medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (31. December) is the feast day of:
Columba of Sens (d. c. 272) A richly embroidered legend reports that
Columba was the daughter of a prince of Saragossa, who fled to Sens to
escape persecution. But there she refused to marry the son of Emperor
Aurelian---and thus became the first martyr of his reign. She had one of
those notoriously difficult martyrdoms, though: first a she-bear saved
Columba from rape in prison, then she was miraculously saved from being
burned alive. Finally she was ripped with iron hooks and then beheaded.
Sylvester (d. 335) Sylvester became bishop of Rome in 314. We know that
Constantine gave him the Lateran palace and that he built other churches.
Beyond that, Sylvester is most interesting as the subject of legend,
especially the wonderful and influential legend embodied in the Donation of
Constantine----that Sylvester cured Constantine of leprosy, converted him,
and received astonishingly widespread temporal power as a thank-you gift.
Melania the Younger (d. 439) The wealthy Roman Melania was married against
her will, but gradually won her husband over to her pious ideals. They
sold large amounts of property for charity and freed so many slaves that
the family appealed to Emperor Honorius to stop Melania (he took her part).
In 417 she and her husband moved to Jerusalem.
Peter of Subiaco (blessed) (d. 1003) The abbot of Subiaco, he angered a
local noble by defending the rights of his monastery---who had Peter
blinded. P then died in prison.
John Wyclif (d. 1384) One of the "fathers" of the Protestant Reformation,
John Wyclif was an Oxford professor who became disgusted with the abuses of
the Church of his time. He began to preach and write on poverty and the
hierarchy's lack of it; he soon moved on to broader criticism of the Church
and even transubstantiation. He was condemned in 1382 and retired quietly.
But his works were condemned at the Council of Constance, and in 1418 his
bones were exhumed and burned.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
[log in to unmask]
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|