In this was revealed to him the nature of the monarch's crime, and it was told
y£gidius
it should be pardoned, if only the criminal would desist from it in the future.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
Giles, where the affrighted creature sought a refuge.
?
From her peculiar and unusual hinning, the saint ran from his cell, and soon found the dogs and hunters in full chase, while the hind's tongue protruded from her open mouth, as if gasping for breath.
Then pray- ing to the Almighty to save his favourite hind from her pursuers, she sank at his feet, and ceased her hardly drawn respiration.
The dogs could not approach within a stone's-throw of the cave ; but, with disappointed bowlings, they returned to the hunters.
These being wearied with the chase, and night coming on, they resolved on seeking rest in their own dwellings.
Next morn- ing, they resolved on chasing that beautiful hind, but again their designs were
Hof-
Joannes Jacobus mann, when treating ofvEgidius Atheniensis, states, that he lived under Tiberius II. , A. D.
700, and states
"
multa scripta posteritati
reliquit, ut de Pulsibus librum unum, de
Venenis (forsitan Venis) unum. "—"Lexicon
Universale. "
2
Jacobus Philippus Bergomensis writes at
the " Grse- year 714 : Egidius philosophus,
cus monachus per hos dies scientia et religione clarus fuit : qui praeter ccetera a se edita etiam in medecinis librum de Pulsu metrice composuit, cujus principium est : Ingenii vires modicis conatibus impar. " Item alium de
"
to their names.
According to Fr. Claude de Vic and Fr.
Joseph Vaissete, the discovery of St. Gilles
was made the officers of the "sans by King
doute le meme que Theodoric, roi d'ltalie,
" Dicitur {—fort} dicetur) vena, quandofit renibusuna. "
venis, qui incipit :
Chronicorum," lib. x. , in supplemento. 3 Trithemius adds: "Si quid amplius edidit, ad notitiam meam non pervenit. Hunc nonnulli sestimant sanctum ilium fuisse abba tern, cujus festum Kalend. Sep- tembris colitur : quod an ita sit, non satis perspicuum habeo. Hoc autem scio, quod tempus et patria in eum consentiunt, nee duo hujus nominis monachi in Chronicis reperi- untur, sed unus. Et verisimile est quod
Histoire Generate de Languedoc," tome i. , liv. , v. , p. 257, This latter statement, however, is
incorrect.
7 According to some, the anecdote here
related has reference to the Gothic King Wamba ; while others refer it to Childebert, King of the Franks. See Rev. S. Baring- Gould's "Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. September i. , p. 9.
prefix 6
lequel possedoit alors ce pays. "
—"
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS.
[September i,
frustrated, as on the former occasion. These circumstances, having been
8
related to the King, urged him to inform the bishop of Nismes. Both agreed
to join a hunting party on the following day ; and with such intent, they pro- ceeded to the forest, and found the hind, that was once more chased to the cave of her protector. Again, the dogs found no entrance there, but one of the hunters, drawing an arrow and fitting it to his bow, shot through the thicket of thorns surrounding the cave of ^Egidius, who happened to be without, and it inflicted on him a grievous wound. 9 The soldiers present insisted on cutting a way through the brushwood, until they reached his hermitage. There the venerable saint was found bleeding, and dressed in a monk's habit, while the hind lay at his feet. Then the King and bishop, having directed the others to leave, approached and enquired who he was, why he took up hisabodeinsosolitaryaspot,andbywhomhehadbeenwounded. Toall these enquiries the saint candidly replied. They proposed to send for phy- sicians to heal his wound, and to compensate him for it so far as they could; but he would hear of no such offers, and mindful of the scriptural maxim, that virtue is rendered perfect in infirmity, he prayed that henceforth, he might bear the pain to his death. Charmed and edified, by such a living exampleof abstinence,humility,courage and magnanimity, the King and bishop
took their leave, while commending themselves to the prayers of
10
This incident has been assigned to the year 673. Afterwards, the aforesaid King paid him frequent visits,
12
desirous of pro- filing by the holy hermit's conversations and counsels. However, the saint refused to accept any personal gift. Still, he advised the monarch to found there a monastery, to which a community of regular monks should be attached, andwhomightserveGodbydayandnight. ThistheKingpromisedtodo, provided ^gidius himself would become their spiritual superior. For a long time, he resisted such a proposal, urging as reasons, that he had not capacity or inclination for such a charge. At length, he yielded assent to the King's importunate wishes, and having fixed on a site near his cave, two churches were built ; one in honour of St. Peter and of all the Apostles,^ the other to the memory of St. Privatus the Martyr. '* In his cave, the holy hermit lived alone. There he spent whole days and nights in prayer and vigils. The Visigoth King conceived a very high esteem for St. Giles, but on no account
8 The
anonymous
author of our saint's
sanorum " that the of the supposes, palace
Gothic King was near to the hermitage of
St. /Egidius, and with many others, the ""
writers of I [iftorise Occitanise think, that
the Gothic Kings resided there, so as to
enjoy the pursuits of hunting in the adjoin- ing forest. See tomus i. , p. 257. These references to the Gothic palace are based on the authority of Godefrid Viterbiensis and Otho of Frisengen.
Acts calls him Flavius. However, in an
ottice of St. /Egidius, recited in the Diocese
of Antwerp, Charles Martel is stated to have
been the King who discovered the holy
hermit on the occasion of hunting in that
forest. Such an opinion has been adopted
in many other offices of particular churches,
and it has been followed by Saussay in his
'•
Maitytologium Gallicanum. "
in the church of St. Serum of Toulouse.
See "Histoire Generale de Languedoc,"
9 This incident la
,3
—supposed to be of our saint—on a tomb Abbot was called Monasteriuin S. Petri in
tome ii. , liv. xiii. , p. 173. 10 "
represented
figure
Originally
Monastery
of the
holy
Acta Sanctorum," Vita S. /Egidii, auctore pnonymo, cap. ii. , sect. 12, 13, 14,
See the Bollandists' tomus i. , Septembris i.
