#st modwenna

[maypoleman1]

5th July

Old Midsummer Day/ St Modwenna’s Day

Tynwald Day 2020. Source: Manx Radio website

Today is St Modwenna’s Day. Modwenna and her companion St Fraidd were two, almost certainly invented, saints, probably refashioned from pagan goddesses, who went exploring the coast of Ireland and caused a piece of land to break away under their feet and float out to sea. The two sailed on their rocky raft until it collided with Wales and formed the peninsula of Deganwy in Gwynedd. Modwenna decided to travel from Wales to Burton upon Trent where she became a hermit. Apparently she answered prayers if a pig was sacrificed to her, particularly by childless couples desperate for an offspring - a further sign of Modwenna’s pre-Christian origins.

Old Midsummer Day is also the day on which the Tynwald Ceremony takes place on Tynwald Hill on the Isle of Man. On 5th July all the Isle’s laws for the coming year are ceremonially read and voted on before they can be adjudged to be fully in place. The ceremony dates back to Viking times and the hill itself is reckoned to be a Norse construction at which the Tyn, or meeting, took place to pass laws in a fine exercise in primitive democracy. The ceremony is a colourful event, attended by dignitaries, judges, elected representatives, military parades and hundreds of tourists every year.

[catsvrsdogscatswin]

Since there’s a bit of a hiatus in Dracula Daily right now, I thought I’d take the opportunity to ramble about what I know of vampiric folklore and history in Europe because I cannot contain my infodump and it’s actually really interesting.

Painting it in very broad strokes, the earliest folkloric creature we would recognize as a vampire was acknowledged in Europe in the 1100s and earlier as a human corpse that physically rose from their grave and returned to their former home/village to drink blood. (A 12th-century English text, The Life and Miracles of St. Modwenna, mentions two examples of this type of vampire.) These vampires’ victims did not become vampires as well, but sickened and died, usually from wasting diseases. What caused the original person to become a vampire was variable, but usually involved being, just, an absolute jerk when they were alive, or an increasingly convoluted series of ways in which they attracted bad luck/evil while they lived, after they died, or as they were buried.

This is where the traditions of stuffing a stone in the potential vampire’s mouth, decapitating them and putting the head in the grave between their knees, burying them facedown, cutting off their hands or feet, burying them in a too-small grave, piling stones atop the grave, or burying them with broken legs came from. All of these are regional or historical variations on ways to quite literally prevent the presumed vampire from digging their way out of the grave and causing trouble: an “And stay down there!” maneuver that we’ll see survive into modern pop culture in the form of a stake through the heart.

This was the predominant form of vampirism up until roughly the 1700s: someone nasty in the village died, and after a while, would start reappearing to their family or loved ones at night, slowly draining their lives away as they fell to a wasting disease like tuberculosis or leprosy. Once the villagers caught on, they would exhume the body, find it suspiciously preserved and with blood trickling from its mouth, and then take steps to neutralize the vampiric threat by beheading, staking it through the heart to literally pin it in the grave, stuff a stone in its mouth, or a combination of all three. 

(You may have heard of the Venetian mass-burial plague pit an archeological team discovered: one of the skeletons had a brick shoved in her mouth. She was the only body treated in such a way, implying that she was thought to have been a vampire: hypothetically even the vampire that caused this local upswing of the plague.)

A cultural shift happened in the 18th century, however, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire gained territory in Serbia and other portions of the Balkans. Since they were neighbors with the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarians kept a heavy military presence in these new territories, and the emperor of the time (Charles VI, I believe) asked the occupying forces to collect reports on the local customs and folklore and send them back.

A number of the reports they sent back included vampire stories.

Now, this was the Age of Enlightenment: many countries were pulling away from old superstitions and following the new methods of science. Belief in vampirism was a rural thing, and widespread plague situations had faded enough that they really weren’t relevant anymore and had fallen out of a lot of people’s memory. 

