What did St Francecsa Romana do that Hilary Mantel was not able to write down?

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In this month's London Review of Books, there's an article by Hilary Mantel; I've not finished the whole piece as yet so can't say what's about. Anyway, she sez:

"St Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi lay naked on thorns. Saint Catherine of Siena drank pus from a cancerous sore. One confessor ordered Veronica Giuliani to kneel while a novice of the order kicked her in the mouth. Another ordered her to clean the walls and floor of her cell with her tongue; when she swallowed the spiders and their webs, even he thought it was going too far. Scourges, chains and hair shirts were the must-have accessories in these women's lives. Eustochia of Messina stretched her arms on a DIY rack she had constructed. St Margaret of Cortona bought herself a razor and was narrowly dissuaded from slicing through her nostrils and upper lip. St Angela of Foligno drank water contaminated by the putrefying flesh of a leper. And what St Francesca Romana did, I find I am not able to write down.

What did St Francesca Romana do? Google has been no help here...

― Dave B (daveb), Friday, 5 March 2004 15:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Now it can be revealed: Roman Catholicism--Creepy death cult!

― Skottie, Friday, 5 March 2004 15:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I know, but this have got me all-a-curious. I also think it might be a good gross-out story for the pub; just as gross as the average gross-out story, but kind of more literary than the usual FOAF ones.

― Dave B (daveb), Friday, 5 March 2004 15:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know either. The entry for her in my Dictionary of Saints reveals nothing scandalous, except the ecstasy thing.

― N. (nickdastoor), Friday, 5 March 2004 15:54 (twenty-one years ago)

She took ecstasy? Wow! A raving saint!

― Skottie, Friday, 5 March 2004 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

St Meatloaf to thread.

― Markelby (Mark C), Friday, 5 March 2004 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

The esctacy of St Theresa was the best ever.

― Dave B (daveb), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:05 (twenty-one years ago)

She had a better supplier with a connection directly to the factory in Rotterdam. Naturally her ecstacy was the best ever.

― Skottie, Friday, 5 March 2004 16:07 (twenty-one years ago)

I think someone's 'avin y'on (GEDDIT!)

― Dave B (daveb), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Now it can be revealed: Roman Catholicism--Creepy death cult!

Roman Catholicism: kinky BDSM organisation, by the sound of it.

(has there ever been a Hilary Mantel thread? If not, there should be)

― caitlin (caitlin), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:23 (twenty-one years ago)

The nearest we've got to a Hilary Mantel thread

― Dave B (daveb), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:28 (twenty-one years ago)

... and a lot of that was me talking about her.

― caitlin (caitlin), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Hang on, she's not the one who boiled up a load of oil and poured it into herself - if you know what I mean - is she? I remember reading something about this many years ago, she did it to get rid of her guilty sexual feelings.

I could be barking up the wrong tree, though.

― Rob M (Rob M), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:36 (twenty-one years ago)

OMG

― Dave B (daveb), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:45 (twenty-one years ago)

It's possible: she did have intimacy issues, as you would if you vomited blood every time your husband touched you.

http://www.santiagobovisio.com/ing/books/book18.htm

Warning: link is stone cold crazy.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Talking of religious nutters: every history documentary I've watched on the telly lately has seemed to have a segment in it about Margery Kemp. I'm getting a bit bored of her.

― caitlin (caitlin), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:48 (twenty-one years ago)

It sounds uncannily like 120 Days of Sodom, anyway. Which is funny because the narrative voice in 120 is all 'wahey! He sliced off his testicles and they all came AGAIN!'

― suzy (suzy), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I've been reading Citizens by Simon Schama recently. The Marquis de Sade sounds like a fun kind of chap.

― caitlin (caitlin), Friday, 5 March 2004 16:51 (twenty-one years ago)

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