medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (8. June) is the feast day of:
1) Maximinus of Aix (d. 1st cent., supposedly). M. is the legendary protobishop of Aix-en-Provence. His existence is first reported from the eleventh century, when the abbey of Vézelay, which claimed to have the relics of St. Mary Magdalen, asserted that she had been interred at Aix by her companion from Palestine, M., and that later these had been brought Vézelay for safekeeping. M. was said to have been one of the seventy-two Disciples, to have accompanied Mary Magdalen to Provence, and to have been the first bishop of Aix. In 1267 St. Louis IX and other French royals witnessed a translation of her relics at Vézelay. But in 1279 Charles I of Sicily, who was also count of Provence and who had been present at Vézelay for the ceremonies of 1267, oversaw the discovery of the true relics of both Mary Magdalen and St. M. in the crypt of a church near Aix dedicated to a saint Maximinus (hitherto, presumably M. of Trier).
The church where these relics were discovered, located near a grotto called La Sainte-Baume, soon (1295) began to be replaced with an impressive new structure dedicated to St. Mary Magdelen, consecrated in 1316 (when the crypt had been finished), and left unfinished in 1532. The town, which had already become known by the name of its church, is now Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume (Var). M. reposes in the crypt in this fourth-century sarcophagus:
http://tinyurl.com/29h3zy
And here's M. baptizing the prince of Marseille and his wife in a predella panel of the Mary Magdalen retable (ca. 1550) at Contes (Alpes-Maritimes):
http://www.musee-contes.fr/admin/uploads/objet81.jpg
A view of trhe entire retable is here:
http://tinyurl.com/2g2lub
And an illustrated depiction of various panels is here (fans of St. Maur and of St. Petronilla, take ote!):
http://tinyurl.com/2yykvr
2) Gildard (d. before 538). G. is traditionally the fourteenth bishop of Rouen. He participated in the first council of Orléans in 511. At the second council of Orléans (538) Rouen was represented by his successor. Between 838 and 841 most of his relics were translated to the abbey of St. Medard at Soissons. Later legend made him Medard's brother.
3) Medard (d. ca. 560). M. was a native of the Vermandois who became a priest, was known for miracles and late in life succeeded to the see of St-Quentin. Not lomng after his death he was translated to Soissons, where king Sigebert (561-75) erected a monastic basilica dedicated to him. M. has an early Vita in verse by Venantius Fortunatus (d. ca. 600; BHL 5863) and an only slightly later one in prose (BHL 5864) that used also to be attributed to Venantius. His ninth-century Vita (BHL 5865) makes him a monk of St. Medard at Soissons; one from the eleventh century (BHL 5868) has him transfer his see from St-Quentin to Noyons.
An illustrated page on the remains of the abbey of St-Medard at Soissons is here:
http://tinyurl.com/ytmb7c
Some views of the crypt (which is almost all that survives of the abbey church):
http://tinyurl.com/2cae57
http://tinyurl.com/2fs4mb
Views of pages of the Gospels of St. Médard of Soissons (early ninth-century):
http://tinyurl.com/24j3vn
http://www.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMM/canon1.html
http://www.ceu.hu/medstud/manual/MMMit/title.html
4) Fortunatus of Fano (d. after 596). F. was a bishop of Fanum Fortunae on the Via Flaminia, today's Fano (PU) in the Marche. A letter from pope St. Gregory the Great authorizes him to sell church vessels in order to raise ransom money for prisoners. F. has a twelfth-century Vita (BHL 3084) preserved at Fano but written by an abbot of Nonatnola. This provides a back story for the presence of in Fano's cathedral of F.'s remains, which after a fire in 1113 underwent a formal recognition and were translated to the church's main altar (since rebuilt).
An illustrated, Italian-language page on Fano's Basilica Cattedrale di Santa Maria Maggiore is here:
http://oldsite.comune.fano.ps.it/pagina.aspx?pag=828
5) William of York (d. 1154). W. was the son of Herbert the Chamberlain, treasurer of Winchester. He became treasurer of York Cathedral. In January 1141 he was elected archbishop of York in a contested election. The archbishop of Canterbury declined to consecrate him and his consecration by the bishop of Winchester was not accepted by several popes. Eugenius III had him deposed at the Council of Rheims in 1147. Anastasius IV restored him in 1153/54. W. returned to York in 1154 and died within the month, seemingly poisoned. He was canonized in 1227.
Best,
John Dillon
**********************************************************************
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
|