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{{Short description|3rd-century Christian saint and martyr}} | ||
{{Redirect|Saint |
{{Redirect|Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian||The Martyrdom of St Sebastian (disambiguation){{!}}The Martyrdom of St Sebastian}} | ||
{{Redirect|Sebastián|other uses|Sebastian (name)}} | |||
{{otheruses}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}} | |||
{{Infobox saint | {{Infobox saint | ||
|honorific_prefix= ] | |||
|name=Saint Sebastian | |||
|name = Sebastian | |||
|image=Sodoma 003.jpg | |||
|image = Sodoma 003.jpg | |||
|imagesize=250px | |||
|caption= |
|caption = ''Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian'', by ], {{circa|1525}} | ||
|titles = Captain of the ]<br>Roman Soldier, Healer and Martyr | |titles = Captain of the ]<br />Roman Soldier, Healer and Martyr | ||
|birth_date = {{circa|AD 255}} | |||
|birth_date=c. 256|death_date=c. 288|venerated_in=]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>] | |||
|birth_place=], ], ]|death_date = {{circa|AD 288}}<br />(aged approximately 32) | |||
|attributes=Tied to a post, pillar or a tree, shot by arrows, clubbed to death | |||
|death_place=], ], Roman Empire | |||
|feast_day=January 17 (Catholic),<br>December 18 (Eastern Orthodox) | |||
|feast_day = {{ubli|20 January (Roman Catholic), and (Oriental Orthodox)|18 December (Eastern Orthodox)|14/15 February (Ethiopian Orthodox church)}} | |||
|patronage=], plagues, archers, holy Christian death, athletes}} | |||
|attributes = Tied to a post, pillar or a tree, shot by arrows | |||
|patronage = ]; plague-stricken; ]; disabled peoples; ]; cyclists; ], Sri Lanka; ]; ]; ]; ], ], Mexico; ], Brazil; ], Philippines; ], Philippines; ], Peru; ], Brazil; ], Brazil; ], Hungary; ], Peru; ], Ecuador; ], Italy |venerated_in={{ubli|]|]|]|]|]|]}} | |||
|major_shrine = ] ] | |||
}} | |||
'''Sebastian''' ({{langx|la|Sebastianus}}; {{Circa|AD 255|AD 288}}) was an early ] ] and ]. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the ] of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by ], which became a popular subject in 17th-century painting. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to ] to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death.<ref name="independent"/><ref name=SHMI>{{cite book|author=Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI|title=My First Book of Saints|year=1997|publisher=Holy Mary Immaculate – Quality Catholic Publications|isbn=971-91595-4-5|pages=22–23|chapter=St. Sebastian}}</ref> He is venerated in the ] and the ] as the Patron Saint of Athletics, Archery, and Plagues.<ref name=QUEER2>{{Cite book |last=Kaye |first=Richard A. |chapter=Losing His Religion: Saint Sebastian as Contemporary Gay Martyr |title=Outlooks: Lesbian and Gay Sexualities and Visual Cultures |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Horne |editor-first2=Reina |editor-last2=Lewis |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |year=1996 |page=105 |doi=10.4324/9780203432433|isbn=9781134803088 |s2cid=241421117 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/arrows-of-desire-how-did-st-sebastian-become-an-enduring-homoerotic-icon-779388.html |title=Arrows of desire: How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon? |newspaper=The Independent |date=10 February 2008 |access-date=16 July 2009}}</ref> | |||
The oldest record of the details of Sebastian's martyrdom is found in the '']'', which mentions him as a martyr, venerated on January 20. He is also mentioned in a sermon on ] by 4th-century bishop ]: in his sermon, Ambrose stated that Sebastian came from ] and that he was already venerated there at that time. The full account of his martyrdom comes from the ''Passio Sancti Sebastiani'', a 5th-century text written by an anonymous author, possibly ]. | |||
'''Saint Sebastian''' (died c. 288) was an early ] ] and ]. It is said that he was killed during the Roman emperor ]'s persecution of Christians. He is commonly depicted in art and literature tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows. This is the most common artistic depiction of Sebastian; however, according to legend, he was rescued and healed by ]. Shortly afterwards he criticized Diocletian in person and as a result was clubbed to death.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/arrows-of-desire-how-did-st-sebastian-become-an-enduring-homoerotic-icon-779388.html |publisher=The Independent |title=Arrows of desire: How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon? | date=10 February 2008}}</ref> He is venerated in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. | |||
Sebastian is a popular male saint, especially today among athletes.<ref name="accsport.asn.au">{{cite web|url=http://www.accsport.asn.au/acc-information/spirit-service-awards/st-sebastian-fellowship-award/about-st-sebastian|title=About St Sebastian – Associated & Catholic Colleges of WA|website=www.accsport.asn.au|access-date=3 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dcfaithinaction.org/uncategorized/2012/01/22/the-patron-saint-of-sports/|title=The Patron Saint of Sports|first=Jackie|last=White|access-date=3 December 2017|archive-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804020350/http://dcfaithinaction.org/uncategorized/2012/01/22/the-patron-saint-of-sports/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In medieval times, he was regarded as a saint with a special ability to intercede to protect from ], and devotion to him greatly increased when plague was active. | |||
The details of Saint Sebastian's martyrdom were first spoken of by 4th-century bishop ], in his sermon (number 22) on ]. Ambrose stated that Sebastian came from ] and that he was already venerated there in the 4th century. Saint Sebastian is a popular male saint, especially among soldiers and athletes who often wear his medal as a pious ]. He is commonly known as the "Patron Saint of Sports. <ref>http://www.catholic-saints.info/patron-saints/saint-of-sports.htm</ref><ref>http://dcfaithinaction.org/uncategorized/2012/01/22/the-patron-saint-of-sports/</ref><ref>http://www.accsport.asn.au/acc-information/spirit-service-awards/st-sebastian-fellowship-award/about-st-sebastian</ref>. | |||
==Life== | ==Life== | ||
There is not much known about Saint Sebastian's early life, but the ancient source mentioning Sebastian is found in the '']'', a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD by the calligrapher and illustrator ], which mentions him as a martyr who was venerated on January 20. His cult is also mentioned by ] in his ''Expositio in Psalmum CXVIII'', a theological and exegetical commentary of ] dated to 386–390 AD; Ambrose states that Sebastian came from ] and that he was venerated as a saint there.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Saint Sebastian|url=https://newdailycompass.com/en/saint-sebastian-1-1|access-date=2022-01-20|website=New Daily Compass}}</ref> | |||
] |url= http://art.thewalters.org/detail/6193|title=Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken}}</ref> The Walters Art Museum.]] | |||
The first surviving account of Sebastian's life and death is the ''Passio Sancti Sebastiani'', long thought to have been written by Ambrose in the 4th century, but now regarded as a 5th-century account by an unknown author (possibly ]). This includes the "two martyrdoms", and the care by Irene in between, and other details that remained part of the story.<ref>Hedquist, Valerie, "Ter Brugghen's Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene," ''Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art'' §8–9, 9:2 (Summer 2017) DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2017.9.2.3, ; ''The Vatican: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide'', eds. ], Kathleen Howard, p. 347, 1983, Metropolitan Museum of Art, {{ISBN|0870993488}}, 9780870993480, </ref> | |||
According to Sebastian's 18th-century '']'',<ref>''Acta S. Sebastiani Martyris'', in ], ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus Accurante'' (Paris 1845), XVII, 1021–58; abbreviated in ], '']''.</ref> still attributed to Ambrose by the 17th-century ] ], and the briefer account in '']'', he was a man of ] who was taught in Milan and appointed as a captain of the ] under Diocletian and ], who were unaware that he was a Christian. | |||
]'' ]] | |||
Sebastian was known for having encouraged in their faith two Christian prisoners due for martyrdom, ], who were bewailed and entreated by their family to forswear Christ and offer token sacrifice. His presence was said to have cured a woman of her muteness, and that the miracle instantly converted 78 people. | |||
According to Sebastian's 18th-century entry in '']'',<ref>''Acta S. Sebastiani Martyris'', in ], ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus Accurante'' (Paris 1845), XVII, 1021–581221; abbreviated in ], '']''.</ref> still attributed to Ambrose by the 17th-century ] ], and the briefer account in the 14th-century '']'', he was a man of ] who was taught in ] (]). In 283, Sebastian entered the army in Rome under Emperor ] to assist the ]. Because of his courage he became one of the captains of the ]s under Diocletian and ], who were unaware that he was a Christian.<ref name=SHMI /> | |||
According to tradition, Mark and Marcellian were twin brothers and were ]s. They were from a distinguished family and were both married, living in Rome with their wives and children. The brothers refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods and were arrested. They were visited by their father and mother, Tranquillinus and Martia, in prison, who attempted to persuade them to renounce Christianity. | |||
Sebastian |
According to tradition, Marcus and Marcellianus were twin brothers from a distinguished family and were ]s. Both brothers married, and they resided in Rome with their wives and children. The brothers refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods and were arrested. They were visited by their parents Tranquillinus and Martia in prison, who attempted to persuade them to renounce Christianity. Sebastian succeeded in converting Tranquillinus and Martia, as well as ], the son of Chromatius, the local prefect. Another official, Nicostratus, and his wife Zoe were also converted. It has been said that Zoe had been a mute for six years; however, she made known to Sebastian her desire to be converted to Christianity. As soon as she had, her speech returned to her. Nicostratus then brought the rest of the prisoners; these 16 persons were converted by Sebastian.<ref>Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. ''A Dictionary of Miracles: Imitative, Realistic, and Dogmatic'' (Chatto and Windus, 1901), p.11.</ref> | ||
