medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I think Jim's account below is pretty much correct in taking us as far as
the gospel accounts will allow, and though I haven't had the chance to
follow up the very sensible reference in Schiller, it would seem that the
Longinus/Stephaton pairing (which some of you kindly sent links to) is
effectively an exemplary contrast of goodies and baddies (likewise, I
suspect the Hollywood versions- though let's not go there. Nobody mention
Mel Gibson!). My centurion is flagged up as a goody, like Longinus, so I'm
still sticking with an original hunch that he is the single representative
of the centurions who recognised Christ. It would be nice if there was a
medieval text out there which singled him out, rather than collapsing him
into the character of Longinus (as does Golden Legend), but if not I'll just
have to rely on my old friend pictorial evidence. All further suggestions
still very welcome...
Laura
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Bugslag" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 18 November 2005 00:25
Subject: Re: Longinus and an unknown soldier
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
>> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>> Eureka ! I think Abbot Coleman has it! Stephaton was such an unusual name
>> that I just tried
>> Google for that single word and several hits came up. One in particular
>> which may interest you
>> is at:
>> http://www.insecula.com/us/oeuvre/O0008417.html
>>
>> It is a medieval artwork of the crucifixion showing Longinus, Christ, and
>> Stephaton!
>
> I believe there are actually three individuals involved here: Longinus was
> a
> centurion who pierced Christ's side with his spear after he was dead.
> Stephaton is
> generally the name given to the nasty joker who gave Christ vinegar to
> drink as he
> was dying on the cross, and then there was the unnamed (I think) centurion
> who
> recognized Christ as the Son of God, along, apparently, with some
> companions,
> although he usually gets rather singular representational glory for that.
> Cheers,
> Jim Bugslag
>
> **********************************************************************
> 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
**********************************************************************
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
|