Norse Hagiography Network
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Norse Hagiography Network
@networknorse.bsky.social
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The Norse Hagiography Network is an international, interdisciplinary network with the aim of bringing together scholars with similar interests for collaboration
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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
I think that would depend on where the encounter took place. In a lot of French depictions, for example, it is very difficult to distinguish between the two based on the amount of skull being transported.
The legend conflates the C1 Dionysius the Aeorpagite (cf. Acts 17:34) & Denis of Paris. References to the saint & his martyrdom are abundant in Old-Norse Icelandic literature, especially in texts influenced by French romance epics (e.g., Karlamagnúss saga ok kappa hans, Mírmanns saga). (6/6)

-DSa
St Dionysius was also co-patron of the churches at Reykholt and at the nearby Engey. A Norse version of the saint’s life, Dionysius saga, is extant in two large C15 legendaries (AM 235 fol. & - pictured here - Stock. Perg. fol. no. 2). (5/n)
In Norway, melodies of the office of St Dionysius were recycled for the C12 office for St Olaf. Moreover, the saint was the dedicatee of a now-lost church in Roskilde before 1266.
In Iceland, Dionysius figures as the co-patron of an altar at Viðey monastery (founded in 1225). (4/n)
The cult of St Dionysius most likely arrived in the Norse world during the Christianisation period, & as a result of Scandinavian intellectuals studying in Paris. It does not appear, however, that St Dionysius was widely important before the C14, when he was counted among the 14 holy helpers. (3/n)
Denis was beheaded. His legend states that he picked up his head & walked to the place where he subsequently died. In medieval art, he is often depicted as carrying his head or the crown of his head. Thus he is represented in a modern copy of a medieval statue from Trondheim cathedral. (2/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]
The only dedication to St Maurice was preserved at the church Bær in Borgarfjörður, consecrated by St Þorlakur. Sturlunga saga preserves the date of Snorri Sturluson’s death; he is said to have been killed on the night after the Mass of St Maurice (1241).

[6/6]
Two Icelandic redactions of Máritíuss saga do not mention etymology or the saint’s skin but focus on the moral economy of obedience & martyrdom, the geography of Agaunum, & the miracles worked at the shrine. Law & liturgy meet in Grágás, whose calendar grades Mauricius’ day as leyfisdagr.

[5/n]
The depiction of St Maurice is a Black man stems from Legenda Aurea's etymological play on mauron (“black”). Since the C15, depiction of Maurice as black was predominant, especially in Livonia, where he became co-patron for the Teutonic Order & the patron of the Black Heads guild.

[4/n]
In the late C12, Valdemar the Great minted coin types with the image of Mauritius, imitating Magdeburg models. In church art, he appears both as a white man (e.g. Vittskövle church (15th c) & Skive old church (early 16th c)), & as a Black African (e.g. Roskilde Cathedral (c.1465-75).

[3/n]
In Denmark, St Maurice surfaces early in Lund: the cathedral chapter’s Memoriale fratrum (c. 1120s) records “Mauricii patroni nostri” on 22 September (likely copied from an older source), & an altar of St Maurice is listed at Lund Cathedral at its dedication on 1 September 1145.

[2/n]
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!

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CfP for @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026, organised together with @celtichagiography.bsky.social.

Deadline: August 31.

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Reposted by Norse Hagiography Network
Deadline extended to September 15! There is still time to send us your abstracts, & we look forward to hearing from you.

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Deadline extended to September 15! There is still time to send us your abstracts, & we look forward to hearing from you.

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

#IMC2026
CfP for @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026, organised together with @celtichagiography.bsky.social.

Deadline: August 31.

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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]
Reposted by Norse Hagiography Network
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]
Reposted by Norse Hagiography Network
CfP for @imc-leeds.bsky.social 2026, organised together with @celtichagiography.bsky.social.

Deadline: August 31.

[Alt text in thread]
Proposals for papers of up to 15-20 minutes should be sent to Natasha Bradley ([email protected]) and Courtney Selvage ([email protected]) by 31st August 2025.

(6/6)
Papers that engage with lesser-studied saints’ Lives composed in Latin or any of the relevant vernacular languages, or that consider multiple Lives comparatively would be especially welcomed.

(5/n)
hagiography continues to offer a valuable window as to how the authors of these texts interacted with their material and sought to authenticate their saints’ Lives through the remembrance of the past.

(4/n)
Whether through conversion motifs, reconstructions of the pagan past or “paganesque,” genealogical manipulation, reuse of earlier medieval material, or even blatant blaspheming of pre-Christian Gods (Clemens saga/Martinus Saga I),

(3/n)