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I know I've taken quite a hiatus from SdJ, but I found some time tonight to resurrect the tradition for a we bit.
Today's Saint is Saint Radegunde. She is estimated to have met her great reward in 587 AD.
"She was, some historians say, the most perfect woman of her time, " so says the religious historian Omer Englebert. Truer words could never been used as lies. Or something.
Radegunde as a name comes from the root "rad", which means "cool" and "gund" which means "cute stuffed animal". As you will see, Radegunde lived up to her name.
In 531, when she was 8 or 9 years old, she was kidnapped by the lecherous king Clotaire of Soissons. She was, Englebert writes, "...part of his booty, and while waiting to dispose of her, housed her in one of his villas."
[Sidebar: I have no photographic evidence of what Father Englebert looked like. I imagine, as he penned the aforementioned "booty" line, that he was locked in his chambers, freshly self-flagellated. With a trembling lip and sweat forming upon his brow, he penned this brief history of Radegunde with a flourish. He then disrobed and resumed self-flagellation, of a sort.]
Anyway, 9 years later, he marries Radegunde. Yes, he married his booty. Supposedly she tried to resist marriage and escaped. However, she was retrieved and she spent 15 years being the model wife. Her brother was also taken as "booty". But eventually he was assassinated for no known reason.
At this point the queen looked to her king and asked, "My most potent and wise king, would you please excuse me?"
Clotaire said "Uh, sure. Since I just killed your only remaining family member, you're free to take some time for yourself."
She calmly left court and spent the rest of her days in an abbey praying and reading and conferring with Frankish kings.
And that was Saint Radegunde. Sainted because she married her captor and man responsible for the brutal death of her family, and calmly left him when he murdered her brother. Any queen worth her salt would have poisoined his jerk-ass. Gee whiz.
In other news, Saint Maximus is also celebrated on this day. He was well regarded in the Greek Church. His orthodoxy caused him to have his hand cut off and his tongue slit. He died in exile. I'm going to assume that, since he had is hand severed and his tongue slit, he died fairly early into his exile.
Today's Saint is Saint Radegunde. She is estimated to have met her great reward in 587 AD.
"She was, some historians say, the most perfect woman of her time, " so says the religious historian Omer Englebert. Truer words could never been used as lies. Or something.
Radegunde as a name comes from the root "rad", which means "cool" and "gund" which means "cute stuffed animal". As you will see, Radegunde lived up to her name.
In 531, when she was 8 or 9 years old, she was kidnapped by the lecherous king Clotaire of Soissons. She was, Englebert writes, "...part of his booty, and while waiting to dispose of her, housed her in one of his villas."
[Sidebar: I have no photographic evidence of what Father Englebert looked like. I imagine, as he penned the aforementioned "booty" line, that he was locked in his chambers, freshly self-flagellated. With a trembling lip and sweat forming upon his brow, he penned this brief history of Radegunde with a flourish. He then disrobed and resumed self-flagellation, of a sort.]
Anyway, 9 years later, he marries Radegunde. Yes, he married his booty. Supposedly she tried to resist marriage and escaped. However, she was retrieved and she spent 15 years being the model wife. Her brother was also taken as "booty". But eventually he was assassinated for no known reason.
At this point the queen looked to her king and asked, "My most potent and wise king, would you please excuse me?"
Clotaire said "Uh, sure. Since I just killed your only remaining family member, you're free to take some time for yourself."
She calmly left court and spent the rest of her days in an abbey praying and reading and conferring with Frankish kings.
And that was Saint Radegunde. Sainted because she married her captor and man responsible for the brutal death of her family, and calmly left him when he murdered her brother. Any queen worth her salt would have poisoined his jerk-ass. Gee whiz.
In other news, Saint Maximus is also celebrated on this day. He was well regarded in the Greek Church. His orthodoxy caused him to have his hand cut off and his tongue slit. He died in exile. I'm going to assume that, since he had is hand severed and his tongue slit, he died fairly early into his exile.
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taogrl