JiscMail Logo
Email discussion lists for the UK Education and Research communities

Help for MEDIEVAL-RELIGION Archives


MEDIEVAL-RELIGION Archives

MEDIEVAL-RELIGION Archives


MEDIEVAL-RELIGION@JISCMAIL.AC.UK


View:

Message:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Topic:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Author:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

Font:

Proportional Font

LISTSERV Archives

LISTSERV Archives

MEDIEVAL-RELIGION Home

MEDIEVAL-RELIGION Home

MEDIEVAL-RELIGION  November 2009

MEDIEVAL-RELIGION November 2009

Options

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Log In

Log In

Get Password

Get Password

Subject:

saints of the day 9. November

From:

John Dillon <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 23:26:26 -0600

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (79 lines)

medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture

Today (9. November) is the feast day of:

1)  Ursinus of Bourges (?).  U. (in French, Ursin) is the legendary protobishop of Bourges.  We first hear of him in the sixth century from St. Gregory of Tours, who in the _Historia Francorum_ includes U. among the seven early bishops sent from Rome in the middle of the third century to organize the Gallic church and who in the _In gloria confessorum_ (cap. 79) has him made bishop by disciples of the apostles. Still according to Gregory, U.'s sarcophagus was through divine revelation discovered at some point during the years 558-573 (this according to the dates of several worthies said to have been present, including St. Germanus of Paris); his incorrupt body was then buried next to the altar of a monastic basilica of St. Symphorian, where his cult was inaugurated and where thereafter many miracles occurred.  Thus far Gregory of Tours.

U. has two legendary Vitae (BHL 8412 and 8413), of which the earlier is thought to have been written in the late tenth or early eleventh century.  Here U. is said to have been one of the Seventy-Two Disciples, to have been present as lector at the Last Supper, to have been at the Passion and later with the apostles at Pentecost (when he too received the Holy Spirit), to have journeyed with St. Peter to Rome and to have been present at his crucifixion, to have been sent by pope St. Clement to Gaul along with a companion, St. Justus, who predeceased him, to have evangelized in Berry, to have built the first church at Bourges, to have consecrated it with a blood relic of St. Stephen, to have ruled his flock for twenty-seven years, and to have died on a twenty-ninth of December.

In 1055 some of U.'s putative relics were translated to Lisieux, where they underwent several recognitions from 1399 onward.  In the Middle Ages U. was celebrated at Bourges and in other dioceses both on this day (originally a translation feast?) and on 29. December.

In time the monastery at Bourges that possessed remains believed to be those of U. came to be (or was replaced by) a canonry named for him.  When its collégiale Saint-Ursin was demolished in the eighteenth century an eleventh- or twelfth-century portal from it was mounted in the wall of a convent.  Herewith a couple of illustrated, French-language pages on the portal and its carvings:
http://tinyurl.com/yhenh93
http://berry.medieval.over-blog.com/article-35366166.html

One of the later thirteenth-century portals of the badly damaged and since restored west front of Bourges' cathédrale Saint-Étienne is named for U. and presents on its tympanum scenes from his life (how much of this is restoration work?):
http://www.patrimoinedefrance.org/ico039.htm
http://tinyurl.com/y8knnho
The iconography explained (en français):
http://tinyurl.com/ya2volr
     

2)  Agrippinus of Naples (d. later 3d cent.?).   According to the late eighth- or early ninth-century first part of the _Chronicon episcoporum sanctae Neapolitanae ecclesiae_, this less well known saint of the Regno was the sixth bishop of Naples.  His elogium in that source highlights his already traditional status as one of the city's major patrons.  His feast is entered for today in the early ninth-century Marble Calendar of Naples.  Only slightly later, bishop St. Athanasius I (849-72) established in the vicinity of Naples' Catacombe di San Gennaro a monastery dedicated to Sts. Januarius and Agrippinus.  In the late ninth-century portion of the aforementioned episcopal chronicle, we learn that A. was buried next to St. Januarius in today's catacombs, that bishop St. John IV (842-49) translated him to the then cathedral of Naples, the "Stephania," and that he was famous for his miracles.

A collection of the latter, the _Miracula sancti Agrippini_, survives and was edited by Hippolyte Delehaye in the _Acta Sanctorum_, Novembris tomus IV (1925), pp. 118-28 (text on pp. 122-28).  Written in the form of a sermon and clearly intended for reading on A.'s feast day, this has been analyzed as the work of three succeeding authors over the course of the ninth and tenth centuries.  The third and longest part (sections 10-12; BHL 176, 175, 177) is a prosimetrum (i.e. a mixture of prose and verse) attributed to the talented Neapolitan hagiographer, Peter the Subdeacon (ca. 919-ca. 970); recounting three miracles, two personal and one civic, it repays reading.

