medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (18. December) is the feast day of:
Gatian of Tours (d. 2nd half 3rd cent.) An uncertain tradition reports
that Gatian was sent to Gaul from Rome in c. 250 as a missionary. He was
probably the first bishop of Tours.
Flannan (7th cent.) Flannan was bishop of Killaloa (Ireland) and
apparently a gifted preacher and spiritual advisor. He is still honored
today in Ireland and Scotland.
Samthann (d. 739) Samthann was the abbess and perhaps founder of the
monastery of Cluain Brónaig (Clonbroney) (Co. Longford) and a leader of the
céli dé monastic movement. A brief mention of Samthann in a later source
relates that she was married before becoming a nun, but that the marriage
was unconsummated. Like other céli dé, she advocated introspection and
close spiritual bonds between professional religious. She is also said to
have spoken against the early Irish ascetic practice of peregrinatio,
arguing that God is near to all, and one can reach the kingdom of heaven
without crossing the sea. A late tradition reports that Samthann once
prayed a soul out of hell, an accomplishment attributed only to a very few
of the great Christian saints. Despite this evidence of her importance, no
trace of Samthann's nunnery remains, and there does not appear to have been
a local cult.
Wunibald (Winnibald) (d. 761) Wunibald was born in Wessex in 701, the
brother of Willibald and Walburga. His uncle was Boniface. After a
pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land, Wunibald along with Willibald entered
the monastery of Monte Cassino. In 738 Boniface ordained Wunibald and sent
him as a missionary to Thuringia and Bavaria. He and his brother founded
the double monastery of Heidenheim; Wunibald led the men's side while
Walburga led the women. Sixteen years after Wunibald's death, his brother
opened the tomb and discovered that the body was uncorrupted.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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