15, p. 301. "
SeeMichaudV'BiographieUniverselle, Ancienne et Moderne, tome xvi. , Art.
Gilles (Saint), p. 458. ""
Catellus in Historia Comitum Tolo-
in a
the
Valle Flaviana, and afterwards it was known as Monasterium S- /Kgidii in Valle Flaviana. Catellus relates, that he saw ancient docu- ments of the Abbey of St. /Kgidius, in which the wood of that monastery was titled La Selva Gotesca, meaning the Gothic wood. See "Historia Comitum Tolosanorum," p. 5.
uProbably, the Bishop of Mende, a Martyr of the third century, and whose feast is kept on the 2ist of August.
11
^Egidius.
September i.
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS.
13
could the holy man be induced to leave his solitude. There, however, was founded a monastery, to which he admitted several disciples, and these lived under the rules which he established. 15 By some writers, it was thought, St. Gilles had been abbot over that institution, so early as the beginning of the
sixtli
century ;
l6 whereas, in reality, it only dates from the close of the seventh. »»
According to the learned Father Stilting, the building was begun in the year
673 or 674.
That religious house is said to have been endowed with an ambit of land
extending for five miles.
18
It would appear, that hitherto, ^Egidius had not
been raised
to the but now, at the
;
— of special request
previously
priesthood
J
King, monks,
the nobles and
named from him such a dignity he attained.
21
It is said to have been a town of great antiquity, and to have formerly taken the name of Rhoda Rodiorum. " From the Phocean period, Saint-Gilles was a sea-port much frequented ; and in the twelfth century, it was the southern provencal harbour, whence pilgrims
set out on their voyage to Palestine. ^
Although their rule of discipline was very rigorous, yet the religious under St. yEgidius, moved by his example and precepts, were cheerful and obedient to all its requirements. The anonymous writer of his Acts states, that Charles Martel,2* King of France, who then lived at Orleans,25 sent an earnest
afterwards The position of St. Gilles lies west of the Petit Rhone, after this branch of the River separates from the
the
9 the —
people
place
main channel at the city of Aries.
15 Having vainly attempted to solve un-
certain historic statements in the old acts
regarding this foundation, Mabillon writes :
Spain. See an interesting tract on this subject, Historia Wamba Regis Toletani, in Du Chesne's Historic Francorum Scriptores
Coaetanei," tomus i, appendix i. , pp. 821 to
The anonymous author adds: Cujus honoris, sed sibi, ut verius dicatur, impne- sentiarum oneris, apice sublimatus, noctumis vigiliis, diurnis jejuniis, assiduisque orationi- bus ccepit adeo corpus jam diu satis absti- nentia tenuatum si
See the elegantly delineated and coloured map, Delta du Rhone, in Elisee Reclus' "Nouvelle Geographie Universelle," tome ii. , liv. ii. , chap, iii. , sect, ii. , pp. 240, 241.
22
Said by Pliny to have been a colony founded by the Rhodians.
23 See Elisee Reclus' " Nouvelle Geo- graphie Universelle," tome ii. , liv. ii. , chap, iii. , sect ii. , p. 247.
24 This warlike monarch is particularly
distinguished in the history of the second or Carlovingian race. See Michelet's " His-
toire de France," tome i. , liv. ii. , chap, ii. , pp. 287 to 302. Deuxieme edition, Paris, 1835, 8vo-
"
monasterium in valle Flaviana, quod inter Septimanioe monasteria, quae regi solas ora- tiones debebant, primum nominatur in Con-
Utcumque sit, antiquum est sancti ^Egidii
stituto Ludovici augusti, cognomento Pii, de monasteriis regni Francorum. Haec abbatia ex ordine sancti Benedicti ad secu- lares canonicos translata est. "
—"Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti. " tomus i. , lib. iv. , sect.
cceptam
xxvii. , p. 100.
16
Thus, according to Fr. Claude de Vic and Fr. Joseph Vaissete, the Abbey of St. Gilles was founded so early as A. D. 514.
"
See Histoire Generale de Languedoc,"
dixisses voluptuosam fuisse. "
21
avec des Notes et les Pieces
&c, tome
justificatives, i. , liv. v. , p. 257, and note Ixv. ,
p. 667.
17 According to some writers the situation
of Heraclea Gallise was identical with that of St. Gilles in Occitania. But Pliny, who described it as destroyed, states that its site was at the mouth of the Rhone and the Fossas Marianas. The latter denomination corresponds with the village called Les
Saintes Maries. See Baudrand's "Novum "
Lexicon Geographicum, tomus i. , p. 346.
18 2
According to the anonymous author of
5 Having twice conquered Chilperic, King of Neustria and Burgundy, Charles
Martel came to Orleans, a. d. 719, according to Pagius and other writers. That very same year, Zama, General of the Saracens in Spain, invaded the Septimania with a great army, and subjugated it, a. d. 720. See " Historic Occitanise," tomus i. , p. 390.
our saint's acts,
"
eo quod tantundem spatii
Sanctus /Egidius, a spelunca sua quadum yice digressus, occurrenti sibi regi Flavio
collocuturus, ut fertur, obviavit. "
'9 This must have happened after King
Wamba had established his authority in the south of France, and before his return to
of all that
20
831.
20 "
affligere, ut,
modo illius vitam attenderes, transactam
i 4 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September i.
request by special messengers, that their Abbot should visit his Court. To this royal mandate he yielded assent, having first regulated monastic affairs
during his temporary absence. 26 Taking with him some necessaries, he set out for Orleans. When arrived there, he paid a first visit to the Church of
the Holy Cross, where he healed a paralytic, in the presence of numbers, who admired his miraculous gifts, and who spread the report far and wide. At this time, the Franks of Anstrasia were united under the sway of a renowned monarch, who was recognized as all-powerful in Gaul. 3?
Then our saint went to the King's palace, where he was honourably received, and hospitably treated. He remained there for many days, and held several colloquies with the monarch on spiritual topics. The monarch asked his prayers, stating, also, he had committed a crime, so revolting in its nature, that he was ashamed to confess it. 28 The following Sunday, while celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of Mass, and praying in the Canon for the
29 an
prayed the Almighty fervently on behalf of his royal client.
