medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I wonder if you could elaborate on your comment which follows; I wasn't
aware that AASS texts were (commonly?) subject to "humanist revision".
thanks,
JBW
According to her Acta of uncertain date (BHL 2156; published by the
historian of Lerins, Vincent Barralis, in
1613 from an old manuscript of the monastery of St.-Pontius at Nice; text in
the Acta Sanctorum seems not to have undergone humanist revision)
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Dillon
>Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2005 4:06 PM
>To: John Wickstrom
>Subject: Re: saints of the day 27. January
>
>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion
>and culture
>
>Today (27. January) is also the feast day of:
>
>Devota (d. 303, supposedly). According to her Acta of
>uncertain date (BHL 2156; published by the historian of
>Lerins, Vincent Barralis, in
>1613 from an old manuscript of the monastery of St.-Pontius at
>Nice; text in the Acta Sanctorum seems not to have undergone
>humanist revision), D. was a Corsican serving girl of
>Christian upbringing who during the Diocletianic persecution
>refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods. So the ruthless
>official sent to implement the persecution (his name is
>consistently printed as _Barbarus Praeses_, i.e. "Governor
>Barbarian"; whether he's that or merely but still routinely
>"the barbarian governor", we're clearly in the world of stock
>characters
>here) had her employer, the honorable Euticius Senator
>("Senator Goodfortune"), secretly poisoned and the still
>recalcitrant D. tortured on an _equuleus_ (a sort of rack)
>until she gave up the ghost (which latter was seen to depart
>her mouth in the form orf a dove). To avoid cremation of the
>martyr's remains, two priests spiced her corpse with
>preservatives and set off with her in a not very seaworthy
>boat, headed for Africa. Winds and waves came close to
>sinking their vessel but D., appearing to the pilot in a
>dream, told him to change course for Monaco by following the
>dove he would see leaving her mouth. He did and their boat,
>which then sank, arrived at the entrance to Monaco's Gaumates
>valley, where she now reposes in a church dedicated to her.
>
>Since some of the names in this account are significant, it
>should be noted that _devota _ signifies in Latin a female who
>has willingly sacrificed her life for a higher cause. In
>Barralis' text D. is consistently called Deivota ("Vowed of
>God"); otherwise she is always Devota (or other-language
>versions thereof). Her Acta are an instance of the not
>uncommon story of the virgin martyr whose remains have more or
>less miraculously come from across the sea; they have specific
>points of contact with Julia of Corsica and Tuscany and with
>the Translation of St. Mark to Venice.
>
>Like Julia, D. is a post-medieval patroness of Corsica. She
>is also patroness of the Principality of Monaco. Her
>originally eleventh-century church near where her body is said
>to have come ashore is shown here:
>http://www.visitmonaco.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&p
>ageID=166
>
>TinyURL for this: http://tinyurl.com/3t2ob
>http://f1rejects.com/centrale/monaco/small/stdevote.jpg
>http://www.consulatfrance.mc/presence/stdevote.jpg
>
>The "Orthodox Europe" site has a somewhat censorious view of
>modern Monaco:
>http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/oemonaco.htm
>
>But today we are all monegasques.
>
>Best,
>John Dillon
>
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