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.
When the Empress Justina attempted to extort two basilicas from Ambrose’s Catholics and give them to the Arians, Ambrose dared the eunuchs of the court to execute him.
