prince.
Chrysanthus and Daria (d. c. 283) This is a great day for richly
embroidered legends. Chrysanthus, says legend, was a young Alexandrian
brought to Rome by his father. Dad, unhappy at C's conversion to
Christianity, got Daria (a priestess of Minerva) to talk him back to his
senses---but instead Chrysanthus converted Daria to Christianity. The two
then decided to join in a virginal marriage and spent an active missionary
life in Rome. They were supposedly buried alive in a sand pit on the
Salarian Way.
Crispin and Crispinian (d. c. 287) There are two alternative views on
these two brothers. A late legend reports that they went to preach in
Gaul, where they live as shoemakers until caught up in a persecution,
tortured, sentenced to a variety of lurid executions that all failed, and
were finally beheaded. A more prosaic moern interpretation is that they
may have been early Roman martyrs whose relics were sent to Soissons.
Gaudentius of Brescia (d. c. 410) Gaudentius was educated in Brescia and
became so famous for his holiness that he went to Jerusalem to get away
from it all. He became a monk at Caesarea in Cappadocia. But when the
bishop of Brescia died, Gaudentius was recalled by the people and made the
new bishop. 10 of his sermons survive, but he is most famous for leading a
mission to intercede on behalf of John Chrysostom with the emperor, during
which G. was reviled, nearly shipwrecked, and only thanked for his efforts
with a very tepid letter from John.
Fructus, Valentine, and Engratia (d. c. 715) These were two brothers and a
sister who lived together in Sepulveda (Old Castile). In a Saracen raid
Valentine and Engratia were killed; Fructus went on to become a hermit.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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