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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 19:27:45 -0600 Phyllis wrote: >Galganus (d. 1181) Galganus was a native of Siena, a wastrel as a >young man until he converted to the religious life. He became a >hermit near the city, and a popular spiritual figure for the area. A >church was built on the site of his hermitage, which became a >Cistercian monastery two decades after G's death. > That is, Galganus (the saint of Italy's famous version of The Sword in the Stone) was a native of Chiusdino (_castrum Cluslinense_) near Siena but then in the diocese of Volterra. We have several thirteenth- and fourteenth-century versions of his Life, whose earliest form, the _Vita sancti Galgani_, was written by a Pisan monk of the Cistercian abbey at Montesiepi (the successor of G.'s hermitage) after 1218 and probably before 1227; these derive most of their factual content from the surviving testimony of G.'s canonization trial in 1185 (according to Andre Vauchez, this is oldest canonization trial whose acta are known). The _Vita sancti Galgani_ dates G.'s death to 30 November 1181, but a slightly later version used for G.'s office changes this to 3 December in accordance with the needs of the local calendar for Siena. The later date was then used for G. in the _Martyrologium Romanum_, is the date given now by the widely recognized Italian "Santi, beati" site (http://www.santiebeati.it/), and is said to still be the day of G.'s celebration among the Cistercian order. He is celebrated today (5 December) in both the diocese of Volterra and the archdiocese of Siena, Colle di Val d'Elsa, and Montalcino and is listed for today in various English- and German-language dictionaries of saints. The _Vita sancti Galgani_ was edited by Eugenio Susi on pp. 177-213 of his _L'eremita cortese: San Galgano fra mito e storia nell'agiografia toscana del XII secolo_ (Spoleto: Centro italiano di studi sull'Alto Medioevo, 1993). G.'s canonization trial (whose documentation survives in a sixteenth-century transcription) was edited by Fedor Schneider as "Analecta Toscana, IV. Der Einsiedler Galgan von Chiusdino und die Anfänge von S. Galgano," _Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken_ 17 (1914-24), 61-77. There is a relatively lengthy article by Raffaello Volpini and (covering the iconography) Maria Chiara Celletti, s.v. "Galgano, santo", in the _Bibliotheca Sanctorum_, vol. 6, cols. 1-8. The rebuilt remains of the Cistercian abbey are a major medieval tourist attraction of southern Tuscany. Pertinent websites include the following: English-lang. summary of legend, with pics of the abbey: http://www.italiantourism.com/news03.html "Enigma Galgano" [Maurizio Cali'], home page in English: http://web.genie.it/utenti/e/enigmagalgano/english.html "Enigma Galgano", images (lots): http://web.genie.it/utenti/e/enigmagalgano/Enigma/enigma_testo/immagini.html "San Galgano Abbey", main page: http://go.supereva.it/toscanamedievale/sangalgano.htm?p "Enigma San Galgano", main page in Italian with links to Vita, Leggenda, Bibliografia, etc.: http://web.genie.it/utenti/e/enigmagalgano/San_Galgano/santo.html 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