Chromatius and Tiburtius converted; Chromatius set all of his prisoners free from jail, resigned his position, and retired to the country in Campania. |
Chromatius and Tiburtius converted; Chromatius set all of his prisoners free from jail, resigned his position, and retired to the country in ]. Marcus and Marcellianus, after being concealed by a Christian named ], were later martyred, as were Nicostratus, Zoe, and Tiburtius.<ref name=Butler></ref> | ||
===Martyrdom=== | ===Martyrdom=== | ||
] of |
] of Saint Sebastian, {{circa|1497}}<ref>{{cite web|publisher=]|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O62629/reliquary-reliquary-of-st-sebastian/|title=Reliquary of St Sebastian|work=Metalwork|date=2 August 1497 |access-date=2007-08-17}}</ref> (], London)]] | ||
] painted ''St Sebastian Thrown into the ]'' for the church at the place where his body was found (1612). The subject is virtually unique.]] | |||
|title= Reliquary of St Sebastian | |||
] | |||
|work=Metalwork | |||
Sebastian had prudently concealed his faith, but in 286 it was detected. Diocletian reproached him for his supposed betrayal, and he commanded him to be led to a field and there to be bound to a stake so that the chosen archers from ] would shoot arrows at him. "And the archers shot at him till he was as full of arrows as an ]{{refn|group=Note|"Urchin" here is the archaic English word for ], not a ]. The original Latin uses the word "hericius",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/voragine/seb.shtml|title=Iacobus de Voragine: Historia de Sancto Sebastiano|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latin-dictionary.org/hericius|title=hericius definition | Latin Dictionary|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref> not "echinus".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latin-dictionary.org/echinus|title=echinus definition | Latin Dictionary|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref>}} is full of pricks, and thus left him there for dead."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume2.asp#Sebastian|title=Internet History Sourcebooks: Medieval Sourcebook: The Golden Legend: Volume II: The Life of Sebastian|access-date=2016-06-03}}</ref> Miraculously, the arrows did not kill him. The widow of Castulus, ], went to retrieve his body to bury it, and discovered he was still alive. She brought him back to her house and nursed him back to health.<ref name=SHMI /> | |||
|accessdate= 2007-08-17}}</ref> Victoria and Albert Museum, London]] | |||
Sebastian later stood by a staircase where the emperor was to pass and harangued Diocletian for his cruelties against Christians. This freedom of speech, and from a person whom he supposed to have been dead, greatly astonished the emperor; but recovering from his surprise, he gave orders for Sebastian to be seized and beaten to death with ], and his body thrown into the common sewer. A holy lady named Lucina, admonished by the martyr in a vision, privately removed the body and buried it in the ] at the entrance of the cemetery of Calixtus,<ref name=Butler/> where now stands the ].<ref name=SHMI /> | |||
Diocletian reproached Sebastian for his supposed betrayal, and he commanded him to be led to a field and there to be bound to a stake to be shot at. "And the archers shot at him till he was as full of arrows as an urchin,"<ref>The ''Legenda Aurea''.</ref> leaving him there for dead. Miraculously, the arrows did not kill him. The widow of Castulus, ], went to retrieve his body to bury it, and found he was still alive. She brought him back to her house and nursed him back to health. The other residents of the house doubted he was a Christian. One of those was a girl who was blind. Sebastian asked her "Do you wish to be with God?", and made the sign of the Cross on her head. "Yes", she replied, and immediately regained her sight.{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} Sebastian then stood on a step and harangued Diocletian as he passed by; the emperor had him beaten to death and his body thrown into a privy. But in an apparition Sebastian told a Christian widow where they might find his body undefiled and bury it "at the catacombs by the apostles."{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} | |||
===Location of remains=== | |||
Of the miraculous effect of the example of Sebastian, the '']'' reports, | |||
], 1480, ], Paris]] | |||
Remains reputed to be those of Sebastian are housed in Rome in the ''Basilica Apostolorum'', built by ] in 367 on the site of the provisional tomb of Saints ] and ]. The church, today called ], was rebuilt in the 1610s under the patronage of ]. | |||
Ado, Eginard, Sigebert, and other contemporary authors relate that, in the reign of ], ] gave the body of Sebastian to Hilduin, Abbot of St. Denys, who brought it into ], and it was deposited at ], at ], on 8 December, in 826.<ref name=Butler/> | |||
{{quote |... ] telleth in the first book of his Dialogues that a woman of Tuscany which was new wedded was prayed for to go with other women to the dedication of the church of Sebastian, and the night tofore she was so moved in her flesh that she might not abstain from her husband, and on the morn, she having greater shame of men than of God, went thither, and anon as she was entered into the oratory where the relics of Saint Sebastian were, the fiend took her and tormented her before all the people.}} | |||
Sebastian's ] was brought to the town of ] (]) in 934. A Benedictine abbey was founded there and became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in southern Germany.<ref>City of Ebersberg website: {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20140710233053/http://www.ebersberg.de/deutsch/kultur-geschichte/gruendung-kloster-wallfahrtsort-entwicklung/kloster-ebersberg.html |date=10 July 2014 }} (German)</ref> It is said the silver-encased cranium was used as a cup in which to present the consecrated wine of the ] to the faithful during the feast of Saint Sebastian.<ref>Thomas Foster Earle, K. J. P. Lowe: ''Black Africans in Renaissance Europe'', p. 191, Cambridge University Press, 2005.</ref> | |||
Sebastian was also said to be a defense against the plague. The ''Golden Legend'' transmits the episode of a great plague that afflicted the ] in the time of King Gumburt, which was stopped by the erection of an altar in honor of Sebastian in the Church of Saint Peter in the ]. | |||
<gallery caption="Reliquary of Saint Sebastian in Ebersberg"> | |||
Because Sebastian had been thought to have been killed by the arrows, and yet was not, and then later was killed by the same emperor who had ordered him shot, he is sometimes known as the saint who was martyred twice. | |||
Relic of St. Sebastian 01.JPG|Silver sculpture from 1450 | |||
Relic of St. Sebastian 03.JPG|The cranium | |||
</gallery> | |||
==As protector against plague== | |||
===Location of remains=== | |||
]|url=http://art.thewalters.org/detail/6193|title=Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken}}</ref> ], 1497–1499, ]]] | |||
], 1480, ], Paris]] | |||
The remains asserted to be those of Sebastian are currently housed in Rome in the ''Basilica Apostolorum'', built by ] in 367 on the site of the provisional tomb of ] and ]. The church, today called ], was rebuilt in the 1610s under the patronage of ]. Others sources say that his body would have been carried from Rome to ] (France), into the Saint Medard abbey. | |||
The belief that Saint Sebastian was a defense against ] was a medieval addition to his reputation, which largely accounts for the enormous increase in his importance in the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.prayersandpetitions.org/feast-of-saints-fabian-and-sebastian-martyrs-20th-january/|date=20 January 2022|title=FEAST OF SAINTS FABIAN AND SEBASTIAN, MARTYRS – 20th JANUARY|publisher=Prayers and Petitions|access-date=20 August 2022}}</ref> The connection of the martyr shot with arrows with the plague is not an intuitive one. However, the hopeful example of Sebastian being able to recover from his "first ]" (or "sagittation", as it is sometimes called) was relevant as the arrow-wounds can resemble the ]s that were symptoms of bubonic plague. Visually, "the arrow wounds call to God for mercy to us, as the symptoms of the infirm call for pity from the passerby", as ] put it.<ref>Mitchell</ref> | |||
== In art and literature == | |||
]'', ] c 1645.]] | |||
The earliest representation of Sebastian is a mosaic in the ] (Ravenna, Italy) dated between 527 and 565. The right lateral wall of the basilica contains large mosaics representing a procession of 26 martyrs, led by Saint Martin and including Sebastian. The martyrs are represented in Byzantine style, lacking any individuality, and have all identical expressions. | |||
The ] ] relates that, in 680, ] was freed from a raging pestilence by him. The '']'' transmits the episode of a great plague that afflicted the ] in the time of King Gumburt, which was stopped by the erection of an altar in honor of Sebastian in the Church of Saint Peter in the ]. | |||
Another early representation is in a mosaic<ref>{{citation | url = http://bode.diee.unica.it/~giua/SEBASTIAN/PICS/vincoli.jpg | format = ] | publisher = Unica | place = IT | title = Vincoli}}.</ref> in the Church of ] (Rome, Italy), probably made in the year 682. It shows a grown, bearded man in court dress but contains no trace of an arrow.<ref>{{citation | title = Catholic Encyclopedia | year = 1908}}.</ref> The archers and arrows begin to appear by 1000, and ever since have been far more commonly shown than the actual moment of his death by clubbing, so that there is a popular misperception that this is how he died.<ref>Barker, 94–95</ref> | |||
==In art and literature== | |||
