Sts. Crispin and Crispinian

Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the Christian patron saints of cobblers, tanners, leather workers and, since it came into being, of the leather subculture.[1] Born to a noble Roman family in the 3rd century AD, Saints Crispin and Crispinian, twin brothers, fled persecution for their faith, winding up in Soissons, where they preached Christianity to the Gauls and made shoes by night. Their success attracted the ire of Rictus Varus, the governor of Belgic Gaul, who had them tortured and beheaded c. 286.

This day is call'd — the feast of Crispian:

He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe
when this day is nam'd,

And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and
sees old age,

Will yearly on the vigil feast his friends,
And say, "To-morrow is
Saint Crispian;"

Then will he strip his sleeve, and show his scars,
And say, "These
wounds I had on Crispin's day."

Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with
advantages,

What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his
mouth as household words, —

Harry the King, Bedford, and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and
Gloucester,

Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good
man teach his son;

And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by
>From this day to the ending of
the world,

But we in it shall be remember'd, —
We few, we happy few, we band of
brothers.

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me,
Shall be my brother; be he
ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England, now
a-bed,

Shall think themselves accurs'd, they were not here,
And hold their
manhoods cheap, whiles any speaks,

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
King Henry V
as
portrayed in

Henry V
by
--William Shakespeare





Martyrs of the Early Church who were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 October, 285 or 286. It is stated that they were brothers, but the fact has not been positively proved. The legend relates that they were Romans of distinguished descent who went as missionaries of the Christian Faith to Gaul and chose Soissons as their field of labour. In imitation of St. Paul they worked with their hands, making shoes, and earned enough by their trade to support themselves and also to aid the poor. During the Diocletian persecution they were brought before Maximianus Herculius whom Diocletian had appointed co-emperor. At first Maximianus sought to turn them from their faith by alternate promises and threats. But they replied: "Thy threats do not terrify us, for Christ is our life, and death is our gain. Thy rank and possessions are nought to us, for we have long before this sacrificed the like for the sake of Christ and rejoice in what we have done. If thou shouldst acknowledge and love Christ thou wouldst give not only all the treasures of this life, but even the glory of thy crown itself in order through the exercise of compassion to win eternal life." When Maximianus saw that his efforts were of no avail, he gave Crispin and Crispinian into the hands of the governor Rictiovarus (Rictius Varus), a most cruel persecutor of the Christians. Under the order of Rictiovarus they were stretched on the rack, thongs were cut from their flesh, and awls were driven under their finger-nails. A millstone was then fastened about the neck of each, and they were thrown into the Aisne, but they were able to swim to the opposite bank of the river. In the same manner they suffered no harm from a great fire in which Rictiovarus, in despair, sought death himself. Afterwards the two saints were beheaded at the command of Maximianus.

This is the story of the legend which the Bollandists have incorporated in their great collection; the same account is found in various breviaries. The narrative says that a large church was built over the graves of the two saints, consequently the legend could not have arisen until a later age; it contains, moreover, many details that have little probability or historical worth and seems to have been compiled from various fabulous sources. In the sixth century a stately basilica was erected at Soissons over the graves of these saints, and St. Eligius, a famous goldsmith, made a costly shrine for the head of St. Crispinian. Some of the relics of Crispin and Crispinian were carried to Rome and placed in the church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna. Other relics of the saints were given by Charlemagne to the cathedral, dedicated to Crispin and Crispinian, which he founded at Osnabrück. Crispin and Crispinian are the patron saints of shoemakers, saddlers, and tanners. Their feast falls on 25 October.

In the 6th century, a church was built in their honour at Soissons. Crispin and Crispinian are also associated with the town of Faversham in Kent. A tradition in England holds that Crispin and Crispinian escaped to Faversham during the persecution of Christians. They worked as shoemakers in Faversham, "at a house on the site of the Swan Inn in Preston Street, visited by English and foreign pilgrims as late as the 17th century."[2] Faversham's parish church has an altar in the saints’ honor. [2]
In early 2007, the parish church of St Mary of Charity dedicated an altar to Crispin and Crispinian in the south aisle of the church.
The supposed tombs of the saints are in Rome in the church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna.
The feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian is celebrated on October 25. The feast is a 'Black Letter Saints' Day' in the calendar of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (1662) and a 'commemoration' in Common Worship (2000). It is still celebrated in many churches of The Church of England.
Their role as shoemakers, their relationship as twins, and the timing of their holiday are suggestive of the possibility that they could have represented a local Celtic deity (Lugus-Mercurius) which had been made into a saint as a result of syncretism.

