medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (9. February) is the feast day of:
Ash Wednesday (admittedly not a saint, but definitely holy).
Designated as the first day of Lent by Gregory the Great, who
extended Lent to the 40-day period before Easter that has been
celebrated ever since.
Apollonia (d. 249) This patron of people suffering from toothaches
and of dentists was an elderly deaconess of Alexandria. She was
caught by an anti-Christian mob and tortured by having her teeth
yanked out one by one. Apollonia was then threatened with burning
alive, but leaped into the fire before the mob could throw her
in---which has led to considerable theological debate about whether
causing one's own death counts as martyrdom. Several other
Christians were tortured and stoned or thrown from houses in the same
incident.
Sabinus of Canosa (d. c. 566) Sabinus was a native of Canosa (in
Apulia) and became bishop there. He served as papal legate to the
eastern Roman court.
Teilo (6th cent.) The Welsh Teilo (also known as Eliud) was a
wanderer who supposedly made it to Jerusalem and lived in Brittany
before preaching and founding several monasteries in Wales. I think
he's the saint who figures in Geary's *Furta Sacra* for miraculously
multiplying his relics by three so that all claimants to them could
have a complete set.
Ansbert (d. c. 695) There really was an extraordinary number of
Frankish courtiers who got religion and ended up as saints. Ansbert
was chancellor to King Clothar III, but gave up courtly life to
become a monk and abbot of Fontanelle. He became bishop of Rouen in
684, but was exiled to a monastery, probably for political reasons.
Alto (d. c. 760) Alto (not to be confused with his brethren Soprano
and Basso) was probably an Irishman. He became a hermit near
Augsburg in c. 743. Pepin the Short was so impressed by A. that he
gave him the land to found the monastery of Altomunster in Bavaria.
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