As protector of potential plague victims (a connection popularized by the ''Golden Legend''<ref>Barker, 96–97</ref>) and soldiers, Sebastian occupied an important place in the popular medieval mind. He was among the most frequently depicted of all saints by Late Gothic and Renaissance artists, in the period after the ].<ref>{{citation | last = Boeckl | first = Christine M | title = Images of plague and pestilence: iconography and iconology | pages = 76–80 | publisher = Truman State University | year = 2000 | ISBN = 978-0-943549-85-9 | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=sIxTJ4wv3u8C&pg=PA77&dq=St+Sebastian++St+Irene,#PPA81,M1}}.</ref> The opportunity to show a semi-nude male, often in a contorted pose, also made Sebastian a favourite subject.<ref>Barker, Shiela, ''The Making of a Plague Saint'', ch. 4 (pp. 114–7 especially) in ''Piety and plague: from Byzantium to the Baroque'', Ed. Franco Mormando, Thomas Worcester Truman State University, 2007,ISBN 1-931112-73-8, ISBN 978-1-931112-73-4, .</ref> His shooting with arrows was the subject of the largest ] by the '']'' in the 1430s, when there were few other current subjects with male nudes other than Christ. Sebastian appears in many other ] and paintings, although this was also due to his popularity with the faithful. Among many others, ], ], ], ], ], ] (who painted the subject seven times), ] (three times), ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] all painted Saint Sebastians. An early work by the sculptor ] is also of ]. | |||
===Art=== | |||
The saint is ordinarily depicted as a handsome youth pierced by arrows. There were ] scenes when required, often of his arrest, confrontation with the Emperor, and final beheading. The illustration in the infobox is the ''Saint Sebastian'' of ], at the ], Florence. | |||
] | ], ?682]] | ||
] | |||
The earliest known representation of Sebastian is a mosaic in the ] (Ravenna, Italy) dated between 527 and 565.<ref>The Iconography of Saint Sebastian: https://www.alessandro-giua.it/SEBASTIAN/</ref> The right lateral wall of the basilica contains large mosaics representing a procession of 26 martyrs, led by Saint Martin and including Sebastian. The martyrs are represented in Byzantine style, lacking any individuality, and all have identical expressions. | |||
Another early representation is in a mosaic in the Church of ] in Rome, probably made in the year 682. It shows a grown, bearded man in court dress but contains no trace of an arrow.<ref>{{cite CE1913| wstitle=St. Sebastian|first=Klemens|last=Löffler| volume 13|short=yes}}</ref> The archers and arrows begin to appear by 1000, and ever since have been far more commonly shown than the actual moment of his death by clubbing, so that there is a popular misperception that this is how he died.<ref>Barker, 94–95</ref> | |||
A mainly 17th-century subject, though found in ] scenes as early as the 15th century,<ref>Boeckl, p. 77</ref> was ''St Sebastian tended by ]'', painted by ], ] (four times), ],<ref>{{Cite web | last = Williamson | first = Mark A | url = http://myspace.com/markwilliamson13732 | title = The Martyrdom Paintings of Jusepe de Ribera: Catharsis and Transformation | format = PhD dissertation | publisher = Binghamton University | location = NY, USA | year = 2000}}.</ref> ] and others. This may have been a deliberate attempt by the Church to get away from the single nude subject, which is already recorded in ] as sometimes arousing inappropriate thoughts among female churchgoers.<ref>Barker, 117</ref> The Baroque artists usually treated it as a nocturnal ] scene, illuminated by a single candle, torch or lantern, in the style fashionable in the first half of the 17th century. | |||
There exist several cycles depicting the life of Saint Sebastian. Among them are the frescos in the "Basilica di San Sebastiano" of Acireale (Italy) with paintings by Pietro Paolo Vasta.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} | |||
As protector of potential plague victims (a connection popularized by the ''Golden Legend''<ref>Barker, 96–97</ref>) and soldiers, Sebastian occupied an important place in the popular medieval mind. He was among the most frequently depicted of all saints by Late Gothic and Renaissance artists, in the period after the ].<ref>Boeckl, 76–80</ref> The opportunity to show a semi-nude young male, often in a contorted pose, also made Sebastian a favorite subject.<ref>Barker, 114–7,.</ref> His shooting with arrows was the subject of the largest ] by the '']'' in the 1430s, when there were few other current subjects with male nudes other than Christ. Sebastian appears in many other ] and paintings, although this was due to his popularity with the faithful. Among many others, ], ], ], ], ], ] (who painted the subject seven times), ] (three times), ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] all painted Saint Sebastians. An early work by the sculptor ] is of ]. | |||
], an Austrian Expressionist artist, painted a self-portrait as Saint Sebastian in 1915.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} During ]'s "Lorca (]) Period", he painted Sebastian several times, most notably in his "Neo-Cubist Academy".{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} For reasons unknown, the left vein{{Clarify|date=November 2012}} of Sebastian is always exposed.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} | |||
The saint is ordinarily depicted as a handsome youth pierced by arrows. ] scenes when required often depicted his arrest, confrontation with the Emperor, and final beheading. The illustration in the infobox is the ''Saint Sebastian'' of ], at the ], Florence. | |||
In 1911, the Italian playwright ] in conjunction with ] produced a ] on the subject.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} The American composer ] composed a ballet score for a ] production which was first given in 1944.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} In his novella '']'', ] hails the "Sebastian-Figure" as the supreme emblem of ] beauty, that is, the artistry of differentiated forms; beauty as measured by discipline, proportion, and luminous distinctions. This allusion to Saint Sebastian's suffering, associated with the writerly professionalism of the novella's protagonist, Gustav Aschenbach, provides a model for the "heroism born of weakness", which characterizes poise amidst agonizing torment and plain acceptance of one's fate as, beyond mere patience and passivity, a stylized achievement and artistic triumph.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} | |||
], {{circa}} 1645]] | |||
] created a statuette of Saint Sebastian "in silver and parcel-gilt", now in the ] in ].<ref>], ''The King's Painter: The Life and Times of ]'', New York: Abrams Press, 2021, p. 19.</ref> | |||
Sebastian's death was depicted in the 1949 film '']'', in which he was played by ].{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} In 1976, the British director ] made a film, '']'', which caused controversy in its treatment of the martyr as a ] icon. However, as several critics have noted, this has been a subtext of the imagery since the Renaissance.<ref>{{citation | place = UK | url = http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/arrows-of-desire-how-did-st-sebastian-become-an-enduring-homoerotic-icon-779388.html | title = How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon? | publisher = makayla Independent | date=10 February 2008}}.</ref> Also in 1976, a figure of Saint Sebastian appeared throughout the American horror film '']''.<ref>{{cite web|publisher= IMDb|url= http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074285/trivia |title=Carrie | year = 1976 | contribution = Trivia|accessdate= 2009-10-31}}</ref> | |||
A mainly 17th-century subject, though found in ] scenes as early as the 15th century,<ref>Boeckl, p. 77</ref> was '']'', painted by ], ] (four times), ], ] (in ])<ref>Slive, Seymour, Dutch Painting, 1600–1800, Yale UP, 1995, {{ISBN|0300074514}}, p.22</ref> and others. This may have been a deliberate attempt by the Church to get away from the single nude subject, which is already recorded in ] as sometimes arousing inappropriate thoughts among churchgoers.<ref>" painted a picture of S. Sebastian, naked, very lifelike in the colouring of the flesh, sweet in countenance, and likewise executed with corresponding beauty of person, whereby he won infinite praise from the craftsmen. It is said that, while this figure was exposed to view in the church, the friars found, through the confessional, women who had sinned at the sight of it, on account of the charm and melting beauty of the lifelike reality imparted to it by the genius of Fra Bartolommeo; for which reason they removed it from the church." | |||
Pietro Vannucci Perugino’s painting (c. 1495) of Saint Sebastian is featured in the 2001 movie '']'' starring ]. Thompson’s character, as a college student, visits her professor's office, where an almost life-size painting of Saint Sebastian hangs on the wall. Later, when the main character is a professor herself, diagnosed with cancer, she keeps a small print of this same painting of Saint Sebastian next to her hospital bed. The allusion appears to be to Sebastian's stoic martyrdom - a role the Thompson character has willingly accepted for the betterment of all mankind. There may be a touch of authorial (or directorial) cynicism in making this "saintly" connection. | |||
]</ref> The Baroque artists usually treated it as a nocturnal ] scene, illuminated by a single candle, torch or lantern, in the style fashionable in the first half of the 17th century. There exist several cycles depicting the life of Sebastian. Among them are the frescos in the basilica church of ] in Sicily painted by ].<ref>, Volume 167, page 209-211.</ref> | |||
In 2007, artist ] presented Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain from his Natural History series. The piece depicts a cow in formaldehyde, bound in metal cable and shot with arrows.<ref>{{citation | url = http://www.mcadenver.org/index.php/exhibitions/Damien_Hirst | publisher = MCA Denver | title = Damien Hirst}}.</ref> | |||
], an Austrian Expressionist artist, painted a self-portrait as Saint Sebastian in 1915.<ref>Zwingenberger, Jeanette (2011). ''Schiele''. New York: Parkstone International. p. 154. {{ISBN|9781780421957}}.</ref> | |||
== Patronage == | |||
], the rare subject of ''St. Sebastian Thrown into the ]'']] | |||
===Literature, fiction, and music=== | |||
In the ], Sebastian is commemorated by an optional memorial on 20 January. In the ], Sebastian's feast day is on 18 December. | |||
] | |||
