Magnus' Acts, who first
tomb is said to have occurred forty years spirit of prophecy, that the people of his
afterthetimeofhisdeath.
tomb is said to have occurred forty years spirit of prophecy, that the people of his
afterthetimeofhisdeath.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
Perhaps he was identical with the priest mentioned in the text.
tomus i. , lib. xii. , sect, xxix. , p. 355. 62 " "
"
Sancti-gallensi exemplum contigit ; cujus rei
testes usque in nunc diem remanent versus
aliqui in porta capituli, ubi turn loci cella vinaiia fuerat, appensi. I'erfecta obedientia
gratiam conferre dignatus est, ut jam Magnus inter fratres voceris. Ad hate conticuit beat us
6l
occurred near Brtgantium in Rhsetia, after St. Columban had been expelled from Luxeu in6lo. Mabillon states : '• Incautus lectores fefellit Pseudo-Theodorus in Vita Magno* aldi, cum Chagnoaldi facta Magnoaldo tri-
Magnoaldus, giatias agens Deo in corde suo de tanta miseiecordia sua. "
It has been observed that this miracle, related in the Life of St. Magnus, iias been
In the Vita S. Columbani of Jonas, he relates this miracle before the former one,
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 131 This supply was sufficient for three days ; at the end of which time, those
63 who lived in the
Columban's Monastery, through the ngency of Saints Gall and Magnoald. 6*
At one time, a thought possessed the mind of St. Columban,65 that he should open a mission among the Sclaves 66 and Veniti/7 j n order to
withdraw them from 68 and paganism
good people
adjoining
cities food to St. brought
open
the true and living God. Wherefore he consulted St. Gallus and St.
Magnoald. The former said to the latter : "Brother, what think you of this journey for our abbot? " Magnoald answered : "Master Superior, first ask for Divine direction ; and afterwards, if you deem it proper to set out, let us depart. " On hearing this, Columban ordered a fast for three days, imploring light from above on that subject. The third night, an angel appeared to all
three, and showed them a small tracing of the world's map, saying
:
" You
see, that the whole world is a void ; say ye to Columban, go to the right and
left, that you may reap the fruit of vour labours, but it is not expedient for
you to go thither. " Tin's admonition was enough for the holy abbot, that he was not to be the apostle of those nations ; and. therefore, he resolved on resting where he was, content with the services of Magnoald alone, until
6 the way was opened for his departure to Italy. 9
To the rule of St. Columban, Masnoald seems to have conformed, while he was under the protection of King Theodebert,? and engaged on
1
missionary labours near the Lake of Zurich. ?
had been declared between the brothers Theoderic ?
a time of ' famine, "cumque jam triduo jejunio fessa corpora essent. " Here, however, there is
no mention of Magnoaldus.
63
related from that in the "Vita S. Columbani" of Jonas is the account contained in the text: "Quarto deinde die quidam pontifex ex vicinis urbi- bus frumenti copiam, divina admonitus aspiratione, ad B. Cohmibanum direxit ; sed
mox
Omnipotens, qui y. enuriam patientibus aligeros prxbuerat cibos, ut farris adeps advenit, alitum phalanges imperavit abire. "
64 In Fleming's "Collectanea Sacra," Vita S. Columbani Abbatis, we find the name of Magnoaldus introduced into the text, and in the margin Chagoald is a different reading. See cap. xxvi. , p. 239.
65 Thus stated by Jonas, in his " Vita S. Columbani :" " Interea cogitatio in mentem ruit, ut Venetiorum, qui et Sclavi dicuntur, terminos adiret," &c. See ibid. , pp. 239, 240.
the other for evil. The former was known as Biel Bog, or the "white god," from whom all benefits proceeded, and the latter was
and states, that it
happened during
66
For a very complete account of the
l'Abbe Migne.
7 1 "The situation of the Lake of Zurich in
many respects resembles that of Con-tance ;
no part of it can be said to be within the
Differently
Sclaves, their origin, tribal division, and mountain zone, though the neighbourhood
history, the reader is referred to the Articles
headed Slavonia and Slavonians, in Charles
Knight's "Penny Cyclopaedia," vol. xxii. , pp. 100 to 128.
67 See Dean Millman's " History of Latin
is almost everywhere hilly, and the moun- tains are not far from its eastern end. The
Christianity," vol. ii. , 293.
book
goodly
houses and
68
According to the early Christian mis-
iv. , chap,
v. ,
p.
thriving villages. " "Picturesque Europe," vol. v. Eastern
Switzerland, pp. 87, 88.
f Known as Theoderic II. , son of the
sionaries among the Sclaves, they worshipped
various idols. It is said, that those who aforementioned Childebert, who succeeded lived on the shores of the Baltic admitted to his father's Kingdom of Burgundy, A. D.
two different principles
—one for
good
and
596.
their minds to a of knowledge
called Chemi Bog, or the
black god," who
given by Jonas, in his
"
Vita S. Columbani. '
While in Switzerland, war
2
and Theodobert, with
"
caused all sorrows, and misfortunes. How-
ever, the Sixth Synod of Constantinople (a. i). 680) enumerates Slavonians among the Christian nations.
69 The foregoing account varies from that
70 Known as Theodebert son ot II. ,
Childebert, King of Austrasia, and who succeeded to this Kingdom of Austrasia, a. d. 596, after his father's death. His brother Theoderic II. was assigned the Kingdom of Burgundy. Both were left under the
tutelage of their grandmother Brunehaut. "
See Abrege de l'Histoire de France," liv. i. CEuvres Completes de Bossuet, Eveque de Meaux, tome x. , col. 1 1 77. Edition de
scenery is diversified, bright and sunny, rather than grand. Its shores in many parts are richly cultivated, and studded wi—th
132 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6,
varied fortune j*3 and, at that very time, when the decisive battle of Tolbiac i*> was fought, both Coluniban and Magnoald had a revelation regarding its results. 75 This they communicated to each other. 76 Theodobert being defeated was treacherously delivered up by his own men to his brother, who sent him to their grandmother, the wicked Bt unehault. ? ? Having sided with Theodoric, she obliged the vanquished prince to receive holy orders, and not many days afterwards, she put him to death. Finding his enemy, Theodoric, to have become master of that country in which he then lived,
Columban resolved on leaving it, and with many disciples, he went into the 8
territories of Agilulf,? King of the Lombards. However, his disciples, Gall and Magnoald, remained behind, and after some time settled near Lake Constance. ? ' Being seized with a fever, St. Gall could not prosecute his
purpose of accompanying St. Columban into Italy. Thinking his desire was to remain in that country, and to avoid further missionary labours in a far-off
"
I know, brother, it will be disagreeable for you to be fatigued with other duties on account of me ; however, now that we are about to part, I pronounce on you a prohibition to celebrate Mass, so long as I live. " On hearing this, Magnoald, who was present, threw himself at the feet of the holy abbot, and cried out, " My father
region, the latter said reproachfully,
73 According to Fredegarius, in his chroni- cle, A. D. 6l2, the first battle fought between Theoderic and Theodobert was at Toul, where the latter was defeated with great slaughter. Having collected fresh forces, Theodobert attacked his brother at Tolbiac, . where the issue was still more unfortunate for him, as he was there thoroughly defeated.
