Guibert of Nogent, On the Saints and Their Relics. Guibert wrote his book on saints and relics over five hundred years after Gregory of Tours composed his History. By Guibert’s time, the cult of saints had come to dominate Christian devotional life, and churches could claim considerable prestige (and wealth) if they were active in… Continue reading →
The Gregorian era ignited new movements of reformation giving raise to new heretical ideas. Madigan explains that while for centuries there was no evidence of popular heresy, things changed between the 11th and the 12th century. The reformation’s goal was to eradicate simony and unchastely corrupted priests. Two clergy critics moved from permissible denunciation, to… Continue reading →
We derive what we know of Benedict’s life from the hagiography of the Saint written by Pope St. Gregory the Great who defines Benedict as “the finest teacher of the ascetical life” (Madigan 3.51). Surely Benedict birth place was Nursia (northeast of Rome) around 480, when the West Roman Empire was in decline causing social,… Continue reading →
