medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
There are over twenty saints Dionysius (exactly how many depends on whose
list one uses and on whether one is a "lumper" or a "splitter"
taxonomically), any of whom could have been englished as Denys. While it
is true that a saint Dionysius/Denys/etc. without further specification is
likely to be the Areopagite, there are other saints of this name with
attested cults who in their home regions are also simply Dionysius/etc.,
e.g., D. of Milan and D. of Augsburg (both early bishops, one rather better
attested historically than the other). The D. who is patron of Bleggio
Superore (TN) in Trentino - Alto Adige is celebrated on 26. December and is
thus presumably the sainted pope of this name. The D. who is patron of
Mezzane di Calvisano (BS) in Lombardy and of Montafia (AT) in Piedmont is
celebrated on 9. October and thus presumably the Areopagite, although these
_could_ be normalizations of a cult originally that of the Milanese bishop
spread by the abbey of San Dionigi/Dionisio in Milan (which latter had
extensive holdings in northern Italy and which may also have been the
mother house of the former abbey of saint D. at Merate (LC), also in
Lombardy). The D. who is patron of Saint Denis (AO) in Valle d'Aosta and of
Crotone (KR) in Calabria is certainly the Areopagite. Whereas in the first
and perhaps in both of these cases the presence of D.'s cult seems to be
due to French influence, at Crotone (whose medieval Greek population was
reinforced in the early sixteenth century by immigrants from former
Venetian possessions in Greece now under Turkish rule) Greek influence
could be at work as well. Here, although the earliest known cult site for
this saint is a chapel (not attested to before the sixteenth century but
possibly older) in the royal castle -- an Angevin foundation initially
commanded by francophones --, both the sixteenth-century cathedral (of Mary
of the Assumption and of St. D.) and a Greek orthodox parish are dedicated
to D., whom local tradition makes the city's first bishop. The cathedral
boasts one of the numerous icons of the Virgin said to have been painted by
St. Luke; one may not be surprised to hear that local tradition also says
that it was brought here by none other than D. himself. Best, John
Dillon
At 10:39 AM 5/25/2004 +0100, Lena Wahlgren-Smith wrote:
> Does anyone know anything about the/any cult of St Denys in
>England? We have a St Denys Priory here in Southampton and there seem to be
>a few churches dedicated to him round England. Have checked the usual
>reference books, but they only seem to mention St Denys in France. I know he
>was one of the Seven Helpers, but were there ever any local, English
>traditions? Does he ever turn up anywhere else in Europe? I certainly don't
>recall hearing about him in Sweden. I assume any English cult would ahve
>been due to the French presence in England?
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