The holiness of Disibod, and his suitability for that exalted office, were
thoroughly
well known.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
, chap, xxxviii.
, p.
349.
Rev.
Dr.
William Smith's edition.
"* The Franks defeated the Alemanni, A. D.
496, in the decisive battle of Tolbiacum, or
19 This is described in his own Eusebius.
Epistle
to
20
This is the oldest Christian See in Ger-
many.
21 The various convulsions to which Ger-
many had been subjected from the third to
the fifth century are set forth in Jules Albiacum. This is held to be Tulpich, on the
"
liv. ii. , chap, v. , pp. 184 to 264.
Lower Rhine ; or, if we read Albiacum, then
Albich, near Alzir, in the neighbourhood of Kreuznach.
"
p. 125.
" 26 Rivoluzioni della Germania," di Carlo
Zeiller's
Histoire d'Allemagne," tome i. ,
22
The Alemanni for a time were dominant
people, until their superiority was disputed. " La Germania Mendionale e Mediterranea
era tuttaviadaTuringi, da Sassoni, dagli Ale-
manni posseduta. Questi ultnni occupavano
la maggior parte della Svevia, perche gli
Alemanni erano per la piu parte di quelli
Svevi che abitavannoanticamente nella Ger—- Royal a Berlin, tome i. , liv. i. , chap, viii. , mania Settentrionale tra l'Elba e 1 Oder. "
Denina, tomo primo, libro ii. , capo ii. , p. 95.
His Life has been treated of already, in the Secon—d Volume of this work, at Feb-
of the Decline and Fall of the Ro-
2S The Emperor Julian reproached Con- stantine with having been the fiist to elevate the Barbarians to offices of importance in
Histoire des Alemands," traduke de l'Allemand de Schmidt, par J. C. de la Veaux, Professeur
civil and military affairs. See
his
ruary 4th the date for festival. Abou
.
146 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [JulyJS. taken their notices of the holy man Dysibod. The Life of this saint was written,
thenincirculation,andwhichwerebutamplifiedinparticularpassages,3* withthe pious reflections of St. Hildegarde. It is very certain, that the narrative is in- volved and intricate, nor can we depend much on its general historical accuracy. The present saint's virtues and labours are commemorated by Molanus, Canisius,andArnoldus. 3* TheAbbotJohnofTrittenheim3<5hasanaccountof St. Disibodus ; as also the Abbot Dodechinus, who was Abbot of Dissenburg, and John Wilson,3? commemorate him. The Acts of this holy missionary and bishop have been included in the collections of Lippeloo, 38 of Surius, 3 ? of the
1
Father John Mabillon has an account of St. Disibodus, in his " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti. " 42 He is
according
to the direction of Abbot 2^ St. 30 in the Helinger, by Hildegardis,
year 1 1 70. This distinguished woman received her education, at Disibodenberg, from the Abbess Jutta. 31 St. Hildegarde was subsequently the last Abbess over that convent. 32 She tells us, in the beginning of her biography, that she had revelations or some sort of internal monitions to undertake this work. 33 However, it seems probable, that earlier Lives of St. Dysibod were
Bollandists,4° and of the Benedictines. *
his Martyrology, more has been stated in the First Volume. Introduction.
sanctity and austerity, while her revelations have made her celebrated, not alone during her own age, but through all succeeding cen-
27 In G. Waitz's edition of Mariani Scotti
" Chronicon," there is no entry regarding turies. Her feast is celebrated on the 17th
our saint, as may be noticed by referring
to the " Monumental Germania Historica,"
tomus v.
38
This Codex version, of what professes to be the Chronicle of Marianus, has been so filled with local historic incidents, that it
"
might better deserve the title Annales S.
Dysibodi. "—Ibid. , pp. 483, 484.
29 He was the fifth Abbot over the Abbey,
built on Disibodenberg Mount.
30 For nearly one hundred years, after
of September.
33 See the Bollandists' " Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Julii viii. De S. Disibodo Episc, et Confess, in Dysenberg, Territorii Mogun- tini, in Germania. Vita auctore S. Hilde- garde moniali. Ex M. S. Maximini Trevi- rensis, in Four chapters and Fifty-four para- graphs, pp. 588 to 597. A previous Com- mentary in Three sections and Thirty-three paragraphs, by the Editor, Father John Baptist Soller, precedes, and notes are added.
34 Such is the opinion of Mabillon, when treating on this subject, in the "Acta Sanc- torum Ordinis S. Benedicti. "
35 See Father Stephen White's "Apologia
pro Hibernia," cap. iv. , pp. 26, 44.
36 In his "Chronicon llirsaugiensis," ad annum Christi 1108. Likewise, in his work " De Viris Illustribus Ordinis S. Benedicti,
lib. eclviii. iii. , cap.
37 "
In his Martyrologium Anglicanum,"
at Julii viii.
The "Vita Sanctorum. " The Third
Volume contains Acts of St. Disibod, Bishop, at July the 8th. See pp. 113 to 119.
39 See Vita St. Disibodi, Confessoris, in
a cloister for nuns of noble families existed at Disibodenberg, as well as the cloisters for the monks. And
" Die Nonnen sangen ; O Christe du bariitigam suss und traut !
Die Monche seufz'ten : Maria, O Komm, du susse Braut I"
31TheAbbess of — — Jutta Disibodenberg
one of the old Sponheim race went through the Glan with dry feet, and she turned water into wine, according to the Legend of her Life.
32 Having found the community of goods between monks and nuns there not quite to her severer taste, she insisted on a separa- tion. With the help of the Counts of . spon- heim and others, after great resistance on the part of the abbot and monks, she accom- plished her object, and founded a new reli- gious Parthenon for herself andhernuns, about 1 1 50, on the Rubertsberg, and on the left bank of the Nahe near Kreuznach. The only male inmate of their house, in that place, was the holy Rupert, a saint who was buried there many hundred years before, in the times of King Pippin. The abbess Hilde- garde has been renowned for extraordinary
1005,
Gcrmannia, in thirty-seven paragraphs of "
Surius, tomus iv. of "Acta Sanctorum, pp. 141 to 148, at Julii viii.
