Jude Seal's Notebook

How did an 'Anglo-Saxon' monk become a venerated figure is a province in Sweden?  The answer is the story of St Eskil.   ( I have placed an explanation for my use of the term Anglo-Saxon at the end of this post.  It is used here due to the fact that St Eskil was recorded in Swedist hagiography of the time as being Anglo-Saxon and his origin played a significant part in the narrative which arose around him)   Painting in Överselö Church in Sweden, depicting the saint Eskil, with his attributes, Source Born in England, St Eskil is one of a number of missionary saints of Anglo-Saxon origin sent into Scandinavia – and one of a number associated with St Sigfrid (Sigfrid of Sweden).  Like many saints associated with evangelical missions into Scandinavia the exact dates of St Eskil’s life – we can gain approximations from some events detailed in later hagiography, but beyond that certainty is illusive.  We know that St Sigfrid was probably ...

MS Royal 13 B VIII , Gerald of Wales' Topographia Hiberniae, England, c.1196-c.1223 The website TV Tropes is one which, like Wikipedia, is easy to venture into, and then find yourself going down a metaphorical rabbit hole.   One of its features is that each trope often has a name drawn from one of   the works which has used it . One trope is Aerith and Bob – the usage of very common-sounding names amongst more fantastical ones – which creates a sense of dissonance.   Even when justified by the story line (such as a character from the 20 th century being catapulted into a pseudo-medieval fantasy world) if creates a certain degree of dissonance.   It is worth noting that the definition excludes those cases where this is deliberate or a translation convention in the manner of Tolkien's use of different historical languages for different culture.   When reading down a list of medieval saints the appearance of Saint Kevin might produce the same eff...

A lesser known saint of the British Isles, St Herbert’s story - at least what we know of it - is an interesting sketch of the lesser recorded, isolated monasticism of some early medieval Christians.  Like many saints the name most attached to this particular Herbert is not the place of his origin.  In fact, his origin is unknown, with even Bede, the most reliable historian who wrote of him, being vague about the details of his early life.  Indeed, in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, where he is named as Herebert, and according to most translations is described as a ‘hermit’ but not as a monk, he appears only once.  The details of his calling or his life before his self-exile are scarce indeed.  What is emphasized in its stead is the strong spiritual fellowship he had with St Cuthbert.  The passage in Bede is one in which Cuthbert predicts his own death to Herebert.  It is from Bede’s narration of this passage that we get the minimal detail we have...