But the thing was... science was still new, and this whole vampirism thing sounded just plausible enough to be extremely interesting. The Austro-Hungarians sent all sorts of scientists, doctors, and clergy members to collect and dissect and discuss these stories, and for a short spate of time vampirism was the hot new discussion topic in esoteric circles. And for then and a while after, if you wanted case studies, debates, and just about any reference material on vampires, you knew you’d find it in Austro-Hungary’s library.

Eventually the scientific community all concluded that this vampirism thing was just silly peasants not understanding the process of decay, but the arts crowd -particularly the Sturm und Drang folks in Germany- remained very interested in this exotic new creature steeped in mystery and death. Sturm und Drang translates to “storm and stress” and if I had to describe their style in modern terms, I would say (roughly, and with affection) “a love of edgy tragedies.”

There were a number of poems and works spawned from this flurry of interest, but this Austrian version of the vampire still shared a common theme: more like a revenant than anything else, coming for their loved ones first, and a lot of their horror was tied up in how blasphemous and unChristian their very existence was. Less emphasis was placed on getting rid of the vampire and more was placed on the artistic allure of vengeance from beyond the grave and the vampire’s inherent exotic mysticism and threat.

Stoker, in fact, directly references an example of this in Dracula! On May 5th, when Dracula’s telling the coach driver that he knew they were trying to get Jonathan out of there before he showed up, because he himself drove fast enough to intercept them, one of the other passengers whispers to his friend “Denn die Todten reiten schnell,” which translates roughly to “For the dead ride fast,” a quote from Burger’s Lenore.

Lenore is a poem about a young woman whose fiancé died in the Seven Years’ War (connection with Austro-Hungary). In her despair, she curses god (old-school invitation for vampirism), and the following night, her lover knocks on her door to take her on horseback to their marriage bed (vampires attack their loved ones first). He takes her on an increasingly terrifying ride through the night, prompting the above quote, which ends in a graveyard, where he is revealed to be a skeleton and Lenore dies.  

Lenore was written in 1774, and although William is not technically a vampire, the poem is an example of the old-school vampire type. The vampire is a physical reanimated corpse that does not create more of its kind, but causes the people around them to die/waste away, and attacks their loved ones before anyone else. The transition to what we finally would recognize as a modern vampire started with Carmilla and was solidified in Dracula.

Written in 1872, Carmilla is a blending of both old and modern vampiric tropes. It uses the then-expected setting of the Austrian Empire, all of the titular vampire’s victims wasted away and died rather than rising as vampires themselves, and Carmilla’s coffin was filled with blood when she was unearthed. However, she was also able to shapeshift into a cat and walk through walls -no longer just a revenant- and she could walk around during the day without harm. She also does not target the people she knew and loved in life first: Carmilla is a vampire centuries old and her current victims are chosen indiscriminately. The vampire as a folkloric creature was evolving.

And, side note, while it was used partially as a narrative device to show how evil and unnatural Carmilla was, she was also gay. Gay as fuck. People who lost their shit at 

“Then the Count turned, after looking at my face attentively, and said in a soft whisper: ‘Yes, I too can love’” 

will go absolutely mental at Laura going

“It was like the ardour of a lover; it embarrassed me; it was hateful and yet overpowering; and with gloating eyes she drew me to her, and her hot lips travelled along my cheek in kisses; and she would whisper, almost in sobs, ‘You are mine, you shall be mine, and you and I are one for ever.’"

Anyway. Queerness is baked into the concept of the modern vampire from the very beginning, what of it.

With Carmilla as the springboard, though, Stoker was free to finally create Dracula, which was essentially the turning point between modern and archaic vampire depictions. He took all of the old stuff and reworked, revamped (heh), or added to it to get the foundation of the stereotypical vampire we know today.

