WordPress’ tag surfer function is pretty awesome. Today, it directed me to ‘The Illegiterati’, who make a regular feature of Obscure Saint Blogging. Check out the account of St Ethelreda/AEthelthryth/Audrey, which seems to be based on some later sources than AElfric, which are lot more particular about her early life. Also featured are St Simeon, who didn’t quite get his miracles right, St Christina the Astonishing, and St Expeditus, patron saint of procrastinators.
Sorry for the series of linky posts. Procrastination is overwhelming my life, to the extent that I don’t even have time for my regular procrastinatory pursuits. Bless me, St Expeditus.
June 11, 2008 at 9:12 am
I couldn’t notice your interest in St. Audrey without pointing you in the direction of a book she features quite a lot in, which takes an unusual angle and is worth a read. (I am entirely biased, however: the author is a friend of mine.) It’s called “Age of Gold” and is by Celia Blay. It’s an exploration of the Waltham area in East Berkshire from the fifth to the twelfth centuries. It’s unusual, and full of typos, but there’s a lot of a good stuff about her in there. You can get it either from here – http://www.maidenheadheritage.org.uk/shop.htm#books or from c_a_blay@hotmail.com. Just in case you’re interested!
June 11, 2008 at 10:58 am
Thanks for the rec, Miss
June 16, 2008 at 10:39 am
Hey, so you asked about where I got all the info from. And, uh, basically the answer is “the internet.” My research methods kind of suck and would never fly if I were actually trying to be academic, but it’s only a blog. I will take almost anything anyone says about a saint I’m researching, though it’s not like TMZ ever did a big feature on Blaise with some suspect details. Mostly it’s the Catholic Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, and some old books I found via Google Library. Most saints’ vitae are in another language, and while I can theoretically read latin, the others present a problem and the English translation is always copyrighted. So, there you go!
June 16, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I <3 the Catholic Encyclopaedia, very very much. It’s fantastic for random bits of information which would otherwise require a long quest through a library…