medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (5. March---Ash Wednesday) is the feast day of:
Jeremiah (d. c. 580 BCE) Penitential preacher and prophet. For details,
see the biblical book of Jeremiah.
Eusebius of Cremona (d. c. 423) Eusebius met Jerome in Rome and ended up
going with him to the Holy Land. He helped raise money to found a pilgrim
hostel at Bethlehem, and succeeded Jerome as abbot there. Legend also
makes Eusebius the founder of Guadalupe in Spain.
Gerasimus (d. 475) Gerasimus was a native of Lycia. He went to visit the
monks of Egypt and Palestine, and then settled near the Dead Sea. In c.
455 G. founded a hermitage near Jericho that attracted so many disciples
that he soon founded a monastery nearby as training place for future
hermits. G. is supposed to have pulled a thorn out of a lion's paw, after
which he trained the beast to fetch and carry for the monks; when G. died,
the lion (named Jordan) lay down on the saint's grave and died too. (The
connection of the lion to St. Jerome in iconography is due to a confusion
with Gerasimus.)
Ciaran of Saighir (5th cent.) Ciaran is one of the pre-Patrician saints of
Ireland. He was born in West Cork, went to Europe, where he was baptized
and ordained, and then came back to Ireland to be a hermit and later abbot
of Saighir (Co. Offaly). Legend reports that he was consecrated bishop by
Patrick. Legends of Ciaran emphasize his close affinity with wild animals,
including the tale that his first monks included a wolf, a badger, and a
fox---but the fox's instinct won out over its piety and it stole C's shoes.
The badger had to dig the fox out of its lair and drag it to C, whereupon
it was ordered to do penance.
Piran (d. c. 480) In the Middle Ages, this Cornish saint got confused with
Ciaran (above). Piran was a monk from Ireland or Wales who settled in
north Cornwall. His shrine was popular with pilgrims, and his cult was
also active in Wales and Brittany.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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