After a considerable time spent in Orleans, the saint obtained permission fromKingCharlesMartelforareturntoProvence. Loadedwithvarious royal gifts, he reached Nimes. 3° There the governor's son had died, but once more through the Abbot's prayers, he was restored to life. Thence directing his course to the monastery, he abode with his monks. The holy Abbot had prophetic warnings, that enemies would invade that province in which his monastery was situated, and violate many of its sanctuaries. Wherefore, he resolved with a few of his brethren to visit Rome, and place it under the
protection of the Holy See, so that it might be spared from the violence of
r
he laid at the feet of Pope Benedict II. an authentic act of donation of his monastery. This the Vicar
and laid a scroll on the Altar.
In this was revealed to him the nature of the monarch's crime, and it was told y£gidius it should be pardoned, if only the criminal would desist from it in the future. Moreover, it was added, that whosoever would invoke St, yEgidius on account of a sin committed, should obtain pardon from the Almighty, provided the person should abstain from repeating such a crime. On seeing this, the servant of God gave thanks for that favour, and having celebrated the holy function, he laid the scroll before the King, who then acknowledged that crime. Falling at the saint's feet, he asked prayers to be offered. The holy Abbot then admonished him never to relapse into the same crime, and
King,
Angel appeared,
fully
laics, then too ruthlessly exercised. In 685,3
26
at the age of fifty-one, and he was buried in the Church of St. Denis. See Henri Mar-
"
Histoire de France," tome ii. , pre- miere partie, liv. xi. , p. 217.
It seems very probable, that the fame of
his virtues, and a desire for his security, impelled the French monarch to extend that tin's invitation to St. . ^gidius, and that it took
place in the year 719 or 720.
a? Mons. Guizot further remarks : " Dans
les expeditions de Charles-Martel, ils avaint parcouru, a so. suite, la Gaule toute entire : la France romaine cecla a l'ascendant de la France germaine ; les rois de la France romaine nc purent se soutenir en face deces
29 This was probably a formula in the old Gallic Missal,
3° This was probably in the year 721 or
722, when Eudes, Duke of Aquitain, had routed the Saracens with great slaughter, in
a battle fought near Toulouse, when a part of the Septimania was recovered from them, See Michelet's" Histoire de France," tomei. , liv. ii. , chap, ii. , pp. 301, 302.
3I Natalis Alexander has placed theacces- sion to the Pontificate of Benedict II. at the 20th of August, 684, and after a term ofonly eight months and seventeen days he died the year following. See " Historia Eccle- siastlca Veteris Novique Testamenti," tomus
chefs d—e guerriers venus encore des rives du "
Rhin. Essaissur l'Histoire de France. "
Troisiemc Essai. Des Causes de la Chute
des Meiovingiens et des Carlovingiens, p. 77.
28
The earlier part of Charles Martel's career was stained with many and grievous crimes, for which he made amends towards the close of his life. I laving subjected many
States to the Empire of the Franks, he died xii. Saeculi Septimi Synopsis, cap. i. , of fever on the 22nd of October, A. D. 741, art. vi. , p. 10.
September i. l LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 15
of Christ accepted, and declared exempt for the future from all episcopal
jurisdiction that property which he possessed. 32
The immunities thus sought were obtained from the Sovereign Pontiff,
andtheholyAbbotreturnedtoGaul. Thetroublesforeseenafterwardsfell on its southern territories. The Saracens 33 had entered Europe in 711, 34
and had extended their conquests over Spain. In 712 and succeeding years, with great fury their hordes had crossed the Pyrenees into Gaul. 35 The people in alarm saw their towns, castles and monasteries demolished and plundered, while they were powerless to prevent such ravages. Among the rest, who fled for their safety, was St. ^Egidius with his band of religious. Taking with them their relics and sacred vessels, they set out for Orleans, and placed themselves under the protection of Charles Martel. However, their exile was of short duration. Eudes, Duke of Aquitaine, took upon himself to oppose the fanatical invaders, and his efforts were crowned with success.
CHAPTER III.
EXPULSION OF THE SARACENS—REBUILDING OF HIS MONASTERY BY ST. /<EGIDIUS—HIS DEATH—THE CHURCH, MONASTERY, AND SHRINE AT SAINT-GILLES—VENERATION FOR THE HOLY ABBOT IN FRANCE AND ON THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE—VENERA- TION FOR HIS MEMORY IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS AND CHURCHES DEDICATED TO ST. GILES—COMMEMORATION OF HIS FESTIVAL IN THE CALENDARS—CONCLUSION.
When the Saracens had been driven the 1 St. Gilles and beyond Pyrenees,
his monks returned, but only to find their monastery in ruins. At this doleful sight, the holy Abbot was greatly distressed, but he prayed the Almighty to give him courage for the work of restoration. Soon the church, cloister, and monastery were raised to their former noble proportions.
The saint had now attained a very advanced age, and the term for his
sojourn on earth was drawing rapidly to a close. With Holy Simeon, he could repeat the canticle, " Nunc dimittis servum timm. "2 Having regulated
the monastic affairs, and receiving a heavenly admonition regarding his approaching dissolution, he asked the monks to pray for him. Towards
midnight, and on a Sunday, the 1st day of September, about a. d. 720,3 his
Mahammed and his Successors, to the Death
ofAbdulmelic,theEleventhCaliph. The author did not live to complete—as he had intended—their European invasions,
35 See an account of this invasion of El Frandjat, as the Mussulmans denominated France, in Henri Martin's "Histoire de France," tome ii. , premiere partie, liv. xi. ,
*
The first invasion of France by the Saracens was that conducted found in Natalis Alexander's " Historia by Alhorr, a. d. 718. Eudes, Duke of
32 The Bull of Benedict II. is to be found in the parochial archives of Saint-Gilles. Pope John VIII. , in a Bull, addressed to Leo, Abbot of St. Gilles' Monastery, and dated July 21st, 878, affirms moreover he
found that act of donation in the Vatican "
archives. See Les Petits Bollandistes," Vies des Saints," tome x. , premier jour de Septembre, p. 404 and n. 1.
pp. 191 to 217. — Chapter hi.
