Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 10:06:06 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: Re: FEAST 6 November
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>
> >Today, 6 November, is the feast of ...
> >* Christina of Stommeln, virgin (1312)
> >- an extraordinary case: at 13 became a beguine at Cologne; had many
> >visions (e.g. Satan, disguised as St Bartholomew, tried to get her to
> >kill herself)
>
> Does anyone know of a tradition regarding demonic impersonation of St.
> Bartholomew? Are there other examples of demonic pseudo-Bartholomews? Is
> there some reason why Satan would specifically choose to impersonate this
> particular saint?
>
> Joy A. Schroeder
> University of Notre Dame
>
Thank you for putting these questions, Joy, because the answers may help
explain to Miriam Gill and myself why retable schemes of Bartholomew we came
across in Catalunya this summer focused on Bartholomew as exorcist.
Impersonation was indeed shown, though not of Bartholomew, in the exorcism of
a royal changeling, an episode which others more versed in the Bartholomew
legends can tell us about.
Bartholomew is obliquely associated with exorcism as soul-mate of St Guthlac of
Crowland, who is assailed by devils until he sets about them with the aid of a
scourge given him by Bartholomew. Remind me, please, colleagues: is Bartholomew
scourged before his is flayed? (For this episode see the famous roundels from
the Guthlac roll.)
Portrayal of Bartholomew as exorcist (and exorcist's mentor) impels me to
wonder whether it explains at least some English dedications of churches in his
honour as resulting from an interest in Christian exorcism subsequent to the
conversion of the English. Leading on from which, and completely off the wall,
can someone with Old English tell me please whether there is any possibility of
a real or inferred association between the OE word for 'trickster', 'deceiver',
Paeca (ae dipthong), and the name of Guthlac's sister, Pega, herself a sainted
hermit. Probably not, but it's worth checking out.
Thanks again, Joy.
Graham Jones
Leicester
This is lucky - I'm about to teach some 3rd years (coming Friday)
about Guthlac. I'm not happy with the possibility of a Paeca-Pega
connection because Pega in the story is clearly loyal and is about to
protect her brother's memory. I suspect her name is a shortened form
of a Mercian family name fitting into the Penda/Peada pattern.
Guthlac's own father, a Mercian prince called Penwalh, has a Pen-
element and the -walh element which also occurs in Merewalh, one
of Penda's sons.
Julia Barrow
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