Monday, January 2, 2023

It is the 2nd of January, 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

It is a new year, it is mailbag Monday, and it is the 9th day of Christmas- we’ve got drummers drumming, ladies dancing, Lords a leaping, lambs a bleating, bears a baiting (you should check out the tradition of bear baiting- a wild and inhuman sport that also gave the English their love of Bulldogs).

If you are listening to this on Monday morning, I will be in front of my television- watching the Cotton Bowl- Fight on Trojans.

To the mailbag- and a first for the almanac, a very nice dad- a man called Paul in Silverhill, Alabama has a daughter who has a daughter- Anastasia Joy, who has to do a 6th-grade report on a woman from the Middle Ages and not everyone can do Joan of Arc- so he asks, “Would you recommend a few interesting characters and helpful resources?”

Well- Silverhill, Alabama- that is South Alabama- that little bit parallel to the Florida panhandle- A very small town in Baldwin County- that’s home to ex-Charger Phillip Rivers, Jimmy Buffet, and the ghost town of Blakeley.  

Ok- so Paul and Anastasia- I made a list- a top 5 list of women in the Middle Ages whom you might want to look at.

At number 5, Claire of Assisi-

She was born in 1194 and died in 1253. She was born in Assisi, which you might know because of Francis of Assisi- the founder of the Franciscans. So, Clare wanted to be like Francis- but only men could be Franciscans, and so she, along with Francis, formed the second order of Franciscans- these would-be nuns, known as the “poor Clares.” They would be devoted to poverty and prayer- she thought that the best thing she and other women who were called to this monastic life was to pray for the world. While people were out doing the things they needed to be, she and the other Clares would be praying for them. Fun fact- she was named the patron saint of television because it was said that when she was sick and couldn’t attend midnight mass on Christmas, she was miraculously able to watch it all on the wall of her convent.

At number 4, we have Margaret of Angouleme- I just did a whole show on her last week- the dates I received from Paul were 1100-1600, and Margaret was born in 1492 and died in 1549. She has a bunch of names- she married Henry of Navarre and would be the grandmother to a future king of France, but she was herself important as the brother to King Francis of France- she personally had him released from prison when he was captured by the Emperor. She held salons- some of the greatest poets and thinkers would move in her circles. She also influenced the Reformation as a mentor to Anne Boleyn and as a sometimes supporter of the Reformed in Geneva.

The last 3 all have something in common: they are all officially “doctors of the church”- that is, the Roman Catholic Church has decided that certain figures: Augustine, Aquinas etc., are given special status as preeminent teachers. There are 37 total, but only 4 are women. And three of those are from the Middle Ages- the first is Hildegard von Bingen, her years are 1098 to 1179. She was made a saint and a doctor in 2012. She was a Benedictine Abbess, a mystic (as all three of these women are), a teacher, and a composer- we have a good bit of her poetry and the music she set it to.  

Number 2 is Theresa of Avila. She’s a bit later: 1515-1582. She was born in Avila, Spain, and would make her name as a reformer. She was a member of the Carmelite order and believed that the order had strayed from its roots in the later Middle Ages. She would set up new convents across Spain and wrote devotional treatises. She was the first woman to be made a doctor of the church.

And then there is Catherine of Sienna- she lived from 1347 to 1380. She was a Dominican tertiary- that means “3rd thing”- someone who takes the rule of an order but lives uncloistered- out in the world. She would be named a patron saint of Italy and also of all of Europe. She was not only a mystic but also famous for her care for the poor. She also helped to resolve the great schism when there were multiple popes in assorted places across Europe.  

All of these are big enough characters to find in general reference works- through Christian History, and a few of these women are in Ruth Tucker’s “Extraordinary Women of Church History.”

Thanks, Paul. Hopefully, I could help out Anastasia Joy.

The last word for today comes from the daily lectionary, from Hebrews 11:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 2nd of January 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who knows that some claim there’s a woman to blame- but he knows it's nobody’s fault. He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man serious about bear baiting and bulldogs. Check it out— I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.