medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (28. December) is the feast day of:
The Holy Innocents (c. 4 BCE) Our other candidates for Christian
"protomartyr" status, these are the children of Bethlehem massacred by
Herod the Great after the Magi had told him a new king had been born in
Bethlehem (Matt. 2:16). They are regarded as martyrs because they died in
Christ's place. Their feast has been kept in the western Church since the
fourth century. As the "feast of children," however, it became perhaps the
most widely mocked Christian feast until the commercialization of
Christmas. It is already mentioned in North Africa in 505 as a day of
special celebration for schoolboys, including elements of Saturnalia and a
great deal of license. This feast of children or "feast of fools" was
condemned by the sixth council of Constantinople, but nonetheless reached
the West in the eleventh century, first attested in Rouen.
Theodore of Tabenisi (d. 368) Theodore entered Pachomius monastery of
Tabenisi at the age of 14, and in 350 became its abbot. He also founded
further Egyptian monasteries.
Maughold (Mawgan, Morgan) (d. c. 488) According to legend, M. was a
pirate, converted by St. Patrick. As penance, he set out to sea in a
coracle, fettered. He washed up on the Isle of Man, where he is supposed
to have become the first bishop.
Anthony of Lerins (d. c. 520) Anthony was a monk, who became a hermit in
the area of Lake Como. His reputation for piety attracted would-be
disciples, so he finally withdrew to Lerins to live the last two years of
his life in peace.
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
|