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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (24. July) is the feast day of: Christina (4th cent.) Two virgin martyrs, Christina of Tyre and Christina of Bolsena, have been conflated to share the same feast day and acts. It's possible, though, that the former never existed, and the latter wasn't named Christina (!!) She (they) seems to hve been a victim of overkill, tortured with a millstone, a wheel, pincers, and finally killed with arrows. Wulfhad and Ruffin (?) According to legend, W & R were sons of King Wulfhere of Mercia. They were baptized by St. Chad, which annoyed their dad so much that he had his sons killed. Lewinna (d. c. 685) Lewinna was a hermit and martyr. There is no early evidence about her, but her relics were discovered in a Sussex church and a cult began. Boris and Gleb (d. 1015) B & G were sons of Vladimir of Kiev and his wife (the porphyrogenita) Anne. After Vladimir's death, these two princes were killed at the instigation of their older half-brother Svyatopolk; their murder has overtones of an anti-christian reaction as well as big-brother's lust for power. When yet another brother (Yaroslav) drove out Svyatopolk in 1020, he translated the relics of B & G to Vyshgorod (near Kiev); the bodies were, according to report, uncorrupted, and miracles were soon reported. Dr. Phyllis G. Jestice [log in to unmask] ********************************************************************** 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