New Biography: The Life Of St. Magnus And His Supernatural Revenge

Around 1098, the Norwegian crown placed Orkney under direct royal control, but Hakon Paulsson, the son of a formal jarl of the region, was appointed to govern Orkney within a year or two after Sigurd the Crusader became king of Norway in 1103. Jarl Hakon Paulsson was portrayed as a willing retainer of the Norwegian kings in the Orkneyinga saga. Yet, Hakon had a cousin called Magnus Erlendsson who was less enthusiastic about being ordered around. Instead of behaving like Hakon Paulsson and serving his Norwegian liege, Magnus Erlendsson fled to Scotland and found shelter with King Edgar (r. 1097-1107). Magnus’ stay in Scotland, however, was only temporary and he decided to return home not long after Jarl Hakon Paulsson was appointed as jarl of Orkney.

Like Hakon, Magnus Erlendsson’s father was also a former jarl of the islands and he intended to press his claim. Multiple jarls coexisting in Orkney was nothing new—according to the Orkneyinga saga, the practice of dividing the governance of Orkney into halves and thirds was at least a century old by that time. When Magnus Erlendsson arrived in Orkney, he had powerful friends that flocked to back his claim, and the island population seemed accepting to the idea of a second jarl. Hakon Paulsson was undoubtedly less than enthusiastic about sharing power with his cousin, but he was convinced to accept the Norwegian crown’s decision on whether Magnus Erlendsson should become a jarl. The claimant sailed to Norway around 1107 and, to Hakon’s disappointment, Magnus Erlendsson was recognized as a rightful jarl of Orkney.

 

Continue reading about the life, martyrdom and supernatural revenge of St. Magnus, HERE.

New Biography: The Life Of Saint Patrick And Nennius’ Extravagant Statistics About His Career

Saint Patrick is credited with spreading the Christian religion into ancient Ireland in the 5th century. The traditionally-accepted account of his life follows the Confessio, a brief autobiography supposedly written by St. Patrick, himself. 

According to the Confessio, St. Patrick was the son of a Roman citizen named Calpurnius. His family had some wealth, as they lived in a home that could be described as a small villa, located in a settlement called Bannavem Taburniae, somewhere on mainland Britain. Patrick’s father, Calpunius, was a clergyman, as was Patrick’s grandfather before him. Yet, Patrick, like many preachers’ sons, confessed to having little to no interest in religion during his early years of life. 

Everything changed when Patrick reached the age of sixteen. In a twist of fate that would change the world, the secular-minded Patrick was taken captive by a band of Irish raiders. The young teen was taken back to Ireland, where he was forced to work in the pastures. In the Confessio, Patrick claimed to have been forced to watch over his captors’ animals for six long years.

Continue reading about the inspiring life of St. Patrick, HERE.

New Biography: The Obsessively Pure Life Of Saint-Queen Etheldreda And Her Miraculous Remains

(cropped 10th century depiction of Saint Æthelthryth (Etheldreda) of Ely from the Benedictional of St. Æthelwold, illuminated manuscript in the British Library, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

 

Etheldreda (also known by the names Æthelthryth and Audrey) was one of the most popular saints to come out of early Anglo-Saxon England. In particular, she found an admirer in Bede (c. 673-735), the author of the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which recorded events in England from the days of the Roman Empire up to Bede’s own time; in it the monk included a chapter on Etheldreda, drawing largely from clergymen who had known the saint, specifically her friend and mentor, Bishop Wilfrid.

King Anna of East Anglia (d. 654) fathered several saintly daughters, one of which was Etheldreda. The young princess was said to have begun dreaming about life as a nun relatively early on in her childhood. Even though she was not allowed to join a religious order, she reportedly still tried to live with extreme virtue. Most importantly, she vowed to live in chastity and remain a virgin. Despite her vow, noblemen still sought her hand in marriage, for the union (even if only symbolic) would still bring the prospective husband into an alliance with the East Anglian king. Therefore, Etheldreda was married to a certain Tondbert, a prince or king from South Gyrwas. Apparently, the couple struck up an accord—she received her own estates, he became the king’s son-in-law, and neither husband nor wife bothered about consummating the marriage. As such, when Tondbert died shortly after the marriage had occurred, Etheldreda was still widely considered to be a pure virgin princess.

