Today, 5 December, is the feast of ...
* Crispina, martyr (304)
- Augustine frequently mentions her as well known in
Africa, ranking in popularity with Agnes and Thecla
* Pelino, bishop and martyr (fourth century?)
- only extant vita is 12th-century ms (Citta' del
Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. lat. 1197)
- while taken from his bishopric of Brindisi to Rome, his
prayers caused the destruction of a 'pagan' temple, whose
priests (along with others) killed Pelino
- site of martyrdom is in the Peligna valley of central
Italy; the name of the valley dates from pre-Roman times,
yet Pelino was supposedly born in the Balkans, so you go
and figure it out
- patron of the village of Corfinio (ancient Corfinium),
Abruzzo, Italy, population 998; co-patron of medieval-
religion list, protector of tardy list owners
* Sabas, abbot (532)
- one of the leading figures of early monasticism; named at
the preparation in the Byzantine mass
- patriarch of the monks of Palestine
* Nicetius, bishop of Trier (c. 566)
- last Gallo-Roman bishop of Trier in the early days of
Frankish domination in Gaul
- born with a corona of hair, taken to be an omen of his
future state
- after time as monk at Limoges, king Theoderic I named
him bishop
- feast in Trier is kept on 1 October (right, Christoph?)
* Birinus, bishop of Dorchester (c. 650)
- Roman priest, sent by pope Honorius I to go to Britain
- became known as 'Apostle of Wessex'; died and buried at
Dorchester, but soon after death his relics were translated
to Winchester
As Bill East pointed out two years ago:
BIRINUS merits the mede of one melodious tear. He baptised
King Cynegisl, which argues some phonological dexterity.
This Dorchester was of course the one in Oxfordshire, not
Dorset; his relics, as you say, are no longer there, but
there is a commemorative shrine in Dorchester Abbey.
We read in the lives of saints
How they cured people with various unpleasant complaints;
But if you look at the life of Birinus, his'll
Say he baptised Cynegisl.
Peter Binkley continued, saying:
His accomplishments are all the more impressive when you consider the
horrors he faced as he headed north from balmy Italy to Britain (as
described by Henry of Avranches, ed. David Townsend, *Analecta
Bollandiana* 112 (1994) 324):
... eo tendens quo nullus peruenit Austri flatus, sed
glacie tellus constricta perhenni. Cum nec parturiat bachas
nec proferat uuas, Tetidis et Cereris celebrat connubia
uulgus. Inter se choisse deas Hymeneus abhorret; pronuba
Thesiphone thalamis ululauit in illis, et cecinit dirum
bubo mortalibus omen. Connubii prolem tam detestabilis--
immo nescio quod Stigie monstrum conforme paludi--
ceruisiam plerique uocant. Nil spissius illa dum bibitur,
nil clarius est dum mingitur, unde constat quod multas
feces in uentre relinquit. Non tamen ille timet monstri
nocumenta maligni, nec remorantur eum quecumque pericula,
potus letalis, cibus inficiens, aer grauis, equor
monstriferum, tellus sterilis, gens perfida, lingua
barbara; nec reuocant horum contraria, uinum dulce, cibus
sapidus, aer placabilis, equor nullum, terra ferax, gens
credula, lingua Latina.
A slightly bowdlerised translation: "...heading where no
breath of Auster (the south wind) reaches, where the earth
is locked in perpetual ice. Since it neither breeds berries
nor produces grapes, the people celebrate the wedding of
Thetis (i.e. water) and Ceres (i.e. grain). Hymen abhors
the union of these goddesses; the bridesmaid Thesiphone
(one of the Furies) howled in their honeymoon suite, and an
owl sang a harsh omen for mortal men. The offspring of so
detestable a marriage--or rather, some sort of swamp-
monster from hell--many call beer. Nothing is murkier when
you drink it, or clearer when you piss it, which shows that
it leaves many dregs in the stomach. But he (Birinus) does
not fear the wounds of this wicked monster, nor is he
delayed by any dangers, lethal drink, poisonous food, bad
weather, the monster-filled deep, barren land, treacherous
people, barbaric language; nor do their opposites call him
back: sweet wine, tasty food, pleasant weather, no sea,
fruitful land, faithful people, and Latin."
Unfortunately, Henry did not have occasion to find a Latin
rhyme for "Cinigilsus".
* Sigiramnus, or Cyran, abbot (c. 655)
- so wanted to become a religious that he ignored his
father's attempt to betrothe him to a noble lady, and
became a priest
- this did not mean that he escaped parental control, for
his father was bishop of Tours!
- after father's death, he founded a monastery in the
forest of Brenne
* Nicholas of Sibenik, martyr (1391)
- native of Dalmatia, he became a Franciscan and preached
for 20 years in Bosnia before going to Palestine, where he
was killed for publicly preaching to Muslims
* Bartholomew of Mantova, confessor (1495)
- joined Carmelites at age 17; founded confraternity of
Lady of Mount Carmel; novice-master of Carmelite poet,
Battista Spagnuolo
* * * * * * * *
Dr Carolyn Muessig
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
University of Bristol
Bristol BS8 1TB
UK
phone: +44(0)117-928-8168
fax: +44(0)117-929-7850
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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