33 An but account of interesting, abridged
Mahomet, his career, and doctrines, is to be
Ecclesiastica Veteris Novique Testamenti,"
tomus xii. Sseculi Septimi Synopsis, cap. ii. , Art. ii. , pp. 31 to 38.
34 Their previous conquests in Asia and Africa are very lucidly set forth in that most instructive and readable work of Washington Irving, "Mahomet and his Successors," in two handsome illustrated volumes, published
Aquitain, had then usurped the authority, and even the title, of King, in the southern
provinces of France, and he repelled their first invasion, when Zama, lieutenant of the caliph, lost his army and his life, under the walls of Toulouse. See Edward Gibbon's "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," vol. vi. , chap, lii. , p. 385.
ii. , 29.
3 Father Stilting considers his death should
be before the second invasion of the Saracens,
by Putnam, New York and in London, 188 1, "
2 St. Luke
sm. 410. Also, in Simon Ockley's History of the Saracens," comprising the Lives of
i6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[September i
soul was received into Heaven, and the faithful then heard a choir of angels welcomehimtotheirhappycompany. Heisreputedtohavebeeneighty- three years old at the time of his departure. 4 Other writers, who have incorrectly assigned him to the time of St. Caesarius, have placed his death about the middle of the sixth century. s
The body of St. Giles was buried in a plain stone coffin, and soon his place
became the of 6 However, in or about a. d. object frequent pilgrimages.
while some of his bones and a — of iron— portion
supposed
925,7
to have been the
arrow-head that pierced his hand were left in the original sarcophagus, it is
stated his remains were translated, on the 15th of June, to a shrine, artistically
8
Reverence for his memory, and the establishment of his monastic institute, drew numbers to St. Gilles, and it soon grew into a considerable
9 Notwithstanding the traditional exemption of the abbey from episcopal jurisdiction; yet,atdifferenttimesthishadbeenassumed,andaDiplomaof
bishop's successor, Isnardus. " Hence arose a controversy between Gilbert, Bishop of Nimes, and Leo, Abbot of St. ^Egidius, before the Sovereign Pontiff in 878, when Pope John VIII. 12 came into Gaul, and remained for some
x
time at Aries. This cause was decided in favour of the Abbot. 3 So early
as 1044, the pilgrimage to the Shrine of Saint-Gilles was regarded as one of
the most celebrated in the world.
Congregation, or Order of Cluny, * which caused great contention between the respective abbots; but Pope Innocent II. decided in 1 132, that such dependence should cease, and that thenceforth the religious of St. Giles
should have liberty to elect their own ab—bots. 15
wrought.
city.
10
such exercise of right over it. Even Pope Nicholas confirmed this to that
Ludovicus Pius exists,
in which he grants to Christianus, Bishop of Nimes,
The great abbey church of St. Gilles
who took possession of all Septimania in the year 725.
designated the Lower Church, on a
place. In 1 1 16, a new church was dedicated
tohim. Thisbeautifulstructurewasamong
the in until in and greatest France, 1562
1622, when it was reduced to a heap of ruins, during the Calvinist wars. It seems to have been in that church, the body of St. ^igidius had been kept to the time of those disturbances.
9 In old documents it is called Fanum S. /Egidii, and at the present time, in France, it is named Saint-Gilles.
" Vies des Saints," tome x. , premier jour de Septem-
bre, pp. 404, 405.
5 The Maurists, in " Histoire Literaire de la
France," state that he died about the year 547. See tome iii. , p. 244.
* See Les Petits
Bollandistes,
6
Before the ninth century, his veneration
as Patron was recognised in the Monastery of Saint-Gilles, as we read from a Council
" 10 of Aix-la-Chapelle, held A. D. 817 : Monas-
terium Sancti ^Egidii in Valle Flaviana. "— Labbe, "Concilia," tomus vii. , col. 1514. This veneration probably extended at that time over the whole of Nismes diocese, and
See "Gallia Christiana," tomus vi. , col.
the districts of through adjoining
1 ' These matters be found in Baiuzius' may
Languedoc. 7 According to the writer in " Gallia Chris-
tiana," tomus vi , col. 483, during the year mentioned in the text, one Autulphus, or Antulphus, was Abbot at Saint-Gilles, and while he was incumbent, the sacred relics of the Patron were raised from the earth. For this account, Saxius is quoted, " in Pontificio Arelatensi. " while he cites a Breviarium S.
Iii, for such statement.
her John Stilting suspects, that besides
the church dedicated to St. Peter, there must have been at the time another still larger, and dedicated to the Patron at Saint-Gilles. To this latter the translation probably took
be excommunicated. See Labbeus, ciliorum," tomus ix. , col. 124.
"
Con-
1
In 1066, the Abbey was subjected to the
l65- "„
See "Historian Occitanioe, tomus 11. , inter Probationes, col. 10.
M He reigned from a. d. 872 to 882.
" Miscellaneorum," tomus vii. , p. 349. De Gestis Joannis VIII. However, the bishop still refused to accept this decision ; but the Pope wrote, that he should be mindful of his duty, and if he refused to do so, he must
14 In a provincial assembly held in the Monastery of St. Bausile, Nimes. See "Histoire Generale de Languedoc," tome ii. , liv. xiv. , sect, lvii. , p. 21 1.
«S However, the abbey of St. Gilles had to pay the costs of this process. See ibid. , liv,, xvii. sect. xx.
.
September i. I LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
level with the cloister—is thought to have been built in the eleventh century, having been consecrated by Pope Urban II. , in 1096, The west front is a master-piece of the Romanesque style, upon which every species of ornamental
16
decoration and rich sculpture seems to have been lavished.
