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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (28. August) is the feast day of: Julian of Brioude (3rd cent.) Julian was a native of Vienne (Gaul) who became an officer in the Roman army. He was also a secret Christian. When persecution started up (probably the Decian persecution), J. fled but then surrendered to his pursuers and got his throat cut near Brioude. His shrine became very famous. Alexander of Constantinople (d. 336) Alexander was bishop of Constantinople 313-336. He was an active participant in the first counci lof Nicaea, speaking out against Arius. Moses the Black (d. c. 395) Moses was a black African (thus the nickname!), born in slavery in Egypt. He grew to enormous size, his strength accompanied by such a repugnant character that his master drove him out of the house. M. then became head of a gang of robbers. While fleeing justice, he took refuge with the hermits of Scetis and ended up converting and joining the community. He became one of the most famous of the second generation of desert saints. As an old man, raiders murdered him; M. refused either to flee or defend himself. Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) One of the four fathers of the western church, and probably second only to Paul in his importance to the formation of (especially Latin) Christian doctrine. Impossible to sum up in brief---I talked about him 50 minutes in a class this morning and barely scratched the surface. I can't imagine anybody on this list not knowing who he is, so. . . . Rumwold (d. c. 650?) In what the Benedictine Book of Saints calls a "weird legend" (with justice), Rumwold was a prince of Northumbria who was baptized at the age of three, immediately spoke---making a profession of faith---and then died. A popular cult developed before the Reformation, although it's been suggested that the story was a fiction related in defence of infant baptism. Gorman (d. 965) Gorman was a monk of Reichenau who became a missionary in Scandinavia. He was bishop of Schleswig (at that time part of Denmark). Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice [log in to unmask] ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html