Lives Of The Saints
October 25
Ss. Crispin and Crispinian
Ss. Crispin and Crispinian are remembered less through fully recoverable biography than through a real and ancient martyr cult surrounded by later embroidery. The distinction matters, and this life now keeps it plain.
Martyrdom of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, Bossche school
Brief life
Crispin and Crispinian are martyrs whose names sank deeply into Christian memory even though the surviving passion story is late and unreliable in many details. The old association of the brothers with shoemaking and missionary preaching in Gaul belongs to the shape of their cult and helps explain why their names endured so widely, but the full later tale cannot be treated as equally firm at every point. What does appear secure is the early and serious martyr cult that stands behind it.
That is enough. The saints are not thrown away because the passio grew colorful in the telling, but neither is the legend allowed to carry more weight than it can bear.
Historical note
This life treats the detailed passio of Ss. Crispin and Crispinian with caution while still recognizing an early and widespread martyr cult behind it.
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