medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (28. September) is the feast day of:
Exsuperius of Toulouse (d. c. 412) A very fine Gaulish saint who
became bishop of Toulouse in c. 405. He was noted for charity in a
time of crisis (e.g., the Vandal invasion of Gaul).
Eustochium (d. c. 419) Eustochium was a daughter of St. Paula. With
her mother, E. joined the circle of aristocratic females around St.
Jerome. Both helped Jerome in his scholarly activities, and E.
succeeded her mom as head of the religious community in Bethlehem.
Faustus of Riez (d. c. 490) Faustus was born in Britain or Brittany.
He became a monk at Lerins by about the age of 20 and after a few
years was elected abbot, ending up his career as bishop of Riez. He
was a great preacher and vigorous opponent of heresy (but ended up
propagating semi-pelagianism himself). F's strong words about
Arianism led to his exile by the Visigothic king Euric for some years.
Lioba (d. 782) Lioba was a West Saxon kinswoman of St. Boniface.
She became one of Boniface's most important supporters back home in
England, and eventually went to join Boniface in the missionary field
with a group of fellow nuns. L. settled at the convent of
Tauberbischofsheim, which flourished under her leadership.
Wenceslas (d. 929) Wenceslas (Vaclav) became duke of Bohemia in 922,
when he was about 15 years old. He was a devout Christian, thanks
especially to his grandmother Ludmilla, but the new religion had
still not made much progress among the Czechs. Wenceslas proceeded
to be a clergy-dominated wimp (oops, I mean an upright and devout
ruler, who even abolished the death penalty) and encouraged the
spread of Christianity. A party of nobles led by W's brother
Boleslas resented W's policies and murdered him---in a church, by
pagans, so clearly he was a martyr. W's shrine in St. Vitus' church
in Prague became an important pilgrimage center and already by the
early 11th century W. was regarded as the patron saint of Bohemia.
Bernardino of Feltre (blessed) (d. 1494) Bernardino was one of the
greatest preachers of the fifteenth century. He studied at Padua,
but then joined the Franciscan order (when he adopted the name
Bernardino). He spent 25 years traveling up and down Italy
preaching. He especially attacked usury, and decided to deal with
the issue by founding funds from which no-interest loans could be
made to the poor (monti di pieta). B's immediate popular cult was
confirmed in 1654.
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