medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (4. July) is the feast day of: Andrew of Crete (d. 740) Andrew was a native of Damascus. He became a monk at Mar Saba and then Jerusalem, moving on from there to be a deacon in Constantinople and finally archbishop of Gortyn (Crete) from 692 on. He was a prolific writer on saints, and also invented the "canon"-a Byzantine liturgical hymn form. Oda of Canterbury (d. 959) Oda was of Danish heritage, born in East Anglia. He became bishop of Ramsbury and then archbishop of Canterbury in 942. O. was active in restoring both secular and church institutions, and won himself the historical nickname "the good." Ulrich of Augsburg (d. 973) Ulrich seems an odd choice for the first saint to be canonized formally by Rome (in 993). He seems to have been a pretty typical Ottonian bishop: he was both bishop and secular ruler of Augsburg from 923, a strong suporter of Otto I, and played an important role in the fight against the Magyars. When he was old he retired to the monastery of St. Gall (where he had been educated). Hatto (d. 985) Hatto was a Swabian noble. He gave all his property to the monastery of Ottobeuren and became a monk there. He became a hermit after that, and got a chance to show his humility and obedience when the abbot called him back to the community, arguing that H. was getting too attached to his former property. Procopius of Sazava (d. 1053) This Bohemian saint was educated at a Basilian monastery in Prague, married and became a cathedral canon (I had no idea Bohemia had such strong Orthodox influences). Later he became a hermit and finally founded the Basilian monastery of Sazava near Prague. William of Hirsau (d. 1091) William started out as a monk at Regensburg, and was sent as abbot to the restored monastery of Hirsau in Wurttemberg. He introduced Cluniac observance, founded a monastic school, and was in general a good abbot. His saintly fame seems to rest mostly on his support of Gregory VII against Emperor Henry IV, which was pronounced and controversial. Elizabeth of Portugal (d. 1336) A princess of Aragon, Elizabeth married the king of Portugal when twelve years old. Her husband was a selfish and immoral lout, it sounds, giving E. plenty of opportunities to show Christian fortitude and good morals. She also tried to make peace between the kingdoms of Iberia. After she was widowed, E. became a Franciscan tertiary. Peter of Luxembourg (blessed) (d. 1387) Peter was born to a noble family of Lorraine. His family connections got him a large number of important benefices, and at the age of 14 he was made bishop of Metz; by age 16 he was a cardinal (created by Antipope Clemen VII). But Peter didn't want all that. He retired to the Carthusian monastery of Villeneuve-les-Avignon, where he died at the age of eighteen. He was beatified in 1527. 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