' 4 Tulpiacum, or Tolbracum, formerly a town of the Ubii, a people of Germany, who in the time of Claudius Caesar lived beyond the Rhine, but who mo\ ed to the left bank,
vos me interim vocantem audivi. " Then is introduced the name of one Eunuchus, for
Chagnoaldus, as given by Jonas, and for what in substance refers to the same incident,
"
in his
77 Also called Brunechild, daughter to
Athanagild, a King of the Spaniards, and wife to Sigebert I. , King of Austrasia. She
was an ambitious and unprincipled woman, who met her fate in the year 613, by orders of Clotaire. " She was tied by the leg and the arm to the tail of an untamed hone,
in the succeeding reign. It is now known which, running full speed, quickly dashed
—"The Modern Part of inOccasum,ut—ixviaBonna,Aquisgranum UniversalHistory,"vol. xix. TheHistory
as Zulch "x mil. pass, a Colonia Agrippina out her brains. "
versus xviii. " Bodrand's "Novum Lexi- con. "
of France, chap, lxviii. , sect, i. , p. 238.
78 At first he was Duke of Turin, but on the death of Aniharis, the third King of the Lombards, at Pavia, A. D. 590, his widow, " Eo igitur tempore vir Dei in eremo mora- Theodelinde, married Agilulf. At first he batur, contentus ta—ntum unius ministri Chag- was an Arian, but afterwards he embraced noaldi famulatu. " "Vita S. Columbani. " the Catholic Faith. This warlike prince
75 In a copy of Jonas' Life, Chagnoald is substituted for Magnoald, in this narrative :
76 In the Acts of St. Magnus is the follow-
ing narrative of the vision, which is not to
be found in the Life of St. Columban by
"
reigned twenty-five years, and he died, a. d.
Expergefactus ministrum vocat
Magnoaldum qui et Magnus, cruentamque
regum pugnam indicat, et humanum Ban*
guinem multum fundi suspirat. Respondit Wirtemberg and Baden. At its lower ex-
"
interritu ignis. Illico evigilans festinabam days of Imperial Rome. See Picturesque
hue ad vos venire, et narrare hanc visionem, Europe," vol. v. Eastern Switzerland, p. 82.
Jonas :
pp. 225, 226.
79 Also known as the Boden See, dividing
Magnoaldus, qui et Magnus prostratus ad
pedes ejus : Et ego pater domine, sopore
oppiessus jacebam subter unam arborem
abietis, et videbatur mihi, simul eos conflic-
tum inter se habere ; arreptoque baculo, were known all over Europe. Although on volebam percutere Theodericus, et liberare the left bank of the Rhine, it forms part of Theodebertum : sed prohibuit me species the Duchy of Baden. About the beginning quondam dicens: Non est tibi necesse emu of the Christian Era, a fortress, called percutere, quoniam Dominus cito vindicabit Valeria, had been built on that site, and it magistrum tuum Columbanum de eo in was rebuilt by Constantius Chlorus, in the
Vita S. Columbani. "
615 or 616. See Michaud,
"
Biographie
Universelle, Ancienneet Moderne," tome i. ,
the north-eastern corner of Switzerland from
tremity is the town of Constance, at the head of the Unter See. It" has declined in popu- lation since the Middle Ages, and also in commercial importance, when its linen stuffs
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 133
superior, what will you that I do? If I leave Gallus without attendance, he shall be forlorn and perish ; nevertheless, if you require me, him I shall leave, as Peter followed our Lord, having parted with his nets. " Whereupon,
"
Columban answered
:
I know Magnoald, that a great future is open for you,
oftheEastern totoGod. Therefore,I people
andthat shall you
gain many
am not willing you should come with me, but I leave you and our faithful
Theodore to obey Gallus in all his requirements, and endeavour by all means to restore his health. Moreover, Magnoald, I tell you what I desire, and how you should dwell with him. Having spent some days, you shall receivetheorderofDeaconshipfromtheBishopofConstance. SoIdecide, that you remain with Gallus, until the time comes when I am about to die. Then, if it happen, that the Holy Spirit reveal to thee the fact of my last illness, I shall feel grateful, should you come to me ; otherwise, if I die, and
that you are divinely admonished, hasten to my tomb, and to my religious. 81
ThenshallyoureceivemyEpistleandmyCambuta, whichyoushallbear to Gallus, and which shall release him from my interdict. But, I tell you,
8a after the death of 83 and Theodore shall witness Gallus, you
that three
his tomb destroyed by spoilers ; and this being done, with his tomb restored, hasten to a place, where we have heard the holy bishop Narcissus 84 commanded the devil to kill a dragon, and there with Almighty aid, you shall convert many to the Faith, and gain their souls to the Lord. 85 There, too, shall you bear the name of Magnus,86 imposed on you by God, as He desires to exalt you; and received by the people of that region, because of the doctrines you shall preach, you shall convert them from the folly and worship of demons to the faith of Christ. For the demons shall bring upon youmanycalamities; butdoyoubecomfortedintheLord,whohathdestined
years
you there to dwell and remain. "8? out on his journey to Italy.
80 By these are to be understood the Suevi.
Saying these words, St. Columban set
84 His festival has been assigned to the
i8tb of March, and to the 29th of October.
85 St. Narcissus, Bishop of Girone, in
Catalonia, during the persecution raised by Diocletian in the commencementofthe fourth
century, accompanied by his Deacon, Felix,
passed the Pyrenees into Gaul, and arrived been determined. The former, however, at Augsburg, where he baptized Afra,
Hilary and their servants. He conferred orders on Denis, and returned to Spain, at theendofninemonths. Therehegoverned his church for about three years, and with his Deacon, Felix, was crowned with martyr- dom, about the year 306 or 307. See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies des Saints," tome
Suysken,
notices here the contradictions of statement
81 calls it
it
In his "VitaS. Galli," WalafridusStrabo
" "
cambotta ;" Goldast's version has camboca ;" while Babenstiiber writes it " cambatta. " The meaning is " a staff," but whether a pastoral or a walking staff has not
seems the more probable, as seen under the "
words Cambuta, Cambutta, Cambuca, Gambutta," in Du Cange, where it is
" Baculus incurvatus, virga pas-
rendered
toralis Episcoporum. Adrevaldus de Mira-
cul. S. Benedicti, lib. i. , c. 22. Baculo,
quod gestabat, incurvo, more veterum Antistitum. "—" Glossarium ad Scriptores xiii. , p. 11. Mediae et Infimae Latinitatis," tomus
col. 72.