40 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Julii viii. , pp. 581 to 599.
41 In the Appendix to the Fourth Volume
of the "Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Bene-
dicti," sax iii. , pars ii. , A. D. 700 to A. D. 800,
is written the Life of St. Disibod, Confessor,
in 8 paragraphs, pp. 496 to 498.
4i
i. , lib. xvi. , num. xliv. , pp. 43 In his work " Annalibus Trevirensibus,
522, 523.
Sec tomus
July 8. ] LIVES Ofi THE IRISH SAINTS. 147
noticed, likewise, by Christopher Brower. 43 The Bollandists 44 had obtained Acts of St. Dysibod, which were taken from a vellum Passional, belonging to
the monastery of Bodensee, but to which they attached very slight importance, as the accounts contained in them appeared to have been very unskilfully compiled from other Acts of saints, and to have been mainly taken up with a puerile Legend of King Dagobert's hunting and of his bestowing a munificent endowment for the monastery of Dysibod, as also with an account of miracles which had been wrought through his intercession after the time of St. Hilde- garde. It is supposed, that these legends had been collected probably in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. There is an unreliable account in Dempster 45 of this holy missionary. It was Colgan's intention to have written his Acts at this date/6 Adrien Baillet 4? has some notices regarding him, as Abbot of Disenburg. Among the more modern Irish writers, in
Walter Harris' Ware,48 as also in the works of the Rev. Dr. Lanigan w and
A brief account of St. Disen or Disibode is to be found in Les Petits Bollandistes'51 collection.
of John D'Alton, 50 there are notices of St. Dysibod.
As a great portion of St. Hildegarde's Acts of this holy man are diffusely rhetorical and traditional, we shall confine ourselves to an abbreviated state- ment of the few facts they present, with some notices of him from other sources. St. Disibod, or Disen, is said to have been descended from a noble Hiber- nian family, although his parents were not possessed of a superfluity of this world'sriches. Theywereoppressedbythehostilityofacertainpowerfuland
tyrannic chief, who was dominant in their part of the country, and who had re-
duced them and others as well, to a state of depression and dependence. Disi-
bod was still a boy, at this time, and from the very earliest age he was distin-
guishedformanyvirtues. AlthoughsomeoftheScottishwritersclaimhimasa
2
compatriot,* hewasborninIreland,andasseemsmostprobable,53sometime
after the year 620. It would appear, that his dispositions were all of a pious tendency ; that he was pure of mind, and prudent for his age ; avoiding evil
anddoinggood,totheveryutmostofhisability. Nowonder,thathisparents were unwilling to surrender him as a hostage to that tyrant, whose caprices wereofapassionateandanill-naturedbent. Wherefore,theywatchedanoppor- tunity and fled with him to a more remote part of the country, where a river flowed into the sea. 54 At this place, there was a town and an institute of religious men, who conducted a school. These taught various liberal sciences, and Disibod was placed under their care. His learning and intellectual abilities were only surpassed by his proficiency in the graces of the Holy Ghost, which gave great comfort to his parents, during their forced expulsion fromtheirformerhome. Disibodhadamostretentivememory,andasday by day he grew in stature and in mental resources, he applied also to the practice of good works, to prayer and to alms-giving, daily becoming more perfect in the knowledge and observance of God's law. He was resolved to devote himself entirely to the Divine service. Accordingly, step by step, he received the various minor charges of the ministry. At thirty years of age, he was promoted to priest's orders. He then resolved, more sedulously, if possible, to cultivate the Lord's vineyard. It so happened, in that part of
ad annum Christi 639.
44 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomusii. , Julii
Mensium et Dierum. "
v See "Les Vies des Saints," tome Hi. ,
viii. De S. Disibodo Episc. et Confess. , &c. pp. 67 to 69.
Commentarius sect, Preevius,
ii. ,
num.
48 See vol. " 15, p. i. ,
Archbishops
of
Dublin,"
584, and pp. 597 to 599.
4 > See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Sco-
torum," tomus i. , lib. iv. , num. ccclxxiii.
46 As may be seen from "Catalogus Ac- tuum Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, ordine
p. 304.
« See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. hi. , chap, xviii. , sect, ix. , pp. 114,
115.
s° See "Memoirs of the Archbishops of
148 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 8.
the country, one of the bishops belonging to the place had been called away from this life ; and according to the custom prevailing, all the people assem- bled to chose his successor.
The holiness of Disibod, and his suitability for that exalted office, were thoroughly well known. Accordingly, he was unanimously elected. Through humility, he at first refused, but those, whose prudent opinions he respected, urged him to comply with what seemed to be the will of Divine Providence. He was soon afterwards elevated to the dignity of Bishop, although he accepted this position with extreme reluctance. However, he collected around him some persons of great judgment and piety, by whose advice he desired to be chiefly guided. They gave him the greater courage to discharge the duties of his trust faithfully, and while loyal to their spiritual superior, they afforded him great consolation, in some trials and difficulties to which he had been subjected. Notwithstanding, his greatest refuge was in distrust of himself, and in prayer to God, whereby his deficien- cies might be supplied. We are told, that the See over which he presided wasthatofDublin;ss andsomewriters,whohavetreatedregardingthesuc- cession of Prelates in that See, make him succeed St. Wiro,s6 another sup- posed bishop in that See. He is said to have resigned it, and to have left for Belgium, where he died at Rurimond, on the 8th of May, a. d. 650. 57
Street View in the City of Dublin.
—the chief city of
our Island—reached
the Continent before
the time when his
Acts had been writ-
ten, it was assumed,
he must have pre-
sided over its See, at
a more remote time.
