Saint Pelagius of Cordova

Pelagius of Córdoba (c. 912–926) (in Spanish San Pelayo Mártir) was a Christian boy who died as a martyr in Córdoba in southern Spain around 926 AD. There are three accounts of Pelagius. The earliest, The Martyrdom/Passion of St Pelagius was written by one Raguel, a priest of Córdoba. The second is an account retold in verse by Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim; and the third is a Mozarabic liturgy from about 967 when his body was recovered and brought to Toledo (his relics were later deposited in Oviedo Cathedral). Pelagius was left by his uncle at the age of ten as a hostage with the Caliph Abd-ar-Rahman III of al-Andalus, in trade for a clerical relative previously captured by the Moors, the bishop Hermoygius. The exchange never occurred, and Pelagius remained a captive for three years. According to the testimony of other prisoners, his courage and faith was such that the Caliph was impressed with him when he had attained the age of 13. The Caliph offered him his freedom if Pelagius converted to Islam. The boy, having remained a pious Christian, refused the Caliph's offer. His beauty was such that the Caliph fell in love with him when he had attained the age of 13. The boy, having remained a pious Christian, refused the Caliph's advances, striking the monarch and insulting him. Enraged, Abd-ar-Rahman had the boy tortured for six hours and then dismembered. Other accounts have him being shot from a catapult over the city walls, with the Caliph expecting his body to be dashed on the rocks of the river. When Pelagius emerged from this harsh sentence unharmed, he was then decapitated. The various accounts uphold his refusal to fulfil the Caliph's wishes. Pelagius was later enshrined as a Christian martyr and canonized as "Saint Pelagius." His commemoration is celebrated on 26 June.