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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (17. October) is the feast day of: Ignatius of Antioch (d. c. 107) Ignatius may have been a disciple of John the Evangelist. Legend tells that Peter consecrated him as bishop of Antioch. After 40 years in office, I. was arrested in Trajan's reign and shipped to Rome, where he was thrown to the lions. Two of I's companions on his final journey wrote a description of the trip, and I himself wrote seven letters of instruction. John the Dwarf (5th cent.) John was from Lower Egypt. He became a disciple of St. Poemen in the desert of Skete, specializing in obedience---when he arrived he was ordered to water a stick and did so for three years, until the stick miraculously bore fruit. Anstrudis (d. c. 700) Anstrudis succeeded her mother St. Salaberga as abbess of a convent at Laon. She is one of the many Frankish saints persecuted by the evil Ebroin, mayor of the palace; she opposed Ebroin after E. murdered her brother. E. responded with a campaign of harassment, but eventually Pepin of Landen took A. under his protection. A modern saint: Richard Gwyn (d. 1584) The Welsh Richard Gwyn was raised Protestant, studied at both Oxford and Cambridge, and returned home to Wales to teach school and raise six children. But he became a Catholic and had to flee when it was noticed that he wasn't attending Anglican services. Over the following years, RG was arrested and fined several times, and eventually hanged, drawn, and quartered as a traitor. He was canonized in 1970 as one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales---he is also the protomartyr of Wales. ********************************************************************** 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