He bore the episco-
pal dignity and bur-
den, it is said, for ten
years. During this time, by his preach- ing and zeal, he con-
verted many sinners from the error of their ways. While many of his subjects were averse to wholesome discipline, others are said to have been pagan,
Dublin," pp. 20, 21. viiie Jour de Juillet, p. 164. 2"
s Historia Ecclesiastic i' See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. , See Dempster's
This, however, not alone admits of
8
doubt,s but, it is
altogether improba- ble, as Dublin had
not become a city,59 nor had it been erected into an ec- clesiastical centre of
government, at that
60 early period.
It
may be, that Dysi- bod was a bishop in some other part of
Ireland,
01 and that,
as the fame of Dublin
July 8. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
149
while a schism arose, and many opposed the teaching to be found in the Old
and New Testaments. 62 Even some are stated to have the joined Jewish
sect. 6* Difficulties seem to have beset him, in his administration of diocesan affairs ; and, for a long time, he steadily opposed the evils, which threatened him, while bearing with fortitude and patience those various calumnies and injuries that fell so thickly upon him. Even his personal safety seems to have been affected, and a conspiracy of his enemies helped to gather a band of rioters, who desired to depose him. Owing to the opposition of these turbu- lent characters among his flock, he was obliged at length to resign his bishop- ric. Disibodcollectedafewreligiousmentowhomherevealedhispurpose, which was, to leave his native country, family and friends, for the sake of Christ, whose vineyard he could not successfully continue to cultivate there, and to find in a foreign land, some field of labour, which might be productive of better results. It is thought to be probable, that Disibod exercised his episcopal functions, until the year 674/4 when he is supposed to have resigned the government of his See. Some writers assign an earlier date for his migration to the Continent. 63 Before parting from Ireland, an angel is said to have appeared in a dream, and told him, that he must wander thence, to kindle in dark places the light of the Gospel, and that he must not rest anywhere, until one day when he shall have come into a country, where his staff should stick in the earth, and afterwards become a green sapling. At the same time, Dysibod learned, how he should see a white hind, scratching a spring in the ground, and two rivers meeting, at that place. In consequence of those troubles, already alluded to, he left hi—s native country, resolving never more
to retur—
n. the
staff like so Irishmen of that many holy
Taking
period andresolvingtoseekanothersphereofduty,withcheerfulmindhe
prayed
" Lead
kindly light,"
66 and he trusted to God's
and
53 This must be
only calculated,
** Disibodus in Hibernia ibidem — natus,
on the uncertain data to be extracted from his Acts. ** This indefinite way of stating it leaves us ignorant of the exact place to which he is
copus. "
56 See an account of him on the 8th of
possibility of Pelagianism having spread in Ireland, at this time.
63 It is quite evident, that nearly all these statements are from the pure workings of imagination, on the part of the writer of our saint's Acts.
6* See the additions to Marianus Scotus' " Chronicon. " Ad annum 674 et 675.
6s In Les Petits Bollandistes' "Vies des Saints," it is set down at about A. D. 652. See tome viii. , viiie Jour de Juillet, p. 164.
66 The sentiment in a beautiful conveyed
Hymn, written by His Eminence John Henry Cardinal Newman, in his "Poems," many of which are so replete with true devotional
feeling.
6? See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Julii viii. De S. Disibodo Epis. et Confess. , &c. Vita Auctore S. Hilde- garde moniali, ex Ms. S. Maximinise Trevi- rensis,cap. i. , pp. 588to590.
May—the date for his festival—in the Fifth Volume of this work, Art. i.
57 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Archbishops of Dublin," p. 304.
58 While he adopts this assertion on Wil-
son's credit, Harris states it as
from any authorities cited by that writer. See ibid.
. 59 The accompanying illustration presents a view of Dublin from Grafton-street. On
the right is a portion of Trinity College and nearly opposite on the left, the front of the former Houses of Parliament. Drawn from a photograph, by William F. Wakeman on thewood,engravedbyMrs. Millard.
pilgrim's
protection
ance for the future situation, where his work in life might procure him an
6 eternal reward. ?
Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iv. , num. ccclxxiii,p. 205. New edition. Edinburgh 1829.
said to have gone.
5S
John Wilson, in his "Martyrologiam Anglicanum," at the 8th of July, speaks of him as Bishop of Dublin : " Ordina- tus est Dubliniensis in eodem regno Epis-
6°
See D'Alton's "Memoirs of the Arch- bishops of Dublin, "p. 21.
unsupported
very
epis- copus fuisse dicitur. " " Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , num. xliv. , p. 522.
6l
In a safe manner, Mabillon states:
6a
Father Thomas O'Sheerin suggests the
guid-
15° LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 8.
CHAPTER II.
TRAVELS OF ST. DYSIBOD, WITH HIS COMPANIONS GISWALD, SALUST AND CLEMENT —A DIVINE REVELATION BY WHICH HE IS BROUGHT TO SELECT THE SITE FOR HIS FUTURE RESIDENCE—HIS MONASTIC AND MISSIONARY LIFE AT DISENBERG—HE BECOMES POPULAR AMONG THE CHIEFS AND PEOPLE OF THE DISTRICT SURROUND- ING IT.
