medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (2. June) is the feast day of:
Martyrs of Lyons (d. 177) There is a contemporary account of these
martyrs, included by Eusebius in his history. They are protomartyrs of
Gaul, and include both clerics and laity, women and men, slaves and free.
After the Christian group was denounced to the governor they were arrested,
then their slaves were rounded up and induced to accuse their owners of
cannibalism, incest, etc. The mob was so roused against them that they
killed some before their trials could even be finished; the rest were
killed by wild beasts, or tortured to death, or died from the bad
conditions of their imprisonment. Their bodies were burned and the ashes
thrown into the river.
Erasmus (d. c. 300) Aka Elmo. Erasmus was bishop of Formiae (Campagna).
He was martyred. That's all that's known, but a very lively legend helped
his cult spread widely. According to legend, Erasmus was a Syrian bishop.
He fled Diocletian's persecution to become a hermit. But he was found,
beaten, rolled in pitch, and set on fire. Surviving this, E. was thrown in
prison, but released by an angel. Arrested and tortured again, an angel
took him to Formiae, where he died. Despite the fact that his symbol is a
windlass, it is only a late legend that tells how E. was martyred by having
his guts pulled out with this machine; the symbol first appeared in earlier
legend because he was the patron of sailors.
Marcellinus and Peter (d. 304) Early Roman martyrs, a priest and an
exorcist. According to their acta, while in prison they converted their
jailer and his family.
Oda (d. 958) Oda was of Danish parentage, born in East Anglia. He became
bishop of Ramsbury, then archbishop of Canterbury in 942. He encouraged
England's monastic reform movement, restored churches, worked on clerical
morals, and patronized monks and scholars. O. is credited with
miraculously repairing King Athelstan's sword during the battle of
Brunanburgh in later legend.
Nicholas the Pilgrim (d. 1094) This young Greek went as a teenager to
Apulia, where he wandered through the streets crying "Kyrie Eleison,"
followed by mobs of children. He was often regarded as insane, but there
were so many miracles at his tomb after he died at age 19 that he was
canonized in 1098.
Sadoc and companions (blessed) (d. 1260) The Slav Sadoc was a student at
Bologna when he met St. Dominic and became a friar. He and Paul of Hungary
were put in charge of a missionary band that went to Poland, where they
enjoyed considerable success converting I'm not sure who (stray Mongols?
Prussians?) and constructed the convent of Sandomir. But in 1260, the
Mongols launched another devastating round of raids. The night before they
reached Sandomir (says legend), the brother reading the martyrology saw,
listed in gold letters under the following day, "Sandomir, 49 martyrs." So
they were warned, spent the time in prayer, and, sure enough, were all
slaughtered by Mongols the next day (including one novice who at first hid,
but his brethren went so happily to their deaths that he came out and
joined them).
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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