Gregory of Tours tells stories of the nun Monegundis in both the
"Life of the Fathers" and the "Glory of the Confessors." I am relying
on the very nice translations from Liverpool University Press, since I
don't have the Latin at hand. I have always liked her story.
In the "Life of the Fathers" (and Mothers?), we learn that she was
from Chartres but ended up a nun at Tours. After the death of her two
daughters, she was so desolate she took up a religious life as a
recluse. She was adept at healing, especially those afflicted with
horrible sores and/or fevers. The stories in "Glory of the Confessors"
relate two instances, one which caught my attention: she gathered
leaves, smeared them with her saliva, made the sign of the cross over
the festering blister, and then applied the paste of leaves. The poison
vanished immediately. Her healing powers continued to flow at her tomb
for those coming to it with similar afflictions.
Karen
--
Dr. Karen Jolly
Associate Professor, History
University of Hawai`i at Manoa
[log in to unmask]
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~kjolly
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