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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Cormack, Margaret Jean wrote: > > I have been following this thread with great interest, and see the > opportunity of getting the correct terminology for another case. > Does one "consecrate" or "bless" an image? I have two examples of > bishops "blessing" (the term I chose to translate the Icelandic) > statues and crosses; on one case an indulgence is offered for those > who fall on their knees (may I say "prostrate > themselves" or does that imply full body prostration?) and recite > prayers before the statue in question. I believe one does > "consecrate" a church, but may be wrong. Comments on the Latin > vocabulary that apply in these cases would also be appreciated! A priest "blesses"; a bishop "consecrates" (i.e. for actions which only a bishop can perform). In both cases, there is a distinction between things and people. Try "sanctify" to fudge the issue :-) > PS Some friends of mine have decided to extend the celebration of St. > Valentine's feast to include an entire octave. Is there precedent for > this anywhere? At a guess, I would say that a simple feast doesn't usually warrant an octave. John Briggs ********************************************************************** 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