medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (19. May) is the feast day of:
Alcuin of York (d. 804) Surely the only Engishman with pretensions of
sanctity who isn't covered in the Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Alcuin
studied at York, where he became head of the cathedral school. Sent to
Rome on an errand for his archbishop, Alcuin met Charlemagne, and soon
accepted his invitation to come to Francia. There, Alcuin was put in
charge of the palace school, and became the greatest luminary of the
Carolingian renaissance. His greatest work was editing the Bible; he also
wrote on religious matters, fought Adoptionism, and even had the nerve to
reproach Charlemagne for his heavy-handed missionary activities among the
Saxons (getting Chuck to adopt a more moderate policy). A. was given the
abbacy of several monasteries, but his monastic (and clerical) status is
obscure.
Dunstan (d. 988) The English Dunstan was one of the leaders of the
tenth-century monastic reform movement, first as abbot of Glastonbury, then
as bishop of Worcester and finally archbishop of Canterbury. He
collaborated very fruitfully with King Edgar to reform much of the English
Church. D. was also a very active diocesan bishop. A cult sprang up
immediately after D's death. Legend reports that D. was a metal-worker; a
favorite story is how, when the devil came to tempt him when he was
working, D. wrung the devil's nose with his tongs.
Celestine V (Peter of Morrone) (d. 1296) A canonized saint with the
distinction of being in hell, at least according to Dante, as the author of
"The Great Betrayal." Peter was born to a peasant family. He became a
hermit and eventually gathered his disciples into a monastery, which won
approval as the Celestine order in 1274. After a long deadlock, in 1294
the College of Cardinals elected this 84-year-old political child as
pope---after he had written warning the cardinals of divine retribution if
they kept avoiding electing a pope. Celestine V was hopeless as pontiff,
especially exploited by the king of Naples. He was also miserable. He
built a little hermitage within the Lateran palace to hide; when that
didn't work well enough, he abdicated (the only pope ever to do so). This
cleared the way for the election of Boniface VIII, who, when Celestine
tried to escape Italy, had him imprisoned for the rest of his life. C's
canonization in 1313 was above all a move to discredit Boniface VIII.
Ivo of Brittany (d. 1303) Ivo studied canon law and theology at Paris,
then civil law at Orleans. He then became judge in the church courts of
Rennes. He won renoun for his impartiality, incorruptibility, and care for
the poor. I resigned his judicial duties in 1287 to work as a parish
priest; in that position he built a hospital and personally cared for the
sick, besides continuing to act unofficially as an arbitrator. I. was
canonized in 1347.
John Duns Scotus (blessed) (d. 1308) Duns Scotus' beatitude was confirmed
in 1992. He was a Scot (not Irish), who was educated at Melrose and then
became a Franciscan at Dumfrieds. He then went on to become one of the
great theologians of the later Middle Ages.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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