In 1911, the Italian playwright ] in conjunction with ] produced '']''. The American composer ] composed a ballet score for a ] production which was first given in 1944. In his novella '']'', ] hails the "Sebastian-Figure" as the supreme emblem of ] beauty, that is, the artistry of differentiated forms; beauty as measured by discipline, proportion, and luminous distinctions. This allusion to Sebastian's suffering, associated with the writerly professionalism of the novella's protagonist, Gustav Aschenbach, provides a model for the "heroism born of weakness", which characterizes poise amidst agonizing torment and plain acceptance of one's fate as, beyond mere patience and passivity, a stylized achievement and artistic triumph.<ref name="artintuscany">{{cite web|url=http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/art/saintsebastian.htm|title=Art in Tuscany: Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian|publisher=Traveling in Tuscany|access-date=20 August 2022}}</ref> | |||
Sebastian's death was depicted in the 1949 film '']'', in which he was played by ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a9be6fe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204075920/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a9be6fe|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 December 2017|title=Fabiola (1949)|publisher=BFI|access-date=3 December 2017}}</ref> In 1976, the British director ] made a film, '']'', which caused controversy in its treatment of the martyr as a "]", according to a number of critics reflecting a subtext perceptible in the imagery since the Renaissance.<ref name="independent">{{cite news|place=UK|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/arrows-of-desire-how-did-st-sebastian-become-an-enduring-homoerotic-icon-779388.html|title=How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon?|newspaper=The Independent|date=10 February 2008}}.</ref> Also in 1976, in the American horror film '']'', a figure of Saint Sebastian (commonly misconstrued as a figure of the crucified Christ) appears in Carrie's prayer closet.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 12, 2019 |title=Stephen King movies revisited: looking back at Carrie |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/revisiting-the-film-of-stephen-kings-carrie/ |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=]}}</ref> | |||
As a protector from the ], Sebastian was formerly one of the ]. The connection of the martyr shot with arrows with the plague is not an intuitive one, however. In Greco-Roman myth, ], the archer god, is the deliverer of pestilence; the figure of Sebastian ] this ] association. The ] ] relates that, in 680, ] was freed from a raging ] by him. | |||
Boxer ] was pictured in the ] of a bound Saint Sebastian pierced by arrows, in the April 1968 issue of ''].'' The image was created by photographer ] and art director Carl Fischer. | |||
Sebastian, like ], was one of a class of ]s and ]s of the Early Christian Church whose ] originated in the 4th century and culminated at the end of the ], in the 14th and 15th centuries both in the East and the West. Details of their ] may provoke some skepticism among modern readers, but certain consistent patterns emerge that are revealing of Christian attitudes. In Catholicism, Sebastian is the patron saint of archers and of a holy death. | |||
] (]), oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm, ].]] | |||
For this reason, his veneration has been linked to '''St. Sebastienne''' (Our Beautiful Lady Sebastienne) or ], a saint not recognized by the Catholic Church and whose worship has been condemned by the Church in ]. He is also commonly referred to as a gay male icon,<ref>{{citation | place = UK | url = http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/arrows-of-desire-how-did-st-sebastian-become-an-enduring-homoerotic-icon-779388.html | title = How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon? | publisher = makayla Independent | date=10 February 2008}}.</ref> which remains an on-going controversial tie between the gay community and the Catholic Church. | |||
] (1578) in ], ].]] | |||
A depiction of Saint Sebastian in a fresco restoration in an isolated Italian village is the central motif and cryptic mystery of the 1976 ] horror film '']''.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Brutal Nobility: Painting Death in The House with Laughing Windows (Pupi Avati, 1976)|date=30 June 2014|url=http://brightlightsfilm.com/brutal-nobility-painting-death-house-laughing-windows-pupi-avati-1976/#.V-LWaIgrKUk|access-date=2016-09-21}}</ref> | |||
Sebastian is the ] and ] of the city of ] in ] <ref>http://www.qormisbparish.org</ref> and the ] of ] and ] in ], ] in ], and ] as well as ] in Spain. He also is the patron saint of ], ]. Informally, in the tradition of the ] ] ], Sebastian is often associated with ], especially in the state of Rio de Janeiro itself. | |||
In her 1965 story "]", ]'s character Julian feels as if he were the martyr while taking his mother to "reducing" classes at the Y. | |||
He is also the patron of ] in ], which is adjacent to the ]. | |||
In 1984 there was a movie adaptation called starring Terminator star ]. | |||
Sebastian is the patron saint of the Diocese of ], ], ]. | |||
In 1997, the ] of the ] of the television series '']'', the protagonists search for the hand of Saint Sebastian.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://millennium-thisiswhoweare.net/guide/synopsis/208/the-hand-of-saint-sebastian/|title=Episode Synopsis |website=millennium-thisiswhoweare.net| access-date=April 6, 2020}}</ref> | |||
Saint Sebastian is the patron of ] Council #4926 in the ], serving the cities of ] and ]. | |||
In 2007, artist ] presented Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain from his Natural History series. The piece depicts a cow in ], bound in metal cable and shot with arrows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcadenver.org/index.php/exhibitions/Damien_Hirst |website=MCA Denver |title=Damien Hirst |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423110107/http://www.mcadenver.org/index.php/exhibitions/Damien_Hirst|archive-date=2010-04-23}}.</ref> | |||
In his 1906 ''Reminiscences'', ] recalls the annual "bird shoot" pageant of the ] town of ] which was sponsored by the Saint Sebastian Society, a club of ]s and their sponsors to which nearly every adult member of town belonged.<ref>Carl Schurz, ''Reminiscences'' (3 vols.), New York: McClure Publ., 1907, vol. 1, chap. 2, pp. 46–8; chap. 3, pp. 81–3.</ref> | |||
British pop band ]'s video for "]" contains references to the story of Saint Sebastian's death, adapted to fit the lyrics of the song. ]'s video for the ] song "]" makes use of imagery of Saint Sebastian, drawing particular inspiration from paintings by Guido Reni<ref>{{cite web|url=http://videoslovemovies.tumblr.com/post/29019546876/losing-my-religion|title=Losing My Religion|first=Matthew|last=Buchanan|website=Music Videos Love Movies|access-date=3 December 2017}}</ref> and ].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Buckley|first1=David|title=R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography|date=2002|publisher=Virgin|isbn=978-1-85227-927-1|pages=206–07}}</ref> The indie folk band ] have a song called "Hail, St. Sebastian" that makes reference to his life.<ref>{{Citation|last=notasfarwest|title=The Mountain Goats - Hail St. Sebastian|date=2015-09-07|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yNSW2r_7vc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211108/_yNSW2r_7vc| archive-date=2021-11-08 | url-status=live|access-date=2017-06-25}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Scottish musician ] has a song "Lucky like St Sebastian", featuring on his 1986 debut album ''].'' | |||
The ] is named for Saint Sebastian. It is a tributary of the ] and comprises part of the boundary between ] and ] in ]. The adjacent city of ] and ] are also named for Saint Sebastian.<ref>Sebastian Tales</ref> | |||
]'s song "I'm a Sinner" from her 2012 album '']'' has a segment resembling a ], with one line saying, "St. Sebastian, don't you cry; let those poisoned arrows fly." | |||
== See also == | |||
{{portal|Catholicism|Christianity}} | |||
The 2013–2018 Canadian drama series '']'' centres on a priest haunted by recurring visions of Saint Sebastian.<ref>{{cite news|last=Doyle|first=John|title=Forgive Me: A fine, fraught new series about sinners|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/forgive-me-a-fine-fraught-new-series-about-sinners/article14092742/|access-date=22 September 2013|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=4 September 2013}}</ref> | |||
* ] by Mantegna | |||
The look of the character Gemino in the popular action-platform videogame '']'' is clearly inspired by Saint Sebastian.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/blasphemous-isnt/|last=Porfiri|first=Steven|date=26 October 2019|title=Gaming Features: BLASPHEMOUS Isn't|magazine=Merry-Go-Round Magazine|access-date=20 August 2022}}</ref> | |||
The family del Valle in ]'s novel "]" attends Sunday mass in the Church of Saint Sebastian. | |||
==Patronage== | |||
] (1604), oil on canvas, 120 × 100 cm, ]]] | |||
] (1932), oil on canvas, 36 × {{frac|28|1|2}}{{vague|reason=no units|date=October 2024}}]] | |||
In the ], Sebastian is commemorated by an optional memorial on 20 January. In the ], Sebastian's feast day is on 18 December. | |||
As a protector from the ], Sebastian was formerly one of the ]. In Catholicism, Sebastian is the patron saint of archers, pin-makers, athletes (a modern association) and of a holy death.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Simon |first1=Joshua D. |author1-link=Joshua D. Simon|last2=Reddy-Best |first2=Kelly L. |author2-link=Kelly L. Reddy-Best| date=2024-02-23 |title=Art, Media, and Fashion: Negotiating Queerness and Catholicism Through Depictions of Saint Sebastian, From the 15th Century to the Present |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00918369.2022.2132442 |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |language=en |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=691–721 |doi=10.1080/00918369.2022.2132442 |pmid=36250980 |issn=0091-8369}}</ref> | |||
] (1578) in ], ]]] | |||
Sebastian is one of the ]s of the city of ] in ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qormisbparish.org|title=Merħba – Parroċċa San Sebastjan|website=Parroċċa San Sebastjan|access-date=3 December 2017}}</ref> Sebastian is the ] of Acireale, ] and ] in ], ] in ], and ] as well as ], ] and ] in Spain. He is the patron saint of ], ] and ], ]. Informally, in the tradition of the ] ] ], Sebastian is often associated with ], especially in the state of Rio de Janeiro itself.<ref name="artintuscany" /> | |||