Despite A.'s frequent pairing with Januarius in their patronal role, medieval visuals of him are hard to come by on the Web.  His chief monuments today are the part of the lower portion of the Catacombe di San Gennaro where he was laid to rest and the originally thirteenth-century church of Sant'Agrippino a Forcella, whose early modern rebuilding has left visible medieval remains in its nave and especially in its polygonal apse as well as a later fifteenth-century portal attribited to a student of Donatello. Herewith some views:
http://tinyurl.com/36u7vc
http://tinyurl.com/yc5jrz2
http://www.napolibeniculturali.it/FS/JPG/ped_maperto_172.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/ygmgksd


3)  The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (after 28. October 312).  This Roman feast, absent from the early medieval sacramentaries, is first recorded in the second version (1153 or 1154) of the twelfth-century _Descriptio ecclesiae Lateranensis_.  It entered the RM under Cardinal Baronio, who called the feast that of the _dedicatio basilicae Salavatoris_.  The earliest references to the church in question use the name of its donor (_basilica Constantiniana_), a recognition to which the RM reverted in 2001 when it began to call this feast that of Lateran Basilica constructed by Constantine in honor of Christ Savior.  The addition of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist as formal titulars is said to be first attested from the the twelfth century.

When Constantine handed the original basilica over to the church is unknown.  The absence from the list of its endowments of any properties outside of Italy suggests a date prior to Constantine's capture of Licinius late in 324, his endowments after that year typically having included "eastern" properties.  Since 9. November 312 comes too quickly after 28. October 312 (the date of the battle of the Milvian Bridge) for both the razing of pre-existing structures on the site (the headquarters building and barracks ranges in the camp of Maxentius' horse guards) _and_ significant construction work on the new church, a date in the years 313 to 324 seems likely.  Various considerations argue for an early date within that time span.

The basilica has of course been much rebuilt.  But its cosmatesque floor, other cosmatesque work, and the late fourteenth-century ciborium by Giovanni di Stefano are certainly medieval.
http://www2.siba.fi/~kkoskim/rooma/kuvat/353_037c.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/5nacje
http://tinyurl.com/5qx9bw
http://tinyurl.com/5ft3cj
Some views of the cloister:
http://tinyurl.com/6quwsp
http://tinyurl.com/69dtqw
http://tinyurl.com/6246yw
 

4)  Vitonus (d. ca. 530, supposedly).  V. (in French, Vanne and Vaune) is traditionally the eighth bishop of Verdun.  We really know nothing about him.  The early tenth-century _Gesta episcoporum Virdunensium_ makes him a popularly chosen bishop accepted by king Clovis in the aftermath of an unsuccessful revolt by Verdun.  An abbey at Verdun claimed to have his body and there in 1004 its abbot, Richard of Saint-Vanne, expanded upon that account to produce V.'s Vita (BHL 8708, 8709).  The latter gives today as V.'s _dies natalis_.

The abbey was was secularized during the French revolution; most of its buildings were dismantled in the nineteenth century.  Here's a view of what's left of its originally twelfth-century church:
http://tinyurl.com/yek8mjx


5)  Giovanna of Signa (Bl.; d. early 14th cent.).  We know about the hermit and thaumaturge G. from her late fourteenth-century Vita et Miracula  (BHL 4288r).  According to this account, she came from a family of Tuscan shepherds and already as a child she was known for her miraculous ability to protect livestock from hailstorms.  When she reached adolescence G. settled down as a recluse at a location south of today's Signa (FI) near to where the road to Pistoia crosses the Arno.  There G. lived quietly, operated miracles, and attracted a small community of followers.  She was buried near a local church dedicated to St. John the Baptist; in 1348, following her postmortem cure of a Black Death victim named Nuta of Signa, a chapel was erected at her grave.  The chapel was later incorporated in the church, which latter keeps her remains.

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries G.'s veneration spread more widely in the general vicinity of Florence.  Her cult was confirmed in 1798 at the level of _beata_.        

Here's an illustrated, Italian-language page on the chiesa di San Giovanni Battista at Signa:
http://tinyurl.com/ykysyfz
Another view, showing participants in the _corteo storico_ held annually on G.'s feast day:
http://tinyurl.com/ylq3aup
A poorly illustrated, Italian-language account of the chapel's frescoes by Bicci di Lorenzo (finished, 1441) and his son Neri di Bicci (finished, 1462) illustrating J.'s life and miracles.

Best,
John Dillon
(Agrippinus of Naples and the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica lightly revised from last year's post) 

**********************************************************************
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

Top of Message | Previous Page | Permalink

JiscMail Tools


RSS Feeds and Sharing


Advanced Options


Archives

March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
February 2002
January 2002
December 2001
November 2001
October 2001
September 2001
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001
December 2000
November 2000
October 2000
September 2000
August 2000
July 2000
June 2000
May 2000
April 2000
March 2000
February 2000
January 2000
December 1999
November 1999
October 1999
September 1999
August 1999
July 1999
June 1999
May 1999
April 1999
March 1999
February 1999
January 1999
December 1998
November 1998
October 1998
September 1998
August 1998
July 1998
June 1998
May 1998
April 1998
March 1998
February 1998
January 1998
December 1997
November 1997
October 1997
September 1997
August 1997
July 1997
June 1997
May 1997
April 1997
March 1997
February 1997
January 1997
December 1996
November 1996
October 1996
September 1996
August 1996
July 1996
June 1996
May 1996
April 1996


JiscMail is a Jisc service.

View our service policies at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/policyandsecurity/ and Jisc's privacy policy at https://www.jisc.ac.uk/website/privacy-notice

For help and support help@jisc.ac.uk

Secured by F-Secure Anti-Virus CataList Email List Search Powered by the LISTSERV Email List Manager