Perugian coin of the 15th century (CNG Coins). It depicts the half-length bust of St. Herculanus, holding a crozier.

Saint Herculanus (Sant' Ercolano) of Perugia (d. 549) was a bishop of Perugia and is patron saint of that city. His main feast day is November 7; his second feast is celebrated on March 1. According to Saint Gregory the Great in his Dialogues, Herculanus suffered martyrdom when Totila, king of the Ostrogoths, captured Perugia in 549. (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... A crosier (crozier, pastoral staff) is the stylized staff of office carried by high-ranking Catholic prelates. ... Events Emperor Jinwen succeeds Emperor Wu as ruler of the Liang Dynasty in China. ... Perugia is the capital city in the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber river, and the capital of the province of Perugia. ... In several forms of the church of Christianity, but especially in Roman Catholicism, a patron saint has special affinity for a trade or group. ... November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... Pope Saint Gregory I or Gregory the Great (c. ... The term dialogue (or dialog) expresses basically reciprocal conversation between two or more persons. ... Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for his or her religious faith. ... Totila, born in Treviso, was king of the Ostrogoths, chosen after the death of his uncle Ildibad, having engineered the assassination of Ildibads short-lived successor his cousin Eraric in 541. ... This article deals with the continental Ostrogoths. ... Events Emperor Jinwen succeeds Emperor Wu as ruler of the Liang Dynasty in China. ...

Before the city was captured, Herculanus is said to have tried to save the city with an old ruse: he fed the last sack of grain to the last lamb. This was meant to give the Ostrogoth forces the impression that the Perugians had food to spare, and were able to feed a weak lamb with their precious grain. With food to spare, they were thus able to withstand the siege. However, Totila was not fooled by this trick and captured the city just the same.[1] The word grain has several meanings, most being descriptive of a small piece or particle. ... It has been suggested that Lambing be merged into this article or section. ...

This same trick has also been attributed to Gagliaudo, who saved his city (Alessandria) -successfully- from the forces of Frederick Barbarossa. An interpretation of the tale is found in Umberto Eco's novel Baudolino. Alessandria (Lisandria in Piedmontese) is a strongly fortified and impressive town and capital of the Province of Alessandria. ... Frederick in a 13th century Chronicle Frederick I (German: Friedrich I. von Hohenstaufen)(1122 – June 10, 1190), also known as Friedrich Barbarossa (Frederick Redbeard) was elected king of Germany on March 4, 1152 and crowned Holy Roman Emperor on June 18, 1155. ... Photo of Umberto Eco by Robert Birnbaum Umberto Eco (born January 5, 1932) is an Italian medievalist, philosopher and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose and his many essays. ... Baudolino is a 2000 novel by Umberto Eco about a young man named Baudolinos adventures in the known and mythical Christian world of the 12th century. ...

Totila is said to have commanded Herculanus to be completely flayed. However, the Ostrogoth soldier asked to perform this gruesome task took pity on the bishop and decapitated Herculanus before the flaying had been completed. Michelangelos Last Judgment - Saint Bartholomew holding the knife of his martyrdom and his flayed skin Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. ... The Beheading of Cosmas and Damian, by Fra Angelico Decapitation (from Latin, caput, capitis, meaning head), or beheading, is the removal of a living organisms head. ...

Gregory writes that forty days after Herculanus' head had been cut off, it was found to have been reunited to the body.[2]

The inhabitants of the castle of Cisterna, above the Puglia river, were under Perugian rule; they had to send three pounds of wax to Perugia for the feast of St. Herculanus.[3] Apulia is a region of Italy (called Puglia in Italian), bordering on Molise to the north-west, Campania to the south-west, Basilicata to the south, the Adriatic Sea to the east and the Ionian Sea to the south-east. ... Wax has traditionally referred to a substance that is secreted by bees (beeswax) and used by them in constructing their honeycombs. ...

Church of Sant'Ercolano, Perugia

External links

• Saints of November 7: Herculanus of Perugia
• (Norwegian) Den hellige Herculanus av Perugia
• (German) Herculanus von Perugia

Saints Portal