In ], every year on 20 January, there is a festival in honor of Saint Sebastian. A statue of Saint Sebastian leads a procession around the village, and people hurl bread rolls from their balconies to the crowds following the saint in the streets below. The rolls have a hole in the middle and some people string them on a rope around their body. The festival is thought to have originated in the 14th century, after a plague of ] hit the area. At this time, the wealthy were said to have thrown bread and money to the poor on the streets below, so as to avoid catching the disease.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.puerta.lubrin.net/municipio_de_lubrin.htm|title=Municipio de Lubrin|website=www.puerta.lubrin.net|access-date=2019-07-14}}</ref> The San Sebastian 'bread festival' is so unusual that it has been declared a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest in ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andalucia.org/en/events-calendar/san-sebastian-bread-festival-in-lubrin/|title=San Sebastián - Bread Festival - Official tourism website of Andalucía|website=www.andalucia.org|access-date=2019-07-14}}</ref> | |||
King ], the only King to ever have this name, was so named for having been born on this saint's feast day. | |||
The Feast of St. Sebastian is celebrated among ] communities of ] in India. Churches are illuminated and decorated, with fireworks being a main event in Catholic homes to commemorate the saint.<ref name="catholicsetcultures">{{cite web|url=https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/india-devotion-st-sebastian-powerful-intercessor|title=Kerala: Devotion to St. Sebastian as a powerful intercessor|date=3 April 2018 |publisher=Catholics & Cultures|access-date=20 August 2022}}</ref> Every parish has its own date of celebration, especially in the districts of ], ], ] and ]. In ] the feast is celebrated with the largest procession of golden crosses and decorated umbrellas in Asia.<ref name="catholicsetcultures" /> Besides this, many pilgrim centres, churches, shrines and many educational institutions too, throughout Kerala, bear the name of the saint. | |||
He is the patron of San Sebastian College – Recoletos in ], ], which is adjacent to the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian, the all-steel church in the Philippines and in Asia administered by the Order of Augustinian Recollect (OAR). At the Catholic Newman Community at the ], the St. Sebastian Society is an organization of campus-wide Christian athletes that works to serve the greater ], area through methods of ], special needs ] and ].<ref>St. Sebastian Society web page: http://urnewman.org/groups/st-sebastian</ref> | |||
Sebastian is the patron saint of the ], in ], ] and ] in ], ]. Also, Sebastian is the patron saint of ] City ]. A representation of the Saint in his martyrdom is present in the upper left corner of the city coat of arms. | |||
Sebastian is the patron of ] Council #4926 in the ], serving the cities of ] and ]. Sebastian is the patron saint of the ] of the United States of America. The highest award given by the CWV is the Honor Legion of the Order of St. Sebastian. | |||
In his 1906 ''Reminiscences'', ] recalls the annual "bird shoot" pageant of the ] town of ] (]), sponsored by the Saint Sebastian Society, a club of ]s and their sponsors to which nearly every adult member of the town belonged.<ref>Carl Schurz, ''Reminiscences'' (3 vols.), New York: McClure Publ., 1907, vol. 1, chap. 2, pp. 46–8; chap. 3, pp. 81–3.</ref> | |||
The ] in the American state of ] is named after him. The river is a tributary of the ] and comprises part of the boundary between ] and ]. The adjacent city of ], and ] are also named for Saint Sebastian.<ref>Sebastian Tales</ref> Within the Diocese of Central Florida, the nearby Episcopal Church on Melbourne Beaches is named St Sebastian-by-the-Sea. | |||
==LGBT association== | |||
{{See also|Christianity and sexual orientation#Saints|LGBT themes in mythology}} | |||
], oil on canvas, circa 1615. ]] | |||
In 1996, ] author Richard A. Kaye wrote that "Contemporary gay men have seen in Sebastian at once a stunning advertisement for homosexual desire (indeed, a ]), and a prototypical portrait of tortured ]."<ref name=QUEER2>{{Cite book |last=Kaye |first=Richard A. |chapter=Losing His Religion: Saint Sebastian as Contemporary Gay Martyr |title=Outlooks: Lesbian and Gay Sexualities and Visual Cultures |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Horne |editor-first2=Reina |editor-last2=Lewis |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |year=1996 |page=105 |doi=10.4324/9780203432433|isbn=9781134803088 |s2cid=241421117 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/arrows-of-desire-how-did-st-sebastian-become-an-enduring-homoerotic-icon-779388.html |title=Arrows of desire: How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon? |newspaper=The Independent |date=10 February 2008 |access-date=16 July 2009}}</ref> | |||
Some religious images depicting Saint Sebastian have been adopted by the LGBT community.<ref name=QUEER>{{Cite web|url=http://www.glbtq.com/arts/subjects_st_sebastian.html |title=Subjects of the Visual Arts: St. Sebastian |work=] |access-date=1 August 2007 |year=2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901002221/http://www.glbtq.com/arts/subjects_st_sebastian.html |archive-date= 1 September 2007 }}</ref> A combination of his strong, shirtless physique, the symbolism of the arrows penetrating his body, and the countenance of rapturous pain have intrigued artists (gay or otherwise) for centuries.<ref name=QUEER/> | |||
] was known to have adored Guido Reni's ''Saint Sebastian'', which is in the collection of the Palazzo Rosso, in Genoa. While exiled in Paris, Wilde went so far as to adopt the alias Sebastian Melmoth during the remaining years of his life.<ref>{{cite web |title=How did St Sebastian become a Gay Icon? |url=https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/lgbt-artwork-marks-saint-sebastian-feast-day |publisher=National Museums Liverpool |access-date=3 July 2024}}</ref> Other homosexual poets and artists like ] or ] highlighted the importance of Saint Sebastian imagery in their work.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Link |first1=Daniel |title=Apuntes sobre San Sebastian |url=https://lecturesdugenre.fr/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/link.pdf |website=lecturesdugenre.fr |access-date=3 July 2024}}</ref> | |||
In ]'s novel '']'', the protagonist Kochan has his first gay sexual experience while looking at a reproduction of ]'s ''Saint Sebastian''. Kochan remarks: | |||
{{Quote|It is an interesting coincidence that Hirschfeld should place 'pictures of Saint Sebastian' in the first rank of those kinds of art works in which the invert takes special delight.}} | |||
This references ]'s belief that gay men have an inclination towards certain artistic subjects including Saint Sebastian.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Camilla |date=2023-04-03 |title=Uneasy Articulations: Magnus Hirschfeld, Art, and Sexual Science in Early Twentieth-Century Germany |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00043079.2023.2142892 |journal=The Art Bulletin |language=en |volume=105 |issue=2 |pages=81–112 |doi=10.1080/00043079.2023.2142892 |issn=0004-3079}}</ref> | |||
==See also== | |||
* '']'', ] | * '']'', ] | ||
* '']'' | * '']'' | ||
* ], from Mexican ], who is sometimes referred to as ''Santa Sebastiana'' | |||
* ] | |||
* ] by Mantegna | |||
* ''] '' | |||
== |
==Notes== | ||
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==References== | |||
== External links == | |||
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{{commons category|Saint Sebastian}} | |||
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==Sources== | |||
* | |||
* Barker, Sheila, ''The Making of a Plague Saint'', ch. 4 in ''Piety and Plague: from Byzantium to the Baroque'', Ed. ], ] Truman State University, 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-931112-73-4}}, | |||
* | |||
* {{cite book|last=Boeckl|first=Christine M|title=Images of Plague and Pestilence: Iconography and Iconology|pages=76–80|publisher=Truman State University|year=2000|isbn=978-0-943549-85-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sIxTJ4wv3u8C&q=St+Sebastian++St+Irene,&pg=PA77}} | |||
* Hedquist, Valerie, "Ter Brugghen's Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene," ''Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art'' 9:2 (Summer 2017) {{doi|10.5092/jhna.2017.9.2.3}}, | |||
* Mitchell, Peter, "The Politics of Morbidity: Plague Symbolism in Martyrdom and Medical Anatomy", in ''The Arts of 17th-Century Science: Representations of the Natural World in European and North American Culture'', eds. Claire Jowitt, Diane Watt, 2002, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-1351894449}}, | |||
==External links== | |||
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* {{CathEncy|wstitle=St. Sebastian|first=Klemens|last=Löffler|short=yes}} | ||
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Sebastian, St |volume= 24 |last= Delehaye |first= Hippolyte |author-link= Hippolyte Delehaye |short=1}} | |||
{{commonscat-inline|Saint Sebastian}} | |||
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Sebastian, St}} | |||
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see ]. --> | |||
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = wing man, double death | |||
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Italian saint | |||
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| DATE OF DEATH = 287 | |||
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}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebastian}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Sebastian}} | ||
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Latest revision as of 17:22, 17 December 2024
3rd-century Christian saint and martyr "Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian" redirects here. For other uses, see The Martyrdom of St Sebastian. "Sebastián" redirects here. For other uses, see Sebastian (name). For other uses, see Saint Sebastian (disambiguation).
