> * Aurelius, Natalia and companions, martyrs (c. 852)
> - killed by Moslems of Cordova
George,
This is nit-picking in the extreme, so please for give me, but
usually these days the proper transliteration is "Muslim". The other
continues to be used, but less frequently. The journal "Moslem
World", for example, changed its name some time ago to "Muslim
World".
As for the martyrs of Cordova, this presents some interesting issues.
For those who don't know, this was a very strange incident during the
850s, when a group of Christian fanatics deliberately sought
execution by insulting Islam and the Prophet. The Muslim authorities,
aware of what was being attempted (the creation of a cult of
martyrs), attempted imprisonment, and persuasion to avoid executions,
but were often left no choice.
I'm curious as to where this feast is celebrated. The suicidal
acts of the Cordovan martyrs forms a significant part of one of the
chapters in my thesis. Stirred up by Eulogius, titular bishop of
Seville, and later a "martyr" himself, this extremely controversial
movement never gained the approval of the Church. Indeed, a council
was convened at the request of the Muslim rulers to address the
issue. Bishop Reccafred (often accused of being a puppet and
mouthpiece for the Muslims) made a general pronouncement forbidding
the deliberate courting of death for the purposes of martyrdom,
though did not specifically condemn the suicidal acts.
Nevertheless, this movement was unpopular with the mainstream Church
in Spain, and while the events were recorded by Eulogius and the
layman Alvarus, and accounts were disseminated to other monasteries
in Spain and France, it never "caught on", and memory of the events
seems to have died with the last of the "martyrs", with the
exception of one would-be martyr in the 10th century. I argue in my
thesis that the spirit of the movement may have been resurrected at
the time of the first few crusades, particularly with Peter the
Venerable, who may have had access to the manuscripts.
In short, where would this feast have been celebrated, if the
movement was not popular in Spain (rather, it was an embarrassment),
and if it was unknown elsewhere? Where did you find the reference?
Anyone have any ideas?
Tim Rayborn
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|