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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (30. October) is the feast day of: Marcellus the Centurion (d. 298) We have two versions of the very early Acta of Marcellus, reporting his martyrdom in either Leon (Spain) or Tingis (Tangier). Both report that during the celebration of the emperor's birthday Marcellus publicly threw down his soldier's belt before the legion's standards and professed himself a Christian and unwilling to serve the emperor any further. He was executed for shaming himself by renouncing his military oath. Asterius of Amasea (d. c. 400) Asterius studied rhetoric and law and practiced law for a time, but then gave it up and became a priest. In time he became bishop of Amasea (Pontus, Asia Minor). He was especially famous for his sermons; 21 are still extant. Benvenuta Bojani (blessed) (d. 1292) Benvenuta was born at Cividale in 1254, the youngest of seven daughters. She took to extreme asceticism at a young age; by the age of 12 she was wearing a hairshirt and a rope cord around her waist that became so embedded that she had to pray for its miraculous removal. B. became a Dominican tertiary, her health broken by her austerities , so one of her elder siblings had to carry her to church. Dorothy of Montau (d. 1394) Never formally canonized, Dorothy is widely venerated in central Europe, especially her native Prussia. Dorothy was a peasant, who married a wealthy Danzig swordsmith. She bore her irascible husband nine children, of whom only the youngest survived. When she was widowed, D. became a recluse at Marienwerder, attached to the church of the Teutonic Knights there. She died after only one year of enclosure in a 6' x 6' cell, where she engaged in rigorous ascetic exercises. Many miracles were reported, and her confessor also wrote an account of Dorothy's many visions and ecstatic experiences. 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