medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Today (6. July) is the feast day of:
Romulus of Fiesole (d. c. 90?) According to legend, Romulus was a
Roman converted by St. Peter. He went on to be first bishop of
Fiesole and was martyred there with several companions. An
eleventh-century vita that sounds like great fun tells that R. was
the illegitimate son of a noblewoman and a slave; R. was abandoned,
suckled by a kindly wolf, and lived wild until captured by St. Peter
(after Nero had tried and failed to do so). R. then went on to
evangelize much of central Italy.
Sisoes (d. c. 429) The Egyptian Sisoes became a hermit in the desert
of Skete while still young. He attracted many disciples in his 62
years as a hermit.
Goar (d. c. 575) Goar was an Aquitainian who became a hermit.
Legend tells that was accused of hypocrisy and sorcery by the bishop
of Trier; King Sigebert I got interested because of all the uproar,
investigated, found G. innocent, deposed the bishop and offered G.
the diocese of Trier. G. said he'd think about it, returned to his
hermitage, and died before he ever got around to giving an answer.
Modwenna (7th cent.) This saint's legends are hopelessly confused.
She may have been a hermit in England, but has been mixed up with the
Irish Moninna, or the Modwenna who succeeded Hilda as abbess of
Whitby, and an Abbess Modwenna of Polesworth.
Godeleva (d. 1070) Godeleva was a native of Flanders. She was
married off to a noble---who deserted G. on her wedding day, leaving
the poor woman to the untender mercies of her mother-in-law. The
bishop of Tournai ordered that G. be treated better---after which her
husband arranged to have two servants strangle her. There were
miracles on the spot where she was murdered (while on a trip to
Bruges) and it became a pilgrimage center. The husband, by the way,
entered a monastery and spent the rest of his life doing penance.
A modern saint: Maria Goretti (d. 1902) Maria was born near Ancona,
the daughter of a farmworker. When she was eleven years old the son
of her father's partner stabbed Maria to death while she was
resisting his attempts to rape her. M. was canonized in 1950. Her
murderer attended the ceremony; he had reformed his life after
experiencing a vision of M.
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