medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (13. April) is the feast day of:
Carpus, Papylus, and Agathonice (d. c. 170) These are martyrs of Pergamum,
killed probably during the reign of Marcus Aurelius but perhaps under
Decius. C was a bishop, P a deacon, and A was P's sister. They refused to
sacrifice to the gods of the state, were tortured, and finally executed by
being hung over a fire.
Hermenegild (d. c. 583-6) Hermenegild was a Visigothic prince of Spain.
He converted to catholic Christianity, whereupon his father, King
Leovigild, disinherited him. H. then rose in rebellion. For a time he was
reconciled to his father, but soon was arrested again and beheaded after
refusing to return to Arian Christianity. Gregory the Great says that H's
martyrdom led directly to the conversion of his brother Reccared, and thus
to the conversion of all the Visigoths. An alternative version is that H.
was a rebel plain and simple, and his death was not a martyrdom at all.
Martin I (d. 655) Martin was a native of Todi who served as a deacon at
Rome, then an ambassador to Constantinople before being elected pope in
649. M. held a council in Rome that condemned Monothelitism (this heresy
denies that Jesus had a human will)---including the edicts of the reigning
emperor, Constans II, on the subject. Constans ordered M's arrest. He was
taken to Constantinople and imprisoned in harsh conditions before being
convicted of treason, flogged, imprisoned, and then exiled to the Crimea.
He soon died of hardship there, the last pope venerated as a martyr.
Guinoch (d. 838) The Scot Guinoch is reputed to have been a counsellor to
King Kenneth. His prayers were especially effective: they enabled the king
to defeat the Picts in seven skirmishes in a single day.
Margaret of Citta di Castello (blessed) (d. 1320) Margaret was born in
Meldola (Umbria) to a poor family, and added to that the handicap of being
born blind. When she was five, her parents made a pilgrimage in hopes of
curing the child, but when no miracle happened they abandoned M. in the
church of Citta di Castello. A peasant woman adopted M, and she became
extremely popular, first for her ability to soothe children, and soon for
her prayers and ability to soothe the hearts of grown-ups, too. She
continued to live with her foster mother and became a Dominican tertirary.
M. enjoyed many and intense visions, and is credited with miracles. She
died at the age of 33; the local Dominicans cut open her heart (says
legend) and discovered three pearls, carved with holy figures, inside. Her
body is still incorrupt.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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