:
Acts of St. Magnus, whether printed or in
manuscript.
Hi In the "Vita S. Galli" of VValafridus
Strabo, this desecration of the holy abbot's
introduces him as bearing originally the name
Magnoaldus, and then having had the name
of Magnus bestowed on him,by Columbanus,
the same holy abbot now proclaiming in the
ii. ,
• ^ The Bollandist editor, Father
fa This is to be found in all the known by the writer of St.
Magnus' Acts, who first
tomb is said to have occurred forty years spirit of prophecy, that the people of his
afterthetimeofhisdeath. Mabillonwrites: futuremissionshouldbestowonhimsucha
"
nem hoc loco esse viri docti existimant. "
" Annales Ordinis Sancti Benedicti/' tomus dist version—chap. i. and ii. , with accom- i. , lib. xiii. , sect, xxxiii. , p. 393. panying notes.
QuamquamneeWalafridumerrorisimmu—- name.
B? See the Vita Pseudo-Theodori—
Boilan-
134 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6.
CHAPTER II.
ST. MAGNUS BECOMES THE ATTENDANT OF ST. GALL—HE IS SENT BY THE LATTER TO BOBBIO—HK BRINGS BACK AN ACCOUNT OF ST. COLUMBAN'S DEATH, AS ALSO HIS EPISTLE AND STAFF, TO ST. GALL—MAGNUS ASSISTS AT THE OBSEQUIES OF ST. GALL- OUTRAGES OFFERED TO THE REMAINS, AND RESTORATION OF HIS TOMB BY ST. MAGNUS AND THE MONKS—ST. MAGNUS AND THEODORE LEAVE ST. GALL'S MONASTERY AND JOURNEY EASTWARDS—THEY VISIT KEMPTEN, WHERE A DRAGON IS DESTROYED BY A MIRACLE—ST. MAGNUS GOES TO FUSSEN, WHENCE DEMONS ARE EXPELLED—THERE HE FOUNDS A MONASTERY.
Thus had St. Columban prophesied, that St. Magnoald should convert the
'
people of the Julian Alps to the faith of Christ j and, full of tenderness for
the helpless condition of his new superior, after the departure of St. Columban
2
into Italy, Magnoald attached himself to St. Gall.
holy priest, named Willimar,3 lived at a place called Arbon, of which he had pastoral charge and direction. About the year 612, and during the summer or autumn season, St. Gall appears to have sought his protection. 4 Magnoald and Theodore s had then become the faithful disciples and servants of St. Gall, so that their cares were employed with those of Willimar, to procure their beloved superior's restoration to health. This was happily effected after some time, when St. Gall resumed his apostolic labours among the people, and by his preaching to them the words of truth, he also brought
Chapter ii. —* The are well known Gall, has edited, in a Vita S. Galli, and Alps 1829,
as the dominant chain of European moun- for nearly 900 years previous, it had been tains. The highest of those is Mont Blanc, noted as a codex, in the Catalogue of St. 15,732 feet above the sea-level. From tiie Gall's books, as "VilaSS. patrumColumbani knot or culmi. ating points, in which meet et Galli, in vol. II. antiquitus dicata. " This the St. Gothard, the Vogelsberg, the is much more ancient than the Life of St.
Bernardine, the Splugen and the Sep- timer—that group known to the ancients under the name of Mom Adtila—a. ? , in a common centre, branches are divergent, and by which a connection is established with the Apennines, the Pyrenees, the • Vosges, the Hartz, the Sudetes, the Car- pathians, and the Balkans. The highest summits are in Switzerland. The Julian, or Panonian, Alps send one branch north- wards into Sclavonia, separating the basins of the Save and of the Drave ; while the other branches or southern Alps form a
range of bare and rocky mountains, rising
almost perpendicularly on the north-wc^i
shores of the Adriatic, and stretching thence
to the confines of Servia and Macedonia.
The course of the Julian Alps is very sinuous,
Gall by Walafridus Strabo, who describes it
to his own biography.
3 So is he called in the Vita S. Galli, by
Walafridus Strabo. By Canisius he is named Willimacus.
in many cases ; but, it lies generally to the excited, that the missionaries were expelled
south east, and along the shores of the from that neighbourhood. See Dr. Dun-
""
Adriaiic. See Gazetteer of the World,"
vol. i. , pp. 180 to 185.
"Mud] o! what here follows is omitted from
Europe during the Middle Ages," vol. ii. , chap, ii. , p. 185. London, 1833, l2mo.
5 According to Walafridus Strabo, at first, they had been clerics of Willimarus. In the from Walafridus Strabo's Liie of St. Gall. more ancient Vita S. Galli, they are
the Acts of St. Magnus, as given by Gokiast, and the substance appears to have been taken
However, in Georgius Heinricus Pertz's "Monumenta Germanise Historica," tomus ii. , Udephonsus von Arx, Librarian of St.
designated Maginoldus or Maginaldus and Theodorus. See Pertz's " Monumenta Ger-
maniae Historica," tomus ii. , pp. 5, 13, 14.
as rude in style, as wanting a
ham's
At this time, a very
division into chapters, as incorrectly writing Alamanniam by the term Altimaniam, and as not having the Miracles which he added in the Second Book of St. Gall's life. Nevertheless, as Walafridus Strabo evidently used the more ancient Life in compiling his Vita S. Galli, it has an authenticity for particulars, superior
4
idolatry, St. Gall had thrown the offerings of the pagans to their idols into the Lake of Zuric, and by even burning their temples, the indignation of the idolaters was so
In the excess of his zeal to extirpate
September 6. ) LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 135
salvation to their souls. A certain deacon, named Hiltibold,6 knew all the passes of that rough country, and in the wilderness he selected an open and a spacious plain, with a circle of mountains around, and a river running through it—most beautiful and suitable for a religious establishment. But, it was infested with wild beasts and serpents, as also by demons who haunted the place. Thither St. Gall brought his disciples, Magnoald and Theodore, to a mountain called Himiiinberg. ? Through their united exertions and prayers, the noxious animals were banished. Then a cell was there built.
