Walburga’s bones began to secrete a manna called “pearls,” a clear, tasteless and odorless liquid described as resembling fresh water and said to have great medicinal powers.
Twenty-first-century readers may lift an eyebrow when they learn that Hilary, a married man with a daughter, was acclaimed bishop of Poitiers, France, in 353.
The inspiration behind Geoffrey Chaucer’s epic medieval poem “Canterbury Tales” was Becket’s martyrdom, a horrific incident that turned Canterbury Cathedral into one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in Europe.