As promised several weeks ago, I'm going to run a World Cup of Royal Saints
using Twitter polls (as long as Uncle Elon lets me).
All the people I have thought of so far are listed in Wikipedia in the rather loose category
Roman Catholic royal saints,
which includes "mere" Blesseds as well.
You are welcome to suggest others in that category, but also some who are
not listed there if some other Christian church regards them as saintly (the umpire's decision on royalty and saintlihood is final).
Nominate by replying either on Twitter or to this blog.
So far we have the following (to give them their Wikipedia descriptions):
Charlemagne
Charles I of Austria
Clotilde
Edmund the Martyr
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Martyr
Elizabeth of Hungary
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Isabella I of Castile
Louis IV of Thuringia
Louis IX of France
St Margaret of Scotland
Stephen I of Hungary
Wenceslaus I
Once we have enough (again, the umpire's decision is final), we'll start the World Cup.
As usual you may vote using any criterion you wish - saintliness, beauty, what will most annoy me, etc.
So let's finish with four photos chosen completely at random from the starters.
They are, in order, Isabella I of Castille, Clotilde, Edward the Confessor, and Stephen I of Hungary.
Finally, please don't nominate people who you think should be regarded as saints but aren't officially venerable/blessed/saints.
Is Alfred the Great eligible? Although not canonised in a regular way, he has somehow slipped on to the canon of saints commemorated locally in Northampton diocese. https://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2017/10/canonisation-again.html
ReplyDeleteApparently, he is regarded as an Anglican saint as well, so let's accept him.
DeleteEmperor Constantine?
ReplyDeleteIs he regarded as a saint?
DeleteHis mother St Helena certainly is.
DeleteOswald of Northumbria
DeleteNope.
DeleteHe is venerated by the Orthodox.
DeleteElizabeth of Portugal
ReplyDeleteJadwiga of Poland
ReplyDeleteAdelaide of Italy
ReplyDeleteEtheldreda
ReplyDeleteErmenburga and her daughter Mildred
ReplyDeleteThe Church of England has two churches dedicated to King Charles the Martyr.
ReplyDeleteSaint Jadwiga of Poland
ReplyDeleteVlad Dracul, the Impaler, the "new" patron of "matamoros"...
ReplyDeleteCharles X of France
Mary Stuart of Scotland
King David and Jeanne de France ?
ReplyDeleteHoly Carmelite Martyrs of Compeigne
ReplyDeleteThank you for your suggestions, all under consideration. We have 42 probables so far.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Stephen, Elisabeth, Margaret, Jadwiga were born as royals of Hungary, Charles/Karl king of Hungary... we had also an interesting dethroned king, Solomon, who was said to die as a saintly hermit. St. Ladislaus of Hungary? A king, knight and saint. If you propose early medieval royal saints from East Europe (e.g. Poland or Chechia), most likely they were of royal Hungarian blood, too. Just saying...
ReplyDeleteKunigunde, married to Henry ll, is also a saint. By the way: Henry‘s sister Gisela was married to St Stephen of Hungary. Sie is also venerated as a Saint, but was never officially proclaimed as Saint.
ReplyDeleteThousand years ago North and East European saintly kings/royals had be exceptional. They were given the heroic task to bring their people to Christendom (and, by that, to survival).
ReplyDeleteSaint Radegund, Frankish queen & Thuringian princess!
ReplyDeleteBlessed Gisela of Barvaria (wife of St Stephen of Hungary)
ReplyDeleteThank you, all. With that we reach 48 and will start the World Cup tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteBy no means a valid nomination -- but Caroline Farrow.
ReplyDeleteHow the Police are treating her is obscene.
St. Isabelle of France (sister of St. Louis IX; daughter of Blanche of Castille)
ReplyDeleteKatharine of Aragon.
ReplyDeleteA late word for St. Adelaide of Burgundy, consort of the Holy Roman Emperor and a supporter of the reformist Cluniac monasteries.
ReplyDeleteIt’s nice to see a few of my ancestors on the list. I only wish that I was more worthy of them. St. Margaret of Scotland is my favorite, may she pray for my salvation. My family connection is through 2 of the Marbury sisters, Anne and Katharine.
ReplyDelete