While they were living in that place, a messenger came to the priest,
announcing the death of the Bishop of Constance,8 named Gaudentius,? and
this caused them great sorrow, but they unitedly offered up prayers for the
repose of his soul. After a short time, a letter was sent from a magnate
named Gunzon, 10 who besought St. Gall to visit his only daughter " possessed
by a malignant spirit, and to release her from such an evil. The holy
superior, thinking very humbly of his own powers, refused to go ; but, pressed
repeatedly by the noble, and on being told, that for three days his daughter
could not take food, St. Gall betook himself to earnest prayer. Trusting in
God's mercy and goodness, he set. out with the Duke's messengers for his
12
The
and Theodore as his
of Magnoald and the order of St. Gall caused the energumen's restoration to a sound state of mind, to the great joy of her parents. The father then offered St. Gall rich presents, and also prayed him to accept episcopal conse-
having Magnoald
house,
cration. ^ Whereupon, the holy man answered
this incident here, for my beloved Magnoald is aware that my blessed superior Columban has interdicted my offering at the altar while he lives, and I dare not accept such an office without his permission. Wherefore, I cannot assume the weight of such government. But, if you greatly desire this to be accomplished, wait awhile, until I shall have sent my present companion with a letter to my abbot the blessed Columban, and if I learn his will, and have his permission, then shall I undertake the burden of
care
you have said. " Accepting the gifts offered by the Duke, St. Gall took a courteous leave.
pastoral
urged by you. " Whereupon
6
a deacon subject to Willimar. is said to have been espoused to Sigebert, the
7
In his glosses to the Vita S. Galli, son of Theodoric ; but, after her cure by St.
AccordingtoWalafridusStrabo,hewas. sheisnamedFridiburga. Atthattime,she
Goldast writes regarding this mountain :
Gall, she embraced a religious life, and by Sigebert himself, she was installed as Superioress of the Parthenon of St. Peter, in Metz. However, several particulars recounted in this narrative are regarded as
"Mons Coelius nonnumquam a monachis,
interdum Mons Cceli, olim Monkelen, nunc
Menkelen, dictus. " According to Matthaeus
Merianus, this mountain was not far from
the city of St. Gall. See "Topographia fabulous. See Pere Charles le Cointe's
Helvetia? ,'' P» 59-
"Annales Ecclesiastici Francorum," tomu s
ii. , at A. D. 614.
12 In the " Vita S. Galli " of Walafridus
8
See an interesting account of the Lake
and Town of Constance, in Rev. William "
Cox's Travels in Switzerland, and in the Strabo, "ad Iburningas villam. " To this
Country of the Grisons," vol. i. , letter 3, pp. 14 to 23.
9 He died ah. 614, according to Pere
Charles le Cointe. See "Annales Ecclesias-
tici Francorum, toraui ii. , at a. d. 614.
passage, Goldast has appended this note:
10 "
Scilicet Alamanniae seu Sueviae, . Manuscripts, Bruxelles, vol. xviii. , there
"
a Snevis, vocantur Gunsenpfenning, de of Martinus Crucis, concerning Ireland,
auctoris illorum nummorum, qui hodieque are extracts, from the
Annales Suevici,"
in libro De Nummis German- orum. "—Goldast.
'3 for the See of Namely,
quibus
Constance, then vacant owing to the death of Bishop
"" In Walafridus Strabo's
Vita S. Galli,"
Gaudentius.
companions.
prayer
:
" Behold my witness of
Gunzon u Be it then as replied :
"
mannise ac Sueviae ducum sedes, nunc libera imperii Romani urbs, Uberlingen. " In X<>. S. SMj among the Burgundian Library
In dextro litore lacus Pontamici, turn Ala-
i36 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6.
Magnoald assumed charge of these gifts presented, and with the aid of his
helpmates, Theodore and Othmar, 1 * he brought them to the vessel on Lake
Constance. St. GallhadobtainedfromtheDuke,thatthePrefectofArbon'5
should aid as desired in building his monastery. When he had come to the
fort, at that place, St. Gall desired Magnoald to collect all the poor he could
find, and distribute among them the gilts of Duke Gunzon. Then replied
"
have a precious silver vessel, and are you pieased I should keep it, to serve
Magnoald :
Father, all you have commanded I shall willingly do ; but I
"
you possess with other valuables to the poor, lest you be in contradiction to
a salutary example, remembering what St. Peter said to the paralytic asking for alms, 'Silver and gold I have none. ' " l6 On hearing this, Magnoald gave thanks to God for such an order, and distributed all to the poor. These
things accomplished, they retired to that chosen place in the wilderness,
where with commenced their cell. 1 ? — prudent design they building religious
as a sacred objeci ? " St. Gall answered :
Son, take heed to give that vessel
18 x St. Gall sent a letter to a certain deacon 9
of approved virtue and learning, John was presented to the Duke as a man eminently deserving episcopal promotion. Whereupon, with the approval of other bishops and of all the people, the patron selected him for the vacant
See of Constance, and with tne customary solemn rites, he was duly consecrated. i0 St. Gall preached a remarkable discourse on this occasion,-"
which the newly-consecrated bisiiop explained to the people in their own vernacular language. About the year 614, with the concurrence of St. Gall,
Not — long afterwards,
John
requesting him to come, and when lie complied, the holy
one of his disciples
Abbot gave him a course of instruction in the Sacred Scriptures. At length,
and in the thirty-second or thirty-third year ol his age, St. Magnus, who had 2-'
lived with the priest named Wnlimar, at Aruon, near Bregentz, is said to
2 havebeenordaineddeacon,3byBishopJohnofConstance. Atterreceiving
that grade of Holy Orders, and with the bishop's benediction, he returned to the ceil of his spiritual lather, St. Gall, who aitcrwards gave name to the well- known town m and Canton 25 of Switzerland. Aided by the munificence of King Sigibert and Duke Gunzon, St. Gali and St. Magnoald are said to have
M To this statement, Father Saysken takes 2I "Canisius est le premier qui a tire ce exception, as the well-known Abbot discours de la poussiere. On le trove dans
Othmar could not have been a disciple to
St. Gall. Perhaps, however, the present Othmar may have been quite a different
person.
15 An ancient town of Switzerland on the
south bank of Lake Constance, about 8 miles N. E. from St. Gall. See " Gazetteer of the World," vol. 1. , p. 318.
16 See Acts, iii, 6.
' 7 There subsequently arose the celebrated monastery of St. Gali, called by the people of that country St. Gallen, in the canton of Switzerland so named, and near the southern shore ol Lake Constance.
" The previous portion of the Acts of
St. are omitted in tiiat veision Magnus pub-
lishett by Goldast.
