Halfway down the Danube

Agathangelos, History of the Armenians

I was going to summarize this very strange account of the coming of Christianity to Armenia here, but this Armenian! rock! opera! does a far better job than I ever could.

But for Luke, here's the smashmouth nun Rhipsime at work:

When the king entered, he seized her in order to work his lustful desires. But she, strengthened by the holy Spirit, struggled like a beast and fought like a man. They fought from the third hour until the tenth and she vanquished the king who was renowned for his incredible strength. While he was in the Greek empire he had shown such bodily strength that everyone had been amazed; and in his own realm, when he had returned to his native land, he had shown there too many deeds of mighty valor. And he, who was so famous in every respect, now was vanquished and worsted by a single girl through the will and power of Christ.

Part of the backstory is that the king, Tirdat (or Tiridates, a theophoric name like Mithridates, who died old) once beat the king of the Goths in single combat. After the whup-ass doesn't work, Tirdat brings in her abbess Gaiane, to convince her to give in. This also does not work, and the whup-ass continues:

But Rhipsime was still fighting from the tenth hour of the day until the first evening watch, and she overcame him. The maiden was strengthened by the holy Spirit; she struck him, chased him and overcame him; she wore the king out, weakened him, and felled him. She stripped the king naked of his clothes; she tore his robes and threw away his royal diadem, leaving him covered in shame. And although her own clothes had been torn to shreds by him, yet when she went out she still victoriously retained her purity.

Any further comments by me would be blasphemous.

Posted by coyu at March 7, 2006 09:40 PM