medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (27. August) is the feast day of:
Monica (d. 387) The ultimate Christian mom. Monica was a North African
Christian, married to the either dissolute or pagan (or both) Patricius.
The two of them (apparently mostly Monica, to judge by the Confessions)
managed to produce St. Augustine of Hippo. Monica gradually won both her
husband and her son to Christianity; she died shortly after Gussie's
baptism and was buried at Ostia. Apparently there was no early cult of
Monica, but in 1162 Arrouaise obtained her relics, where the Augustinian
canons encouraged her cult and spread it to other houses.
Anthusa the Younger (date unknown) Apparently a Persian woman, Anthusa was
martyred by being sewn into a sack and then drowned in a well.
Caesarius of Arles (d. 542) Caesarius was scion of a noble Gallo-Roman
family and became a monk at Lerins in 489. He was sent to assist the
bishop of Arles, then became bishop himself at the age of 33. Caesarius
was noted for his preaching and conduct of the liturgy, as well as for his
work as a monastic reformer and founder. He is the first known person to
receive a pallium from the pope, from Pope Symmachus in acknowledgement of
his holiness and work redeeming captives.
Decuman (6th cent.?) Decuman was probably a Welsh monk who settled in
Somerset (England). A very late vita reports that he was a hermit and was
decapitated by an enemy while at prayer. Decuman's body is then supposed
to have picked up its head and carried it to a nearby well.
Malrubius (d. c. 1040) Malrubius was an anchorite in Merns (Scotland).
During the Norwegian incursion he left his cell to help minister to his
fellow Scots and also to preach to the invaders. He was martyred.
Little Hugh of Lincoln (d. 1255) According to modern scholars, Hugh was an
eight-year-old boy who apparently drowned in a cesspit and whose body was
discovered by Jews---who feared being accused of killing him and therefore
hid the body. The Jews were right to be concerned. As Chaucer relates in
the Prioress' Tale, the Jews of Lincoln were indeed accused of ritual
murder. According to that version of the story, little Hugh was lured into
a Jew's house (on a Friday), where he was flogged, crowned with thorns, and
then crucified in mockery of the passion. After the child's body was
discovered, 19 Jews of Lincoln were hanged in a process conducted by Henry
III, and the rest forced to pay large fines.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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