Saint Sebastian | |
---|---|
Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, by Il Sodoma, c. 1525 | |
Captain of the Praetorian Guard Roman Soldier, Healer and Martyr | |
Born | c. AD 255 Narbo Martius, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire |
Died | c. AD 288 (aged approximately 32) Rome, Italia, Roman Empire |
Venerated in | |
Major shrine | San Sebastiano fuori le mura Italy |
Feast |
|
Attributes | Tied to a post, pillar or a tree, shot by arrows |
Patronage | Soldiers; plague-stricken; archers; disabled peoples; athletes; cyclists; Negombo, Sri Lanka; Archdiocese of Lipa; Diocese of Tarlac; Diocese of Bacolod; Chiapa de Corzo, Mixtlán, Mexico; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Lumban, Laguna, Philippines; Borbon, Cebu, Philippines; Pucallpa, Peru; Taquaritinga, Brazil; Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; Győr, Hungary; Cusco, Peru; Loja, Ecuador; Rome, Italy |
Sebastian (Latin: Sebastianus; c. AD 255 – c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill him. He was, according to tradition, rescued and healed by Irene of Rome, which became a popular subject in 17th-century painting. In all versions of the story, shortly after his recovery he went to Diocletian to warn him about his sins, and as a result was clubbed to death. He is venerated in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church as the Patron Saint of Athletics, Archery, and Plagues.
The oldest record of the details of Sebastian's martyrdom is found in the Chronograph of 354, which mentions him as a martyr, venerated on January 20. He is also mentioned in a sermon on Psalm 118 by 4th-century bishop Ambrose of Milan: in his sermon, Ambrose stated that Sebastian came from Milan and that he was already venerated there at that time. The full account of his martyrdom comes from the Passio Sancti Sebastiani, a 5th-century text written by an anonymous author, possibly Arnobius the Younger.
Sebastian is a popular male saint, especially today among athletes. In medieval times, he was regarded as a saint with a special ability to intercede to protect from plague, and devotion to him greatly increased when plague was active.
Life
There is not much known about Saint Sebastian's early life, but the ancient source mentioning Sebastian is found in the Chronograph of 354, a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD by the calligrapher and illustrator Furius Dionysius Filocalus, which mentions him as a martyr who was venerated on January 20. His cult is also mentioned by Ambrose of Milan in his Expositio in Psalmum CXVIII, a theological and exegetical commentary of Psalm 118 dated to 386–390 AD; Ambrose states that Sebastian came from Milan and that he was venerated as a saint there.
The first surviving account of Sebastian's life and death is the Passio Sancti Sebastiani, long thought to have been written by Ambrose in the 4th century, but now regarded as a 5th-century account by an unknown author (possibly Arnobius the Younger). This includes the "two martyrdoms", and the care by Irene in between, and other details that remained part of the story.
According to Sebastian's 18th-century entry in Acta Sanctorum, still attributed to Ambrose by the 17th-century hagiographer Jean Bolland, and the briefer account in the 14th-century Legenda Aurea, he was a man of Gallia Narbonensis who was taught in Mediolanum (Milan). In 283, Sebastian entered the army in Rome under Emperor Carinus to assist the martyrs. Because of his courage he became one of the captains of the Praetorian Guards under Diocletian and Maximian, who were unaware that he was a Christian.
According to tradition, Marcus and Marcellianus were twin brothers from a distinguished family and were deacons. Both brothers married, and they resided in Rome with their wives and children. The brothers refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods and were arrested. They were visited by their parents Tranquillinus and Martia in prison, who attempted to persuade them to renounce Christianity. Sebastian succeeded in converting Tranquillinus and Martia, as well as Tiburtius, the son of Chromatius, the local prefect. Another official, Nicostratus, and his wife Zoe were also converted. It has been said that Zoe had been a mute for six years; however, she made known to Sebastian her desire to be converted to Christianity. As soon as she had, her speech returned to her. Nicostratus then brought the rest of the prisoners; these 16 persons were converted by Sebastian.
Chromatius and Tiburtius converted; Chromatius set all of his prisoners free from jail, resigned his position, and retired to the country in Campania. Marcus and Marcellianus, after being concealed by a Christian named Castulus, were later martyred, as were Nicostratus, Zoe, and Tiburtius.
Martyrdom
Sebastian had prudently concealed his faith, but in 286 it was detected. Diocletian reproached him for his supposed betrayal, and he commanded him to be led to a field and there to be bound to a stake so that the chosen archers from Mauretania would shoot arrows at him. "And the archers shot at him till he was as full of arrows as an urchin is full of pricks, and thus left him there for dead." Miraculously, the arrows did not kill him. The widow of Castulus, Irene of Rome, went to retrieve his body to bury it, and discovered he was still alive. She brought him back to her house and nursed him back to health.
Sebastian later stood by a staircase where the emperor was to pass and harangued Diocletian for his cruelties against Christians. This freedom of speech, and from a person whom he supposed to have been dead, greatly astonished the emperor; but recovering from his surprise, he gave orders for Sebastian to be seized and beaten to death with cudgels, and his body thrown into the common sewer. A holy lady named Lucina, admonished by the martyr in a vision, privately removed the body and buried it in the catacombs at the entrance of the cemetery of Calixtus, where now stands the Basilica of St. Sebastian.
Location of remains
Remains reputed to be those of Sebastian are housed in Rome in the Basilica Apostolorum, built by Pope Damasus I in 367 on the site of the provisional tomb of Saints Peter and Paul. The church, today called San Sebastiano fuori le mura, was rebuilt in the 1610s under the patronage of Scipione Borghese.
Ado, Eginard, Sigebert, and other contemporary authors relate that, in the reign of Louis Debonnair, Pope Eugenius II gave the body of Sebastian to Hilduin, Abbot of St. Denys, who brought it into France, and it was deposited at Saint Medard Abbey, at Soissons, on 8 December, in 826.
Sebastian's cranium was brought to the town of Ebersberg (Germany) in 934. A Benedictine abbey was founded there and became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in southern Germany. It is said the silver-encased cranium was used as a cup in which to present the consecrated wine of the Blessed Sacrament to the faithful during the feast of Saint Sebastian.