On October 28, 2007, Toronto's St Peter's Anglican Church celebrated a service which appropriated the pair of saints as patrons of the leather community

A Toronto church is giving new meaning to two little-known Christian martyrs. According to legend St Crispin and his companion St Crispinian were leatherworkers in the third century who evangelized Gaul (what is today western Europe). They've long been seen as the patron saints of leatherworkers and shoemakers but the parish of St Peter's Anglican Church has now claimed them as the patron saints of leatherfolk.

"[St Crispin and St Crispinian] were leatherworkers who were martyred in 285 AD in Rome, which is why in the Christian Church we remember them," says Judy Herron-Graham, the priest at St Peter's. "They died because they would not renounce their Christian faith. They've been remembered for over 1,700 years.

"Not a lot is known of the details of their lives or deaths," adds Herron-Graham, who has been preaching at the gaybourhood-area church for nine years. "We only know they were martyred and have become the patron saint of leatherworkers so we have extrapolated that and they have become the patron saints of leather people."

St Peter's recently marked the feast day of saints Crispin and Crispinian — traditionally Oct 25, said to be the day of their deaths — with a special Sunday leather service held on Oct 28. Celebrating the pair of saints with a leather service is a way of reaching out to a subculture that may not feel welcome in many church settings.

"There are several segments of our society for whom leather is an important part of their lifestyle, such as bikers and leather groups," says Herron-Graham.

"We're hoping that this will be the first of many and we hope this will become a church of the leather community with which the leather community identifies," she adds.

A service that reaches out to leatherfolk is in keeping with St Peter's goal to welcome all sorts to the church says guest preacher Harold Jenkins, who conducted the Oct 28 leather service.

"We have people from all strata of society in terms of income and national origin, gay and straight and whatever you like," says Jenkins, who was an Anglican preacher for seven years. "We are a very inclusive bunch. We have men who wear women's clothing who come to church like that. Any variety that exists in Toronto can be found at St Peter's."

So what does it mean to have a patron saint? "Traditionally a patron saint is regarded as an example of life and courage for a particular group of people," says Jenkins.

Jenkins' partner Ernie Wesley, a Catholic and member of the leather club Spearhead, says that many Christians choose a patron saint that represents their way of life and then pray to them for guidance.

"There is a saint of whatever you're involved with, for sailors, for leather," says Wesley. "St Peter is for fishermen. There are hundreds. We [Catholics] have a patron saint when we're confirmed. We all have our own patron saint."

Although the Catholic Church still considers St Crispin and St Crispinian to be saints, the pair was removed from the Catholic liturgical calendar in the 1960s in part due to suspicion that the men hadn't actually existed and that they represented the preexisting local Celtic deity Lugus-Mercurius.

According one version of the story Crispin and Crispinian (sometimes described as brothers or even twins) were born in Rome but fled religious persecution. They wound up in Soissons, in what is now France, where they set up shop as leatherworkers, preaching by day and making shoes by night. They promoted charity, piety and contempt for material wealth.

The pair came to the attention of coemperor Maximianus Herculius who sent them to be interrogated by governor Rictiovarus.

"Under the order of Rictiovarus they were stretched on the rack, thongs were cut from their flesh and awls were driven under their fingernails," states the 1908 version of the Catholic Encyclopedia. "A millstone was then fastened about the neck of each and they were thrown into the Aisne, but they were able to swim to the opposite bank of the river. In the same manner they suffered no harm from a great fire in which Rictiovarus, in despair, sought death himself."

The pair was ultimately beheaded at the order of the coemperor on Oct 25, 285 AD.