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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Today (19. February) is the feast day of: Quodvultdeus (d. 439) Q. was bishop of Carthage at the time of the Vandal invasion of North Africa. He seems to have been certain that the invasion was God's punishment because his flock enjoyed the games too much (he sounds like a reincarnation of Tertullian). Q. and most of his clergy were banished, with a nice twist: they were loaded onto decrepit ships without oars or sails and sent out into the Mediterranean. They reached Naples safely, though. Barbatus (d. 682) Barbatus' 9th-century vita tells that he was a native of Benevento. He set out on a personal crusade to win the Lombards from their "superstitions," preaching unremittingly, praying and fasting a lot, etc. In 663, when Duke Grimoald defeated a Byzantine invasion, B. credited the victory to the archangel Michael, and convinced the people that this was the case. He was made bishop of Benevento and stamped out non-Christian practices. Boniface of Lausanne (d. 1260) Boniface was a native of Brussels who studied at Paris and then taught there and at Cologne before being elected bishop of Lausanne. B. proved to be an unpopular bishop, violently denouncing his clergy for their laxity and offending Emperor Frederick II---who had B. attacked and badly wounded. After that, the pope accepted B's request for permission to abdicate. He took up residence at the Cistercian nunnery of La Cambre and carried out episcopal functions as they were needed. B. was canonized in 1702. Conrad of Piacenza (d. 1351) When the young nobleman Conrad was out hunting one day, he had a fire lit to help drive the game. The blaze got out of control and destroyed several villages. C didn't admit his fault until a poor man was sentenced to death for the arson, whereupon C confessed and used most of his wealth (and his wife's dowry) to pay reparations. The two then devoted themselves to religious life, she as a Poor Clare and he as a hermit. C. attracted fans with his extreme piety, so he escaped to Sicily, where he lived as a hermit for the remaining 30 years of his life---still pestered by people wanting his prayers and especially his miraculous cures. He was especially famous for his ability to cure hernias. Alvaro of Zamora (blessed) (d. c. 1434) Alvaro joined the Dominican community at Cordoba in 1368. He became famous as a preacher throughout Andalusia and in Italy. He was a major figure of the Dominican reform movement in Spain, founding a reformed house, Escalaceli, that became a center of learning. A's cult was confirmed in 1741. ********************************************************************** 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