Thank you, Maddy and Rosemary for filling in the gaps of my knowledge.  And thank you Johns Briggs and Dillon for enhancing my appreciation of my always-beloved Terry Pratchett.  And yes, it took me some googling, but I got the joke!

Erica  

http://www.ericaobey.com

Coming in September, The Lazarus Vector

From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Madeleine Gray
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2016 2:22 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [M-R] St Amphibalus (was hair relics?)

medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

OK - this is mainly based on Jeremy Knight's article 'Britain's Other Martyrs: Julius, Aaron and Alban at Caerleon' in Alban and St Albans: Roman and Medieval Architecture, Art and Archaeology, ed. Martin Henig and Phillip Lindley, British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions xxiv, 2001. (Jeremy always said the late lamented University of Wales, Newport would have been better calling itself the University of Caerleon-upon-Usk.) 

Amphibalus is the name traditionally given to the priest who was sheltered by Alban in Verulamium and converted him to Christianity. Alban eventually disguised himself as Amphibalus, wearing the priest's cloak (which may be the origin of the name) and was martyred in his stead. According to later tradition Amphibalus went back to Caerleon, where he converted Julius and Aaron, but eventually returned to Verulamium and was martyred near there. His relics were 'miraculously' discovered in the late C12 and installed in a reliquary in St Alban's. This was damaged in the Reformation but reconstructed in the C19 and has recently been restored.

There is also a long-standing tradition of a connection between St Alban and Caerleon, possibly an offshoot of the cults of SS Julius and Aaron there. Jeremy Knight suggests Alban's link with Caerleon may actually have derived from the acquisition of some of his relics. Robert de Chandos's c 1113 grant of Christchurch near Caerleon to his abbey of Bec and its dependent priory at Goldcliff included the ecclesiam Julii et Aaron. When the charter was confirmed by the future Henry II in 1143 the martyrium was described as Ecclesiam Sanctorum Julii et Aaron atque Alban. Levison in 'St Alban and St Albans', Antiquity 16 (1941) pointed out that St Alban's relics were translated in 1129, there were links between St Albans and Bec through Abbot Paul of St Albans and his cousin Lanfranc, and it was possible that a fragment of the relics became available.
Geoffrey of Monmouth then picked up on the story, when he described King Arthur wearing his crown at Whitsun in Caerleon. He said Caerleon had two great churches, a nunnery in honour of Julius and a house of regular canons dedicated to St Aaron, plus the third metropolitan cathedral of Britain with a university at which the chair of theology was held by St Amphibalus. The Caerleon museum catalogue in 1909 listed a photograph of a statue of St Amphibalus and described him as a native of the town!

Or was he just the first academic gown?

Maddy

On 26/04/2016 14:42, Erica Obey wrote:

medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

I would very much like to hear more about this St. Amphibalus myself.

 

Erica

 

http://www.ericaobey.com

Coming in September, The Lazarus Vector

 

 

Anglican attitudes to relics are interesting to say the least. The Dean of St Albans is apparently keen to get a relic of St Amphibalus, mythical prof at my university of Caerleon upon Usk - I did ask what it would actually mean to him but he didn't answer.

 

Sorry, but this sounds remarkably Hogwarts-ish.... 

 

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