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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (5. August) is the feast day of: Addai and Mari (d. c. 180) Addai, Aggai, and Mari are credited with spreading Christianity through Mesopotamia, Adiabene, and Persia. They were probably active in the second half of the second century. Emygdius (d. 304) Emygdius (Emidius) is widely venerated in Italy for protection against earthquakes. His cult is also alive and well in San Francisco and Los Angeles. His acta tell that E. was a German convert who visited Rome, where he went into a temple of Aesculapius and smashed the cult statue. The bishop protected E by ordaining him and sending him off to evangelize in the area of Ascoli Piceno. He and three companions were beheaded during Diocletian's persecution. Nonna (d. 374) Nonna was the wife of St. Gregory Nazianzen the Elder and the mother of SS Gregory Nazianzen the Younger, Gorgonia, and Caesarius. Oswald (d. 642) Oswald was a son of King Aethelfrith of Northumbria. He fled to Scotland when Edwin seized the throne, converted to Christianity there, and in 634 came back to win both parts of Northumbria. Thanks to some divine help at the battle of Heavenfield, he succeeded, and set about converting his territory with the help of St. Aidan. In 642 he was killed in battle against Penda of Mercia. Since Penda wasn't a Christian, Oswald's death was regarded as a martyrdom. The image fit the better since Penda had O's corpse chopped apart and put the pieces on stakes as a sacrifice to Woden. Margaret the Barefooted (d. c. 1395) Margaret was born to a poor family of San Severino. She married at age 15 and seriously annoyed her husband by not only helping beggars but going barefoot to be more like them. After some years, the abusive husband died and M. spent the rest of her life praying and doing charitable works. ********************************************************************** 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