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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (30. December) is the feast day of: 1) Rayner of Forcona (d. 1077). Today's first less well known saint of the Regno, R. (in Italian: Raniero or Ranieri) was from 1059 bishop of Forcona in what is now Abruzzo; he is credited with completing its cathedral dedicated to St. Maximus of Aveia. In 1225, prompted by the then bishop of Forcona, Honorius III asked the bishop of Penne to verfiy miracles that had been attributed to R. We are not informed about the outcome of this inquiry. In 1257 the see of Forcona was transferred to L'Aquila; Forcona itself, probably already in decline, became just a rural outlier of the latter. But its cathedral remained in local use until 1703, when it fell victim to an earthquake. In 1413 the relics of St. Maximus and of R. were translated to the cathedral of L'Aquila. Whereas the ancient martyr Maximus stayed on as L'Aquila's patron saint, the more recent (and apparently uncanonized) R. was soon returned to Forcona. He continued to be celebrated here, just as he is in Forcona's present-day successor, Civita di Bagno (AQ), a _frazione_ of L'Aquila. Herewith some expandable views of the remains of R.'s cathedral: http://tinyurl.com/yyqhcb 2) Roger of Canne (d. 1129?). This less well known saint of the Regno is a twelfth-century bishop of what now is Canne della Battaglia (BAT) in Apulia. That we know practically nothing about him as a person may make him less than ideal for inclusion in potted notices of saints selected for their exemplary qualities. But the transfer of his remains in the thirteenth century from Canne to Barletta, where R. is still venerated, is not without interest. A brief account of it will be found in the Archives of this list at: http://tinyurl.com/4uhwe Surviving toponomastic evidence suggests that R. had been venerated at Canne since at least the late twelfth century. But when did he live and who was he? Though his name suggests Norman parentage, it hardly proves it (in the wake of the eleventh-century Norman-led conquest of Byzantine southern Italy "Roger" became a popular name in this region). In the absence of pertinent diocesan records, historians have settled on the Roger documented from other cities as bishop of Canne in the first two decades of the twelfth century. Under the circumstances, this is a very reasonable guess. There is a fourteenth-century Office for R. from Canne and a 16th-century one from Barletta; the latter is the one published in the _Acta Sanctorum_ (Oct. tom. 7.). A very late and obviously unreliable Vita places him in the sixth century. Some views of Barletta's cathedral (which in the fourteenth century inherited various items from the then already ruinous one of Canne) are here: http://tinyurl.com/eefeh Herewith two views of the remains of a sixth-century basilica at Canne, presumably the predecessor of R.'s tenth-/eleventh-century cathedral (views of whose remains have disappeared from the free Web): http://tinyurl.com/2ytt5r http://tinyurl.com/24epfy 3) Lawrence of Frazzanò (d. 1162). Like Nicholas Politi (17. August), Sylvester of Troina (2. January), and Conus or Cono of Naso (Conon or Cono of Nesi; 28. March), L. is a poorly documented Greek saint from insular Sicily during its period of Norman and Swabian rule. The account that follows is derived from his very legendary late medieval Acta. L. was born at Acri, a Greek designation for today's Frazzanò (ME) in northern Sicily. He entered religion at the monastery of St. Michael the Archangel at Troina but at about age 29 left with his abbot's blessing to become a hermit on the slopes of Mt. Etna. L. remained here for six years, growing in spiritual virtue and successfully resisting diabolic temptation. L. then returned to his monastery at Troina. Later he moved on to the monastery of St. Philip at Agira and finally, in about 1155, to that of St. Philip at Fragalà. Called in 1158 to preach in Calabria, L. performed various miracles there, especially at Reggio, where he healed people afflicted with the "plague" and where upon his departure he was acclaimed by notables and by a great crowd of ordinary folk. A later trip to the mainland allowed L. to preach at Stilo in extreme southern Calabria. Returning to Frazzanò, he oversaw the construction of a new church and died shortly afterwards. His relics repose in Frazzanò's early modern church dedicated to him. Today is L.'s _dies natalis_ and the day of his commemoration in the RM (to whose august company he was only recently admitted). In the diocese of Patti L. is celebrated liturgically on 22. October. Some views of San Filippo di Fragalà are at: http://tinyurl.com/3seh3 http://www.capri-leone.it/files/arte/perusini.htm http://members.fortunecity.it/terradisicilia/insolitofrazzano.htm And here's a page of views of the also restored cattolica (principal church) of Stilo: http://www.medioevo.org/artemedievale/Pages/Calabria/Stilo.html Best, John Dillon (older posts lightly revised) ********************************************************************** 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