Gregory VII. 17 reprehends Froterius II. , Bishop of Nimes, because he had assumed too much authority over the Abbey of St. ^Egidius. To many other
18
The upper church was begun on a scale ofgreat magnificence by Alphonso,^ son to Raymond IV. ,20
vicissitudes was this venerable institute subjected.
16. In 1 1 59, Pope Adrian IV. , Count of St. Gilles,21 in the year n 22
granted indulgences in favour of the church and monastery of Saint Gilles ; as did
2
also Pope Gregory IX.
Hof-
Joannes Jacobus mann, when treating ofvEgidius Atheniensis, states, that he lived under Tiberius II. , A. D.
700, and states
"
multa scripta posteritati
reliquit, ut de Pulsibus librum unum, de
Venenis (forsitan Venis) unum. "—"Lexicon
Universale. "
2
Jacobus Philippus Bergomensis writes at
the " Grse- year 714 : Egidius philosophus,
cus monachus per hos dies scientia et religione clarus fuit : qui praeter ccetera a se edita etiam in medecinis librum de Pulsu metrice composuit, cujus principium est : Ingenii vires modicis conatibus impar. " Item alium de
"
to their names.
According to Fr. Claude de Vic and Fr.
Joseph Vaissete, the discovery of St. Gilles
was made the officers of the "sans by King
doute le meme que Theodoric, roi d'ltalie,
" Dicitur {—fort} dicetur) vena, quandofit renibusuna. "
venis, qui incipit :
Chronicorum," lib. x. , in supplemento. 3 Trithemius adds: "Si quid amplius edidit, ad notitiam meam non pervenit. Hunc nonnulli sestimant sanctum ilium fuisse abba tern, cujus festum Kalend. Sep- tembris colitur : quod an ita sit, non satis perspicuum habeo. Hoc autem scio, quod tempus et patria in eum consentiunt, nee duo hujus nominis monachi in Chronicis reperi- untur, sed unus. Et verisimile est quod
Histoire Generate de Languedoc," tome i. , liv. , v. , p. 257, This latter statement, however, is
incorrect.
7 According to some, the anecdote here
related has reference to the Gothic King Wamba ; while others refer it to Childebert, King of the Franks. See Rev. S. Baring- Gould's "Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. September i. , p. 9.
prefix 6
lequel possedoit alors ce pays. "
—"
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS.
[September i,
frustrated, as on the former occasion. These circumstances, having been
8
related to the King, urged him to inform the bishop of Nismes. Both agreed
to join a hunting party on the following day ; and with such intent, they pro- ceeded to the forest, and found the hind, that was once more chased to the cave of her protector. Again, the dogs found no entrance there, but one of the hunters, drawing an arrow and fitting it to his bow, shot through the thicket of thorns surrounding the cave of ^Egidius, who happened to be without, and it inflicted on him a grievous wound. 9 The soldiers present insisted on cutting a way through the brushwood, until they reached his hermitage. There the venerable saint was found bleeding, and dressed in a monk's habit, while the hind lay at his feet. Then the King and bishop, having directed the others to leave, approached and enquired who he was, why he took up hisabodeinsosolitaryaspot,andbywhomhehadbeenwounded. Toall these enquiries the saint candidly replied. They proposed to send for phy- sicians to heal his wound, and to compensate him for it so far as they could; but he would hear of no such offers, and mindful of the scriptural maxim, that virtue is rendered perfect in infirmity, he prayed that henceforth, he might bear the pain to his death. Charmed and edified, by such a living exampleof abstinence,humility,courage and magnanimity, the King and bishop
took their leave, while commending themselves to the prayers of
10
This incident has been assigned to the year 673. Afterwards, the aforesaid King paid him frequent visits,
12
desirous of pro- filing by the holy hermit's conversations and counsels. However, the saint refused to accept any personal gift. Still, he advised the monarch to found there a monastery, to which a community of regular monks should be attached, andwhomightserveGodbydayandnight. ThistheKingpromisedtodo, provided ^gidius himself would become their spiritual superior. For a long time, he resisted such a proposal, urging as reasons, that he had not capacity or inclination for such a charge. At length, he yielded assent to the King's importunate wishes, and having fixed on a site near his cave, two churches were built ; one in honour of St. Peter and of all the Apostles,^ the other to the memory of St. Privatus the Martyr. '* In his cave, the holy hermit lived alone. There he spent whole days and nights in prayer and vigils. The Visigoth King conceived a very high esteem for St. Giles, but on no account
8 The
anonymous
author of our saint's
sanorum " that the of the supposes, palace
Gothic King was near to the hermitage of
St. /Egidius, and with many others, the ""
writers of I [iftorise Occitanise think, that
the Gothic Kings resided there, so as to
enjoy the pursuits of hunting in the adjoin- ing forest. See tomus i. , p. 257. These references to the Gothic palace are based on the authority of Godefrid Viterbiensis and Otho of Frisengen.
Acts calls him Flavius. However, in an
ottice of St. /Egidius, recited in the Diocese
of Antwerp, Charles Martel is stated to have
been the King who discovered the holy
hermit on the occasion of hunting in that
forest. Such an opinion has been adopted
in many other offices of particular churches,
and it has been followed by Saussay in his
'•
Maitytologium Gallicanum. "
in the church of St. Serum of Toulouse.
See "Histoire Generale de Languedoc,"
9 This incident la
,3
—supposed to be of our saint—on a tomb Abbot was called Monasteriuin S. Petri in
tome ii. , liv. xiii. , p. 173. 10 "
represented
figure
Originally
Monastery
of the
holy
Acta Sanctorum," Vita S. /Egidii, auctore pnonymo, cap. ii. , sect. 12, 13, 14,
See the Bollandists' tomus i. , Septembris i.
15, p. 301. "
SeeMichaudV'BiographieUniverselle, Ancienne et Moderne, tome xvi. , Art.
Gilles (Saint), p. 458. ""
Catellus in Historia Comitum Tolo-
in a
the
Valle Flaviana, and afterwards it was known as Monasterium S- /Kgidii in Valle Flaviana. Catellus relates, that he saw ancient docu- ments of the Abbey of St. /Kgidius, in which the wood of that monastery was titled La Selva Gotesca, meaning the Gothic wood. See "Historia Comitum Tolosanorum," p. 5.
uProbably, the Bishop of Mende, a Martyr of the third century, and whose feast is kept on the 2ist of August.
