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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (26. February) is the feast day of: Dionysius of Augsburg (d. c. 303) The eighth-century legend of St. Afra tells that Dionysius was Afra's uncle, who became first bishop of Augsburg. He might have been a martyr. Alexander of Alexandria (d. 328) Alexander became patriarch of Alexandria in 312. He is perhaps most famous for condemning his cleric Arius for heresy. He saw his cause triumph at the council of Nicaea. Porphyry of Gaza (d. 420) Porphyry was born to a rich family of Thessalonika, but gave everything up to become a monk, then a keeper of the relic of the true cross in Jerusalem, and in 395 bishop of Gaza. Gaza was a polytheistic stronghold at the time; his success winning converts led to a backlash that included several attempts to kill him. So he appealed to the emperor, who had troops destroy the city's temples. His deacon wrote a vita of Porphyry that is still extant. Edigna (d. 1109) Legend tells that Edigna was a French princess who fled to avoid marriage. She became a hermit at Puch in Bavaria, living in a hollow lime tree. At least that's what the legend says. Perhaps its not surprising that her popular cult never won official recognition. Leo of Saint-Bertin (d. 1163) Leo was abbot of Lobbes before becoming abbot of St. Bertin in 1138. He is most notable for going off on the second crusade---he reached Jerusalem and brought home with him a relic of Christ's blood (venerated at Bruges). Isabella of France (d. 1270) (blessed) Isabella was the only sister of Louis IX of France. She refused to marry the German emperor (Fred II?), but avoided the extremes of her legendary predecessor Edigna. Instead, Isabella settled down after her mother had died to found a convent of Poor Clares at Longchamps near Paris, where she lived without taking vows. She was beatified in 1520. 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