He shifted the geographic vampire hotspot further over from Austria-Hungary, landing it in neighboring Transylvania. Dracula’s victims weaken and die and seem to be inflicted with a strange wasting disease, but can also turn into vampires themselves. Driving a stake through his heart and cutting off his head is no longer an attempt to pin him in his grave and keep him from rising, but merely to destroy him. He was dead, yes, and very unholy, but he also had powers beyond merely being a risen corpse, and his power set became the standard for future vampire media.

Hence, Dracula becomes the foundation for the modern concept of a vampire, which is why pop culture usually treats it as the beginning point of vampirism in general.

[anastpaul]

Saint of the Day – 5 July – Saint Modwenna (9th Century) Irish Virgin

Saint of the Day – 5 July – Saint Modwenna (9th Century) Irish Virgin Princess, Nun, Founder of Burton Abbey in Staffordshire, Miracle-worker. According to the medieval Life of St Modwenna, she was an Irish noblewoman by birth and founded the Abbey on an island in the River Trent. Modwenna is reported to have performed many holy miracles at Burton Abbey, and to this day the well on the site is…

[silvestromedia]

Saint of the day August 21

St. Cyriaca, Roman Catholic Widowed Martyr and patroness of St. Laurence, sometimes called Dominica. St. Laurence, deacon and martyr, used Cyriacas villa in Rome to distribute alms to the poor. She was scourged to death for the faith. The church of St. Mary in Dominica was named after her. Feastday Aug. 21

St. Hardulph. A hermit of Leicester, England, possibly the recluse of Breedon, mentioned in the life of St. Modwenna. A church was dedicated in his honor.

St. Pius X, Roman Catholic Priest and became the two hundred fifty-ninth Pope

[alexconkleton]

Memories & Inspirations of Templarism: Rouen

During a holiday to Rouen in France I noted the reference to an old temple place on the city centre map in our rented apartment. Knowing that names historically bearing the word temple are all referencing an ancient link to Templarism, I made  visiting the location a priority of my stay.

I expected to find some evidence of perhaps a what could have been an ancient Templar castle or keep, likely long ruined or unrecognisable, particularly because of the French King’s determination to eradicate the legacy of the Templars.

I was surprised and very impressed to find a fully intact temple, Temple Saint Eloi.

A church was built on a island in the Seine from approximately July 5th 1228

The 5th of July is the birthday date of Mayan ruler Ahkal Mo' Naab' I in the year 465 and perhaps an early indication of an ancient heritage to the location. It is also a date associated with the celebration of St Modwenna, who founded Burton Abbey in Staffordshire in England in the 7th century. 

St Modwenna’s legacy is intriuging and mystical, shrouded in myth perfect for an older association with the beliefs and knowledge that inspired Templarism and Gnosticism. St Modwenna is believed to have lived to 130 years old and raised Saint Oswyth, daughter of  Wilburga, daughter of the pagan King Penda of Mercia. A medieval Anglo-Norman text tells of how Alfred the Great personally knew St Modwenna, although he reigned some 200 years later, supporting the belief of her extended life or perhaps that she shared knowledge that lead to a transference of her spirit.

St Oswyth’s mother, Wilburg was the daughter of King Penda, a son of Pybba of Mercia and said to be an Icling, with a lineage purportedly extending back to pre-Christian, pre-Roman, Norse mythological God Wōden. Perhaps this lineage, associations and miracles support further the understanding and sharing of great knowledge and power which has been overshadowed by doctrine, Christianity and the regal establishments crusade for unchallenged power.

The miracle that most caught my attention was perhaps the application of this ancient family power, tutored under the direction of St Modwenna in that after her execution St Oswyth stood up, picking up her head like Saint Denis in Paris, and other cephalophoric martyrs and walked with it in her hands, to the door of a local convent, before collapsing there. The legends of cephalophores miraculously walking with their heads in their hands may be related to the Celtic cult of heads.

The discovery of the temple is started with a view of the a great West window with a clearly marked great heptagram, with a heptagram at its centre. 

The central heptagram resembles a star at the centre of a sun, perhaps a child within a God.

Within the heptagram is a flower, representative of femininity and lining the perimeter are hearts to indicate love and the sacred heart.

