medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (16. October) is the feast day of:
Gall (d. 640) Gall was one of the monks who left Ireland with
Columbanus in c. 590. When C. and his monks were kicked out in 610
they moved to the area of Lake Constance. C. and co. were kicked out
again in 612, and C. went off to found Bobbio in Italy---but Gall was
ill and didn't accompany him. Legend tells that C. thought G was
malingering and ordered him not to say mass again during C's lifetime
as punishment. G. established himself as a hermit and gathered a
group of disciples. The great monastery of St. Gall was founded on
the site of his hermitage about 100 years later.
Lull (d. 786) The West Saxon Lull joined his cousin Boniface in the
German missionary field. L soon became a bishop and in 754 succeeded
Boniface as archbishop of Mainz. L. founded several monasteries,
promoted education, and did his best to enforce canon law.
Anastasius of Cluny (d. c. 1085) Anastasius was a well-educated
Venetian who was a monk at Mont-Sait-Michel by c. 1050, but left
because of a simonist abbot and became a hermit. Soon he gravitated
to Cluny. After 7 years as a Cluniac, A. was sent to Spain by Pope
Gregory VII. He spent the rest of his life alternating between
monastery, hermitage, and diplomatic mission.
Bertrand of Comminges (d. 1123) Bertrand was a noble Frenchman who
was trained for a military career but became a priest instead; he
soon became a canon at Toulouse and then an archdeacon. In c. 1075
he became bishop of Comminges, where he played an important role in
rebuilding the long desolate city, built a cathedral, etc. (in 1222
the town was renamed "Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges," which suggests
his importance in its history). Like all officially-recognized
saints of this period, B. supported the gregorian reform
program---rousing a lot of opposition in the process (I didn't know
that when the synod of Poitiers excommunicated King Philip I in 1100,
a mob stoned the bishops). B. was canonized sometime before 1309.
Hedwig (Jadwiga) (d. 1243) One of two significant saints named
Hedwig (not to mention Harry Potter's owl), this H. was a daughter of
the count of Andechs. At the age of 12 she was married off to the
duke of Silesia. The couple put a lot of time and money into
founding monastic houses and hospitals. After their seventh child
was born, H. persuaded her husband to join her in a vow of chastity.
H. took to a largely-conventual lifestyle. H. was canonized in 1267.
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