medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (13. December) is the feast day of:
Lucia (d. 304) The virgin martyr Lucia was killed at Syracuse. Her cult
is well-attested from an early age. According to her legend, Lucia was a
wealthy woman who refused to marry and gave her goods to the poor. A
disgruntled suitor denounced her to the authorities, upon which the judge
ordered that she be taken to a brothel to be raped. Miraculously rendered
immovable, she was then sentenced to burning (which also failed). At some
point before she was finally killed by the sword, her eyes are supposed to
have been torn out and miraculously restored.
Judoc (d. c. 668) Judoc was a Breton prince who renounced his position,
became a priest, went on a pilgrimage to Rome, and then became a hermit (at
a place later named Sait-Josse-sur-Mer after him). His cult was popular in
both Britanny and in England (he's commemorated in the Canterbury Tales
with the oath "By God and by Seint Joce"; he is also the source of the name
"Joyce" for both men and women).
Odilia (d. 720?) Odilia was the daughter of a duke of Alsace. She founded
the convent of Odilienberg in 690, and later the monastery of
Niedermunster. Her legend makes her much more interesting than mere
history: when O. was born blind her father wanted to kill her. Mom managed
to get O away to safety; she gained her sight when, led by an angel, she
met a wandering bishop who baptized her. After some years, O's brother
took her back to the family home; dad was so angry that he struck his son
dead (fortunately O resurrected him again). O. was only reconciled to her
father at the end of his life. O herself died after an active life as an
abbess---but her community hadn't had time to gather around her, and she
hadn't had a final communion. So the nuns, with their prayers, resurrected
HER; she said she'd been perfectly content in the company of St. Lucia
(with whom she had so much in common; they're both patrons of the blind),
took communion, and died again. Odilia's tomb at Odilienburg was for a
long time one of the most important pilgrimage sites of France.
Edburga of Minster (d. 751) Maybe a West Saxon princess, Edburga was a
disciple of St. Mildred and her successor as abbess of Minster-in-Thanet.
She was a very generous supporter of Boniface's mission (it is from E that
Boniface requested a copy of Peter's epistles, written in gold letters). E
also built a church at Minster. Miracles were claimed at her tomb.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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