* The writers of "Gallia Chi istiana" have
dignified him with tne title of Beatus, and style him the tenth bishop of Windisch and Constance, in Switzerland.
tomus i. , lib. xii. , sect, xxix. , p. 355. 62 " "
"
Sancti-gallensi exemplum contigit ; cujus rei
testes usque in nunc diem remanent versus
aliqui in porta capituli, ubi turn loci cella vinaiia fuerat, appensi. I'erfecta obedientia
gratiam conferre dignatus est, ut jam Magnus inter fratres voceris. Ad hate conticuit beat us
6l
occurred near Brtgantium in Rhsetia, after St. Columban had been expelled from Luxeu in6lo. Mabillon states : '• Incautus lectores fefellit Pseudo-Theodorus in Vita Magno* aldi, cum Chagnoaldi facta Magnoaldo tri-
Magnoaldus, giatias agens Deo in corde suo de tanta miseiecordia sua. "
It has been observed that this miracle, related in the Life of St. Magnus, iias been
In the Vita S. Columbani of Jonas, he relates this miracle before the former one,
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 131 This supply was sufficient for three days ; at the end of which time, those
63 who lived in the
Columban's Monastery, through the ngency of Saints Gall and Magnoald. 6*
At one time, a thought possessed the mind of St. Columban,65 that he should open a mission among the Sclaves 66 and Veniti/7 j n order to
withdraw them from 68 and paganism
good people
adjoining
cities food to St. brought
open
the true and living God. Wherefore he consulted St. Gallus and St.
Magnoald. The former said to the latter : "Brother, what think you of this journey for our abbot? " Magnoald answered : "Master Superior, first ask for Divine direction ; and afterwards, if you deem it proper to set out, let us depart. " On hearing this, Columban ordered a fast for three days, imploring light from above on that subject. The third night, an angel appeared to all
three, and showed them a small tracing of the world's map, saying
:
" You
see, that the whole world is a void ; say ye to Columban, go to the right and
left, that you may reap the fruit of vour labours, but it is not expedient for
you to go thither. " Tin's admonition was enough for the holy abbot, that he was not to be the apostle of those nations ; and. therefore, he resolved on resting where he was, content with the services of Magnoald alone, until
6 the way was opened for his departure to Italy. 9
To the rule of St. Columban, Masnoald seems to have conformed, while he was under the protection of King Theodebert,? and engaged on
1
missionary labours near the Lake of Zurich. ?
had been declared between the brothers Theoderic ?
a time of ' famine, "cumque jam triduo jejunio fessa corpora essent. " Here, however, there is
no mention of Magnoaldus.
63
related from that in the "Vita S. Columbani" of Jonas is the account contained in the text: "Quarto deinde die quidam pontifex ex vicinis urbi- bus frumenti copiam, divina admonitus aspiratione, ad B. Cohmibanum direxit ; sed
mox
Omnipotens, qui y. enuriam patientibus aligeros prxbuerat cibos, ut farris adeps advenit, alitum phalanges imperavit abire. "
64 In Fleming's "Collectanea Sacra," Vita S. Columbani Abbatis, we find the name of Magnoaldus introduced into the text, and in the margin Chagoald is a different reading. See cap. xxvi. , p. 239.
65 Thus stated by Jonas, in his " Vita S. Columbani :" " Interea cogitatio in mentem ruit, ut Venetiorum, qui et Sclavi dicuntur, terminos adiret," &c. See ibid. , pp. 239, 240.
the other for evil. The former was known as Biel Bog, or the "white god," from whom all benefits proceeded, and the latter was
and states, that it
happened during
66
For a very complete account of the
l'Abbe Migne.
7 1 "The situation of the Lake of Zurich in
many respects resembles that of Con-tance ;
no part of it can be said to be within the
Differently
Sclaves, their origin, tribal division, and mountain zone, though the neighbourhood
history, the reader is referred to the Articles
headed Slavonia and Slavonians, in Charles
Knight's "Penny Cyclopaedia," vol. xxii. , pp. 100 to 128.
67 See Dean Millman's " History of Latin
is almost everywhere hilly, and the moun- tains are not far from its eastern end. The
Christianity," vol. ii. , 293.
book
goodly
houses and
68
According to the early Christian mis-
iv. , chap,
v. ,
p.
thriving villages. " "Picturesque Europe," vol. v. Eastern
Switzerland, pp. 87, 88.
f Known as Theoderic II. , son of the
sionaries among the Sclaves, they worshipped
various idols. It is said, that those who aforementioned Childebert, who succeeded lived on the shores of the Baltic admitted to his father's Kingdom of Burgundy, A. D.
two different principles
—one for
good
and
596.
their minds to a of knowledge
called Chemi Bog, or the
black god," who
given by Jonas, in his
"
Vita S. Columbani. '
While in Switzerland, war
2
and Theodobert, with
"
caused all sorrows, and misfortunes. How-
ever, the Sixth Synod of Constantinople (a. i). 680) enumerates Slavonians among the Christian nations.
69 The foregoing account varies from that
70 Known as Theodebert son ot II. ,
Childebert, King of Austrasia, and who succeeded to this Kingdom of Austrasia, a. d. 596, after his father's death. His brother Theoderic II. was assigned the Kingdom of Burgundy. Both were left under the
tutelage of their grandmother Brunehaut. "
See Abrege de l'Histoire de France," liv. i. CEuvres Completes de Bossuet, Eveque de Meaux, tome x. , col. 1 1 77. Edition de
scenery is diversified, bright and sunny, rather than grand. Its shores in many parts are richly cultivated, and studded wi—th
132 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6,
varied fortune j*3 and, at that very time, when the decisive battle of Tolbiac i*> was fought, both Coluniban and Magnoald had a revelation regarding its results. 75 This they communicated to each other. 76 Theodobert being defeated was treacherously delivered up by his own men to his brother, who sent him to their grandmother, the wicked Bt unehault. ? ? Having sided with Theodoric, she obliged the vanquished prince to receive holy orders, and not many days afterwards, she put him to death. Finding his enemy, Theodoric, to have become master of that country in which he then lived,
Columban resolved on leaving it, and with many disciples, he went into the 8
territories of Agilulf,? King of the Lombards. However, his disciples, Gall and Magnoald, remained behind, and after some time settled near Lake Constance. ? ' Being seized with a fever, St. Gall could not prosecute his
purpose of accompanying St. Columban into Italy. Thinking his desire was to remain in that country, and to avoid further missionary labours in a far-off
"
I know, brother, it will be disagreeable for you to be fatigued with other duties on account of me ; however, now that we are about to part, I pronounce on you a prohibition to celebrate Mass, so long as I live. " On hearing this, Magnoald, who was present, threw himself at the feet of the holy abbot, and cried out, " My father
region, the latter said reproachfully,
73 According to Fredegarius, in his chroni- cle, A. D. 6l2, the first battle fought between Theoderic and Theodobert was at Toul, where the latter was defeated with great slaughter. Having collected fresh forces, Theodobert attacked his brother at Tolbiac, . where the issue was still more unfortunate for him, as he was there thoroughly defeated.