11
^Egidius.
September i.
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS.
13
could the holy man be induced to leave his solitude. There, however, was founded a monastery, to which he admitted several disciples, and these lived under the rules which he established. 15 By some writers, it was thought, St. Gilles had been abbot over that institution, so early as the beginning of the
sixtli
century ;
l6 whereas, in reality, it only dates from the close of the seventh. »»
According to the learned Father Stilting, the building was begun in the year
673 or 674.
That religious house is said to have been endowed with an ambit of land
extending for five miles.
18
It would appear, that hitherto, ^Egidius had not
been raised
to the but now, at the
;
— of special request
previously
priesthood
J
King, monks,
the nobles and
named from him such a dignity he attained.
21
It is said to have been a town of great antiquity, and to have formerly taken the name of Rhoda Rodiorum. " From the Phocean period, Saint-Gilles was a sea-port much frequented ; and in the twelfth century, it was the southern provencal harbour, whence pilgrims
set out on their voyage to Palestine. ^
Although their rule of discipline was very rigorous, yet the religious under St. yEgidius, moved by his example and precepts, were cheerful and obedient to all its requirements. The anonymous writer of his Acts states, that Charles Martel,2* King of France, who then lived at Orleans,25 sent an earnest
afterwards The position of St. Gilles lies west of the Petit Rhone, after this branch of the River separates from the
the
9 the —
people
place
main channel at the city of Aries.
15 Having vainly attempted to solve un-
certain historic statements in the old acts
regarding this foundation, Mabillon writes :
Spain. See an interesting tract on this subject, Historia Wamba Regis Toletani, in Du Chesne's Historic Francorum Scriptores
Coaetanei," tomus i, appendix i. , pp. 821 to
The anonymous author adds: Cujus honoris, sed sibi, ut verius dicatur, impne- sentiarum oneris, apice sublimatus, noctumis vigiliis, diurnis jejuniis, assiduisque orationi- bus ccepit adeo corpus jam diu satis absti- nentia tenuatum si
See the elegantly delineated and coloured map, Delta du Rhone, in Elisee Reclus' "Nouvelle Geographie Universelle," tome ii. , liv. ii. , chap, iii. , sect, ii. , pp. 240, 241.
22
Said by Pliny to have been a colony founded by the Rhodians.
23 See Elisee Reclus' " Nouvelle Geo- graphie Universelle," tome ii. , liv. ii. , chap, iii. , sect ii. , p. 247.
24 This warlike monarch is particularly
distinguished in the history of the second or Carlovingian race. See Michelet's " His-
toire de France," tome i. , liv. ii. , chap, ii. , pp. 287 to 302. Deuxieme edition, Paris, 1835, 8vo-
"
monasterium in valle Flaviana, quod inter Septimanioe monasteria, quae regi solas ora- tiones debebant, primum nominatur in Con-
Utcumque sit, antiquum est sancti ^Egidii
stituto Ludovici augusti, cognomento Pii, de monasteriis regni Francorum. Haec abbatia ex ordine sancti Benedicti ad secu- lares canonicos translata est. "
—"Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti. " tomus i. , lib. iv. , sect.
cceptam
xxvii. , p. 100.
16
Thus, according to Fr. Claude de Vic and Fr. Joseph Vaissete, the Abbey of St. Gilles was founded so early as A. D. 514.
"
See Histoire Generale de Languedoc,"
dixisses voluptuosam fuisse. "
21
avec des Notes et les Pieces
&c, tome
justificatives, i. , liv. v. , p. 257, and note Ixv. ,
p. 667.
17 According to some writers the situation
of Heraclea Gallise was identical with that of St. Gilles in Occitania. But Pliny, who described it as destroyed, states that its site was at the mouth of the Rhone and the Fossas Marianas. The latter denomination corresponds with the village called Les
Saintes Maries. See Baudrand's "Novum "
Lexicon Geographicum, tomus i. , p. 346.
18 2
According to the anonymous author of
5 Having twice conquered Chilperic, King of Neustria and Burgundy, Charles
Martel came to Orleans, a. d. 719, according to Pagius and other writers. That very same year, Zama, General of the Saracens in Spain, invaded the Septimania with a great army, and subjugated it, a. d. 720. See " Historic Occitanise," tomus i. , p. 390.
our saint's acts,
"
eo quod tantundem spatii
Sanctus /Egidius, a spelunca sua quadum yice digressus, occurrenti sibi regi Flavio
collocuturus, ut fertur, obviavit. "
'9 This must have happened after King
Wamba had established his authority in the south of France, and before his return to
of all that
20
831.
20 "
affligere, ut,
modo illius vitam attenderes, transactam
i 4 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September i.
request by special messengers, that their Abbot should visit his Court. To this royal mandate he yielded assent, having first regulated monastic affairs
during his temporary absence. 26 Taking with him some necessaries, he set out for Orleans. When arrived there, he paid a first visit to the Church of
the Holy Cross, where he healed a paralytic, in the presence of numbers, who admired his miraculous gifts, and who spread the report far and wide. At this time, the Franks of Anstrasia were united under the sway of a renowned monarch, who was recognized as all-powerful in Gaul. 3?
Then our saint went to the King's palace, where he was honourably received, and hospitably treated. He remained there for many days, and held several colloquies with the monarch on spiritual topics. The monarch asked his prayers, stating, also, he had committed a crime, so revolting in its nature, that he was ashamed to confess it. 28 The following Sunday, while celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of Mass, and praying in the Canon for the
29 an
prayed the Almighty fervently on behalf of his royal client.
