medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (20. November) is the feast day of:
Agapius of Caesarea (d. c. 306) Agapius was bishop of Ceasarea in
Palestine. In the persecution he was imprisoned three times, and finally
sentenced to death in the amphitheater, where a bear mauled him badly but
failed to kill him. So the next day A. was weighted with stones and thrown
in the sea.
Nerses of Sahgerd and companions (d. 343) Nerses was bishop of Sahgerd
(Persia), where he was arrested with more than a dozen other Christians in
the fourth year of Shapur II's great persecution. His early acta, in
Chaldaean, are still extant, and tell how the group was martyred in a
variety of ways.
Colman of Dromore (6th cent.) Colman was bon in Ulster. He was active in
Co. Down, where he founded the monastery of Dromore and served as bishop.
His cult can be traced to an early age in both Ireland and Scotland
(celebrated on 7. June) and in Wales, which gave us today as his feast day.
Edmund (d. 869) Edmund became king of the East Angles sometime before 865.
When the viking Great Army invaded in 869-70, Edmund's army was defeated
and the king himself captured. Edmund refused to become a vassal to the
viking leader and refused to deny Christianity, so was killed, apparently
in the form of a ritual sacrifice. His body was discovered incorrupt in c.
915 and was moved to what became Bury St. Edmunds, where a community of
priests and deacons was founded to tend the shrine. His cult became very
popular, a popularity that continued in the Norman era.
Bernward of Hildesheim (d. 1022) The German Bernward was tutor and
chaplain of Otto III, and became bishop of Hildesheim in 993. His
hagiographer paints an extremely gentle portrait of Bernward as an
administrator who defended the rights of his diocese against the
encroachments of Willigis of Mainz, but also served as a peacemaker.
Bernward's posthumous fame focuses on his role as a patron of the arts and
artist in his own right. He was canonized in 1193.
Ambrose Travresari (blessed) (d. 1439) Ambrose was born near Florence. He
became a notable Renaissance scholar, studying especially with the Greek
humanist Chrysolorus. In 1400 A. became a Camaldolese monk, but continued
to spend most of his time as a prolific author, especially in Greek.
Ambrose was the moving spirit of the Council of Florence, which attempted
to reunify the eastern and western churches. After that, he served as
abbot-general of his order.
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
|