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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture On Thursday, November 10, 2005, at 7:42 pm, Phyllis wrote: > Today (11. November) is the feast day of: > > Menas (d. c. 300) Menas (or Mennas) was highly venerated from an > early period---but his story was lost. All we have is a much later > account that re-uses an account of another martyr, adding a great > deal of embellishment. M. was an Egyptian and martyred in Egypt. > A > shrine was built over his tomb at Bumma (Karm Abu-Mina), southeast > of > Alexandria. It was a major pilgrimage center until the > seventh-century Arab invasion. The ruins were excavated 1905-1908. A 6th-cent. pyxis in the British Museum showing scenes of M.'s martyrdom is illustrated here: http://www.usask.ca/antiquities/Collection/Pyxis.html And a pilgrim flask that will have contained water from M.'s holy well at Abu Mina is here: http://www.ucc.ie/milmart/mns1l.jpg An illustrated piece from Al-Ahram in 2002 on the history, archeology, and imperilled present state of the complex at Abu Mina is here: http://www.stmina-monastery.org/stmenas_ahramweekly594.pdf The site is also dealt with in Terry Wilfong's chapter, "Christian Monasticism and Pilgrimage in Northern Egypt," in Roger Bagnall and Dominic Rathbone, eds., _Egypt from Alexander to the Early Christians: An Archaeological and Historical Guide_ (Los Angles/London: Getty Publications/British Museum Press, 2004). Some hagiographic texts on M. are available in English translation here: http://www.ucc.ie/milmart/Menas.html And an illustrated touristic piece on M.s church in Cairo is here: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/churchmenas.htm 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