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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture From the files of Phyllis Jestice: Today (11. August) is the feast day of: Alexander the Charcoal-Burner (d. c. 275) Gregory the Thaumaturge was looking for a bishop of Comana (Pontus) but couldn't find anyone; someone derisively suggested Alexander, who was in fact a charcoal-burner by trade. Gregory was pleasantly surprised by A's wisdom and piety and did indeed make him bishop. He was martyred, appropriately by being burned to death. Tiburtius (d. c. 288) Tiburtius was a Roman subdeacon. An apostate betrayed T. during Diocletian's persecution; legend says that T. walked unscathed over burning coals to show the truth of his faith. He was then beheaded. Susanna (d. 295) A rather cute legend. Susanna was supposedly the daughter of a Christian priest in Rome---a ravishingly beautiful virgin, of course. Diocletian's son-in-law fell madly in love with her, and she was ordered to marry him. But she refused. Diocletian was angry. He killed off Susanna and all her family. Blane (d. c. 590) Blane was born on the island of Bute (Scotland). He studied in Ireland and became a monk there. On his return to Scotland he became a missionary and bishop. Clare (d. 1253) Clare has always struck me as a tragic figure. She was a native of Assisi and so impressed by Francis' teaching that she ran away from home to join him. But of course a woman couldn't go wandering the roads and preaching like a friar. So she was shoved in a convent and ended up presiding over the first house of Poor Clares---very austere, very poor, and very enclosed. Clare herself was credited with many miracles and was canonized only two years after her death. Oddly, she is the patron saint of television. [MG speaking here: this is an instance, I think, of word play. As Lucy (lux, lucis) is the patroness of good eyesight, so Clare (clarus, clara) would be a good choice for TV. Who wants a blurry screen? Gabriel the Archangel and Martin de Porres are also patrons of television. Who knew?] A modern saint: Agathangelus Nourry (blessed) (d. 1638) Agathangelus was a Capuchin. He taught theology at Rennes before becoming a missionary with Cassianus. The two went to Egypt, then Abyssinia. They had little success and ended up being martyred---accounts vary whether they were stoned or hanged with the cords of their own robes. AN was beatified in 1904. ********************************************** ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the Internet in years - NetZero HiSpeed! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month -visit www.netzero.com to sign up today! ********************************************************************** 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