As protector against plague
The belief that Saint Sebastian was a defense against the plague was a medieval addition to his reputation, which largely accounts for the enormous increase in his importance in the Late Middle Ages. The connection of the martyr shot with arrows with the plague is not an intuitive one. However, the hopeful example of Sebastian being able to recover from his "first martyrdom" (or "sagittation", as it is sometimes called) was relevant as the arrow-wounds can resemble the buboes that were symptoms of bubonic plague. Visually, "the arrow wounds call to God for mercy to us, as the symptoms of the infirm call for pity from the passerby", as Molanus put it.
The chronicler Paul the Deacon relates that, in 680, Rome was freed from a raging pestilence by him. The Golden Legend transmits the episode of a great plague that afflicted the Lombards in the time of King Gumburt, which was stopped by the erection of an altar in honor of Sebastian in the Church of Saint Peter in the Province of Pavia.
In art and literature
Art
The earliest known representation of Sebastian is a mosaic in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (Ravenna, Italy) dated between 527 and 565. The right lateral wall of the basilica contains large mosaics representing a procession of 26 martyrs, led by Saint Martin and including Sebastian. The martyrs are represented in Byzantine style, lacking any individuality, and all have identical expressions.
Another early representation is in a mosaic in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome, probably made in the year 682. It shows a grown, bearded man in court dress but contains no trace of an arrow. The archers and arrows begin to appear by 1000, and ever since have been far more commonly shown than the actual moment of his death by clubbing, so that there is a popular misperception that this is how he died.
As protector of potential plague victims (a connection popularized by the Golden Legend) and soldiers, Sebastian occupied an important place in the popular medieval mind. He was among the most frequently depicted of all saints by Late Gothic and Renaissance artists, in the period after the Black Death. The opportunity to show a semi-nude young male, often in a contorted pose, also made Sebastian a favorite subject. His shooting with arrows was the subject of the largest engraving by the Master of the Playing Cards in the 1430s, when there were few other current subjects with male nudes other than Christ. Sebastian appears in many other prints and paintings, although this was due to his popularity with the faithful. Among many others, Botticelli, Perugino, Titian, Pollaiuolo, Giovanni Bellini, Guido Reni (who painted the subject seven times), Mantegna (three times), Hans Memling, Gerrit van Honthorst, Luca Signorelli, El Greco, Honoré Daumier, John Singer Sargent and Louise Bourgeois all painted Saint Sebastians. An early work by the sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini is of Saint Sebastian.
The saint is ordinarily depicted as a handsome youth pierced by arrows. Predella scenes when required often depicted his arrest, confrontation with the Emperor, and final beheading. The illustration in the infobox is the Saint Sebastian of Il Sodoma, at the Pitti Palace, Florence.
Hans Holbein the Elder created a statuette of Saint Sebastian "in silver and parcel-gilt", now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
A mainly 17th-century subject, though found in predella scenes as early as the 15th century, was Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene, painted by Georges de La Tour, Trophime Bigot (four times), Jusepe de Ribera, Hendrick ter Brugghen (in perhaps his masterpiece) and others. This may have been a deliberate attempt by the Church to get away from the single nude subject, which is already recorded in Vasari as sometimes arousing inappropriate thoughts among churchgoers. The Baroque artists usually treated it as a nocturnal chiaroscuro scene, illuminated by a single candle, torch or lantern, in the style fashionable in the first half of the 17th century. There exist several cycles depicting the life of Sebastian. Among them are the frescos in the basilica church of San Sebastiano, Acireale in Sicily painted by Pietro Paolo Vasta.
Egon Schiele, an Austrian Expressionist artist, painted a self-portrait as Saint Sebastian in 1915.
Literature, fiction, and music
In 1911, the Italian playwright Gabriele d'Annunzio in conjunction with Claude Debussy produced Le Martyre de saint Sébastien. The American composer Gian Carlo Menotti composed a ballet score for a Ballets Russes production which was first given in 1944. In his novella Death in Venice, Thomas Mann hails the "Sebastian-Figure" as the supreme emblem of Apollonian beauty, that is, the artistry of differentiated forms; beauty as measured by discipline, proportion, and luminous distinctions. This allusion to Sebastian's suffering, associated with the writerly professionalism of the novella's protagonist, Gustav Aschenbach, provides a model for the "heroism born of weakness", which characterizes poise amidst agonizing torment and plain acceptance of one's fate as, beyond mere patience and passivity, a stylized achievement and artistic triumph.
Sebastian's death was depicted in the 1949 film Fabiola, in which he was played by Massimo Girotti. In 1976, the British director Derek Jarman made a film, Sebastiane, which caused controversy in its treatment of the martyr as a "homosexual icon", according to a number of critics reflecting a subtext perceptible in the imagery since the Renaissance. Also in 1976, in the American horror film Carrie, a figure of Saint Sebastian (commonly misconstrued as a figure of the crucified Christ) appears in Carrie's prayer closet.
Boxer Muhammad Ali was pictured in the iconography of a bound Saint Sebastian pierced by arrows, in the April 1968 issue of Esquire Magazine. The image was created by photographer George Lois and art director Carl Fischer.
A depiction of Saint Sebastian in a fresco restoration in an isolated Italian village is the central motif and cryptic mystery of the 1976 giallo horror film The House with Laughing Windows.
In her 1965 story "Everything That Rises Must Converge", Flannery O'Connor's character Julian feels as if he were the martyr while taking his mother to "reducing" classes at the Y.
In 1984 there was a movie adaptation called Das Martyrium des heiligen Sebastian starring Terminator star Michael Biehn.
In 1997, the eighth episode of the second season of the television series Millennium, the protagonists search for the hand of Saint Sebastian.
In 2007, artist Damien Hirst presented Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain from his Natural History series. The piece depicts a cow in formaldehyde, bound in metal cable and shot with arrows.
British pop band Alt-J's video for "Hunger of the Pine" contains references to the story of Saint Sebastian's death, adapted to fit the lyrics of the song. Tarsem Singh's video for the R.E.M. song "Losing My Religion" makes use of imagery of Saint Sebastian, drawing particular inspiration from paintings by Guido Reni and Caravaggio. The indie folk band the Mountain Goats have a song called "Hail, St. Sebastian" that makes reference to his life. Scottish musician Momus has a song "Lucky like St Sebastian", featuring on his 1986 debut album Circus Maximus.
Madonna's song "I'm a Sinner" from her 2012 album MDNA has a segment resembling a litany, with one line saying, "St. Sebastian, don't you cry; let those poisoned arrows fly."
The 2013–2018 Canadian drama series Forgive Me centres on a priest haunted by recurring visions of Saint Sebastian.
The look of the character Gemino in the popular action-platform videogame Blasphemous is clearly inspired by Saint Sebastian.
The family del Valle in Isabel Allende's novel "House of the Spirits" attends Sunday mass in the Church of Saint Sebastian.
Patronage
In the Catholic Church, Sebastian is commemorated by an optional memorial on 20 January. In the Church of Greece, Sebastian's feast day is on 18 December.
As a protector from the bubonic plague, Sebastian was formerly one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. In Catholicism, Sebastian is the patron saint of archers, pin-makers, athletes (a modern association) and of a holy death.
Sebastian is one of the patron saints of the city of Qormi in Malta Sebastian is the patron saint of Acireale, Caserta and Petilia Policastro in Italy, Melilli in Sicily, and San Sebastián as well as Palma de Mallorca, Lubrín and Huelva in Spain. He is the patron saint of Negombo, Sri Lanka and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Informally, in the tradition of the Afro-Brazilian syncretic religion Umbanda, Sebastian is often associated with Oxossi, especially in the state of Rio de Janeiro itself. In Lubrín, every year on 20 January, there is a festival in honor of Saint Sebastian. A statue of Saint Sebastian leads a procession around the village, and people hurl bread rolls from their balconies to the crowds following the saint in the streets below. The rolls have a hole in the middle and some people string them on a rope around their body. The festival is thought to have originated in the 14th century, after a plague of cholera hit the area. At this time, the wealthy were said to have thrown bread and money to the poor on the streets below, so as to avoid catching the disease. The San Sebastian 'bread festival' is so unusual that it has been declared a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest in Andalusia.
King Sebastian I of Portugal, the only King to ever have this name, was so named for having been born on this saint's feast day.
The Feast of St. Sebastian is celebrated among Catholic communities of Kerala in India. Churches are illuminated and decorated, with fireworks being a main event in Catholic homes to commemorate the saint. Every parish has its own date of celebration, especially in the districts of Thrissur, Ernakulam, St. Andrew's Basilica, Arthunkal and Kottayam. In Kanjoor Syro Malabar Church the feast is celebrated with the largest procession of golden crosses and decorated umbrellas in Asia. Besides this, many pilgrim centres, churches, shrines and many educational institutions too, throughout Kerala, bear the name of the saint.