Moved by the spirit of God, St. Disibod was accompanied by three pious and
learned
men,
named Giswaldus x
or and who Gillilaldus, Salust, Clement,
Their first course was probably directed
travelled with him from Ireland.
to England, although St. Disibod's Acts are silent regarding the special
places visited by them. However, it is stated, that Disibod, and those who had accompanied him from Ireland, kept moving about and preaching from
2 before
abode. ThejourneyofthosestrangerswaschieflythroughFranceandGer- many, so far as we can interpret the order of narrative. It is likely, in after time, they had reached the course of the Lower Rhine, and had travelled along its left banks, through that highly romantic and precipitous duct through which it flows, from the present city of Bonn, to Coblentz, and on to liingen,3 where it is joined by the Nahe and its tributaries. The holy missionary's exemplary life and actions caused even the rude inhabitants of
those countries, through which St. Disibod travelled, to entertain a great veneration for him. His earnest, zealous and persuasive eloquence seemed to be directed only for the attainment of one end, to win over his fellow-crea- tures from the error of their ways. He preached the Gospel without cessation, everywhere producing a harvest of souls, by the exercise of his apostolic labours, yet oftentimes finding those persons, whom he exhorted in vain. He had a profound distrust in his own unaided exertions; and therefore, he frequently prayed the Almighty to assist and guide him.
Dysibod was at last consoled by a vision, which he had one night, having been assured by the Almighty, that his trials should cease, and that he should soon find a place of rest, to reward him for his toils and anxieties in God's service. It is by no means certain, that our saint lived so very shortly after the death of St. Benedict/ as has been stated by the Abbess St. Hildegarde,s or that he desired to establish a house of that order, wherever he purposed to rest. When he wished to gather around him a religious community, it seems most probable, he intended only to follow the monastic models and rules, which prevailed in Ireland during his time. After the interval already calcu- lated, as being spent in preaching and journeying on his mission, St. Disibod
one to for ten place another,
years,
finding
the site for his
permanent
Chapter 11. — * So is he styled, by Ma-
"
Annales Ordinis S. Bene- dict, tomus i. , lib. xvi. , num. xliv. , p.
522.
6 " Unde iter ingrediens nemorosa per avia solum,
Et nulla humani spectans vestigia cultus,
Praetereo arentem sitientibus undi- que terris
Dumnissum, riguasque perenni fonte Tabernas,
Arvaque Sauromatum, nuper metata colonis :
Et tandem primis Belgarum conspi- cor oris
Nivomagum, divi castra inclyta Con- stantini. "
billon, in his "
2
See John D'Alton's "Memoirs of the
Archbishops of Dublin," p. 20.
3 A finely coloured Map, Le Rhin de May-
ence a Coblenz, pi. vi. , in Klisee Rectus' "Nouvelle Geographie Universale," tome iii. , presents the physical features of this re- gion which are beautifully shown. See chap, iii. , sect, iii. , p. 550.
« This happened A. D. 543.
5"
Of St. Benedict she remarks rime migraverat. "
:
qui nuper-
—
Ausonius' "Idylia," x. Mosella, 11. 5—II.
July 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 151 entered the Lower Palatinate of Germany. He appears to have travelled
6
through that picturesque region so happily described by the Poet Ausonius. It is said, that he and his companions wandered without the sacred sign, till one day, travelling through this distant part of Gallia, its future patron reached the Nahethal. No doubt, similar reports of that heathenism and paganism, existing in the wild woods and solitudes of northern Germany, which attracted St. Goar 1 and others from Aquitaine, had penetrated to Ireland, then the Island of Saints and of missionaries. A desire for spreading the Gospel among those people, inspired Disibod and his zealous companions, to under- take the labours of their mission. 8 Through the mountains of the Hunds- ruckregion^andbeyondthoseoftheHochWald10 andIdarWald,they
passed. At length, they penetrated to the valley of the Nahe.
That district lying round the villages of Sohren, Niedersoren, and Sohr-
"
Letters from Kreuznach," which have been
9 It stretches between the Rhine, the See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S. Bene-
11 on the and left of the old Roman road, were the fields I2 of right
schied,
ancient colonists, known as the Saurometes. In these wild mountain and forest districts, along the river Nahe, and where it flows into the Rhine, it is pretty clear, that in the sixth century the scanty population must have relapsed into entire paganism. Early as Christianity had been planted in those regions, it was not from Mainz or Treves, however, that efforts were now made to reclaim those rude populations to Christianity. The missiona- ries had come from a remote Island in the Western Ocean, and these too werethepioneersofcivilization. Intheinteriorofthatcountry,atthepresent time, every valley that descends towards the Rhine near Bingen is domi- nated by high donjons and walls, and there too begin those magnificent
oneitherbankofthatnobleriver. x3 TheGlanandthe Nahe were the rivers beside whose commingling waters, as had been foretold, the wanderers were to find their future home. "This is my place of rest," criedoutDysibodtohiscompanions,whentheyhadarrivedthere. 1* Ahigh and wood-crowned hill of difficult access presented itself, and the position was one of extreme beauty, in the eyes of those stranger pilgrims ; nor can
their taste and judgment be questioned on this point, by tourists who visit it
at the present day.
A strong probability exists, that St. Disibod had been created a "Regionary
J5withoutafixedSee and,wemaysuppose,thatsuchelevationwas Bishop, ;
andvine-clad
heights,
a consequence of his indefatigable missionary efforts. However this may be, near the confluence of the Nahe and the Glan, according to the legend, his staff stuck fast, and behold it burgeoned and unfolded into leafage. This was the sign he had so long desired. A white hind was grazing near, under whose feet a clear spring was welling forth.
I0 The German word W—ald—
many local denominations has the significa- tion of " forest. "
" The syllable sohr has no German or Teutonic root.
" Called " arva Sauromatum. "
"
Nouvelle Geogra- phie Universelle," tome iii. , chap, iii. , sect.
on the
The town of St. Goar, Rhine,
?
still preserves in remembrance the missionary zeal of its patron, St. Goar. He came from Aquitaine to convert the pagans of the Rhineland. He died there, a. d. 575.
8 In this description and in other accounts
which precede and follow, we have utilized
a very interesting series of articles intituled,
applied
to
published in The Glasgow Herald. See No.
iii. , pp. 547 to 555.
I4 This spot is situated about two miles
vi. , Thursday, September 2nd, 1875.
from Kreutznac, and one from Sponheim. dicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sect, xliv. , p. 523.