After a considerable time spent in Orleans, the saint obtained permission fromKingCharlesMartelforareturntoProvence. Loadedwithvarious royal gifts, he reached Nimes. 3° There the governor's son had died, but once more through the Abbot's prayers, he was restored to life. Thence directing his course to the monastery, he abode with his monks. The holy Abbot had prophetic warnings, that enemies would invade that province in which his monastery was situated, and violate many of its sanctuaries. Wherefore, he resolved with a few of his brethren to visit Rome, and place it under the
protection of the Holy See, so that it might be spared from the violence of
r
he laid at the feet of Pope Benedict II. an authentic act of donation of his monastery. This the Vicar
and laid a scroll on the Altar.
In this was revealed to him the nature of the monarch's crime, and it was told y£gidius it should be pardoned, if only the criminal would desist from it in the future. Moreover, it was added, that whosoever would invoke St, yEgidius on account of a sin committed, should obtain pardon from the Almighty, provided the person should abstain from repeating such a crime. On seeing this, the servant of God gave thanks for that favour, and having celebrated the holy function, he laid the scroll before the King, who then acknowledged that crime. Falling at the saint's feet, he asked prayers to be offered. The holy Abbot then admonished him never to relapse into the same crime, and
King,
Angel appeared,
fully
laics, then too ruthlessly exercised. In 685,3
26
at the age of fifty-one, and he was buried in the Church of St. Denis. See Henri Mar-
"
Histoire de France," tome ii. , pre- miere partie, liv. xi. , p. 217.
It seems very probable, that the fame of
his virtues, and a desire for his security, impelled the French monarch to extend that tin's invitation to St. . ^gidius, and that it took
place in the year 719 or 720.
a? Mons. Guizot further remarks : " Dans
les expeditions de Charles-Martel, ils avaint parcouru, a so. suite, la Gaule toute entire : la France romaine cecla a l'ascendant de la France germaine ; les rois de la France romaine nc purent se soutenir en face deces
29 This was probably a formula in the old Gallic Missal,
3° This was probably in the year 721 or
722, when Eudes, Duke of Aquitain, had routed the Saracens with great slaughter, in
a battle fought near Toulouse, when a part of the Septimania was recovered from them, See Michelet's" Histoire de France," tomei. , liv. ii. , chap, ii. , pp. 301, 302.
3I Natalis Alexander has placed theacces- sion to the Pontificate of Benedict II. at the 20th of August, 684, and after a term ofonly eight months and seventeen days he died the year following. See " Historia Eccle- siastlca Veteris Novique Testamenti," tomus
chefs d—e guerriers venus encore des rives du "
Rhin. Essaissur l'Histoire de France. "
Troisiemc Essai. Des Causes de la Chute
des Meiovingiens et des Carlovingiens, p. 77.
28
The earlier part of Charles Martel's career was stained with many and grievous crimes, for which he made amends towards the close of his life. I laving subjected many
States to the Empire of the Franks, he died xii. Saeculi Septimi Synopsis, cap. i. , of fever on the 22nd of October, A. D. 741, art. vi. , p. 10.
September i. l LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 15
of Christ accepted, and declared exempt for the future from all episcopal
jurisdiction that property which he possessed. 32
The immunities thus sought were obtained from the Sovereign Pontiff,
andtheholyAbbotreturnedtoGaul. Thetroublesforeseenafterwardsfell on its southern territories. The Saracens 33 had entered Europe in 711, 34
and had extended their conquests over Spain. In 712 and succeeding years, with great fury their hordes had crossed the Pyrenees into Gaul. 35 The people in alarm saw their towns, castles and monasteries demolished and plundered, while they were powerless to prevent such ravages. Among the rest, who fled for their safety, was St. ^Egidius with his band of religious. Taking with them their relics and sacred vessels, they set out for Orleans, and placed themselves under the protection of Charles Martel. However, their exile was of short duration. Eudes, Duke of Aquitaine, took upon himself to oppose the fanatical invaders, and his efforts were crowned with success.
CHAPTER III.
EXPULSION OF THE SARACENS—REBUILDING OF HIS MONASTERY BY ST. /<EGIDIUS—HIS DEATH—THE CHURCH, MONASTERY, AND SHRINE AT SAINT-GILLES—VENERATION FOR THE HOLY ABBOT IN FRANCE AND ON THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE—VENERA- TION FOR HIS MEMORY IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS AND CHURCHES DEDICATED TO ST. GILES—COMMEMORATION OF HIS FESTIVAL IN THE CALENDARS—CONCLUSION.
When the Saracens had been driven the 1 St. Gilles and beyond Pyrenees,
his monks returned, but only to find their monastery in ruins. At this doleful sight, the holy Abbot was greatly distressed, but he prayed the Almighty to give him courage for the work of restoration. Soon the church, cloister, and monastery were raised to their former noble proportions.
The saint had now attained a very advanced age, and the term for his
sojourn on earth was drawing rapidly to a close. With Holy Simeon, he could repeat the canticle, " Nunc dimittis servum timm. "2 Having regulated
the monastic affairs, and receiving a heavenly admonition regarding his approaching dissolution, he asked the monks to pray for him. Towards
midnight, and on a Sunday, the 1st day of September, about a. d. 720,3 his
Mahammed and his Successors, to the Death
ofAbdulmelic,theEleventhCaliph. The author did not live to complete—as he had intended—their European invasions,
35 See an account of this invasion of El Frandjat, as the Mussulmans denominated France, in Henri Martin's "Histoire de France," tome ii. , premiere partie, liv. xi. ,
*
The first invasion of France by the Saracens was that conducted found in Natalis Alexander's " Historia by Alhorr, a. d. 718. Eudes, Duke of
32 The Bull of Benedict II. is to be found in the parochial archives of Saint-Gilles. Pope John VIII. , in a Bull, addressed to Leo, Abbot of St. Gilles' Monastery, and dated July 21st, 878, affirms moreover he
found that act of donation in the Vatican "
archives. See Les Petits Bollandistes," Vies des Saints," tome x. , premier jour de Septembre, p. 404 and n. 1.
pp. 191 to 217. — Chapter hi.
33 An but account of interesting, abridged
Mahomet, his career, and doctrines, is to be
Ecclesiastica Veteris Novique Testamenti,"
tomus xii. Sseculi Septimi Synopsis, cap. ii. , Art. ii. , pp. 31 to 38.