The dedication of the temple to Saint Eloi is perhaps most poignant as he is predominantly recognised as the patron saint of goldsmiths and this could indicate that this temple, close to the banks of the Seine in an important river shipping city, was perfectly placed for moving Templar wealth in and out of Paris. This may even have been a location for the evacuation of Templar gold and treasure just prior to the issue of the arrest warrant.

On the North side of the temple is another beautiful window featuring hearts and flames appearing to grow from the structure of the window frame and in the wood paneled door below a subtle hexagram, the star of creation in Christianity. The Seal of Soloman is representative of the path to higher spirituality.

Further indication of the influence and inspiration of Templarism is the decorative stone features, including the long reaching gargoyles and the flying buttresses, somewhat reminiscent of other inspired works of stonemasonry of the same period and influence, namely Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland.

The work is signed on the West facing wall by ‘Barbe’, a family of glass painters whose legacy became legendary in Rouen, it is likely that these windows were completed later in the Temple’s life most likely when it was rebuilt in the 16th century.

Further evidence of the influence of the Templars on Rouen can be found on Rue du Gros Horloge. Les Gros Horloge is one of the oldest in France and although it was constructed in 1389, there are a significant number of Templar inspired features.

It is so much more than a timepiece, it also indicates the phase of the moon by the representation at its top and the days of the week in the dial at its base.

More significantly below this in the peak of the arch is an interesting combination of symbols.

The red heart is representative of the heart of Jesus or the love of Jesus and there is a direct relationship between this and the secret knowledge or powers that inspired Templarism.

The sheep represents spiritual living, community or followers and being inside the heart this would represent the followers or community of Jesus. It also represents Jesus as the lamb of God, the self sacrifice of faith.

The sheep has a halo of the Templar cross and carries a cross with a banner hung from it, representing the religious crusade of the Templars and their protection of Christianity through battle and occupation of Holy sites, which ultimately contributed to their understanding or a great and secret knowledge.

The baby cherubs as humans are representative of humanity and the original meaning of a cherub was for the protection of the Garden of Eden a symbol of the garden of human and religious origin and the interconnective balance of humans and nature.

This depiction is beautifully sculptured in the stone beneath the clocktowers arch. A haloed shepherd, almost desperately hanging onto their staff with one hand is reaching down to feed a sheep grain from the open palm of their other.

The detail is superb, the shepherd features a whistle hanging around their neck.

The shepherd and their flock are in front of a detailed woodland, including even the detail of their secondary branches. They are at one within their natural surroundings.

The quality of the workmanship is reminiscent of the masterpieces of stonemasonary associated with the inspirations of Templarism and gnostic beliefs such as Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland.

The inscription reads ‘animam suam dat pro ovibus suis’ which translates as ‘gives his life for his sheep’.This comes from the Gospel of John, and reads: Ego sum pastor bonus. Bonus pastor animam suam dat pro ovibus suis, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep." It is interesting that the piece ‘Bonus pastor’, ‘Good Shepherd’ is missing, perhaps deliberately as a message of perhaps this is a lost piece of the sculpture.

In the lower portion of the frieze there is further incredible detail in the township, complete with chateaux, a mill and a cottage in the woods. The trees of the landscape feature, natural flows of branches and foliage. The human working township, sheep, trees and undergrowth, all depicting the joint balance of life.

Master craftsmanship of stone masonary and art continue to surprise you as you are drawn to look closer and find new images within the undergrowth. Below you can see a close up of what could be a leaping hare or rabbit beside what appears to be the painted head of a rabbit, with even the downturned mouth. Does this indicate that this frieze was once decoratively painted, alive with colour?

Elsewhere there is what appears to a a distant perspective of a person either following a horse as it rears up on its hind legs or is the figure reaching upwards to stave off a rampant dragon?