Continue reading about the intriguing life (and afterlife) of Saint Etheldreda, HERE.

New Article: John Skylitzes’ Scandalous Libel Against The 9th-Century Patriarch Of Constantinople, John VII “The Grammarian”

(Left: John the Grammarian, Center: Emperor Theophilos, Right: Pope Silvester II serving as a model for Skylitzes' portrayal of John the Grammarian, all Public Domain via Creative Commons)

Those who win victory can, and sometimes do, distort the memory of the factions that they triumphed over. This reality can be found in the Synopsis of Byzantine History by John Skylitzes, a historian who thrived during the reign of Emperor Alexios Komnenos (r. 1081-1118). In his synopsis of the history covering the reigns of emperors throughout the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, Skylitzes gave little-to-no sympathy to the proponents of Iconoclasm—a Christian movement that condemned the use of ‘icons,’ such as images and sculptures, claiming that the veneration of these items constituted idolatry. Empress Irene almost eradicated the movement in 787, but Iconoclasm recovered and was only defeated decades later, on the instigation of Empress Theodora in 843. John Skylitzes, despite writing centuries after the fall of Iconoclasm, apparently still held a grudge against the last Iconoclast Patriarch (religious leader) of Constantinople—John VII “the Grammarian.” In his history, Skylitzes accused John the Grammarian of almost every horror imaginable.

Continue reading about the bizarre alternative history that John Skylitzes wrote for Patriarch John VII, HERE.

New Article: Startling Saints—The Adventures of Saint Germanus of Auxerre

(Portion of a stained glass window in Truro Cathedral depicting Saint Germanus of Auxerre, donated by a benefactor in 1907. [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Saint Germanus (or Germain) of Auxerre lived in one of the most chaotic times in Roman history, under the reigns of some of the most incompetent Roman Emperors that ever existed. His life, as a Roman government official and then as a bishop, was notable and influential enough to ensure him a place in the history books, yet Germanus’ biographers and commentators also recorded the numerous miracles that were attributed to the saint. In this account, the miracles will be left in the narrative, so that readers can decide for themselves how much or how little credence to give the miraculous events reported to have occurred during St. Germanus’ life.

Continue reading about Saint Germanus' eventful and miraculous life, HERE.
 

New Biography: Saint Teresa Of Avila And Her Life Of Mysticism And Reform

(The Ecstasy of St Therese, by Francesco Fontebasso (1707–1769), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Teresa de Capeda y Ahumada, now known at St. Teresa, was born in 1515 within the region of Avila, Spain. Her parents, Don Alfonso Sanchez de Capeda, and his second wife, Dona Beatriz Davila y Ahumada, were from wealthy and powerful families with ties to the old kingdom of Castile. Despite her family’s affluent background, Teresa would go on to lead a reform movement among the Carmelite nuns, calling for a more honest vow of poverty and a harder, more religiously sincere, life of meditation and prayer.

Continue reading about St. Teresa and her mystical life, HERE.

New Article: Monsters of Münster

An Unbelievably Bizarre Anabaptist Rebellion

  (German city painted by Sebastian Münster (1488-1552), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

During the 1530s, a strange occurrence blandly labeled the Münster Rebellion broke out in the city of Münster, within the region of Westphalia (modern northwest Germany). For the multiple-year rebellion, Münster was basically turned into a theocracy ruled by a group of over-zealous Anabaptists—a Protestant Christian sect disliked at the time by both Catholics and other Protestants. In the case of the Münster Rebellion, however, religious debate turned into religious oppression, and a battle of theology devolved into bloodshed and war.

Continue Reading about the strange Münster Rebellion, HERE.

