WilliamtheRed Forum1
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The Conqueror and Saint Catharine
Today is the Feast Day of Saint Catharine of Alexandria. The significance for 11th Century Normandy cannot be underestimated. Saint Catharine stands as the 3rd most important Saint in Christendom after The Protomartyr and Saint Cecilia. 1054 was the beginning of Henri 1 and Geoffroi Martel's war on Normandy aimed at destroying the Treaty of Saint Clair-sur-Epte established in 911 which guaranteed the permanent settlement of the people who became the Normans and agreed between Charles the Simple, The Frankish King, and Hrolf Gangar,the Viking leader.
In that year 1054,a monk arrived from The Holy Land bearing the bones of Saint Catharine. These holy relics were stored in the cathedral of The Holy Trinity in Rouen and a monastery dedicated to Saint Catharine was constructed in the environs of the city. The war launched by Henri 1 and Geoffroi Martel was intended to annihilate the people and province of Normandy and the arrival of the holy relics provided a huge boost to the mind and spirit of all Normans in ways that scarcely be comprehended by anyone not conversant with the medieval,religious mindset.
The Conqueror and Mathilde were both profoundly pious and knew the story of Saint Catharine. It must have been very inspiring in the most reverential way. The details of her story briefly are: she was an Alexandrian citizen who protested the persecution of Christians ordered by The Roman Empire under Maxentius. She converted many soldiers and Maxentius' wife. The emperor tried, by various means, to defeat her in debate which only ended in more converts to Christianity. He had her executed on a spiked wheel which broke down in the process and she was subsequently beheaded. Angels of God took her body to Mount Sinai and her Cult maintains she married Christ in The Kingdom Of Heaven. There's another interesting view of her story with which the Conqueror and Mathilde could have been familiar. That story links her to Hypatia, a female mathematician,astronomer and Alexandrianist Platonist who was skinned alive by a Neo-Christian order of monks in Alexandria also in the 4th Century for her pagan beliefs. What is also interesting is that it is known from Map's account of the Knight and the Fairy that the Conqueror was not only pious in the medieval,conventional Christian sense but was also interested in Pagan links to the religion. Indeed, there are many examples of such links,mutatis mutandis, one the most famous is that of Adonis and the martyrdom of Isaiah. Our Forum has also noted on this Chatboard and elsewhere, his strong defence,continued by the Red, of the Jewish Community and their Judaism especially in reference to Sukkot. The Conqueror and Mathilde's commitment to Saint Catharine was unambiguously a strong,motivational factor in uniting the Norman people against the predatory war of Henri 1 and Geoffroi Martel and was a very important contribution to the victory of The Norman Revolution in Normandy in 1058 following the devastating 4 year war.
Our Forum celebrates this day and tries to weigh the full measure of its meaning.
Bill H, Chairperson (on behalf of WTRF)
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Nov/25/2008, 9:24 pm
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WilliamtheRed Forum1
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 Re: The Conqueror and Saint Catharine
Bill once again you have demonstrated an acute ability to provide insight conducive to profound thought on an issue which is, to understate it, less well-known to those interested in the principal events of this historical period.We think it is too often the case that the religious element in Medieval Europe is somehow confined to a kind of intellectual 'glass cabinet' separating it from the major events designated as 'official history'. Nothing could be further from the truth. The idea that the Conqueror or the Red could shape the historical events which confronted them whether from Henri 1 'Philippe 1 or the Usurper to cite the most well-known examples, without a religious identification and/or justification is fanciful. If a ruler with the prestige of the Conqueror could establish a clear understanding in the perceptions of would-be or not so would-be supporters of his cause that contained a kernel of religious leadership, then his chances or success in their minds rose to levels of conviction that it is difficult but not impossible to gauge looking back.That Saint Catharine at the start of those truly astounding years 1054-1058 and Saint Cecilia at the end should provide that kernel is living testimony to the piety of the Conqueror and Mathilde and those who gave their support to them not least the people of Normandy themselves who bore the brunt of what can only be described as one of the most brutal wars waged by an enemy with the least moral justification against a smaller opponent of the entirer early medieval period.
Steve Walsh,Paul,Sammy,Bev Morton,John G,Martin Tilston,Becky (all in personal capacity)
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Dec/6/2008, 3:36 pm
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