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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture On Sun, 30 May 2004 17:59:43 -0700 Phyllis wrote: >Today (31. May) is the feast day of: > >Petronilla (?) Petronilla has been venerated in Rome since early >days. Legends (all much later) tell that she helped care for St. >Peter during his time in Rome, and one account says she was Peter's >daughter (my source huffily says that she can't have been---but her >attribute is a bunch of keys---does that remind you of anyone?). > How very Lamarckian! Clearly, further work needs to be done on evidence in the Acta Martyrum for the inheritability of acquired characteristics. The notion that P. was Peter's daughter is transmitted both in at least one sixth-century list of the Roman martyrs' tombs and in the legendary Acta of Nereus and Achilles (et socc.; BHL 6058-66; 5th or 6th cent.), where once Peter on the request of Titus cures her of paralysis she becomes his household helper and where later she dies (of her own volition? by divine grace?) before she can be married to a high Roman official, Flaccus comes. From these sources it enters the Carolingian martyrologies and becomes widespread in later accounts. A fourth-century painting of P. was discovered in the Roman catacombs during De Rossi's excavations of what seems to have been a late antique church dedicated to Nereus, Achilleus, and Petronilla. A sketch of this fresco is reproduced here (about halfway down the page): http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/.Texts/Lanciani/LANPAC/7*.html (watch the wrap!) A fifteenth-century Italian interpretation of P. as household helper is here: http://www.godecookery.com/afeast/dining/din011.html And a fifteenth-century English portrait of her is here (P. is the saint furthest to the right): http://www.syllysuffolk.co.uk/img/somerscreen3.jpg This latter is from the rood screen of St. Mary's, Somerleyton (Suffolk), described here: http://www.syllysuffolk.co.uk/htm/somerleyton.htm Kapelln in Niederoesterreich has a modern statue of Peter and Petronilla (as wind-up toy?). Not medieval, but... http://www.kapelln.gv.at/kapelln/Vorstellung/der_hl%20Petrus%20und%20die%20hl%20Petronilla.htm (again, watch the wrap!) 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