34 Their previous conquests in Asia and Africa are very lucidly set forth in that most instructive and readable work of Washington Irving, "Mahomet and his Successors," in two handsome illustrated volumes, published
Aquitain, had then usurped the authority, and even the title, of King, in the southern
provinces of France, and he repelled their first invasion, when Zama, lieutenant of the caliph, lost his army and his life, under the walls of Toulouse. See Edward Gibbon's "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," vol. vi. , chap, lii. , p. 385.
ii. , 29.
3 Father Stilting considers his death should
be before the second invasion of the Saracens,
by Putnam, New York and in London, 188 1, "
2 St. Luke
sm. 410. Also, in Simon Ockley's History of the Saracens," comprising the Lives of
i6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[September i
soul was received into Heaven, and the faithful then heard a choir of angels welcomehimtotheirhappycompany. Heisreputedtohavebeeneighty- three years old at the time of his departure. 4 Other writers, who have incorrectly assigned him to the time of St. Caesarius, have placed his death about the middle of the sixth century. s
The body of St. Giles was buried in a plain stone coffin, and soon his place
became the of 6 However, in or about a. d. object frequent pilgrimages.
while some of his bones and a — of iron— portion
supposed
925,7
to have been the
arrow-head that pierced his hand were left in the original sarcophagus, it is
stated his remains were translated, on the 15th of June, to a shrine, artistically
8
Reverence for his memory, and the establishment of his monastic institute, drew numbers to St. Gilles, and it soon grew into a considerable
9 Notwithstanding the traditional exemption of the abbey from episcopal jurisdiction; yet,atdifferenttimesthishadbeenassumed,andaDiplomaof
bishop's successor, Isnardus. " Hence arose a controversy between Gilbert, Bishop of Nimes, and Leo, Abbot of St. ^Egidius, before the Sovereign Pontiff in 878, when Pope John VIII. 12 came into Gaul, and remained for some
x
time at Aries. This cause was decided in favour of the Abbot. 3 So early
as 1044, the pilgrimage to the Shrine of Saint-Gilles was regarded as one of
the most celebrated in the world.
Congregation, or Order of Cluny, * which caused great contention between the respective abbots; but Pope Innocent II. decided in 1 132, that such dependence should cease, and that thenceforth the religious of St. Giles
should have liberty to elect their own ab—bots. 15
wrought.
city.
10
such exercise of right over it. Even Pope Nicholas confirmed this to that
Ludovicus Pius exists,
in which he grants to Christianus, Bishop of Nimes,
The great abbey church of St. Gilles
who took possession of all Septimania in the year 725.
designated the Lower Church, on a
place. In 1 1 16, a new church was dedicated
tohim. Thisbeautifulstructurewasamong
the in until in and greatest France, 1562
1622, when it was reduced to a heap of ruins, during the Calvinist wars. It seems to have been in that church, the body of St. ^igidius had been kept to the time of those disturbances.
9 In old documents it is called Fanum S. /Egidii, and at the present time, in France, it is named Saint-Gilles.
" Vies des Saints," tome x. , premier jour de Septem-
bre, pp. 404, 405.
5 The Maurists, in " Histoire Literaire de la
France," state that he died about the year 547. See tome iii. , p. 244.
* See Les Petits
Bollandistes,
6
Before the ninth century, his veneration
as Patron was recognised in the Monastery of Saint-Gilles, as we read from a Council
" 10 of Aix-la-Chapelle, held A. D. 817 : Monas-
terium Sancti ^Egidii in Valle Flaviana. "— Labbe, "Concilia," tomus vii. , col. 1514. This veneration probably extended at that time over the whole of Nismes diocese, and
See "Gallia Christiana," tomus vi. , col.
the districts of through adjoining
1 ' These matters be found in Baiuzius' may
Languedoc. 7 According to the writer in " Gallia Chris-
tiana," tomus vi , col. 483, during the year mentioned in the text, one Autulphus, or Antulphus, was Abbot at Saint-Gilles, and while he was incumbent, the sacred relics of the Patron were raised from the earth. For this account, Saxius is quoted, " in Pontificio Arelatensi. " while he cites a Breviarium S.
Iii, for such statement.
her John Stilting suspects, that besides
the church dedicated to St. Peter, there must have been at the time another still larger, and dedicated to the Patron at Saint-Gilles. To this latter the translation probably took
be excommunicated. See Labbeus, ciliorum," tomus ix. , col. 124.
"
Con-
1
In 1066, the Abbey was subjected to the
l65- "„
See "Historian Occitanioe, tomus 11. , inter Probationes, col. 10.
M He reigned from a. d. 872 to 882.
" Miscellaneorum," tomus vii. , p. 349. De Gestis Joannis VIII. However, the bishop still refused to accept this decision ; but the Pope wrote, that he should be mindful of his duty, and if he refused to do so, he must
14 In a provincial assembly held in the Monastery of St. Bausile, Nimes. See "Histoire Generale de Languedoc," tome ii. , liv. xiv. , sect, lvii. , p. 21 1.
«S However, the abbey of St. Gilles had to pay the costs of this process. See ibid. , liv,, xvii. sect. xx.
.
September i. I LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
level with the cloister—is thought to have been built in the eleventh century, having been consecrated by Pope Urban II. , in 1096, The west front is a master-piece of the Romanesque style, upon which every species of ornamental
16
decoration and rich sculpture seems to have been lavished.
Gregory VII. 17 reprehends Froterius II. , Bishop of Nimes, because he had assumed too much authority over the Abbey of St. ^Egidius. To many other
18
The upper church was begun on a scale ofgreat magnificence by Alphonso,^ son to Raymond IV. ,20
vicissitudes was this venerable institute subjected.
16. In 1 1 59, Pope Adrian IV. , Count of St. Gilles,21 in the year n 22
granted indulgences in favour of the church and monastery of Saint Gilles ; as did
2
also Pope Gregory IX.
