Comments | policraticus: This is a true story.

policraticus

This is a true story.

Sep 22, 2005 23:26

So, I was struck by lightning.

Dramatic pause.

Well, to be honest it wasn't me so much as policraticus. At the beginning of August we had some wicked weather (no offense NOLA/Galveston) and the upshot was that pretty much every piece of technology in the house was in some way shorted out, fused, melted or otherwise rendered into so much scrap. Check this ( Read more... )

Comments 6

midnightglobe September 23 2005, 03:41:48 UTC

i was slightly concerned. glad youre still among the living.

sarahsmiles October 13 2005, 16:20:16 UTC

Can I ask you a question? You seem sage in the ways of things monastic and theological. I've been looking for material on my patron saint... sarah of the carmague, and have found next to nothing, aside from what I've compiled on wikipedia. She's not listed as an official saint, it seems. But there's nothing about her not being official. Aside from some documents I can't read by king rene of Aix, I find nothing. Any suggestions or guidance?

policraticus October 13 2005, 23:54:21 UTC

What a fascinating question! Thank you for asking me, I hope I can help at least a bit. While I would not hold myself out as any kind of sage, I do have some experience researching these kind of things. From what I found just cruising the net briefly and from what I know about the Legend of the Three Marys, I am inclined to think that the story of Sara is, to put it gently, ahistorical. The Legend of the Magdelene is, to put it mildly, unconvincing. It doesn't appear until some time in the 10th C. and then under suspicious circumstances. Before that everyone assumed that the first stories of her life were true, that she went with St. John and Mary to Ephesus where she eventually died and was buried. In the 9th c. pilgrims from as far away as Britain mention visiting her tomb there. The monks of Vezeley, who now claim her relics, didn't advertise this until the 1050's when they desperately needed a big name saint to bring pilgrims and their money to help pay for their new magnificant basillica. (Next to Chartres, it is my ( ... )

sarahsmiles October 14 2005, 02:49:59 UTC

I beatify you as Poli and furthermore sanctify you as Saint Dude. Just slightly slower than pope JP would have. Thanks for the intel. I'll check the Acta Sanctorurm. I have connections, but they only answer direction questions... like where can I get Acta Sanctorurm... not why does SS not have an easily accessable hagiography in paperback ( ... )

policraticus October 14 2005, 04:06:00 UTC

Honestly, I don't think you'll find much in the Acta (which is usually abrieviated AA.SS., btw.) on Sara. It seems like she is a folk embellishment to the 3 Marys Legend. But, what the hey ( ... )

sarahsmiles October 16 2005, 01:58:21 UTC

Yes, you've got it. Sarah's a 13th C embellishment. but what saint isn't an embellishment. The diff is the political structure that ensconces saint A while marginalizing saint B. Sarah's an anomoly. She's from an area that has a 2600 year history, as 2 saints already in the church, and yet has enough to make her valued for centuries when it isn't necessary. AND she's ignored by the powers that be. Can you smell a conspiracy? Well, very saint stinks of that ( ... )