Stylite

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Stylite \Sty"lite\ (st[imac]"l[imac]t), n. [Gr. styli`ths, fr.
     sty^los a pillar.] (Eccl. Hist.)
     One of a sect of anchorites in the early church, who lived on
     the tops of pillars for the exercise of their patience; --
     called also {pillarist} and {pillar saint}.
     [1913 Webster]


  
           The two other holy men in Gregory's narrative had more
           exotic origins than the pair that has just been seen.
           Gregory encountered one of them when on a journey to
           the north-eastern parts of the Frankish kingdom. This
           was a Lombard, named Vulfolaic, who had spent some
           years in the arduous exercise of being a stylite, the
           Christian equivalent of a flagpole sitter; in other
           words, Vulfolaic was a monk whose main austerity
           consisted in living on top of a pillar. By carrying out
           this feat in the rain, snow, and frost of the Moselle
           valley, Vulfolaic had convinced the local population to
           overthrow and abandon the idol of Diana to which they
           were addicted.                           --Walter
                                                    Goffart,
                                                    FOREIGNERS IN
                                                    THE HISTORIES
                                                    OF GREGORY OF
                                                    TOURS
                                                    (http://www.arts.uwo.ca/florilegium/goffart.html).

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  stylite
       n : an early Christian ascetic who lived on top of high pillars