Today is the translation feast of St Knud Lavard (1096-1131), also known as Knud Dux. He was the son of King Erik Ejegod of Denmark (r.1095-1103), & the nephew of King Niels (r.1104-34). Knud was killed by his cousin Magnus near Ringsted, out of fear that he was plotting to be king. (1/n)

Today is the feast of St Petronilla. The earliest history of her cult is uncertain. It can be traced at least back to the C4 as she appears in a fresco in the catacombs of Domitilla in Rome. The fresco identifies her by name & her status as martyr. (1/n)

Today is the feast of St. George, a Roman soldier who refused to renounce his faith during the Diocletian Persecution & was executed in Lydda, now Lod. Accounts of him as a warrior saint date from the C6 onward. They became popular & culminated in the well-known legend of the dragon. (1/n)

Come join us for an excellent conference that brings together a much-needed discussion between our two spheres.

Limited tickets to attend Sacred Networks: New Perspectives on Hagiography and Saints’ Cults in the Celtic and Norse Worlds *in person* remain - register soon to avoid disappointment! @networknorse.bsky.social www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sacred-net...

Today is the feast of St Quirinus of Neuss. His historicity is uncertain, but he is associated with the legend of Pope Alexander I & St Balbina (set in the C2). Quirinus was believed to have been a Roman tribune who imprisoned the pope, but then converted together with his daughter Balbina. (1/n)

Today is the feast of Cathedra Petri, St. Peter’s Chair. The feast commemorates Peter as the head - & the rock - of the Christian church, an idea based on Matthew 16:18. By the High Middle Ages, this date commemorated the appointment of Peter as bishop of Antioch. (1/n)

Registration is now open for Sacred Networks: New Perspectives on Hagiography and Saints’ Cults in the Celtic and Norse Worlds, 1-2 May at University College Dublin, organised with @networknorse.bsky.social www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sacred-net...

We are pleased and excited to be sponsoring the following sessions (and a round table) at @imc-leeds.bsky.social this summer, some co-sponsored/organised with @networknorse.bsky.social!

Today, is the feast of St Agnes of Rome. She lived during Diocletian's reign, & was one of the first virgin martyrs to be widely venerated as a saint, largely due to the promotion of her cult by Ambrose of Milan. According to her legend, she refused to marry. (1/n)

Today is the feast of St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who suffered martyrdom at the hands of a group of knights in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. News of Thomas’ death spread quickly through Latin Christendom, & the cult of the saint arrived in the Norse world already in the 1170s. (1/n)

Today is the feast of St Andrew, one of the 12 disciples of Christ. According to his apocryphal legend, he was crucified on an X-shaped cross. As one of the disciples, Andrew was part of the catalogue of saints that missionaries brought to the Norse sphere from the 9th century onwards. (1/n)

Today is the feast of St Denis of Paris, also known as St Dionysius. According to Gregory of Tours, Denis was one of the 7 bishops sent to Gaul by Pope Clement during the reign of Emperor Decius (r. 249-51). Denis preached in the region of Paris together with Rusticus & Eleutherius. (1/n)

Re-upping this in case you have missed our saint-of-the-month thread.

Today is the feast St Mauritius, the officer of the Theban Legion. He was martyred with his 6666 men at Agaunum in the upper Rhône valley c.286-7 for refusing to sacrifice to the gods. His cult flourished due to the 10th-century eastward expansion of the Ottonians. [1/n]

Yet another reminder that the deadline for our joint call for papers together with @celtichagiography.bsky.social for next year's @imc-leeds.bsky.social is extended until September 15. Join us in Leeds! [Alt text in replies to the quoted post]

Deadline extended to September 15! There is still time to send us your abstracts, & we look forward to hearing from you. [Alt text can be found in the replies to the quoted post]

Deadline extended to September 15! There is still time to send us your abstracts, & we look forward to hearing from you. [Alt text can be found in the replies to the quoted post]

Deadline is Sunday next week, so please send us your abstracts, we look forward to reading them! #IMC2026

Only two days left to submit your abstracts for this session! We look forward to reading them! #IMC2026

CfP @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026: New Studies in Old Norse Hagiography Session Jointly Sponsored by the Norse Hagiography Network and the Viking Society for Northern Research Deadline: August 24. [Alt text in thread]

CfP for @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026, organised together with @celtichagiography.bsky.social. Deadline: August 31. [Alt text in thread]

CfP for @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026, organised together with @celtichagiography.bsky.social. Deadline: August 31. [Alt text in thread]

CfP @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026: New Studies in Old Norse Hagiography Session Jointly Sponsored by the Norse Hagiography Network and the Viking Society for Northern Research Deadline: August 24. [Alt text in thread]

Another call for papers for our joint sponsored session with @networknorse.bsky.social - please share widely!

Today is the feast of SS Faith, Hope & Charity (Fides, Spes & Caritas). They may well have been real martyrs, but no one has yet been able to connect them to historical figures. An Old Norse-Icelandic saga tells their story & notes their feast day, but no cult is known in the North. (1/n)

It is intended to bring together members of the academic community with interests in hagiography, the cults of saints, and related topics for collaboration, conferences, new publications, and other opportunities. We also have shamelessly copied and hope to emulate @networknorse.bsky.social

I’d wager everything that most Americans who have heard of St Swithun learned from the Rear Window episode of the Simpsons

Today is the translation of St Swithun, bishop of Winchester (r.852-62). The first vita was composed by Lantfred shortly after the translation of his relcis in 971, & several versions in both Latin & the vernacular were written in the following two centuries. (1/n)

Today is the feast of John the Baptist, who baptised Christ in the River Jordan & was later beheaded on the orders of Herod Antipas. Unlike most saints, John’s main feast is his worldly birthday, & this feast has a high liturgical rank in medieval calendars. (1/n) [Sveriges Riksarkiv Fr 25634]

1290 years ago, on May 25, the Venerable Bede passed away. Among his numerous works, De temporum ratione & Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum were instrumental in shaping the intellectual and spiritual landscape of medieval Europe, including Iceland & Scandinavia. (1/n)

Today is the feast day of St Mark the Evangelist, the supposed author of the Gospel of Mark, though his authorship is now widely refuted. From the early C4, various figures called Mark appear to have been conflated (see The John also Called Mark by Dean Furlong (2020)). (1/n)

Today is the feast of St Lucius. He was pope from 253 to 254, which was the beginning of the reign of Valerian (253-59/60). Although this was a time of persecutions, later traditions differ on the question of whether Lucius was a martyr. (1/n)

Call for applications! A postdoctoral position at the University of Warsaw on the project "Recognising Saints in the High Middle Ages: Local and Papal Formalisation of Cults Reconsidered": historia.uw.edu.pl/en/job-offer... Deadline: March 16.

St Blaise was of course well-known in Sweden and Finland too. For information on his nearly 50 cult manifestations there, see 'Mapping Saints': saints.dh.gu.se/explore/sain...

Today is the feast of St Blaise. As one of the Holy Helpers, he is best known for healing a boy who swallowed a fish bone & is considered the patron saint of those with throat ailments. Little is known about Blaise’s life, but his vita claims he was a C4 doctor from Armenia. (1/n)

Today is the feast of St Vincent of Saragossa, the late C3 deacon who was martyred in Valencia during the persecution of Emperor Maximian. As his torturers were labouring without effect to bend Vincent’s spirit and body, he eventually burnt on a gridiron, & his body was thrown into the sea. (1/n)

For our monthly posts on topics within the cult of saints in the medieval Norse sphere, we have several contributors. These are recognisable by their initials: DSa - Davide Salmoiraghi DSe - Daria Segal NB - Natasha Bradley SH - Steffen Hope TNW - Tiffany Nicole White

The Norse Hagiography Network has now arrived at Bluesky, just in time for the feast of the three holy kings. We look forward to connecting with fellow enthusiasts, & to provide informative insights into the Nordic medieval cult of saints. [Ål stave church; Museum of Cultural History, Oslo]