medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (11. July) is the feast day of:
Pius I (d. 155) Pius was an Italian from Aquieia. He may have been
a slave. He seems to have been active against the gnostics who were
preaching in Rome at the time. He is traditionally regarded as a
martyr, although there is no early evidence of his martyrdom.
Benedict (d. c. 550) Benedict of Nursia, father of western
monasticism, "father of Europe," etc. Little is known of Ben. aside
from Gregory the Great's Dialogues. He studied in Rome but gave up
his studies and retired to Subiaco as a hermit. He attracted
disciples, whom he organized into a conveniently symbolic twelve
communities of 10 monks each. In time he founded Monte Cassino,
where he wrote his Rule, which of course relies very heavily on
earlier rules. Today is the date of Ben's translatio and was
established as his feast in 1969---so it can be celebrated outside of
Lent; his death day was 21. March.
John of Bergamo (d. c. 683) John became bishop in c. 670. He fought
Arians and seems to have converted a fair number of them, perhaps
including the Lombard king Grimoald. His cult had its start when
four bodies were dug up in a Bergamese basilica in 1291 and one was
identified as his.
Olga (d. 969) Olga was the wife of Prince Igor of Kiev. When Igor
was murdered in 945 Olga took charge, hunting down his murderers and
doing a good job stabilizing Kievan Rus'. She decided to become a
Christian, perhaps for the sake of alliance with the Byzantine
Empire. She tried to convert her people, but had limited success
(perhaps because she didn't use force), and in 959 asked Otto I of
Germany for missionaries to help. O. retired when her son was old
enough to rule, but kept up her missionary efforts, building a number
of churches. Her cult began in 996 at the instigation of St.
Vladimir. Her relics were lost when the Mongols destroyed Kiev in
1240, but were rediscovered in the seventeenth century. They were
lost again in the early nineteenth century.
**********************************************************************
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
|