' 4 Tulpiacum, or Tolbracum, formerly a town of the Ubii, a people of Germany, who in the time of Claudius Caesar lived beyond the Rhine, but who mo\ ed to the left bank,
vos me interim vocantem audivi. " Then is introduced the name of one Eunuchus, for
Chagnoaldus, as given by Jonas, and for what in substance refers to the same incident,
"
in his
77 Also called Brunechild, daughter to
Athanagild, a King of the Spaniards, and wife to Sigebert I. , King of Austrasia. She
was an ambitious and unprincipled woman, who met her fate in the year 613, by orders of Clotaire. " She was tied by the leg and the arm to the tail of an untamed hone,
in the succeeding reign. It is now known which, running full speed, quickly dashed
—"The Modern Part of inOccasum,ut—ixviaBonna,Aquisgranum UniversalHistory,"vol. xix. TheHistory
as Zulch "x mil. pass, a Colonia Agrippina out her brains. "
versus xviii. " Bodrand's "Novum Lexi- con. "
of France, chap, lxviii. , sect, i. , p. 238.
78 At first he was Duke of Turin, but on the death of Aniharis, the third King of the Lombards, at Pavia, A. D. 590, his widow, " Eo igitur tempore vir Dei in eremo mora- Theodelinde, married Agilulf. At first he batur, contentus ta—ntum unius ministri Chag- was an Arian, but afterwards he embraced noaldi famulatu. " "Vita S. Columbani. " the Catholic Faith. This warlike prince
75 In a copy of Jonas' Life, Chagnoald is substituted for Magnoald, in this narrative :
76 In the Acts of St. Magnus is the follow-
ing narrative of the vision, which is not to
be found in the Life of St. Columban by
"
reigned twenty-five years, and he died, a. d.
Expergefactus ministrum vocat
Magnoaldum qui et Magnus, cruentamque
regum pugnam indicat, et humanum Ban*
guinem multum fundi suspirat. Respondit Wirtemberg and Baden. At its lower ex-
"
interritu ignis. Illico evigilans festinabam days of Imperial Rome. See Picturesque
hue ad vos venire, et narrare hanc visionem, Europe," vol. v. Eastern Switzerland, p. 82.
Jonas :
pp. 225, 226.
79 Also known as the Boden See, dividing
Magnoaldus, qui et Magnus prostratus ad
pedes ejus : Et ego pater domine, sopore
oppiessus jacebam subter unam arborem
abietis, et videbatur mihi, simul eos conflic-
tum inter se habere ; arreptoque baculo, were known all over Europe. Although on volebam percutere Theodericus, et liberare the left bank of the Rhine, it forms part of Theodebertum : sed prohibuit me species the Duchy of Baden. About the beginning quondam dicens: Non est tibi necesse emu of the Christian Era, a fortress, called percutere, quoniam Dominus cito vindicabit Valeria, had been built on that site, and it magistrum tuum Columbanum de eo in was rebuilt by Constantius Chlorus, in the
Vita S. Columbani. "
615 or 616. See Michaud,
"
Biographie
Universelle, Ancienneet Moderne," tome i. ,
the north-eastern corner of Switzerland from
tremity is the town of Constance, at the head of the Unter See. It" has declined in popu- lation since the Middle Ages, and also in commercial importance, when its linen stuffs
September 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 133
superior, what will you that I do? If I leave Gallus without attendance, he shall be forlorn and perish ; nevertheless, if you require me, him I shall leave, as Peter followed our Lord, having parted with his nets. " Whereupon,
"
Columban answered
:
I know Magnoald, that a great future is open for you,
oftheEastern totoGod. Therefore,I people
andthat shall you
gain many
am not willing you should come with me, but I leave you and our faithful
Theodore to obey Gallus in all his requirements, and endeavour by all means to restore his health. Moreover, Magnoald, I tell you what I desire, and how you should dwell with him. Having spent some days, you shall receivetheorderofDeaconshipfromtheBishopofConstance. SoIdecide, that you remain with Gallus, until the time comes when I am about to die. Then, if it happen, that the Holy Spirit reveal to thee the fact of my last illness, I shall feel grateful, should you come to me ; otherwise, if I die, and
that you are divinely admonished, hasten to my tomb, and to my religious. 81
ThenshallyoureceivemyEpistleandmyCambuta, whichyoushallbear to Gallus, and which shall release him from my interdict. But, I tell you,
8a after the death of 83 and Theodore shall witness Gallus, you
that three
his tomb destroyed by spoilers ; and this being done, with his tomb restored, hasten to a place, where we have heard the holy bishop Narcissus 84 commanded the devil to kill a dragon, and there with Almighty aid, you shall convert many to the Faith, and gain their souls to the Lord. 85 There, too, shall you bear the name of Magnus,86 imposed on you by God, as He desires to exalt you; and received by the people of that region, because of the doctrines you shall preach, you shall convert them from the folly and worship of demons to the faith of Christ. For the demons shall bring upon youmanycalamities; butdoyoubecomfortedintheLord,whohathdestined
years
you there to dwell and remain. "8? out on his journey to Italy.
80 By these are to be understood the Suevi.
Saying these words, St. Columban set
84 His festival has been assigned to the
i8tb of March, and to the 29th of October.
85 St. Narcissus, Bishop of Girone, in
Catalonia, during the persecution raised by Diocletian in the commencementofthe fourth
century, accompanied by his Deacon, Felix,
passed the Pyrenees into Gaul, and arrived been determined. The former, however, at Augsburg, where he baptized Afra,
Hilary and their servants. He conferred orders on Denis, and returned to Spain, at theendofninemonths. Therehegoverned his church for about three years, and with his Deacon, Felix, was crowned with martyr- dom, about the year 306 or 307. See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies des Saints," tome
Suysken,
notices here the contradictions of statement
81 calls it
it
In his "VitaS. Galli," WalafridusStrabo
" "
cambotta ;" Goldast's version has camboca ;" while Babenstiiber writes it " cambatta. " The meaning is " a staff," but whether a pastoral or a walking staff has not
seems the more probable, as seen under the "
words Cambuta, Cambutta, Cambuca, Gambutta," in Du Cange, where it is
" Baculus incurvatus, virga pas-
rendered
toralis Episcoporum. Adrevaldus de Mira-
cul. S. Benedicti, lib. i. , c. 22. Baculo,
quod gestabat, incurvo, more veterum Antistitum. "—" Glossarium ad Scriptores xiii. , p. 11. Mediae et Infimae Latinitatis," tomus
col. 72.