It is interesting that the sheep at the base of the sculpture look very different to the others, their legs, long necks and snouts, even the way one scratches its ear with its hind leg, they almost resemble more like wolfs than sheep. Is there a deeper message here of the wolves that hunt the sheep or of the balance and co-existence that resides in nature?

[silvestromedia]

SAINTS FOR JULY 06

Martyrs of the Abrahamites, Roman Catholic monks who were members of the monastery founded by St. Abraham of Ephesus at Constantinople. The Abrahamites were defenders of icons and sacred images and were martyred by Emperor Theophilus, an Iconoclast. July 6

Bl. Thomas Alfield, 1585 A.D. English martyr. A native of Gloucester, he was educated at Eton and Cambridge. While raised as an Anglican, he eventually was converted to Catholicism and left England to study for the priesthood at Douai and Reims, France, receiving ordination in 1581. Returning to England, he was soon arrested while handing out copies of the polemic True and Modest Defence by Dr. Allen. Condemned, he was hanged at Tybum. Thomas was beatified in 1929.

St. Noyala, Roman Catholic Virgin Martyr. She was beheaded at Beignan, Brittany Noyala walked from the site of her martyrdom to Pontivy, holding her head in her hands. July 6

St. Maria Goretti, Roman Catholic Virgin Martyr. One of the Church’s youngest canonized saints, Maria Goretti died at age eleven defending her chastity against the man who murdered her. Her forgiveness of her aggressor worked in him a miracle of conversion after her death. Patron of youth, young women, purity, and victims of rape. Feastday July 6

St. Modwenna. The St. Modwenna, or Monenna, formally venerated at Burton-on-Trent and elsewhere, may have lived in the middle of the seventh century and been a recluse on an islet called Andresey in the Trent. But not only are other and conflicting things alleged of her, but her legend has been confused with that of the Irish saint Darerca, or Moninne, said to have been the first abbess of Killeavy, near Nerwy and to have died in 517; and she has perhaps been confused with others as well. Capgrave and others speak of St. Modwenna as having charge of St. Edith of Polesworth, which were it true would throw no useful light on either saint. The most valuable information we possess about St. Moninne seems to be the entry in the Felire of Oengus: "Moninne of the mountain of Cuilenn was a fair pillar; she gained a triumph, a hostage of purity, a kinswoman of great Mary", with the gloss.

BL. MARY THERESA LEDÓCHOWSKA,

B. BENEDICT XI, POPE

[silvestromedia]

SAINTS FOR JULY 05

Saint Zoe of Rome, Roman Catholic Martyr. She was greatly devoted to St Peter, and was praying by his tomb when she was arrested for her faith. She died, stifled by smoke, being hung by her own hair, over a fire. Her body then was thrown into the River Tiber. Feastday: July 5

St. Edana, Irish saint venerated in western Ireland, sometimes called Etaoin. She lived near the Boyle and Shannon Rivers and a well bears her name. She may be confused with St. Modwenna.

Sts. Fragan and Gwen, 5th century. The parents of Sts. Jacut, Guithem, and Winwaloe. Fragan and Gwen went to Brittany, France, to escape the pagan barbarians of England. Churches in Brittany were dedicated to each of them.

ST. ANTONY M. ZACCARIA, PRIEST, FOUNDER OF THE BARNABITIS-Although he lived on 36 years, St Anthony had a profound effect on the Church of the 16th century. He founded the Barnabite community, and the associated Angelic Sisters of St Paul and the Laity of St Paul. Twice he was accused of heresy, and twice absolved. July 5

[silvestromedia]

Saint of the day August 21

St. Hardulph. A hermit of Leicester, England, possibly the recluse of Breedon, mentioned in the life of St. Modwenna. A church was dedicated in hid honor.

