medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture On Tuesday, September 20, 2005, at 9:43 pm, Phyllis wrote: > Today (21. September) is the feast day of: > > Matthew (1st cent.) > Matthew is the patron of Salerno, which claims to have his relics. M.'s Translation (BHL 5694b; tenth-century) tells us that Breton sailors brought his body to Armorica in the time of Valentinian III (so in the fifth century) during the reign there of a (legendary) king Solomon. Solomon was murdered, whereupon Valentinian sent a mighty fleet to destroy the Breton kingdom. When, having achieved its ends, the Roman invasion force sailed home it brought with it Matthew's remains. These, however, were stolen and wound up in Lucania, where they were given a pious burial in a newly constructed church; over time the latter become ruinous. In 954 the remains were discovered still reposing therein near the Lucanian town of Paestum in what was now Salernitan territory. Housed briefly in the cathedral of Capaccio, they were soon moved to Salerno itself on the order of its prince, Gisulf I, and reinterred in that city's cathedral. As all _regnicoli_ know, Matthew has been in Salerno ever since. Unless, of course, he has been in Kyrgyzstan all along. See http://www.mirabilis.ca/archives/000157.html http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/08/29/35577.html and especially http://www.ipvnews.com/apostle.html In 1076 the principality was conquered by Robert Guiscard and in the years that followed Salerno became in effect the capital of his now enlarged duchy of Apulia. In 1085, under the auspices of archbishop Alfanus I and with Guiscard's active assistance, Salerno got a new cathedral (its present one), dedicated to Matthew and consecrated by the exiled Gregory VII. Matthew (who could believe otherwise?) is buried here; so are Gregory, Alfanus, and Robert. Various views of this famous monument, including its mosaic of Matthew displaying his gospel, are here: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~classics/rome2003/updates/week3_4/oct16.html and here: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/4893/cattedra.htm A view of the belltower from inside the atrium is here: http://www.davidgreer.ca/photo/cruise/20020707/salerno01.jpg and an aerial view of the entire complex is here: http://www.scuolamedicasalernitana.it/foto/duomo.jpg On the Translation of St. Matthew, see Baudouin de Gaiffier, "Hagiographie salernitaine: la Translation de S. Matthieu," _Analecta Bollandiana_ 80 (1962), 82-110. Among the poems of the aforementioned Alfanus I, better known in literary studies simply as Alfanus of Salerno, are several for the feast commemorating this event (6. May; not in the online Italian-language version of the new Roman Martyrology); in the edition of Lentini and Avagliano these are nos. 58-62. Another medievally significant Matthaean site is Pisa's church of San Matteo, whose eleventh- and twelfth-century facade along the Arno is said to be the work of artisans from Apulia: http://www.stilepisano.it/immagini4/pages/Pisa_foto_hires%20(11)_JPG.htm The adjacent former Benedictine monastery now houses Pisa's Museo Nazionale di San Matteo, with rich collections devoted to central and later medieval ceramics, painting, and sculpture. A few highlights from its holdings are reproduced here: http://tinyurl.com/9f3z9 and here: http://www.pisa.turismo.toscana.it/AptGalileo/TourPisa/SanMatteo.asp Reproductions of others may be found via a Google Images search for ["San Matteo" Pisa]. The museum's own site (not for older browsers or for the seriously Italian-challenged) introduces its collections at rather greater depth: http://www2.alfea.it/DOC/adu-009/index.vurt Best, John Dillon (last year's post, revised) ********************************************************************** 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