medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Thursday, August 21, 2008, at 12:48 am. Marjorie Greene wrote:
> "1) Maximus of Chinon (d. 5th cent.). All that is known about the
> historical M. (in
> French: Maxime, Mesme, Mexme"
>
> I know of a church of Saint-Mesmin. Could this be an alternate
> spelling of this saint's name?
"Mesmin" is certainly a French form of "Maximus" . It's well attested in several parts of France for St. Maximus of Trier and in the Orléanais for St. Maximus of Micy. But in my necessarily brief reading on Maximus of Chinon for yesterday's "saints of the day" posting I did not find it attested for that saint. Not wishing to invent, and knowing that what could be might not have been shown to be, I contented myself with what my sources gave me. Unlike M. of Trier and M. of Micy, M. of Chinon did not have a major monastery at/near an important ecclesiastical center furthering awareness of him either in writing or through the dedications of churches at numerous dependencies. The forms of his name in French could well be restricted to whatever has been current in the local usage of Chinon and vicinity (and in that of the translators of Gregory of Tours).
Brest again,
John Dillon
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