Histrionic, yes, but plain by the standards of German "cloister work."
Sandra Miesel | 03.27.08 - 2:26 pm | #

Sandra--I think I found some pics of those sorts of relics. I hope to post them soon!
Matthew of the Holy Whapping | 03.27.08 - 2:30 pm | #

The body of St Ambrose:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ant...oose/148344463/

Another saints:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ant...oose/260782408/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ant...oose/457724157/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ant...moose/87821787/
SMJ | 03.28.08 - 4:43 pm | #

If you go by that one atheist guy's sociology and Roman census figures, Christians were the only people around with more than one daughter. So a lot of pagan guys were hanging around the door, and some of them got rather miffed when the girls said, "I don't believe in marrying pagans" or "I have a vocation as a consecrated virgin". OTOH, a lot of Christian women did marry pagan husbands, which was a bit of a crapshoot.

So a lot of the miffed pagan suitors probably were real; and in legend they probably reflected a lot of fears that Christians had and that later folklore remembered.
Maureen | 03.28.08 - 11:45 pm | #

You know, we should say a prayer of thanks for all those angry pagan suitors--without them there would not be so many early saints! Okay, I've been reading too much Mark Twain...
Panda Rosa | 03.29.08 - 12:25 am | #

SMJ's third saint picture up there is closing in on the territory that Matthew and I are talking about. What I'm describing are bones covered with gold netting to which paste jewels have been liberally applied, eye-skockets filled in with pearls and aquamarines, then dressed in strange costumes. It's a Germanic thing. Germans ain't got no taste.
Sandra Miesel | 03.29.08 - 12:04 pm | #

Yikes! What does is say about me that my first reading of the title for this posting was "Matriarchs-in-Church-Rule"???

Thanks for the good stuff. Happy Easter.
Bailey Walker | 04.01.08 - 1:05 pm | #