medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (25. June) is the feast day of:
Febronia (?) According to legend, Febronia was a beauteous Christian
virgin of Nisibis (Mesopotamia). During Diocletian's persecution, the
local prefect offered F. freedom if she would renounce her religion and
marry his nephew. F. refused, was tortured, mutilated, and beaten to
death, whereupon the prefect went mad and committed suicide. This story
became very popular, but there is no trace of it before the seventh
century. Attwater suggests that F. is a fictional character.
Maximus of Turin (d. c. 415) Maximus was the first bishop of Turin,
consecrated in 397. More than 100 of his sermons survive, which illustrate
well his conflict with rural paganism.
Prosper of Reggio (5th cent.) A bishop in Emilia. He has been conflated
with the more famous Prosper of Aquitaine.
William of Montevergine (d. 1142) William was born in Vercelli. At the
age of 14 he went on pilgrimage to Compostella, and soon became a hermit.
In 1106 he set out for the Holy Land, but turned back after being attacked
by robbers. Instead, William settled into the eremitical life at
Montevergine near Benevento. He collected disciples who liked his austere
life---but not as much as they thought they would. In 1124 the community
asked for a relaxation of the rule; William refused, but appointed a prior
who eventually adopted the Benedictine Rule, and William went off to become
a hermit again. After another monastic foundation, William went to
southern Italy, where King Roger II endowed several more monasteries for
him. Legend reports that at this time a prostitute was sent from court to
lead William into temptation; he is said to have parted the coals of his
fire with his bare hands and politely invited her to lie down with him
there. He was unburned; she was converted.
Davanzato of Poggibonsi (blessed) (d. 1295) Davanzato became a Franciscan
tertiary, living an exemplary life of prayer and penitence. He became a
model of how a person could live a truly spiritual life while remaining in
the lay estate.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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