New Article: The Strange And Lively Adventures In The Apocryphal 2nd-Century 'Acts of John'

From Resurrections To Commanding Bugs And A Tale Of Necrophilia

(St John the Evangelist, by El Greco (1541–1614), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

The Acts of John

According to Christian teachings, after the crucifixion of their Savior, many of the apostles of Jesus dispersed into the known world to spread their religion to the masses. They traveled in all directions from Jerusalem, venturing downward toward Ethiopia, northwest to Turkey and Greece, and west through North Africa, Rome and Spain. The adventures of the apostles were immortalized in Christian texts featuring mystical healings, exorcisms and all sorts of miracles. One of the most dramatic accounts of one such apostle, however, is less well known. Despite its unique story and its vivid descriptions of miracles, the Acts of John was left out of the New Testament cannon for its hints of Docetism, which described Jesus as more divine and less human than the proto-orthodox (pre-Catholic) church could condone. Though the Docetic elements in the text were mainly at the end of the work, those latter passages tarnished the entirety of the Acts of John in the eyes of the church.

Continue reading about the odd adventures in the Acts of John, HERE.

Startling Saints—Saint Clare of Montefalco

The miracle-working saint with a very special heart

(St Clare of Montefalco, circa 1670, from the Iglesia del Convento de Nuestra Señora del Pópulo de Agustinos Descalzos. Sevilla, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Clare Damiani was born in the Umbrian town of Montefalco in 1268. She was introduced to a cloistered life at an early age. When Clare was six, she was sent to live with her sister, Jane, who was the mother superior at the Saint Illuminata convent. Before she reached adulthood, Clare decided to remain in the convent lifestyle. When she had grown into a young woman, Clare and all of the nuns under superior Jane’s care, were transferred to a newly built convent—Santa Croce, also known as the Holy Cross Convent.

Saint Clare was the type of person that develops a natural aura of importance around them. She quickly garnered a reputation as an honorable, pious and virtuous woman. As such, when Jane died in 1298, the nuns of Santa Croce quickly elected the thirty-year-old Clare as their new mother superior. 

Continue reading our article, HERE.

New Article: Startling Saints—Jolly Saint Nicholas

The Saintly Bishop of Myra Who Evolved Into A Magical Christmas Entity

(Left: Santa Poster by the U.S. Food Administration. Educational Division. Advertising Section. (01_15_1918 - 01_1919), [Public Domain-US] via Creative Commons. Right: Image of St. Nicholas from the Lipnya Church of St. Nicholas in Novgorod, c. 1294, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Most cultures that have been influenced by Christianity have some sort of magical or supernatural persona who gives out gifts to children on Christmas Day. Most of these figures trace back to Saint Nicholas, a 4^th century CE bishop of Myra. His legend fused with other traditions, cultures and myths and eventually came to the United States by way of Dutch immigrants as Sinterklass. From there, he was commercialized into Santa Claus, and spread back across the Atlantic to his original homeland in Europe.

Now, the new Santa Claus figure has assimilated into many countries. He is known as Weihnachtsmann (Christmas Man) in Germany, Pére Noël in France, Father Christmas in Britain and Father Frost in Russia. The mythological (and often demonic) pagan beings of Krampus, and the Yule goat Joulupukki, have also been influenced and transformed by Santa Claus. Let’s not worry the kids, however, with all this talk about Santa Claus being fabricated—Jolly Saint Nicholas was, for the most part, a very real, historical figure. This is his story:

Continue to our article, HERE

New Article: The Last Witch Trial Of Nördlingen, Germany

Maria Holl Survived 62 Sessions Of Torture During the Late 16^th-Century Witch Trials

In the last decade of the 16^th century, a respectable woman who owned a restaurant along with her husband in Nördlingen, Germany, was put under arrest by the authority of the town council on suspicion of witchcraft. At first, Holl was patient with the council and their questioners; she was confident that she would be released without much of a hassel. Unfortunately for Maria Holl, the council, inquisitors and the citizens of Nördlingen all believed that she was truly a witch.

