Saint Juliet is the mother of Quirinus, also revered as a saint. When Juliet refuses to sacrifice to the pagan gods, the city officials torture her and also kill her small child who is not yet three years old. In some versions of the story, the Holy Spirit speaks through the small child, denouncing the officials who are persecuting his mother.
In Italian, the infant is known as Quirico, and there is a beautiful church of San Quirico in Italy near Siena.
[Notes by LKG]
This story is part of the Women Saints unit. Story source: The Golden Legend edited by F. S. Ellis (1900).
Here follow the Lives of SS. Quirine and Juliet
Then the provost took the child in his arms, and Juliet his mother refusing to do sacrifice, he made her to be scourged with raw sinews. And when the child saw his mother beaten he wept bitterly and made a lamentable noise, but the provost took it in his arms and danced it upon his knees, and would fain please the child with kissings and fair words.
The child, alway beholding his mother, abhorred the kissings of the provost, and turned his head away from him with great indignation and scratched his face with his nails, and gave his cries consonant into his mother, as he should have said: And I am also christian. Then he bit the provost, and wrestling with him all to-scratched him.
Then the provost, having indignation hereof and in a great anger, threw down the child off the steps whereas he sat in judgment, that the tender brain fell abroad out of his head upon the steps.
Then Juliet seeing her son go to heaven tofore her, gave thankings unto God, and she was thereof right glad.
Then it was commanded that Juliet should be flayed, and burning pitch cast on her, and at the last her head to be smitten off.
And it is found in another legend that Quirine despised the tyrant as well when he glosed him as when he blamed him, and confessed him to be christian, howbeit that he was over-young to speak but the Holy Ghost spake in him.
When then the provost demanded of him who had so taught him, he answered and said: O thou provost I marvel much thy folly which seest me so young of age, not being yet three years old, and demandest who hath taught me this divine wisdom; thou mayst clearly see that it cometh from God.
When the child was beaten he cried: I am christian; and the more that he cried, the more strength among the torments he received.
And the judge did do dismember the mother with the child, and all to-hew them in pieces, and because their members should not be buried of the christian people, he commanded that they should be cast and disperpled abroad.
But not withstanding they were of an angel gathered together, and in the night buried by the christian people; whose bodies were showed in the time of Constantine the Great when peace was in the Church, by a maid which had been one of her chamberers, that then yet lived, and were had of all the people in great devotion. They suffered martyrdom about the year of our Lord three hundred and thirty under Alexander.
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