St. Genevieve Day January 3rd

St Genevieve of Nanterre (c. 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) has her feast day today. Nanterre is an ancient settlement swallowed up by modern Paris. Genevieve was a most remarkable woman who met St Germanus of Auxerre on his way to Britain. She was only 7 when she met Germanus. He encouraged her piety. She became a consecrated virgin (someone who made vows of chastity to be a ‘bride of Christ’). Thereby living an aesthetic life of fasting and prayer. Hence, miracles soon became associated with her, (including changing the weather) and the ‘usual’ medical miracles. After moving to Paris, she encouraged the women of the City to stay in the City for prayer and fasting to prevent the Huns capturing the City in 451. Attila and the Huns abandoned the siege.

St Genevieve saved the City on other occasions too, helped build two large Church projects, including St Dennis. She intervened fearlessly in public affairs, and was a brave and resolute woman who challenged the male hierarchy with some success. And what makes me like her even more was that she is not a martyred teenager Saint tortured to death to gain her sainthood. But she did great works and lived to old age of 82 still ‘full of virtue’. In the medieval period, she became the Patron Saint of Paris. She is patron to: Paris, shepherds, winemakers, wax-chandlers, hatmakers; against eye complaints, fever, plagues, drought, and war.

St Germanus

St Germanus played a significant role in Genevieve’s life, protecting her from slander and attack. He is one of the most significant figures in post Roman studies in Britain. Accounts of his visits to Britain in the early 5th Century are among the very few descriptions of post-Roman life. He was sent to Britain to counter the Pelagian Heresy, which was endangering the Catholic version of Christianity.

He took part in a public debate about heresy which took place in a disused Roman amphitheatre. For much more about Pelagius, Germanus and his visit to Britain read my post here.

More on Nanterre

Incidentally, Nanterre has an interesting prehistory. The name in Celtic means ‘enduring sacred site’. A large cemetery has been found, which helps support the possibility that it is the original site of Paris. Julius Caesar attended an assembly with local Gallic leaders in the area. The topography of Nanterre fits as well for the location of the assembly as the island in the Seine (Île de la Cité) which is an alternative location.

In Their Own Words

This is an excerpt from Julius’s Caesar book concerned with training druids. (It is photographed from my book ‘In Their Own Words- details below).

‘In Their Own Words – A Literary Companion To The Origins Of London‘ by Kevin Flude

It brings together contemporary quotations about the Prehistoric, Roman and Dark Ages with a commentary by the author.  It’s an enjoyable read!  To buy the Kindle (£2.40) or a paperback version (£5.99), click here.

If you have read it, please go here and write a review! It is sadly devoid of any!

 

On This Day

1521 Martin Luther excommunicated by Pope Leo X. (our present Pope is the XIV)

1661 Samuel Pepys saw the Beggar’s Bush at the Theatre in Gibbon’s Tennis Court, Vere Street, near Lincoln’s Inn Fields. He records it was ‘the first time that ever I saw women come upon the stage’. The Restoration of Charles II to the throne allowed, for the first time, women to appear on the professional stage.

1777 George Washington defeats Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton

Today: keep bird feeders well stocked. Check houseplants for mealybugs, mites and other pests. (Gardeners’s Year The Metroplitan Museum of Art).

The Full Moon today falls in Cancer in a conjunction with Jupiter and an exact opposition to Mars and Venus. Thus, the mood of the times is divided between those supporters of individual liberties. And the Government’s right to control personal behaviours’. That, ast least is what Old Moore’s Almanack for 2026 says. And that’s probably enough Astrology for the year!

First written in January 2023, revised and republished January 2024, 2025, 2026