:
Acts of St. Magnus, whether printed or in
manuscript.
Hi In the "Vita S. Galli" of VValafridus
Strabo, this desecration of the holy abbot's
introduces him as bearing originally the name
Magnoaldus, and then having had the name
of Magnus bestowed on him,by Columbanus,
the same holy abbot now proclaiming in the
ii. ,
• ^ The Bollandist editor, Father
fa This is to be found in all the known by the writer of St.
Magnus' Acts, who first
tomb is said to have occurred forty years spirit of prophecy, that the people of his
afterthetimeofhisdeath. Mabillonwrites: futuremissionshouldbestowonhimsucha
"
nem hoc loco esse viri docti existimant. "
" Annales Ordinis Sancti Benedicti/' tomus dist version—chap. i. and ii. , with accom- i. , lib. xiii. , sect, xxxiii. , p. 393. panying notes.
QuamquamneeWalafridumerrorisimmu—- name.
B? See the Vita Pseudo-Theodori—
Boilan-
134 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6.
CHAPTER II.
ST. MAGNUS BECOMES THE ATTENDANT OF ST. GALL—HE IS SENT BY THE LATTER TO BOBBIO—HK BRINGS BACK AN ACCOUNT OF ST. COLUMBAN'S DEATH, AS ALSO HIS EPISTLE AND STAFF, TO ST. GALL—MAGNUS ASSISTS AT THE OBSEQUIES OF ST. GALL- OUTRAGES OFFERED TO THE REMAINS, AND RESTORATION OF HIS TOMB BY ST. MAGNUS AND THE MONKS—ST. MAGNUS AND THEODORE LEAVE ST. GALL'S MONASTERY AND JOURNEY EASTWARDS—THEY VISIT KEMPTEN, WHERE A DRAGON IS DESTROYED BY A MIRACLE—ST. MAGNUS GOES TO FUSSEN, WHENCE DEMONS ARE EXPELLED—THERE HE FOUNDS A MONASTERY.
Thus had St. Columban prophesied, that St. Magnoald should convert the
'
people of the Julian Alps to the faith of Christ j and, full of tenderness for
the helpless condition of his new superior, after the departure of St. Columban
2
into Italy, Magnoald attached himself to St. Gall.
holy priest, named Willimar,3 lived at a place called Arbon, of which he had pastoral charge and direction. About the year 612, and during the summer or autumn season, St. Gall appears to have sought his protection. 4 Magnoald and Theodore s had then become the faithful disciples and servants of St. Gall, so that their cares were employed with those of Willimar, to procure their beloved superior's restoration to health. This was happily effected after some time, when St. Gall resumed his apostolic labours among the people, and by his preaching to them the words of truth, he also brought
Chapter ii. —* The are well known Gall, has edited, in a Vita S. Galli, and Alps 1829,
as the dominant chain of European moun- for nearly 900 years previous, it had been tains. The highest of those is Mont Blanc, noted as a codex, in the Catalogue of St. 15,732 feet above the sea-level. From tiie Gall's books, as "VilaSS. patrumColumbani knot or culmi. ating points, in which meet et Galli, in vol. II. antiquitus dicata. " This the St. Gothard, the Vogelsberg, the is much more ancient than the Life of St.
Bernardine, the Splugen and the Sep- timer—that group known to the ancients under the name of Mom Adtila—a. ? , in a common centre, branches are divergent, and by which a connection is established with the Apennines, the Pyrenees, the • Vosges, the Hartz, the Sudetes, the Car- pathians, and the Balkans. The highest summits are in Switzerland. The Julian, or Panonian, Alps send one branch north- wards into Sclavonia, separating the basins of the Save and of the Drave ; while the other branches or southern Alps form a
range of bare and rocky mountains, rising
almost perpendicularly on the north-wc^i
shores of the Adriatic, and stretching thence
to the confines of Servia and Macedonia.
The course of the Julian Alps is very sinuous,
Gall by Walafridus Strabo, who describes it
to his own biography.
3 So is he called in the Vita S. Galli, by
Walafridus Strabo. By Canisius he is named Willimacus.
in many cases ; but, it lies generally to the excited, that the missionaries were expelled
south east, and along the shores of the from that neighbourhood. See Dr. Dun-
""
Adriaiic. See Gazetteer of the World,"
vol. i. , pp. 180 to 185.
"Mud] o! what here follows is omitted from
Europe during the Middle Ages," vol. ii. , chap, ii. , p. 185. London, 1833, l2mo.
5 According to Walafridus Strabo, at first, they had been clerics of Willimarus. In the from Walafridus Strabo's Liie of St. Gall. more ancient Vita S. Galli, they are
the Acts of St. Magnus, as given by Gokiast, and the substance appears to have been taken
However, in Georgius Heinricus Pertz's "Monumenta Germanise Historica," tomus ii. , Udephonsus von Arx, Librarian of St.
designated Maginoldus or Maginaldus and Theodorus. See Pertz's " Monumenta Ger-
maniae Historica," tomus ii. , pp. 5, 13, 14.
as rude in style, as wanting a
ham's
At this time, a very
division into chapters, as incorrectly writing Alamanniam by the term Altimaniam, and as not having the Miracles which he added in the Second Book of St. Gall's life. Nevertheless, as Walafridus Strabo evidently used the more ancient Life in compiling his Vita S. Galli, it has an authenticity for particulars, superior
4
idolatry, St. Gall had thrown the offerings of the pagans to their idols into the Lake of Zuric, and by even burning their temples, the indignation of the idolaters was so
In the excess of his zeal to extirpate
September 6. ) LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 135
salvation to their souls. A certain deacon, named Hiltibold,6 knew all the passes of that rough country, and in the wilderness he selected an open and a spacious plain, with a circle of mountains around, and a river running through it—most beautiful and suitable for a religious establishment. But, it was infested with wild beasts and serpents, as also by demons who haunted the place. Thither St. Gall brought his disciples, Magnoald and Theodore, to a mountain called Himiiinberg. ? Through their united exertions and prayers, the noxious animals were banished. Then a cell was there built.
