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Re: Patron Saint for archivists



The matter of St. Catherine has always interested me.  She is the "literary" re-incarnation of Hypatia, the first famous female scholar/teacher, daughter of Theron, last of the big-name mathematicians at the Museum (mousiaon) in Alexandria.  She taught mathematics and philosophy in Alexandria to both pagan and Christian students until she was  murdered by a Christian mob in 415 C.E.  As one source puts it, the death of Hypatia marked the end of an age of reason and the beginning of an age of faith. "St. Catherine" became a substitute figure, one who was, of course, a Christian, and was put to death by pagans. 

Mike

J. Michael Pemberton, Ph.D., CRM, FAI   865-974-6509 (voice)
Professor, School of Information Sciences       865-974-4967 (fax)
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville  865-919-5878 (wireless)
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