"* The Franks defeated the Alemanni, A. D.
496, in the decisive battle of Tolbiacum, or
19 This is described in his own Eusebius.
Epistle
to
20
This is the oldest Christian See in Ger-
many.
21 The various convulsions to which Ger-
many had been subjected from the third to
the fifth century are set forth in Jules Albiacum. This is held to be Tulpich, on the
"
liv. ii. , chap, v. , pp. 184 to 264.
Lower Rhine ; or, if we read Albiacum, then
Albich, near Alzir, in the neighbourhood of Kreuznach.
"
p. 125.
" 26 Rivoluzioni della Germania," di Carlo
Zeiller's
Histoire d'Allemagne," tome i. ,
22
The Alemanni for a time were dominant
people, until their superiority was disputed. " La Germania Mendionale e Mediterranea
era tuttaviadaTuringi, da Sassoni, dagli Ale-
manni posseduta. Questi ultnni occupavano
la maggior parte della Svevia, perche gli
Alemanni erano per la piu parte di quelli
Svevi che abitavannoanticamente nella Ger—- Royal a Berlin, tome i. , liv. i. , chap, viii. , mania Settentrionale tra l'Elba e 1 Oder. "
Denina, tomo primo, libro ii. , capo ii. , p. 95.
His Life has been treated of already, in the Secon—d Volume of this work, at Feb-
of the Decline and Fall of the Ro-
2S The Emperor Julian reproached Con- stantine with having been the fiist to elevate the Barbarians to offices of importance in
Histoire des Alemands," traduke de l'Allemand de Schmidt, par J. C. de la Veaux, Professeur
civil and military affairs. See
his
ruary 4th the date for festival. Abou
.
146 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [JulyJS. taken their notices of the holy man Dysibod. The Life of this saint was written,
thenincirculation,andwhichwerebutamplifiedinparticularpassages,3* withthe pious reflections of St. Hildegarde. It is very certain, that the narrative is in- volved and intricate, nor can we depend much on its general historical accuracy. The present saint's virtues and labours are commemorated by Molanus, Canisius,andArnoldus. 3* TheAbbotJohnofTrittenheim3<5hasanaccountof St. Disibodus ; as also the Abbot Dodechinus, who was Abbot of Dissenburg, and John Wilson,3? commemorate him. The Acts of this holy missionary and bishop have been included in the collections of Lippeloo, 38 of Surius, 3 ? of the
1
Father John Mabillon has an account of St. Disibodus, in his " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti. " 42 He is
according
to the direction of Abbot 2^ St. 30 in the Helinger, by Hildegardis,
year 1 1 70. This distinguished woman received her education, at Disibodenberg, from the Abbess Jutta. 31 St. Hildegarde was subsequently the last Abbess over that convent. 32 She tells us, in the beginning of her biography, that she had revelations or some sort of internal monitions to undertake this work. 33 However, it seems probable, that earlier Lives of St. Dysibod were
Bollandists,4° and of the Benedictines. *
his Martyrology, more has been stated in the First Volume. Introduction.
sanctity and austerity, while her revelations have made her celebrated, not alone during her own age, but through all succeeding cen-
27 In G. Waitz's edition of Mariani Scotti
" Chronicon," there is no entry regarding turies. Her feast is celebrated on the 17th
our saint, as may be noticed by referring
to the " Monumental Germania Historica,"
tomus v.
38
This Codex version, of what professes to be the Chronicle of Marianus, has been so filled with local historic incidents, that it
"
might better deserve the title Annales S.
Dysibodi. "—Ibid. , pp. 483, 484.
29 He was the fifth Abbot over the Abbey,
built on Disibodenberg Mount.
30 For nearly one hundred years, after
of September.
33 See the Bollandists' " Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Julii viii. De S. Disibodo Episc, et Confess, in Dysenberg, Territorii Mogun- tini, in Germania. Vita auctore S. Hilde- garde moniali. Ex M. S. Maximini Trevi- rensis, in Four chapters and Fifty-four para- graphs, pp. 588 to 597. A previous Com- mentary in Three sections and Thirty-three paragraphs, by the Editor, Father John Baptist Soller, precedes, and notes are added.
34 Such is the opinion of Mabillon, when treating on this subject, in the "Acta Sanc- torum Ordinis S. Benedicti. "
35 See Father Stephen White's "Apologia
pro Hibernia," cap. iv. , pp. 26, 44.
36 In his "Chronicon llirsaugiensis," ad annum Christi 1108. Likewise, in his work " De Viris Illustribus Ordinis S. Benedicti,
lib. eclviii. iii. , cap.
37 "
In his Martyrologium Anglicanum,"
at Julii viii.
The "Vita Sanctorum. " The Third
Volume contains Acts of St. Disibod, Bishop, at July the 8th. See pp. 113 to 119.
39 See Vita St. Disibodi, Confessoris, in
a cloister for nuns of noble families existed at Disibodenberg, as well as the cloisters for the monks. And
" Die Nonnen sangen ; O Christe du bariitigam suss und traut !
Die Monche seufz'ten : Maria, O Komm, du susse Braut I"
31TheAbbess of — — Jutta Disibodenberg
one of the old Sponheim race went through the Glan with dry feet, and she turned water into wine, according to the Legend of her Life.
32 Having found the community of goods between monks and nuns there not quite to her severer taste, she insisted on a separa- tion. With the help of the Counts of . spon- heim and others, after great resistance on the part of the abbot and monks, she accom- plished her object, and founded a new reli- gious Parthenon for herself andhernuns, about 1 1 50, on the Rubertsberg, and on the left bank of the Nahe near Kreuznach. The only male inmate of their house, in that place, was the holy Rupert, a saint who was buried there many hundred years before, in the times of King Pippin. The abbess Hilde- garde has been renowned for extraordinary
1005,
Gcrmannia, in thirty-seven paragraphs of "
Surius, tomus iv. of "Acta Sanctorum, pp. 141 to 148, at Julii viii.
