medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (25. July) is the feast day of:
James the Greater (d. 42) James was the son of Zebedee and brother
of John; the two were nicknamed "sons of thunder" by Jesus. James
was the first of the apostles to be martyred; he was beheaded in
Jerusalem by Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:1-2). A discredited tradition
says he preached in Spain before his martyrdom; an even more
discredited tradition says that his body was miraculously conveyed to
Spain (in a stone ship) where it was later found at Compostela.
James' shrine at Compostela became one of the greatest pilgrimage
centers of the Middle Ages, exceeded in popularity and longevity only
by Jerusalem and Rome. He is the patron saint of Spain.
Christopher (d. c. 251?) De-canonized just because he probably
didn't exist, Christopher is still widely popular as the patron saint
of travelers and, the last time I was there, you could still buy St.
Christopher medallions in the Vatican Gift Shop. If he existed,
Christopher died in Lycia. A lot of legends got added to this. The
most popular tells that Chris was a giant who made a living carrying
people across a river. One day a small child asked for his services,
but became so heavy as they crossed that they almost drowned. The
kid revealed that he was Christ, so heavy because he was bearing the
weight of the world.
Thea, Valentina, and Paul (d. 308) Thea was a native of Gaza. She
was arrested in the persecution and (as seems to have happened to so
many of these young, beautiful, virginal Christian women) was
threatened with life in a brothel. But she responded by denouncing
the governor, who had her flogged. The Christian Valentina
protested---who was then tortured. The two were then tied together
and burned to death. Paul was another Christian of Gaza, beheaded at
the same time.
Magnericus (d. 596) Magnericus was a Frank who became first Frankish
bishop of Trier in c. 566. He built a monastery and several churches
dedicated to Martin of Tours.
A modern saint: Rudolph Aquaviva (blessed) (d. 1583) Rudolph
Aquaviva was a younger son of the duke of Atri. He became a Jesuit
and in 1578 was sent to India. There RA spent three years
missionizing around the Mogul court. But he and his fellows seem to
have been widely resented away from court. A group of 10 Europeans
and 10 native converts were traveling one day and the locals grabbed
their chance, hacking all twenty to death; RA's corpse got thrown
down a well, whence it was rescued un-decomposed, two days later. He
was beatified in 1893.
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