medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
At 4:59 PM -0800 3/16/02, Phyllis Jestice wrote:
>Today (17. March) is the feast day of:
>
>Joseph of Arimathaea (1st century) Joseph has been listed as a saint in
>the Martyrologium Romanum only since the end of the 16th century, but
>legends of him were popular throughout much of the Middle Ages. According
>to the gospels, Joseph was a counsellor in Jerusalem, and possibly can be
>counted among Jesus' wider circle of disciples. After the crucifixion,
>Joseph received permission to remove Jesus' body from the cross and bury it
>in his own tomb. According to later legend, Joseph collected Jesus' blood
>in a chalice---the starting point of the Grail legend. A legend reports
>that Joseph later became a missionary in Britain, bringing the grail there
>and planting the great rose tree at Glastonbury (destroyed in WWII, but the
>current plant comes from a cutting of the original).
I believe that it's a hawthorn, rather than a rose tree. It's
supposed to come from Joseph of Arimathea's staff, which took root
when he planted it in the ground. This particular tree and its clones
(offspring from cuttings) are known for their habit of early
blooming, traditionally on Old Christmas (January 6th) -- in fact, if
I recall correctly, its blooming on January 6th rather than Christmas
was regarded by some who opposed England's changeover to the
Gregorian calendar as "proof" that the Julian calendar was the
"divinely ordained" one.
--
_________________________________________________________
O Chris Laning
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+ Davis, California
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