St. Pius X, Roman Catholic Priest and became the two hundred fifty-ninth Pope

St. Cyriaca, Roman Catholic Widowed Martyr and patroness of St. Laurence, sometimes called Dominica. St. Laurence, deacon and martyr, used Cyriacas villa in Rome to distribute alms to the poor. She was scourged to death for the faith. The church of St. Mary in Dominica was named after her. Feastday Aug. 21

[silvestromedia]

Saint of the day July 05

St. Edana, Irish saint venerated in western Ireland, sometimes called Etaoin. She lived near the Boyle and Shannon Rivers and a well bears her name. She may be confused with St. Modwenna.

Sts. Fragan and Gwen, 5th century. The parents of Sts. Jacut, Guithem, and Winwaloe. Fragan and Gwen went to Brittany, France, to escape the pagan barbarians of England. Churches in Brittany were dedicated to each of them.

ST. ANTONY M. ZACCARIA, PRIEST, FOUNDER OF THE BARNABITIS Although he lived on 36 years, St Anthony had a profound effect on the Church of the 16th century. He founded the Barnabite community, and the associated Angelic Sisters of St Paul and the Laity of St Paul. Twice he was accused of heresy, and twice absolved. July 5

Saint Zoe of Rome, Roman Catholic Martyr. She was greatly devoted to St Peter, and was praying by his tomb when she was arrested for her faith. She died, stifled by smoke, being hung by her own hair, over a fire. Her body then was thrown into the River Tiber. Feastday: July 5

[silvestromedia]

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS JULY 06

Bl. Thomas Alfield, 1585 A.D. English martyr. A native of Gloucester, he was educated at Eton and Cambridge. While raised as an Anglican, he eventually was converted to Catholicism and left England to study for the priesthood at Douai and Reims, France, receiving ordination in 1581. Returning to England, he was soon arrested while handing out copies of the polemic True and Modest Defence by Dr. Allen. Condemned, he was hanged at Tybum. Thomas was beatified in 1929.

St. Modwenna. The St. Modwenna, or Monenna, formally venerated at Burton-on-Trent and elsewhere, may have lived in the middle of the seventh century and been a recluse on an islet called Andresey in the Trent. But not only are other and conflicting things alleged of her, but her legend has been confused with that of the Irish saint Darerca, or Moninne, said to have been the first abbess of Killeavy, near Nerwy and to have died in 517; and she has perhaps been confused with others as well. Capgrave and others speak of St. Modwenna as having charge of St. Edith of Polesworth, which were it true would throw no useful light on either saint. The most valuable information we possess about St. Moninne seems to be the entry in the Felire of Oengus: "Moninne of the mountain of Cuilenn was a fair pillar; she gained a triumph, a hostage of purity, a kinswoman of great Mary", with the gloss.

[silvestromedia]

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS AUGUST 21

St. Hardulph. A hermit of Leicester, England, possibly the recluse of Breedon, mentioned in the life of St. Modwenna. A church was dedicated in hid honor.

[silvestromedia]

SAINTS AUGUST 21

St. Hardulph. A hermit of Leicester, England, possibly the recluse of Breedon, mentioned in the life of St. Modwenna. A church was dedicated in hid honor.

St. Pius X, Roman Catholic Priest and became the two hundred fifty-ninth Pope

St. Cyriaca, Roman Catholic Widowed Martyr and patroness of St. Laurence, sometimes called Dominica. St. Laurence, deacon and martyr, used Cyriacas villa in Rome to distribute alms to the poor. She was scourged to death for the faith. The church of St. Mary in Dominica was named after her. Feastday Aug. 21

[silvestromedia]

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS JULY 6, Bl. Thomas Alfield, St. Modwenna, St. Moninne,

[silvestromedia]

ENGLISH SPEAKING SAINTS JULY 5

St. Edana, Irish saint venerated in western Ireland, sometimes called Etaoin. She lived near the Boyle and Shannon Rivers and a well bears her name. She may be confused with St. Modwenna.  

Sts. Fragan and Gwen, 5th century. The parents of Sts. Jacut, Guithem, and Winwaloe. Fragan and Gwen went to Brittany, France, to escape the pagan barbarians of England. Churches in Brittany were dedicated to each of them.