Prof. Bugslag,
Not much has been written on the cults of military saints in the
West. The following are my own observations, based on primary and
secondary reading in the field.
The connections between military saints in the East and the West
might be of two distinct types: first, there could be cults of the same
saints in both regions; there could also be evidence of an influence by
eastern cults on military saints unique to the West.
In regard to the former, many of the same military saints were
objects of major cults in both the Greek East and the Latin West. My area
of research is Anglo-Saxon England, and there one sees Aelfric translating
into Old English lives of important eastern military saints and military
saints out of the East being included in the Old English Martyrology.
Native English hagiographic traditions of military saints show much
less influence from the eastern cults. Eastern military saints are usually
martyrs, soldiers who were put to death for the faith. Since the Anglo-Saxon
period lacked wide-spread persecutions like those experienced in Rome and
the East, England produced only one figure who closely resembles an
eastern military saint: St Alban, England's proto-martyr, victim of the
persecutions in the era of Roman Britain. He is not usually portrayed as
a soldier, although there are instances in which that aspect of his
sainthood is emphasized.
In general, native English soldier saints are of two types: soldiers
who laid gave up their martial role in favor of the spiritual life (generally
following the model of Martin of Tours) and soldiers who died in battle
fighting against pagan invaders.
The latter group, made up exclusively of kings (Edwin and Oswald are
its two main representatives), is regarded by many scholars as England's
unique contribution to hagiography. England also produced one hybrid figure,
Edmund of East Anglia, who resembles the earlier martyred warrior-kings except
that, according to the _Vita_ by Abbo of Fleury, he laid down his weapons in
imitation of Christ before being martyred. Edwin and Oswald died with sword
in hand.
As this is the substance of my not-yet-finished dissertation, I
would appreciate _any_ comments, corrections, exceptions, disagreements,
parallels, etc. I'm happy to share what I know, but I know I have much
to learn.
John Damon
Department of English
University of Arizona
[log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|