medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Rufinus was an important writer and monastic leader in the late fourth
century, a close friend of Jerome's until they quarreled bitterly over
Origen. He remained closely allied with Melania the Elder putting him up
there in the highest Roman aristocratic circles of the day. I don't know
whether or not he belonged there by birth but it is likely that he did in
which case we need not be surprised that there were a lot of namesakes about
since many people added the names of their patrons or emancipators to their
own. Moreover, to address Phyllis's question, by that time Romans enjoyed
quite a lot of latitude in naming as well as stringing several names
together and in some cases changing their names when they became Christian.
JO Ann
-----Original Message-----
From: Pat McIntosh-Spinnler <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, July 19, 2001 3:09 PM
Subject: Re: [M-R] saints of the day. 19. July
>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
>>medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>>
>>Today (19. July) is the feast day of:
>>
>>Justa and Rufina (d. c. 303) The earliest evidence of this cult is from
>>the sixth century. According to legend, Justa and Rufina were the
>>daughters of a potter in Seville, who sold their father's wares in the
>>marketplace. During a procession in Seville they mocked the images of the
>>gods and proclaimed their Christian belief. Condemned to death, Justa is
>>supposed to have been drowned in a spring, while Rufina was strangled.
>>King Ferdinand III (the Saint) erected a church and convent of Augustinian
>>canonesses over the site of their martyrdom.
>>
>
>And on 10 July we celebrated Rufina and Secunda:
>
>>Rufina and Secunda (d. c. 260) The sisters Rufina and Secunda are
supposed
>>to have both abandoned the men to whom they were betrothed, because their
>>fiances had lapsed from the Christian faith. The two women fled from
Rome,
>>but were captured at the outskirts of the city, were prosecuted as
>>Christians under the laws of Emperor Valerian, were tortured and
eventually
>>beheaded. A strong cult developed at the tomb at the ninth milestone on
>>the Via Cornelia.
>
>
>Is Rufina a family name (ie the daughter of the Rufini) in which case were
>these women each the elder/eldest daughter, or was one named after the
>other (early piety) or is there another explanation? How many more SS
>Rufina are there? Do we know? I ask because I had never encountered the
>name until a few years ago and now here it is popping up everywhere.
>
>With best wishes,
>Pat McIntosh-Spinnler
>
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