Its Raining Roses, Hallelujah

St. Elizabeth, princess of Hungary

In the paining above St. Elizabeth is bathing a leper or beggar. It is located in her cathedral in Košice, Slovakia and was painted c. 1500. She is often shown with the color red and roses in her apron, like in the painting below, by Piero Della Francesca c. 1460. In this painting she is also pictured with a Fransician friar, most likely her spirital advisor Caesarius of Speier. With the friars' help she founded a monestary in Eisenach and made clothes and provided shelter for the poor. After her husbands death, she became a nun and built a hospital to help the poor even further. 

shhh I know its not red but it has the roses

The miracle St. Elizabeth is most well known for was her Miracle of Roses, which is why shes pictured with them in many paintings of her. When she first got married she began to smuggle bread in her dress for the poor. There were accusations of her stealing treasure from her husband, so he confronted her about it. When he did, a vision of white and red roses fell around her, as the bread had turned into them. Her husband decided she was doing God's work and supported her in her charity to the poor.

After she died at the age of 24, there were miracles of healing being reported at the hospital she built. She was given quick canonization and is now the patron saint of services, tertiaries, widows, and young brides.

Works Cited

Bihl, Michael. "St. Elizabeth of Hungary." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert
Appleton Company, 1909. 9 Sept. 2016<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05389a.htm>.

Online, Catholic. "St. Elizabeth of Hungary - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online." Catholic Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2016. <http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=45>.

Zaidan, Henry. "Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, 33 Works - RELIGIOUS ART - Paintings from the Bible by the Old Masters, with Footnotes, 18." Mythology:. N.p., 09 Sept. 2016. Web. 09 Sept. 2016. <http://painting-mythology.blogspot.com/2016/05/saint-elizabeth-of-hungary-33-works.html>.

The Ornamental Manuscript

St. John from the Book of Kells

The Book of Kells, produced around the year 800 BCE, was a manuscript that contained the four Gospels as well as other customary additions such as the cannon tables. The Gospels were in Latin and were based off of the Vulgate text that St. Jerome wrote. Much of its popularity derives from the extravagant artistry and decoration contained in the book. The incredible work resides in Trinity College Library, in Dublin.

'Chi Rho' - the most famous page in the Book

There is controversy as to where the Book was produced because it combines Irish and Anglo-Saxon styles. This means that it could be from a number of places including, Ireland, Scotland, or Northumbria (now northern England). Around the time the Book was written, a viking raid moved the book to Kells, Ireland. In the 11th century, the book lost its cover (which most likely included gold and gems) because it was stolen. Since then, no harm has come to the book and it has been well preserved.

Sources:

Bennett, Judith M. Medieval Europe. 11th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

 
Snell, Melissa. "The Book of Kells." About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2016.

Spangenberg, Lisa. "XPI Autem Generatio: The Book of Kells and the Chi-Rho Page." Celtic Studies Resources. N.p., 25 Dec. 2010. Web. 9 Sept. 2016. 

"The Book of Kells." Trinity College Dublin. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2016. 

 

Wergeld

Near the end of the Roman Empire there was a tribe referred to as Burgundians.  The Burgundians followed a set of laws and codes referred to as The Burgundian Code, these laws covered many topics from getting a divorce, kidnapping, murder, and maiming of other Freemen and Romans.

Most of these laws would require that the offender pay a certain price or fine to the victim or the victims family, and the higher up in the social class the victim was,the higher the fine would be as well.

These fines were referred to as wergeld. You would witness many freeman storing away stashes of solidi (revenue used at the time) to be able to pay off wergeld. Another main use of wergeld was to prevent family feuds from ensuing, why fight to the death over a dead horse when you can just pay for it? I consider the concept of wergeld interesting due to the fact of everything seemed to have a price and its place in society all the way from the maiming of an arm to the stubbing of a toe. This concept is also carried out today in a certain fashion by requiring certain offenders to pay bail to be released from holding.

Marc. "The Burgundian Code - Outline." Burgundians in the Mist:. N.p., 23 July 2010. Web. 07 Sept. 2016.

Duhaime, Lloyd. "Burgundian Code (500)." Duhaime.org. N.p., 13 Sept. 2008. Web. 07 Sept. 2016

Drew, K., The Burgundian Code (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972)


.McKitterick, R. (editor), The New Cambridge Medieval History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).