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::Sorry, Helga, but NONE of the early saints WANTED to be martyred, as far as we know. They CHOSE martyrdom over denying their Christian belief. As for Boniface, I've read EVERY primary source that deals with him (at least every Latin one, including his Vita and every citation in every annal and history of the period and every Papal letter still extant. In none of these documents does it say he wanted to be a martyr. Being slaughtered by the heathen was just a normal risk associated with the job. I'm sure that, given the choice, Boniface would have preferred to continue to preach, convert, and play politics. Also, I'm not sure what Arminius had to do with anything -- he kicked Varus' Roman butt, after all. :: Finally, I have to disagree with you. Michael is correct and you really DON't understand medieveal landholding. You blithely mix places and times and make generalized statements that you think are true. You seem to understand that this is very complex, but don't seem to want to take the time necessary to apply those complexities to individual situations. You keep talking about papal and imperial property as if this were the norm before about the 11th and 12th century -- even then, you are talking about an ideal situation, not necessarily reality. For the years up to about 1100, that just isn't true. What we have is a bunch of Germans and Slavs of different varieties trying to grab as much land as they could. With the Carolingians and their heirs, Christianity played a big part because 1) the Carolingians were very pious, by and large, 2) Christianity meant papal support, and 3) it's easier to have everybody in your kingdom believing that their oaths all count the same and believing that God supports the king. I've known Michael for close to 15 years, and he knows his stuff -- he's one of the most natural scholars I've ever met -- if he says something, you can be assured that it's because he's studied it carefully over a long period. You might actually think about that fact -- or at least letting us know what valid sources you've used, so that we can speak as equals. JHK |
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