40 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Julii viii. , pp. 581 to 599.
41 In the Appendix to the Fourth Volume
of the "Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Bene-
dicti," sax iii. , pars ii. , A. D. 700 to A. D. 800,
is written the Life of St. Disibod, Confessor,
in 8 paragraphs, pp. 496 to 498.
4i
i. , lib. xvi. , num. xliv. , pp. 43 In his work " Annalibus Trevirensibus,
522, 523.
Sec tomus
July 8. ] LIVES Ofi THE IRISH SAINTS. 147
noticed, likewise, by Christopher Brower. 43 The Bollandists 44 had obtained Acts of St. Dysibod, which were taken from a vellum Passional, belonging to
the monastery of Bodensee, but to which they attached very slight importance, as the accounts contained in them appeared to have been very unskilfully compiled from other Acts of saints, and to have been mainly taken up with a puerile Legend of King Dagobert's hunting and of his bestowing a munificent endowment for the monastery of Dysibod, as also with an account of miracles which had been wrought through his intercession after the time of St. Hilde- garde. It is supposed, that these legends had been collected probably in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. There is an unreliable account in Dempster 45 of this holy missionary. It was Colgan's intention to have written his Acts at this date/6 Adrien Baillet 4? has some notices regarding him, as Abbot of Disenburg. Among the more modern Irish writers, in
Walter Harris' Ware,48 as also in the works of the Rev. Dr. Lanigan w and
A brief account of St. Disen or Disibode is to be found in Les Petits Bollandistes'51 collection.
of John D'Alton, 50 there are notices of St. Dysibod.
As a great portion of St. Hildegarde's Acts of this holy man are diffusely rhetorical and traditional, we shall confine ourselves to an abbreviated state- ment of the few facts they present, with some notices of him from other sources. St. Disibod, or Disen, is said to have been descended from a noble Hiber- nian family, although his parents were not possessed of a superfluity of this world'sriches. Theywereoppressedbythehostilityofacertainpowerfuland
tyrannic chief, who was dominant in their part of the country, and who had re-
duced them and others as well, to a state of depression and dependence. Disi-
bod was still a boy, at this time, and from the very earliest age he was distin-
guishedformanyvirtues. AlthoughsomeoftheScottishwritersclaimhimasa
2
compatriot,* hewasborninIreland,andasseemsmostprobable,53sometime
after the year 620. It would appear, that his dispositions were all of a pious tendency ; that he was pure of mind, and prudent for his age ; avoiding evil
anddoinggood,totheveryutmostofhisability. Nowonder,thathisparents were unwilling to surrender him as a hostage to that tyrant, whose caprices wereofapassionateandanill-naturedbent. Wherefore,theywatchedanoppor- tunity and fled with him to a more remote part of the country, where a river flowed into the sea. 54 At this place, there was a town and an institute of religious men, who conducted a school. These taught various liberal sciences, and Disibod was placed under their care. His learning and intellectual abilities were only surpassed by his proficiency in the graces of the Holy Ghost, which gave great comfort to his parents, during their forced expulsion fromtheirformerhome. Disibodhadamostretentivememory,andasday by day he grew in stature and in mental resources, he applied also to the practice of good works, to prayer and to alms-giving, daily becoming more perfect in the knowledge and observance of God's law. He was resolved to devote himself entirely to the Divine service. Accordingly, step by step, he received the various minor charges of the ministry. At thirty years of age, he was promoted to priest's orders. He then resolved, more sedulously, if possible, to cultivate the Lord's vineyard. It so happened, in that part of
ad annum Christi 639.
44 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomusii. , Julii
Mensium et Dierum. "
v See "Les Vies des Saints," tome Hi. ,
viii. De S. Disibodo Episc. et Confess. , &c. pp. 67 to 69.
Commentarius sect, Preevius,
ii. ,
num.
48 See vol. " 15, p. i. ,
Archbishops
of
Dublin,"
584, and pp. 597 to 599.
4 > See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Sco-
torum," tomus i. , lib. iv. , num. ccclxxiii.
46 As may be seen from "Catalogus Ac- tuum Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, ordine
p. 304.
« See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. hi. , chap, xviii. , sect, ix. , pp. 114,
115.
s° See "Memoirs of the Archbishops of
148 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 8.
the country, one of the bishops belonging to the place had been called away from this life ; and according to the custom prevailing, all the people assem- bled to chose his successor.
The holiness of Disibod, and his suitability for that exalted office, were thoroughly well known. Accordingly, he was unanimously elected. Through humility, he at first refused, but those, whose prudent opinions he respected, urged him to comply with what seemed to be the will of Divine Providence. He was soon afterwards elevated to the dignity of Bishop, although he accepted this position with extreme reluctance. However, he collected around him some persons of great judgment and piety, by whose advice he desired to be chiefly guided. They gave him the greater courage to discharge the duties of his trust faithfully, and while loyal to their spiritual superior, they afforded him great consolation, in some trials and difficulties to which he had been subjected. Notwithstanding, his greatest refuge was in distrust of himself, and in prayer to God, whereby his deficien- cies might be supplied. We are told, that the See over which he presided wasthatofDublin;ss andsomewriters,whohavetreatedregardingthesuc- cession of Prelates in that See, make him succeed St. Wiro,s6 another sup- posed bishop in that See. He is said to have resigned it, and to have left for Belgium, where he died at Rurimond, on the 8th of May, a. d. 650. 57
Street View in the City of Dublin.
—the chief city of
our Island—reached
the Continent before
the time when his
Acts had been writ-
ten, it was assumed,
he must have pre-
sided over its See, at
a more remote time.
