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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (10. February) is the feast day of: Scholastica (d. 547) The sister of Benedict of Nursia. Scholastica figures in Gregory's Dialogues. He tells that S. was a consecrated virgin from an early age. She settled at Plombariola near Monte Cassino, and probably founded a convent under Ben's authority. S. died four years before Ben; when Ben died he was added to S's tomb. The tomb, by the way, still exists at Monte Cassino. S's relics apparently ended up at Le Mans, though. Austreberta (d. 704) The noble Frankish girl Austraberta ran away from an arranged marriage. She took refuge with St. Omer, who consecrated her as a nun. Her dad was eventually reconciled to her career choice, and she entered the monastery of Port (now Abbeville). A. became abbess and went on to run the convent of Pavilly. William of Malavalla (d. 1157) William was apparently a French fighting man who saw the light and went on pilgrimage to Rome to get penance from the pope. Wm. went on to Jerusalem, and ended up spending eight years in various pilgrimages before settling in Tuscany as a hermit. He was eventually talked into becoming an abbot in Pisa, but the monks weren't good enough for him, so he became a hermit near Siena. Wm. lived a life of extreme mortification; his disciples became the Gulielmites, an eremitical order. Wm. was canonized in 1202. Hugh of Fosses (blessed) (d. 1164) Hugh was born near Brussels. He entered the service of the bishop of Cambrai, but later became the first disciple of Norbert of Xanten. H. founded a number of Premonstratensian houses and wrote the order's rule. When Norbert was made archbishop of Magdeburg in 1126, H. was elected superior general of the order. Clare of Rimini (blessed) (d. 1346) Chiara Agolanti was one of the extreme ascetics of the later Middle Ages. She was wealthy, married twice, and lived a quite secular life---until she was converted by a vision. When her husband died, she took to a regime of self-torture. ********************************************************************** 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