medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (15. June) is also the feast day of:
Vitus and companions (d. ca. 304/04/05, supposedly). We know nothing about
Vitus, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, other than a brief listing in the
(pseudo- ) Hieronymian Martyrology, _In Lucania, Viti_ ("In Lucania,
Vitus"). His cult is ancient: there is evidence of a church in Rome
dedicated to him in the fifth century, and from the correspondence of
Gregory the Great we learn that in the sixth century there were monasteries
dedicated to him in Sicily and in Sardinia. He has a fabulous legend (BHL
8711-16) that pre-dates the Carolingian martyrologies and whose earliest
version is thought to date from the seventh century. According to this,
Vitus was a boy of seven years (in some versions, twelve years), a
professed Christian and a miracle-worker, born at Lilybaeum in Sicily
(today's Mazara del Vallo [TP]). His pagan father had him tortured and
thrown in prison in an attempt to get him to renounce his faith. But an
angel freed him together with his nurse Crescentia and his tutor Modestus
(in some versions, Crescentia's husband), whereupon V., together with these
surrogate parent figures, removed to Lucania and continued to profess
Christianity and perform miracles. His fame reached the ears of the
emperor Diocletian, who called him to Rome to cure his demonically
possessed son. V. obtained this cure but refused to sacrifice to Rome's
pagan gods; Diocletian then had V. tortured anew and imprisoned along with
the always faithful Crescentia and Modestus. But again they were liberated
by an angel, who brought them back to Lucania near the river Sele (in an
area now in Campania). From here they were called not long afterwards to
their eternal reward.
V.'s cult is widespread in Italy, especially in the south. The sanctuary
at his presumed burial location, today's San Vito al Sele (SA) near Eboli,
is modern, but medieval devotion to him was extensive (though not all of
today's numerous "San Vito" toponyms are that old). According to a German
version of his legend, abbot Fulrad of Saint-Denis outside Paris had his
relics translated thither in the mid-eighth century and abbot Hilduin in
turn gave them to the monastery at Corvey on the Weser. The latter, a
daughter house of Corbie, became a major medieval and early modern cult
center for V., whose cult diffused hence through much of the
empire. During the Thirty Years' War V.'s head and other relics wound up
in Prague (if they had not gotten there already; accounts differ), where
they are housed in the medieval cathedral already dedicated to V. At about
the same time V. was declared patron of Mazara del Vallo, whose cathedral
houses one of V.'s arms along with other of his relics and where there is a
major annual celebration in his honor.
Serbia and Montenegro's national holiday is St. Vitus' Day, recalling the
battle of Kosovo, which transpired on this date in 1389. Because the
Serbian Orthodox Church still follows the Julian calendar, V.'s big day
there now falls on 28. July.
What other saints have had a disease named after them?
A couple of photographs of the abbey church at Corvey are here:
http://www.teutotreff.de/bielefeld/owl/hoexter/freizeit_abtei_corvey.htm
http://www.mtmercy.edu/classes/ar213/Early%20Medieval/webpages/AbbeyFacade.html
and here (click on the links):
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Cities/wld/01070/01070m.html
Some photographs of Prague's cathedral are here:
http://www.ivanweb.net/images/Mondo/Praga/22.jpg
http://www.ivanweb.net/images/Mondo/Praga/23.jpg
http://www.ivanweb.net/images/Mondo/Praga/25.jpg
http://www.meritoviaggi.com/praga/immagini/city/mosaic_sanvito.jpg
Best,
John Dillon
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