He is the patron of San Sebastian College – Recoletos in Manila, Philippines, which is adjacent to the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian, the all-steel church in the Philippines and in Asia administered by the Order of Augustinian Recollect (OAR). At the Catholic Newman Community at the University of Rochester, the St. Sebastian Society is an organization of campus-wide Christian athletes that works to serve the greater Rochester, New York, area through methods of restorative justice, special needs fundraising and community service.
Sebastian is the patron saint of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bacolod, in Negros Occidental, Philippines and Lipa City in Batangas, Philippines. Also, Sebastian is the patron saint of Leon City Mexico. A representation of the Saint in his martyrdom is present in the upper left corner of the city coat of arms.
Sebastian is the patron of Knights of Columbus Council #4926 in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California, serving the cities of Mountain View and Los Altos. Sebastian is the patron saint of the Catholic War Veterans of the United States of America. The highest award given by the CWV is the Honor Legion of the Order of St. Sebastian.
In his 1906 Reminiscences, Carl Schurz recalls the annual "bird shoot" pageant of the Rhenish town of Liblar (de), sponsored by the Saint Sebastian Society, a club of sharpshooters and their sponsors to which nearly every adult member of the town belonged.
The St. Sebastian River in the American state of Florida is named after him. The river is a tributary of the Indian River Lagoon and comprises part of the boundary between Indian River County and Brevard County. The adjacent city of Sebastian, Florida, and St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park are also named for Saint Sebastian. Within the Diocese of Central Florida, the nearby Episcopal Church on Melbourne Beaches is named St Sebastian-by-the-Sea.
LGBT association
See also: Christianity and sexual orientation § Saints, and LGBT themes in mythologyIn 1996, American author Richard A. Kaye wrote that "Contemporary gay men have seen in Sebastian at once a stunning advertisement for homosexual desire (indeed, a homoerotic ideal), and a prototypical portrait of tortured closet case."
Some religious images depicting Saint Sebastian have been adopted by the LGBT community. A combination of his strong, shirtless physique, the symbolism of the arrows penetrating his body, and the countenance of rapturous pain have intrigued artists (gay or otherwise) for centuries.
Oscar Wilde was known to have adored Guido Reni's Saint Sebastian, which is in the collection of the Palazzo Rosso, in Genoa. While exiled in Paris, Wilde went so far as to adopt the alias Sebastian Melmoth during the remaining years of his life. Other homosexual poets and artists like Federico García Lorca or Pier Paolo Pasolini highlighted the importance of Saint Sebastian imagery in their work.
In Yukio Mishima's novel Confessions of a Mask, the protagonist Kochan has his first gay sexual experience while looking at a reproduction of Guido Reni's Saint Sebastian. Kochan remarks:
It is an interesting coincidence that Hirschfeld should place 'pictures of Saint Sebastian' in the first rank of those kinds of art works in which the invert takes special delight.
This references Magnus Hirschfeld's belief that gay men have an inclination towards certain artistic subjects including Saint Sebastian.
See also
- Le martyre de Saint Sébastien, Claude Debussy
- Saint Sebastian at the Column
- Santa Muerte, from Mexican folk Catholicism, who is sometimes referred to as Santa Sebastiana
- The three paintings by Mantegna
- Saint Sebastian and the Angel
Notes
- "Urchin" here is the archaic English word for hedgehog, not a sea urchin. The original Latin uses the word "hericius", not "echinus".
References
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- ^ Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI (1997). "St. Sebastian". My First Book of Saints. Holy Mary Immaculate – Quality Catholic Publications. pp. 22–23. ISBN 971-91595-4-5.
- ^ Kaye, Richard A. (1996). "Losing His Religion: Saint Sebastian as Contemporary Gay Martyr". In Horne, Peter; Lewis, Reina (eds.). Outlooks: Lesbian and Gay Sexualities and Visual Cultures. New York: Routledge. p. 105. doi:10.4324/9780203432433. ISBN 9781134803088. S2CID 241421117.
- "Arrows of desire: How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon?". The Independent. 10 February 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
- "About St Sebastian – Associated & Catholic Colleges of WA". www.accsport.asn.au. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- White, Jackie. "The Patron Saint of Sports". Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
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- Hedquist, Valerie, "Ter Brugghen's Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art §8–9, 9:2 (Summer 2017) DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2017.9.2.3, fully online; The Vatican: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide, eds. Philippe De Montebello, Kathleen Howard, p. 347, 1983, Metropolitan Museum of Art, ISBN 0870993488, 9780870993480, google books
- Acta S. Sebastiani Martyris, in J.-P. Migne, Patrologiae Cursus Completus Accurante (Paris 1845), XVII, 1021–581221; abbreviated in Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda Aurea.
- Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. A Dictionary of Miracles: Imitative, Realistic, and Dogmatic (Chatto and Windus, 1901), p.11.
- ^ Butler, Alban. Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints, Vol.I
- "Reliquary of St Sebastian". Metalwork. Victoria and Albert Museum. 2 August 1497. Retrieved 17 August 2007.
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- "Internet History Sourcebooks: Medieval Sourcebook: The Golden Legend: Volume II: The Life of Sebastian". Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- City of Ebersberg website: Kloster Ebersberg Archived 10 July 2014 at archive.today (German)
- Thomas Foster Earle, K. J. P. Lowe: Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, p. 191, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
- "Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken". The Walters Art Museum.
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- Mitchell
- "Heilige Sebastiaan vastgebonden aan een boom". lib.ugent.be. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
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- Barker, 94–95
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- Moyle, Franny, The King's Painter: The Life and Times of Hans Holbein, New York: Abrams Press, 2021, p. 19.
- Boeckl, p. 77
- Slive, Seymour, Dutch Painting, 1600–1800, Yale UP, 1995, ISBN 0300074514, p.22
- " painted a picture of S. Sebastian, naked, very lifelike in the colouring of the flesh, sweet in countenance, and likewise executed with corresponding beauty of person, whereby he won infinite praise from the craftsmen. It is said that, while this figure was exposed to view in the church, the friars found, through the confessional, women who had sinned at the sight of it, on account of the charm and melting beauty of the lifelike reality imparted to it by the genius of Fra Bartolommeo; for which reason they removed it from the church." Lives of the most eminent painters, sculptors & architects by Vasari, Giorgio, 1511-1574
- Giornale arcadico di scienze, lettere ed arti, Volume 167, page 209-211.
- Zwingenberger, Jeanette (2011). Schiele. New York: Parkstone International. p. 154. ISBN 9781780421957.
- ^ "Art in Tuscany: Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian". Traveling in Tuscany. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
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- notasfarwest (7 September 2015), The Mountain Goats - Hail St. Sebastian, archived from the original on 8 November 2021, retrieved 25 June 2017
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- Porfiri, Steven (26 October 2019). "Gaming Features: BLASPHEMOUS Isn't". Merry-Go-Round Magazine. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
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- ^ "Kerala: Devotion to St. Sebastian as a powerful intercessor". Catholics & Cultures. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- St. Sebastian Society web page: http://urnewman.org/groups/st-sebastian
- Carl Schurz, Reminiscences (3 vols.), New York: McClure Publ., 1907, vol. 1, chap. 2, pp. 46–8; chap. 3, pp. 81–3.
- Sebastian Tales
- "Arrows of desire: How did St Sebastian become an enduring, homo-erotic icon?". The Independent. 10 February 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
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Sources
- Barker, Sheila, The Making of a Plague Saint, ch. 4 in Piety and Plague: from Byzantium to the Baroque, Ed. Franco Mormando, Thomas Worcester Truman State University, 2007, ISBN 978-1-931112-73-4, Google books
- Boeckl, Christine M (2000). Images of Plague and Pestilence: Iconography and Iconology. Truman State University. pp. 76–80. ISBN 978-0-943549-85-9.
- Hedquist, Valerie, "Ter Brugghen's Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 9:2 (Summer 2017) doi:10.5092/jhna.2017.9.2.3, fully online
- Mitchell, Peter, "The Politics of Morbidity: Plague Symbolism in Martyrdom and Medical Anatomy", in The Arts of 17th-Century Science: Representations of the Natural World in European and North American Culture, eds. Claire Jowitt, Diane Watt, 2002, Routledge, ISBN 978-1351894449, google books
External links
- The Life and Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, Saint and Martyr of the Catholic Church
- Legenda Aurea: Life of Saint Sebastian
- Saint Sebastian
- Butler, The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints, St Sebastian
- Löffler, Klemens (1913). "St. Sebastian" . Catholic Encyclopedia.
- Delehaye, Hippolyte (1911). "Sebastian, St" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.).
- Saint Sebastian
- 256 births
- 288 deaths
- 3rd-century Romans
- 3rd-century Christian martyrs
- Gallo-Roman saints
- People from Gallia Narbonensis
- Members and leaders of the Praetorian Guard
- Executed ancient Roman people
- People executed by the Roman Empire
- Deaths by beating in Europe
- 3rd-century Gallo-Roman people
- LGBTQ and Catholicism
- Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian