“She thus wrote a letter that she wrapped in a scarlet ball and sent on to her brother through a random pilgrim. She implored her brother that, for the sake of his love for God, who commands that we should love not only our neighbors and friends but even our enemies, he be mindful of…

Epistolophobia. A popular online dictionary defines it as ‘an abnormal or irrational fear of correspondence, especially the receiving or writing of letters or messages’.[1] The Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (d. 1913) is said to have suffered from it, as part of a more general tendency towards debilitating procrastination.[2] A handful of modern testimonials can…

“Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker” reads the beginning of Proverbs 14:31. In fact, the Bible is full of instructions that one should care for the poor. This post will discuss the story of someone in Merovingian Gaul—an anonymous Burgundian—who did the opposite and was punished for this through a letter. The story…

 “If you have already traversed the harsh and uninhabitable cliffs of the mountains, if you have already broken deep into the forest by narrow passes, like the lion of mighty breast, if you have utterly defeated the goats at running, the deer at springing, and the bears and wild pigs in voracity, if you have…

When it comes to saints, people often consider them to be examples of kindness and patience, without any serious character flaws. Columbanus (d. 615), an Irish peregrinus who spent the latter part of his life founding monasteries in several continental kingdoms, does not adhere to this description, at least not if we take his letters…

Our text is the Passio Praeiecti, its subject is Praeiectus, who became bishop of Clermont in 666 and was murdered in 676 near Volvic after a conflict about property.[1] The text itself was probably written soon after Praeiectus’ death.[2] It contains numerous episodes involving legal documents, letters and gifts. This contribution focuses on one such…

In the anonymous Life of Gertrude of Nivelles, much of the narrative is devoted to the saint’s preparations for death. Her arrangements form the essence of her sanctity. The narrative culminates in a striking scene, which sees the saint dispatching a messenger to the nearby monastery of Fosses to inquire about the day she will…