Born in the city of Cologne, and highly educated, especially in all
branches
of ecclesiastical learning, on the death of Gauzlin, Bruno, Arch-
bishop of Cologne and Duke of Lorraine, appointed Gerard45 in 963, to
41 "
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus i.
bishop of Cologne and Duke of Lorraine, appointed Gerard45 in 963, to
41 "
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus i.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
St.
Sulpicius Severus has written his life in elegant Latin, and eight years after the death of his illustrious master, he wrote three dialogues to supply previous omissions.
The Chronology of St.
Martin's Life is very intricate.
See " Memoires de Trevoux," ad annum 1765, pp.
1238, 1239.
of St.
However, when the Emperor Charles V. , in 1552, had taken Metz, Toul and Verdun from the French, the old Church of St. Maunsey was destroyed, and that stone was removed to the cloister of St. Gengulph's Collegiate Church in Toul. Long afterwards, that stone might be seen bearing an inscrip
;
His place of rest a foreign grave verses, byT. D. Sullivan, p. 85.
! " —"Green Leaves. " A volume of Irish
21
Thus Ussher records his demise under the year of Christ 105, in these words : " Mansuetus Ilibernus, primus Tullensium
anno ministeri—i sui
Kpiscopus, " (jaadragesimo
mortem obiisse dicitur. " Britannicarum
Kcclesiarum Antiquitates," Index Chronolo
gicus, p. 508.
"Seethe Pita ProKxiort VSx i. ,cap. iii. ,
num. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, pp. 642, 643.
23 His feast is celebrated at Toul, on the
23rd of October.
34 See the Vita Brevior, sect. 5, 6, and
f'ita Prolixior, lib. i. , cap. iv. , sect. 25, 26. 25 Adso, who quotes from documents ot
2? In the church of the
Abbey Maunsey at Toul had long been preserved a stone, on which St. Martin is said to have knelt, when he came thither as a pilgrim.
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
•17
28
frequent pious colloquies with St. Maximinus, Bishop of Triers or
Treves.
From an early period, the Irish Scots, who had a great veneration for
their compatriot, St. Maunsey, were accustomed to frequent his church and
to offer their devotions at his shrine. Among those were to be found many
poor pilgrims, who were obliged to lodge in the hospice, while waiting some favours through the saint's intercession. One case in particular is related by Adso, regarding a poor Irishman and his wife, who while there had a pig stolen from them, which they needed for their common support. Their prayersforitsrecoverywereofferedtoSt. Maunseyinhischurch. ^ Thelost animal is stated to have been miraculously restored to them, but in a fashion too legendary to merit credence^
1
Years had passed away after the death of St. Maunsey, and the Vandals^ having taken possession of Toul, subjected his church to their devastations. In the commencement of the fifth century, witli other German tribes, they had crossed the Rhine, and spread like a torrent over Gaul, which had then experienced the benefits of Roman civilization. The flourishing city of Mentz was surprised and destroyed, while many thousand Christians were inhumanly massacred in the church. In like manner, Strasburg, Spiers,
Rheims, Tournay, Arras, and Amiens, experienced the oppression of the German invaders ; houses and churches were despoiled of their valuables ; while the clergy and laity were obliged to flee for their lives before the mercilessandrapaciousbarbarians. 32 Thecharitablefoundationsforpilgrims experienced also the natural results of wars that embroiled the people living in and around Toul. Wherefore,, those endowments were dissipated, and the
tion to the effect, it was the one on which St. Martin prayed at the tomb of St. Maunsey, when he visited Toul. In the beginning of the last century, that old church had not been repaired, and the Benedictines, who were in possession of the site, having con- verted the former refectory into a chapel, also celebrated the Divine Office in it. There, likewise, according to the two Bene- dictines of the Congregation of St. Maur, the body of St. Maunsey had been preserved. See Dom Augustin Calmet's " Histoire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine," in his Dissertation on the early Bishops of Toul, lib. v. , num. 21, and tome iii. , lib. xxxiii. , num. 66. Also, the Literary Itinerary of two Benedictines, part ii. , p. 130, published in
Paris, 1 7 17.
28 He was born at Monterre-Silly, in Foitou, towards the end of the third or the
been dead several years before St. Martin became Bishop of Tours.
29 The matter is thus related by Adso :
" Furantis autem personam cum nusquam
deprehenderet ; dampni sui non ferens dis- pendium, ad sacram sedem tendit, et effertis, ut Scotorum natura est, animis tumulo Sancti
se msestum injecit et plenum querimoniis, et ut rustici verbis eloquar ; O Sancte Dei,
Scottum, inquam, te Scottum et me, genti Scottigenae propitius miserere. Me eminus positum forte juvare debueras : ecce peregre constitutum quid aporiari pateris, quid rebus destitui permittis ? Redde, obsecro, quod perdidi : redde, quod fur impius forte jam absumit. Hsec et his similia multa prosequens pauper ille, tristis recipitur hospicio. "
30 Adso intimates, that such a popular story need not be trusted, nor does it merit his own approval, neither does it that of his editor, Father John Limpen. In Calmet's edition of Adso's Life of our Saint, the narrative above noticed is ended thus : "Vitseet actuum beati Mansueti pontificis
beginning of the fourth century. Upon the
death of St. Agritius, Bishop of Triers, he
was chosen successor, A. n. 332. He was one
of the most illustrious defenders of the
Catholic faith in the Council of Sardica, held
in 347. He died on a visit to his relations* rum," tomus i. , Septembris iii. Vita Pro- in Poitou, a. d. 349. His feast is celebrated
at Poitiers, on the 29th of May. See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Viesdes Saints," tome
vi. , xxixe Jour de Mai, pp. 292 to 294.