(“Examination of a witch”, c. 1853, from the Collection of the Peabody Essex Museum, originally by Author Thompkins H. Matteson, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Click HERE to read our article.

Startling Saints: The Saxon Saint Caedwalla

(16th century mural of Caedwalla and Wilfrid painted by Lambert Barnard, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Several kings were put to death by his executioners, and various communities were ravaged or massacred on the whim of this conquering king. This was King Caedwalla of Wessex—but there is a catch. He would later be recognized by the Christian church as a saint, and was even laid to rest in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Read about the warrior St. Caedwalla, here.

Magdalena Bollmann: Tortured to Death in a Trial of Witchcraft

10 Weeks of Torture and Fatal Abuse:

The interrogators did not believe in Magdalena’s innocence, and despite her courage and steely resolve, she was tortured to death after months of being crushed, stretched, partially impaled, burned, whipped and jabbed with needles.

Read more about the gruesome death of Magdalena Bollmann, here (or click the above picture).

New Article: The Strange Era of the Protestant Reformation—The Reformer

The founder of the Protestant Reformation:

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From law school to devout Catholic theology and an epiphany of Reformation, this is the story of Martin Luther's early life.

 Born into a moderately-wealthy family, the Luther family barely had enough money send Martin to a university for law. He abandoned the lawyer profession to pursue theology and became a monk. In his studies, Luther had an epiphany that caused a schism in the Christian Church. That divide still exists, today. 

Read more about Martin Luther's early life on our official website, here (Or click the picture above).

New Article: The Strange Era of the Protestant Reformation—The Defenders of Catholicism

In response to Protestant skepticism and questioning, the supporters of the Catholic Church launched what is known today as the Counter Revolution. Thomas More and Desiderius Erasmus were among the ranks of papal supporters that denounced Luther, and criticized his interpretation of scriptures.

Read this article on our official website, here.

New Article: The Strange Era of the Protestant Reformation—The Catholic Low-Point

Babylonian Captivity, Corrupt Popes and Papal Controversies: The Papal States and their masters were slowly recovering from decades of questionable activity when Luther posted his theses in 16th century Wittenberg.  The Papacy had struggled in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries with various embarrassing and reputation-tarnishing events.

Read the article on our official website, here.

New Article: Reformation-Era Augsburg: The Tense Stage of Christian Conflict

Augsburg was an imperial city within the Holy Roman Empire. The city was not ruled by a prince, such as a count or duke, but was ruled by an honorable council that was under direct jurisdiction of the emperor. The city government encouraged whichever religious faith was prevalent among the members of the Honorable Council. This resulted in political competition between Protestant and Catholic politicians on the council.

Read the article on our official website, here.

New Article - Startling Saints: Saint Elesbaan of Ethiopia

Elesbaan became king of Axum in the early 6th century, likely somewhere between 514 and 518 CE. Suffice it to say; Elesbaan had significant power and influence. When he heard Christians were being persecuted in Yemen, he mobilized the powerful Kingdom of Axum for war.

Read more about this saint who invaded and conquered the Himyar Kingdom in Yemen. Find the article HERE on our official Historian's Hut website.

New Article: Startling Saints - Bernard of Corleone

Bernard of Corleone seemed to be a perfect saint—he was penitent, extremely generous and could perform miracles. Saint Bernard was undoubtedly a distinguished Capuchin friar. Before this however, Bernard was the greatest duelist in Sicily.

Read our article, here, or click the above picture.

Startling Saints: Saint Sigismund of Burgundy

 

 Strangulation, War and Deadly Curses--this startling saint had it all. Sigismund was a king of Burgundy (modern south-eastern France) during the 6th century CE. He ruled beside one of the most competent early countries of medieval history: the Franks. With all the external pressures the king faced, there is no doubt that his reign was stressful, but just wait until you read about some of the un-saintly things this saint did in life.

Read our article, here.