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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture In addition to its amazing abundance of saints whose names begin with the letter 'A', 20 October is also the feast of St. Leopard of Osimo (Marche), whose cathedral is named after him. One of the ancient saints of the former Roman stronghold of Auximum and believed in the Middle Ages to have been its bishop, he has a 15th- or 16th-century Life that dates him to the 5th century, confounds him with another saint of this name (there have been at least four), and is generally quite unreliable. In 1296 L.'s remains were discovered in the cathedral (this _inventio_ is recounted in detail in Osimo's 14th-century statutes) and were verified by a silver plaque bearing a depiction of a "sanctus Leopardus" and said to have been found on his his breast. Said plaque (in Italian, "lamina") is now one of the treasures of Osimo's diocesan museum; formerly dated to the ninth century, it is now thought to be of the seventh or the eighth (when the march of Ancona was experiencing its Byzantine "Indian summer" as part of the East Roman Pentapolis) and to have been the cover of a gospel-book. The best illustration I could find quickly on the Web is here: http://www.comune.osimo.an.it/museo/le_opere/lamina_di_s.htm There is a brief article on L. by Giacomo Boccanera in the _Bibliotheca Sanctorum_, vol. 7, col. 1333-35. For the inventio of 1296, see Diana Webb, _Patrons and Defenders: The Saints in the Italian City-states_ (London: I. B. Tauris, 1996), pp. 106, 129, and 146-48. Best, John Dillon ********************************************************************** 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