Today, 30 May, is the feast of ...
* Eleutherius, pope (c. 189) - supposedly corresponded with a 'British'
king, Lucius, which led to the first preaching of Christianity in Britain
* Felix I, pope (274) - true date of his death was 30 December (iii
kal.jan.), but a misreading of 'jun.' for 'jan.' led to its being assigned
to 30 May
* Isaac of Constantinople, abbot (c. 410) - a hermit, he visited
Constantinople to warn the emperor that a disaster would befall him unless
he restored to Catholics the churches he had given to the Arians; after
imprisonment -- during which the emperor was slain at the battle of
Adrianople -- he founded a monastery
* Exsuperantius, bishop of Ravenna (418) - was able to convince the
invading army of Stilicho not to loot the cathedral
* Madelgisilus or Mauguille (c. 655) - spent many years as a hermit in the
company of a friend named Vulgan
* Walstan (1016) - born and lived near Norwich as a servant; took vow of
chastity, but never became a religious
Last year Graham Jones added this important bit of information concerning
Walstan:
May I add (since my friend Miriam has just published on Walstan):
One of England's more obscure and exotic saints. Tradition made him a
king's son who renounced his right to succession and became a farm
labourer. Like St Sitha in Devon, Walstan is supposed to have been
murdered with a scythe, the implement with which he is shown in
Norfolk wall- and screen-paintings. His mother, Blida, was also culted in
Norfolk.
Miriam's article is in the journal of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology
and History, XXXVIII (Part 3), 1995, pp. 245-254: Miriam Gill, _The saint
with a scythe: a previously unidentified wall painting in the church of St
Andrew, Cavenham_. Essentially a Norfolk saint, Walstan is very
occasionally found culted and/or depicted in Suffolk and Essex.
(Thanks Graham! Bibliographical information concerning the saints is most
appreciated!)
* Ferdinand III of Castile (1252) - after driving Moors from Seville, he
turned the great mosque into a church; he also founded the University of
Salamanca
Last year James Brundage wrote to correct this entry:
I have to disagree on the foundation of Salamanca. A university was
functioning there long before Ferdinand III's time, pretty certainly by
1218 or 1219, according to Beltran de Heredia. Ferdinand III was certainly
important in the university's history, gave it a royal charter, and thus
might better be called a re-founder of Salamanca U. JAB
(Thanks James! All corrections are always most welcomed!)
* Andrew, bishop of Pistoia (1401) - a Dominican, he resigned his
bishopric and retired to his old convent
* Joan of Arc, virgin (1431) - hard to believe that so much happened in
her life before her execution at age 19
* James Bertoni (1483) - soon after James's death, in recognition of his
sanctity, his father was declared a burgher of Faenza and was granted
exemption from all taxes; not bad!
* William Scott and Richard Newport, martyrs (1612) - martyred as traitors
at Tyburn
Carolyn Muessig
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