He bore the episco-
pal dignity and bur-
den, it is said, for ten
years. During this time, by his preach- ing and zeal, he con-
verted many sinners from the error of their ways. While many of his subjects were averse to wholesome discipline, others are said to have been pagan,
Dublin," pp. 20, 21. viiie Jour de Juillet, p. 164. 2"
s Historia Ecclesiastic i' See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. , See Dempster's
This, however, not alone admits of
8
doubt,s but, it is
altogether improba- ble, as Dublin had
not become a city,59 nor had it been erected into an ec- clesiastical centre of
government, at that
60 early period.
It
may be, that Dysi- bod was a bishop in some other part of
Ireland,
01 and that,
as the fame of Dublin
July 8. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
149
while a schism arose, and many opposed the teaching to be found in the Old
and New Testaments. 62 Even some are stated to have the joined Jewish
sect. 6* Difficulties seem to have beset him, in his administration of diocesan affairs ; and, for a long time, he steadily opposed the evils, which threatened him, while bearing with fortitude and patience those various calumnies and injuries that fell so thickly upon him. Even his personal safety seems to have been affected, and a conspiracy of his enemies helped to gather a band of rioters, who desired to depose him. Owing to the opposition of these turbu- lent characters among his flock, he was obliged at length to resign his bishop- ric. Disibodcollectedafewreligiousmentowhomherevealedhispurpose, which was, to leave his native country, family and friends, for the sake of Christ, whose vineyard he could not successfully continue to cultivate there, and to find in a foreign land, some field of labour, which might be productive of better results. It is thought to be probable, that Disibod exercised his episcopal functions, until the year 674/4 when he is supposed to have resigned the government of his See. Some writers assign an earlier date for his migration to the Continent. 63 Before parting from Ireland, an angel is said to have appeared in a dream, and told him, that he must wander thence, to kindle in dark places the light of the Gospel, and that he must not rest anywhere, until one day when he shall have come into a country, where his staff should stick in the earth, and afterwards become a green sapling. At the same time, Dysibod learned, how he should see a white hind, scratching a spring in the ground, and two rivers meeting, at that place. In consequence of those troubles, already alluded to, he left hi—s native country, resolving never more
to retur—
n. the
staff like so Irishmen of that many holy
Taking
period andresolvingtoseekanothersphereofduty,withcheerfulmindhe
prayed
" Lead
kindly light,"
66 and he trusted to God's
and
53 This must be
only calculated,
** Disibodus in Hibernia ibidem — natus,
on the uncertain data to be extracted from his Acts. ** This indefinite way of stating it leaves us ignorant of the exact place to which he is
copus. "
56 See an account of him on the 8th of
possibility of Pelagianism having spread in Ireland, at this time.
63 It is quite evident, that nearly all these statements are from the pure workings of imagination, on the part of the writer of our saint's Acts.
6* See the additions to Marianus Scotus' " Chronicon. " Ad annum 674 et 675.
6s In Les Petits Bollandistes' "Vies des Saints," it is set down at about A. D. 652. See tome viii. , viiie Jour de Juillet, p. 164.
66 The sentiment in a beautiful conveyed
Hymn, written by His Eminence John Henry Cardinal Newman, in his "Poems," many of which are so replete with true devotional
feeling.
6? See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Julii viii. De S. Disibodo Epis. et Confess. , &c. Vita Auctore S. Hilde- garde moniali, ex Ms. S. Maximinise Trevi- rensis,cap. i. , pp. 588to590.
May—the date for his festival—in the Fifth Volume of this work, Art. i.
57 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Archbishops of Dublin," p. 304.
58 While he adopts this assertion on Wil-
son's credit, Harris states it as
from any authorities cited by that writer. See ibid.
. 59 The accompanying illustration presents a view of Dublin from Grafton-street. On
the right is a portion of Trinity College and nearly opposite on the left, the front of the former Houses of Parliament. Drawn from a photograph, by William F. Wakeman on thewood,engravedbyMrs. Millard.
pilgrim's
protection
ance for the future situation, where his work in life might procure him an
6 eternal reward. ?
Gentis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. iv. , num. ccclxxiii,p. 205. New edition. Edinburgh 1829.
said to have gone.
5S
John Wilson, in his "Martyrologiam Anglicanum," at the 8th of July, speaks of him as Bishop of Dublin : " Ordina- tus est Dubliniensis in eodem regno Epis-
6°
See D'Alton's "Memoirs of the Arch- bishops of Dublin, "p. 21.
unsupported
very
epis- copus fuisse dicitur. " " Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , num. xliv. , p. 522.
6l
In a safe manner, Mabillon states:
6a
Father Thomas O'Sheerin suggests the
guid-
15° LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 8.
CHAPTER II.
TRAVELS OF ST. DYSIBOD, WITH HIS COMPANIONS GISWALD, SALUST AND CLEMENT —A DIVINE REVELATION BY WHICH HE IS BROUGHT TO SELECT THE SITE FOR HIS FUTURE RESIDENCE—HIS MONASTIC AND MISSIONARY LIFE AT DISENBERG—HE BECOMES POPULAR AMONG THE CHIEFS AND PEOPLE OF THE DISTRICT SURROUND- ING IT.
