medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (4. July) is the feast day of:
Bertha (d. c. 725) Bertha was married and had five daughters; when
her husband died she became a nun at a convent she built at Blagny.
She later became a recluse there.
Andrew of Crete (d. c. 740) Andrew was a native of Damascus who
became a monk at Jerusalem, spent years in Constantinople, and was
named archbishop of Gortyna, Crete. He was a noted preacher and
hymn-writer.
Odo of Canterbury (d. 959) Odo was the son of Danish parents who had
settled in East Anglia. He became bishop of Ramsbury and in 942
archbishop of Canterbury. O. supported the monastic reforms of his
age, played a very active role in both religious and secular affairs,
and won the nickname "the good."
Ulric of Augsburg (d. 973) Ulric, the first saint known to have been
canonized by a pope (in 993), was a native of Augsburg. He was
educated at St. Gall and in 923 became bishop of Augsburg. Magyar
attacks gave U. an important role leading reconstruction of the city.
When old, U. retired to St. Gall, naming his nephew as
coadjutor---for which he was accused of nepotism.
Andrew Bogoliubsky (d. 1174) Andrew was a grandson of Vladimir
Monomakh and son of Yurii Dolgoniky, and succeeded them as prince of
Kiev in 1157. He got his nickname (which means "God-loving") in his
youth, and grew up to be an odd combination of good soldier and
peace-maker. A. worked with his dad building cities and churches,
and as prince himself kept up the good work. In 1174 he was murdered
in a palace conspiracy led by his second wife and her brothers.
Elizabeth of Portugal (d. 1336) Elizabeth (Isabella) was a daughter
of King Peter III of Aragon. She married the king of Portugal at age
12 and won a reputation for piety, charity, and care for the poor.
She got plenty of practice as a mediator when their son rebelled as
well as other royal quarrels of medieval Spain. E. was widowed in
1325 and wanted to become a nun but was convinced to become a
Franciscan tertiary instead. She was canonized in 1626.
A modern saintly family: Nicholas, Alexandra, and all the Romanov
children (d. 1918). On the principle that truth is stranger than
fiction, I can assure you that there is a burgeoning modern cult of
the last Romanov rulers of Russia. Sure, Nicholas may have been
thoroughly incompetent, Alexandra seems to have been a hysteric who
fell completely under the domination of Rasputin, and the two of them
went a long way toward making the Revolution by negative example,
but. . . . They are hailed as "passion-bearers," following a long
tradition of Russian saints, suffering evil and death with hope in
God---not for any particular piety or goodness to the church in
Russia.
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