medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Phyllis,
Thank you for another year of daily notices, without which this list
would be immeasurably poorer. Thank you too for the notices yet to
come; I hope the new "Butler" proves not only useful but also a pleasure
to read.
Best,
John Dillon
PS: Herewith a small supplement on one of today's saints.
On Friday, June 24, 2005, at 10:10 pm, Phyllis wrote:
> William of Vercelli (d. 1142) William became a wandering
> penitential
> pilgrim at the age of 14, when he set off for Compostela with two
> iron bands welded around his body. He became a hermit, but got
> unwelcome attention after he cured a blind man, so he moved to the
> Naples region. There he attracted hermits and formed them into a
> community at Montevergine. W. ended up founding a number of
> monasteries, the congregation of Montevergine.
William died at the double monastery of the Goleto (near Sant'Angelo dei
Lombardi in today's Avellino Province). One of his foundations, this
was essentially a house for women with a small attached community of
males who were there to perform sacraments and to provide spiritual
direction. Dedicated to the Holy Savior ("the Goleta" is a toponym),
the monastery flourished until the middle of the fourteenth century and
was closed in the early sixteenth century (the last abbess died in
1515). Whereupon the property reverted to Montevergine, which promptly
reopened it as a small, male institution; it began to grow again in the
late sixteenth century and enjoyed considerable prosperity over the next
two centuries. In the secularization of the abbeys in 1807 its property
was divided among the neighboring communities and the buildings quickly
fell into disrepair. In 1973 a monk of Montevergine obtained permission
to live on the site and began a process of restoration which now, thanks
to infusions of public monies, has achieved some notable results.
Some views of the abbey (now called that of St. William, after its
founder) before and after restoration are here:
http://www.goleto.it/storia.htm
More are included in the virtual tour accessible here:
http://www.goleto.it/home.htm
(Click on "visita l'abbazia").
The Chapel of St. Luke was the upper part of the abbey's church in the
later Middle Ages. Two interior views are here:
http://www.goleto.it/images/storia06.GIF
and here:
http://www.goleto.it/images/visita5_big.GIF
The church's lower part was originally the funerary chapel of the
"romanesque" basilica of the Holy Savior. William remained here until
1807, when he was removed to Montevergine. His relics now reside in the
crypt of that abbey's new church (opened 1961).
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|