Moved by the spirit of God, St. Disibod was accompanied by three pious and
learned
men,
named Giswaldus x
or and who Gillilaldus, Salust, Clement,
Their first course was probably directed
travelled with him from Ireland.
to England, although St. Disibod's Acts are silent regarding the special
places visited by them. However, it is stated, that Disibod, and those who had accompanied him from Ireland, kept moving about and preaching from
2 before
abode. ThejourneyofthosestrangerswaschieflythroughFranceandGer- many, so far as we can interpret the order of narrative. It is likely, in after time, they had reached the course of the Lower Rhine, and had travelled along its left banks, through that highly romantic and precipitous duct through which it flows, from the present city of Bonn, to Coblentz, and on to liingen,3 where it is joined by the Nahe and its tributaries. The holy missionary's exemplary life and actions caused even the rude inhabitants of
those countries, through which St. Disibod travelled, to entertain a great veneration for him. His earnest, zealous and persuasive eloquence seemed to be directed only for the attainment of one end, to win over his fellow-crea- tures from the error of their ways. He preached the Gospel without cessation, everywhere producing a harvest of souls, by the exercise of his apostolic labours, yet oftentimes finding those persons, whom he exhorted in vain. He had a profound distrust in his own unaided exertions; and therefore, he frequently prayed the Almighty to assist and guide him.
Dysibod was at last consoled by a vision, which he had one night, having been assured by the Almighty, that his trials should cease, and that he should soon find a place of rest, to reward him for his toils and anxieties in God's service. It is by no means certain, that our saint lived so very shortly after the death of St. Benedict/ as has been stated by the Abbess St. Hildegarde,s or that he desired to establish a house of that order, wherever he purposed to rest. When he wished to gather around him a religious community, it seems most probable, he intended only to follow the monastic models and rules, which prevailed in Ireland during his time. After the interval already calcu- lated, as being spent in preaching and journeying on his mission, St. Disibod
one to for ten place another,
years,
finding
the site for his
permanent
Chapter 11. — * So is he styled, by Ma-
"
Annales Ordinis S. Bene- dict, tomus i. , lib. xvi. , num. xliv. , p.
522.
6 " Unde iter ingrediens nemorosa per avia solum,
Et nulla humani spectans vestigia cultus,
Praetereo arentem sitientibus undi- que terris
Dumnissum, riguasque perenni fonte Tabernas,
Arvaque Sauromatum, nuper metata colonis :
Et tandem primis Belgarum conspi- cor oris
Nivomagum, divi castra inclyta Con- stantini. "
billon, in his "
2
See John D'Alton's "Memoirs of the
Archbishops of Dublin," p. 20.
3 A finely coloured Map, Le Rhin de May-
ence a Coblenz, pi. vi. , in Klisee Rectus' "Nouvelle Geographie Universale," tome iii. , presents the physical features of this re- gion which are beautifully shown. See chap, iii. , sect, iii. , p. 550.
« This happened A. D. 543.
5"
Of St. Benedict she remarks rime migraverat. "
:
qui nuper-
—
Ausonius' "Idylia," x. Mosella, 11. 5—II.
July 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 151 entered the Lower Palatinate of Germany. He appears to have travelled
6
through that picturesque region so happily described by the Poet Ausonius. It is said, that he and his companions wandered without the sacred sign, till one day, travelling through this distant part of Gallia, its future patron reached the Nahethal. No doubt, similar reports of that heathenism and paganism, existing in the wild woods and solitudes of northern Germany, which attracted St. Goar 1 and others from Aquitaine, had penetrated to Ireland, then the Island of Saints and of missionaries. A desire for spreading the Gospel among those people, inspired Disibod and his zealous companions, to under- take the labours of their mission. 8 Through the mountains of the Hunds- ruckregion^andbeyondthoseoftheHochWald10 andIdarWald,they
passed. At length, they penetrated to the valley of the Nahe.
That district lying round the villages of Sohren, Niedersoren, and Sohr-
"
Letters from Kreuznach," which have been
9 It stretches between the Rhine, the See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S. Bene-
11 on the and left of the old Roman road, were the fields I2 of right
schied,
ancient colonists, known as the Saurometes. In these wild mountain and forest districts, along the river Nahe, and where it flows into the Rhine, it is pretty clear, that in the sixth century the scanty population must have relapsed into entire paganism. Early as Christianity had been planted in those regions, it was not from Mainz or Treves, however, that efforts were now made to reclaim those rude populations to Christianity. The missiona- ries had come from a remote Island in the Western Ocean, and these too werethepioneersofcivilization. Intheinteriorofthatcountry,atthepresent time, every valley that descends towards the Rhine near Bingen is domi- nated by high donjons and walls, and there too begin those magnificent
oneitherbankofthatnobleriver. x3 TheGlanandthe Nahe were the rivers beside whose commingling waters, as had been foretold, the wanderers were to find their future home. "This is my place of rest," criedoutDysibodtohiscompanions,whentheyhadarrivedthere. 1* Ahigh and wood-crowned hill of difficult access presented itself, and the position was one of extreme beauty, in the eyes of those stranger pilgrims ; nor can
their taste and judgment be questioned on this point, by tourists who visit it
at the present day.
A strong probability exists, that St. Disibod had been created a "Regionary
J5withoutafixedSee and,wemaysuppose,thatsuchelevationwas Bishop, ;
andvine-clad
heights,
a consequence of his indefatigable missionary efforts. However this may be, near the confluence of the Nahe and the Glan, according to the legend, his staff stuck fast, and behold it burgeoned and unfolded into leafage. This was the sign he had so long desired. A white hind was grazing near, under whose feet a clear spring was welling forth.
I0 The German word W—ald—
many local denominations has the significa- tion of " forest. "
" The syllable sohr has no German or Teutonic root.
" Called " arva Sauromatum. "
"
Nouvelle Geogra- phie Universelle," tome iii. , chap, iii. , sect.
on the
The town of St. Goar, Rhine,
?
still preserves in remembrance the missionary zeal of its patron, St. Goar. He came from Aquitaine to convert the pagans of the Rhineland. He died there, a. d. 575.
8 In this description and in other accounts
which precede and follow, we have utilized
a very interesting series of articles intituled,
applied
to
published in The Glasgow Herald. See No.
iii. , pp. 547 to 555.
I4 This spot is situated about two miles
vi. , Thursday, September 2nd, 1875.
from Kreutznac, and one from Sponheim. dicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sect, xliv. , p. 523.
