medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (18. November) is the feast day of Frigdianus (?6th cent.). Unlike Lidanus of Sezze (2 July), Frigdianus (as he is called in the oldest mss. of the _Dialogues_ of Gregory the Great, where he appears at Bk. 3, chap. 9) achieved great success as a hydraulic engineer. According to the passage in Gregory, F. was a bishop of Lucca (probably quite close to Gregory in time, though opinions differ on this), a city then menaced by frequent flooding from the river Ausarit (also Ausur or Auser; anciently in two branches, one of which is today's Serchio). F. solved the problem by taking up a small rake and then commanding the river, now miraculously compliant, to follow a new course that he traced with the agricultural implement that has since become his defining iconographic attribute.
It is quite likely that F.'s name was orginally Frigidianus, though Frigianus (i.e., "Phrygian") is another possibility. Early spellings of his name vary considerably and it took many centuries for the form Fridianus to win out. Today he he is known all over Tuscany, where his cult is widespread, as San Frediano (but though he has a rake it would be wrong to think of him as Farmer Fred).
Early medieval uncertainty over F.'s place of origin included a belief that he might have been Irish. Already present in the second version (9th- or 10th-cent.) of his Vita, this had hardened to a certainty in the 12th or 13th century, when a now expanded Vita was again enlarged to include material deriving from that of the Irish saint Findian. For consideration of this and many other matters see Gabriele Zaccagnini, ed., _Vita Sancti Fridiani. Contributi di storia e di agiografia lucchese medioevale_ (Lucca: M. Pacini Fazzi, 1989).
An important early patron of the city, F. now reposes in the basilica named after him (apparently at least the third on this site), the golden mosaic of whose facade is justly famous:
http://www.knowital.com/html/lucca_-_church_of_san_frediano.html
http://www.provincia.asti.it/edu/smgoria/sfrediano.htm
A more detailed account of the church is here:
http://www.itclucca.lu.it/Lucca/2id/S.FREDIA/SFREDIA.html
And not to overlook its 12th-century baptismal font:
http://www.thais.it/scultura/sch00513.htm
http://www.thais.it/scultura/image/sch00513.htm
Best,
John Dillon
**********************************************************************
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
|