medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Leonard of Noblac (6th cent.?) There is no evidence of Leonard before an
11th-century legend, which tells that he was a Frankish courtier, converted
by St. Remigius. He became a monk and later a hermit. His cult was very
popular in the Middle Ages.
Leonard of Reresby (13th cent.) A popular saint with no official standing,
a Yorkshire legend tells that Leonard was a crusader, taken prisoner by the
Muslims, and then miraculously transported back to England---complete with
his chains (!), where he died immediately after arrival.
I had not come across Leonard of Reresby before, despite working on Yorkshire history. I'd be interested to know how popular he really was, and what the sources for him are. He evidently shares the day of his namesake, Leonard of Noblac, one of whose most famous miracles was to release a prisoner who prayed to him, allowing him to walk through the walls of his prison while still in his chains. My memory is that this in the Golden Legend. The prisoner then took the chains and dedicated them at Leonard of Noblac's shrine. It is also worth noting that the largest and wealthiest of Yorkshire's hospitals, based in York but with estates across Yorkshire, and the north was dedicated to St Leonard (of Noblac). SLN released the sick from their illness as he did prisoners from chains and so is a fairly popular dedicatee of C12/13 English hospitals.
Dr Pat Cullum,
Head of History,
University of Huddersfield,
Huddersfield.
HD1 3DH
Telephone (01484) 472315
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