medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (29. November) is the feast day of:
Saturninus (Sernin) of Toulouse (d. c. 257) The subject of not one but two
rich legends. According to one (almost certainly a product of medieval
wishful thinking), S. was a contemporary of Jesus. He was attracted by the
preaching of John the Baptist and baptized on the same day as Jesus,
becoming one of the 72 disciples. More likely, he lived in the third
century and worked under Trophimus of Arles, who consecrated S. as bishop
of Toulouse. He enjoyed enormous success after curing the governor's
daughter of leprosy---an act that converted half the town. Not content
with such an easy mission field, S. then went off to Spain for some years,
converting Pamplona and Toledo in the process. On his return to Toulouse,
S. deeply angered the pagan priests there by driving the gods from their
temple. So the priests seized S. and tried to force him to sacrifice a
bull. S. refused, the bull got very excited, and the priests ended by
tying S. to the bull by his feet and then letting it loose.
Brendan of Birr ((d. 573) The "chief of the prophets of Ireland," Brendan
(not to be confused with B. the Navigator) was a friend and disciple of
Coumcille. It was his intervention that ended Columcille's
excommunication, and when Brendan died, C. (off in Iona) saw a vission of
angels receiving Brendan's soul into heaven.
Radbod of Utrecht (d. 918) Radbod's grandfather (also Radbod) had been the
last pagan ruler of Frisia. Radbod himself, the son of a Frisian mother
and Frankish father, was educated by archbishop Gunther of Cologne (his
maternal uncle) and in 900 became bishop of Utrecht. He was famous for his
austerity and care of the poor.
Jutta of Heiligenthal (d. c. 1250) (blessed) Jutta was the founder and
first abbess of the Cistercian convent of Heiligenthal, which she ruled for
eighteen years.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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