While they were living in that place, a messenger came to the priest,
announcing the death of the Bishop of Constance,8 named Gaudentius,? and
this caused them great sorrow, but they unitedly offered up prayers for the
repose of his soul. After a short time, a letter was sent from a magnate
named Gunzon, 10 who besought St. Gall to visit his only daughter " possessed
by a malignant spirit, and to release her from such an evil. The holy
superior, thinking very humbly of his own powers, refused to go ; but, pressed
repeatedly by the noble, and on being told, that for three days his daughter
could not take food, St. Gall betook himself to earnest prayer. Trusting in
God's mercy and goodness, he set. out with the Duke's messengers for his
12
The
and Theodore as his
of Magnoald and the order of St. Gall caused the energumen's restoration to a sound state of mind, to the great joy of her parents. The father then offered St. Gall rich presents, and also prayed him to accept episcopal conse-
having Magnoald
house,
cration. ^ Whereupon, the holy man answered
this incident here, for my beloved Magnoald is aware that my blessed superior Columban has interdicted my offering at the altar while he lives, and I dare not accept such an office without his permission. Wherefore, I cannot assume the weight of such government. But, if you greatly desire this to be accomplished, wait awhile, until I shall have sent my present companion with a letter to my abbot the blessed Columban, and if I learn his will, and have his permission, then shall I undertake the burden of
care
you have said. " Accepting the gifts offered by the Duke, St. Gall took a courteous leave.
pastoral
urged by you. " Whereupon
6
a deacon subject to Willimar. is said to have been espoused to Sigebert, the
7
In his glosses to the Vita S. Galli, son of Theodoric ; but, after her cure by St.
AccordingtoWalafridusStrabo,hewas. sheisnamedFridiburga. Atthattime,she
Goldast writes regarding this mountain :
Gall, she embraced a religious life, and by Sigebert himself, she was installed as Superioress of the Parthenon of St. Peter, in Metz. However, several particulars recounted in this narrative are regarded as
"Mons Coelius nonnumquam a monachis,
interdum Mons Cceli, olim Monkelen, nunc
Menkelen, dictus. " According to Matthaeus
Merianus, this mountain was not far from
the city of St. Gall. See "Topographia fabulous. See Pere Charles le Cointe's
Helvetia? ,'' P» 59-
"Annales Ecclesiastici Francorum," tomu s
ii. , at A. D. 614.
12 In the " Vita S. Galli " of Walafridus
8
See an interesting account of the Lake
and Town of Constance, in Rev. William "
Cox's Travels in Switzerland, and in the Strabo, "ad Iburningas villam. " To this
Country of the Grisons," vol. i. , letter 3, pp. 14 to 23.
9 He died ah. 614, according to Pere
Charles le Cointe. See "Annales Ecclesias-
tici Francorum, toraui ii. , at a. d. 614.
passage, Goldast has appended this note:
10 "
Scilicet Alamanniae seu Sueviae, . Manuscripts, Bruxelles, vol. xviii. , there
"
a Snevis, vocantur Gunsenpfenning, de of Martinus Crucis, concerning Ireland,
auctoris illorum nummorum, qui hodieque are extracts, from the
Annales Suevici,"
in libro De Nummis German- orum. "—Goldast.
'3 for the See of Namely,
quibus
Constance, then vacant owing to the death of Bishop
"" In Walafridus Strabo's
Vita S. Galli,"
Gaudentius.
companions.
prayer
:
" Behold my witness of
Gunzon u Be it then as replied :
"
mannise ac Sueviae ducum sedes, nunc libera imperii Romani urbs, Uberlingen. " In X<>. S. SMj among the Burgundian Library
In dextro litore lacus Pontamici, turn Ala-
i36 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September6.
Magnoald assumed charge of these gifts presented, and with the aid of his
helpmates, Theodore and Othmar, 1 * he brought them to the vessel on Lake
Constance. St. GallhadobtainedfromtheDuke,thatthePrefectofArbon'5
should aid as desired in building his monastery. When he had come to the
fort, at that place, St. Gall desired Magnoald to collect all the poor he could
find, and distribute among them the gilts of Duke Gunzon. Then replied
"
have a precious silver vessel, and are you pieased I should keep it, to serve
Magnoald :
Father, all you have commanded I shall willingly do ; but I
"
you possess with other valuables to the poor, lest you be in contradiction to
a salutary example, remembering what St. Peter said to the paralytic asking for alms, 'Silver and gold I have none. ' " l6 On hearing this, Magnoald gave thanks to God for such an order, and distributed all to the poor. These
things accomplished, they retired to that chosen place in the wilderness,
where with commenced their cell. 1 ? — prudent design they building religious
as a sacred objeci ? " St. Gall answered :
Son, take heed to give that vessel
18 x St. Gall sent a letter to a certain deacon 9
of approved virtue and learning, John was presented to the Duke as a man eminently deserving episcopal promotion. Whereupon, with the approval of other bishops and of all the people, the patron selected him for the vacant
See of Constance, and with tne customary solemn rites, he was duly consecrated. i0 St. Gall preached a remarkable discourse on this occasion,-"
which the newly-consecrated bisiiop explained to the people in their own vernacular language. About the year 614, with the concurrence of St. Gall,
Not — long afterwards,
John
requesting him to come, and when lie complied, the holy
one of his disciples
Abbot gave him a course of instruction in the Sacred Scriptures. At length,
and in the thirty-second or thirty-third year ol his age, St. Magnus, who had 2-'
lived with the priest named Wnlimar, at Aruon, near Bregentz, is said to
2 havebeenordaineddeacon,3byBishopJohnofConstance. Atterreceiving
that grade of Holy Orders, and with the bishop's benediction, he returned to the ceil of his spiritual lather, St. Gall, who aitcrwards gave name to the well- known town m and Canton 25 of Switzerland. Aided by the munificence of King Sigibert and Duke Gunzon, St. Gali and St. Magnoald are said to have
M To this statement, Father Saysken takes 2I "Canisius est le premier qui a tire ce exception, as the well-known Abbot discours de la poussiere. On le trove dans
Othmar could not have been a disciple to
St. Gall. Perhaps, however, the present Othmar may have been quite a different
person.
15 An ancient town of Switzerland on the
south bank of Lake Constance, about 8 miles N. E. from St. Gall. See " Gazetteer of the World," vol. 1. , p. 318.
16 See Acts, iii, 6.
' 7 There subsequently arose the celebrated monastery of St. Gali, called by the people of that country St. Gallen, in the canton of Switzerland so named, and near the southern shore ol Lake Constance.
" The previous portion of the Acts of
St. are omitted in tiiat veision Magnus pub-
lishett by Goldast.
* The writers of "Gallia Chi istiana" have
dignified him with tne title of Beatus, and style him the tenth bishop of Windisch and Constance, in Switzerland.
