 |
 |
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Dear colleagues, I am forwarding this on behalf of John McChesney-Young, who is having some temporary problems in posting to the list. He has been kind in sending me the original error message he received, and this will help me to resolve his problem more quickly than it would have taken otherwise; if any of you ever have problems in posting to the list, please follow John's lead, and forward the error message along to me and the other list owners - we will do our best to help as quickly as circumstances allow. Best wishes to all, George [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- Phyllis Jestice wrote: >> Wilgefortis (?) A great day for highly legendary saints. [snip] >Wilgefortis' father wanted her to >> marry, but she had taken a vow of virginity. So she prayed to become >> unattractive, and as a result grew a full moustache and beard. By a remarkable coincidence my teenage son just got back last night from 6 weeks in Europe, and one of the more remarkable tales he had to tell was of a church in Prague which housed a statue of a crucified bearded woman. In the section on Hradcany, in the account of the sights of the Loretanske Namesti (which name includes a replica of the Holy House of Loreto as well), his guidebook to Prague states: Finally there's the startling Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows (kaple Panny Marie Bolestne) at the corner of the courtyard, featuring a crucifed bearded lady. She was St Starosta, pious daughter of a Portuguese king who promised her to the king of Sicily against her wishes. After a night of tearful prayers, she awoke with a beard, the wedding was called off, and her father had her crucified. She was later made patron saint of the needy and godforsaken. (end quote) (John King et al. _Prague_ (4th ed.) Melbourne: Lonely Planet, 2001, p. 90-91) Here's one more name for her. John ********************************************************************** 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