medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (3. October) is the feast day of:
Dionysius, Faustus, Gaius, and companions (d. c. 257) This was a group
from Alexandria; Dionysius seems to have been patriarch of Alexandria.
They were banished to Libya in 250 during the Decian persecution, only to
be brought back home to be executed in Valerian's reign.
Maximian of Bagae (d. 404) Maximian was stuck right in the middle of the
Donatist controversy of Roman Africa. He was a convert from Donatism to
orthodoxy, and was made bishop of Bagae (Numidia)---where he wasn't wanted.
When he seized a church held by the Donatists, he was beaten and thrown
from a tower. They didn't succeed in martyring him though; he recovered,
decided he'd seen enough of Africa, and emigrated to Italy for the rest of
his life.
Cyprian of Toulon (d. c. 545) Cyprian was a disciple of Caesarius of
Arles, and became a monk at St. Victor's in Marseilles. He wrote a vita of
Caesarius. In 516 Cyprian became bishop of Toulon, where he won a
reputation for fighting semi-Pelagians.
Ewald the Dark and Ewald the Fair (d. c. 695) Northumbrian brothers, E and
E received an Irish education and then as monks went evangelizing in
Saxony, where they were soon martyred at Aplerbeke near Dortmund.
Gerard of Brogne (d. 959) Unfortunately the vita of this important figure
is late and uninspiring. Gerard was a soldier and courtier who became a
monk, after some time at St. Denis founding a monastery on his family
estate in 914. Brogne became the center of an important monastic reform
movement in the Netherlands and northern France.
Froilan (d. 1006) Froilan was a native of Galicia. He and St. Attilianus
set out to restore monastic life at Moreruela near Leon, and F. then went
on to found other monasteries in the area. He ended up as bishop of Leon.
Ebontius (d. 1104) According to a perhaps legendary account, Ebontius was
a French monk who became abbot of St. Victorian (Aragon), and then first
bishop of Barbastro after that city was won from the Muslims.
Adalgott II (d. 1165) Adalgott entered Clairvaux under St. Bernard. In
time he became abbot of Disentis and bishop of Chur (Switzerland). He
founded a hospital for the poor.
Thomas de Cantalupe (d. 1282) An English noble, Thomas studied at Oxford
and Paris and became chancellor of Oxford (and of England for a while). In
1275 he became bishop of Hereford, and spent his whole time in office
fighting mismanagement and neglect. He died in Italy, on his way to appeal
to the pope---he had had a fight with the archbishop of Canterbury and been
excommunicated. A popular cult developed that was based on his personal
holiness and pastoral care; the fact that he had a bad temper and died
while excommunicate was ignored. T. was canonized in 1320.
Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice
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