 |
 |
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (3. December) is the feast day of some very obscure medieval saints, of whom the most noteworthy are: Cassian of Tangier (d. 298) The subject of early, authentic acta, Cassian is an interesting figure: he was the court recorder in Tangier, and was so disgusted by the injustice he saw in the trial of St. Marcellus there that he threw down his pen and declared that he, too, was a Christian. He was arrested and martyred a few weeks later. Ethernan (?) Ethernan was a Scot. He was educated in Ireland and then worked as a missionary in Buchan and around Aberdeen. Birinus (d. c. 650) Known as the apostle of Wessex, Birinus was a Roman priest (possibly a monk) who volunteered to go to England as a missionary. He was consecrated bishop on his way. When he got there in 634 he converted King Cynegils of Wessex, and in 636 he established his see at Dorchester on Thames. Sola (d. 784) Sola was an Anglo-Saxon monk, one of the many who joined St. Boniface in his missionary work on the continent. S. soon settled down as a hermit near the monastery of Fulda; in time Charlemagne gave him land to found the monastery of Solnhofen near Eichstatt. But one very important early modern saint: Francis Xavier (d. 1552) Francis was a native of Navarre. He studied in Paris, where he met Ignatius Loyola and became one of the first Jesuits in 1534. In 1541 he began an extraordinarily widespread and successful missionary career, working in India, Sri Lanka, Malaya, the East Indies, south Vietnam, and Japan; he died on his way to China. He was canonized in 1602. -- Phyllis G. Jestice Associate Professor History Department University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5047 ********************************************************************** 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