medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Before their relics went to Monte Cassino, I presume, the bones of
Constantinus and Simplicius were enshrined at the rebuilt abbey church of
Glanfeuil in 1119; presumably because the relics of the abbey's patron,
Blessed Maurus, had been retained by S. Pierre des Fosses in Paris, whence
they had been taken by the Glanfeuil community fleeing the Vikings in the
860s.
JBW
-----Original Message-----
From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious
culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of John
Dillon
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 7:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [M-R] saints of the day 29. March
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (29. March) is also the memorial of:
Constantine and Simplicius, abbots of Montecassino (d. mid- to later
6th cent.). Apart from his name, we know virtually nothing of
Constantine. According to the 9th-century _Vita sancti Mauri_,
Simplicius was one of Maurus' companions on his journey to France. S.
was also credited by Peter the Deacon and others with having in essence
published the _Regula sancti Benedicti_ by distributing it to all the
monks to read; a 9-line verse introduction to the _Regula_ noting S.'s
action in this regard was itself long attributed to him; its author,
though, is more likely to have been an eighth-century monk of
Reichenau. See H. Suso Brechter, "Versus Simplicii Casinensis abbatis:
Ihre Stellung in der Textgeschichte der Regula Benedicti," _Revue
Benedictine 50 (1938), 89-135 (poem edited on pp. 90-91); also Nicholas
Huyghebaert, "Simplicius, 'propagateur' de la Regle benedictine:
Legende ou tradition?", _Revue d'Histoire Ecclesiastique_ 73 (1978) 45-
54.
C.'s and S.'s relics have a lengthy history of discovery and relocation
within the basilica at Montecassino; in the eighteenth century they were
moved to the chapel of St. Gregory the Great, where they survived the
Allied bombing of 1944. They are now located beneath the altar of the
reconstructed chapel, shown here:
http://www.officine.it/montecassino/disegni/foto_htm/capp1d.htm
Best,
John Dillon
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