Hence, it can be inferred, that Adso's state-
ment of the familiarity passing between St.
Martin of Tours, and St. Maximinus of have been a Slavonic and not a German Treves, and their journey to Rome in com- people.
pany, cannot be admitted. The latter had 3J See Edward Gibbon's *' History of the
liber primus explicit/' See
"
Ac:a Sancto-
lixior, lib. i. , cap. iv. , nums. 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, with notes, pp. 644, 645.
31 These people were spread along the banks of the Oder, and on the sea-coast of
Pomerania and Mecklenburgh, at an early period. Originally, they are supposed to
48 LIVESOETHEIRISHSAIATS. [September3.
church, as likewise the hospice, fell into ruin. Frequently, too, those establishments and their possessions were seized by seculars and treated with small regard, even in the mediaeval times. When Garibalde, Bishop of Toul, died about the year 735, he was succeeded by Godon, who presided over the See for about twenty years; and during that period the city was burned, when the archives of his church were reduced to ashes. 33
Nevertheless, the veneration of the faithful for our saint continued, and
through the whole diocese of Toul, his feast was solemnly celebrated, so that
it became a matter of sacred obligation to cease from servile work on that
day ; while it seems probable, that although ruinous, the Church of St. Peter
had not been wholly deserted, nor had the religious services there been
discontinued, although shorn much of their early splendour. However,
in the southern suburbs, where an ancient Abbey of the Benedictines stood,
oneArchembald3*ruledasAbbot,betweentheyears936and948. Tohim,
St. Gauzlin,35 Bishop of Toul, committed the Church of St. Peter, and the
care for its restoration, on condition that he should send some of the religious
of St. Afre36 to dwell there, and to sing the Divine office, at the tomb of
St. Maunsay. During the lifetime of St. Gauzlin, the work of repairing St.
Peter's was commenced, but it was not completed, at the time of his death,
a. d. 962. During his pontificate, a woman, blind for seven years, and who
lived in the villa of Count Widon,3? was led on the vigil of St. Maunsey's
feast to his church, where she desired to remain for that night. However,
her request was not granted. Then taking her place with others before the
closed doors, and praying with great fervour to the saint in the middle of
the night, burning lights suddenly appeared to her restored vision. She gave
thanks to God and to his saint in loud ejaculations of gratitude. Another
miracle was in favour of a soldier's 8 who lived on a farm wrought daughter^
notfarfromToul. Shewasregardedasapossessedperson,andinastateof mental derangement, wherefore she was bound with cords and left in charge
of keepers. However, her parents brought the girl to the oratory of St. Maun- sey. There she was allowed to remain within the church that whole night, with a single guardian. She returned to her home restored to a sound state of mind. Another poor person, whose body was covered with a leprosy, called Elephantiasis,39 approached the church, and as having lived on alms, he humbly presented a portion of salt at the saint's shrine, and prayed there
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," place after that date, since the ruined church vol. iv. , chap, xxx. , p. 52. Dr. William in which the body of St. Maunsey had been
Smith's edition.
33 See Dom. Aug. Calmet's "Histoire
Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. , liv. xi. , sect, lxvii.
34 By Adso, he is styled Ilerchemboldus. In two charters, dated a. d. 941 and 942, his name is written Archembaldus, as found in
"
Augustine Calmet's Histoire Ecclesias-
tique et Civile de Lorraine, "tome i. Preuves de l'Histoire de Lorraine, col. 348 and 350. 35 His feast is celebrated on the 7th of
September.
36 His festival is held on the 5th of August.
* In a document which bears date 5 Idus Octobris, a. d. 936, ihe signature of this Count Wido is found. See Calmet's " His-
deposed was not at that time given by Bishop Gauzlin to the Abbey of St. Apre.
38 Her father was named Stephen.
» " A disease affecting chiefly the legs and feet, which, becoming rough, scaly, and swollen, have been compared to an elephant : the skin gets thick, unctuous, and insensi-
toire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine,"
tome i. Preuves de L'Histoire de Lorraine,
col. 344. The miracle here recorded took sey.
ble, and the li—mb occasionally attains an "
enormous size. " Dictionary of Science, 'Literature, and Art," by W. T. Brande and
Rev. George W. Cox, vol. i. , p. 764.
*° One of these was wrought in favour of
a distinguished cleric, who had been brought to the last extremity through fever ; while another named Drogo, who was a soldier, and a native of Dulmensis, in the circle of Westphalia, was in like manner restored, owing to his faith in the merits of St. Maun-
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 49
some
he had prostrated himself on the floor and then suddenly arising, he found
a new vigour in his limbs, the leprosy entirely disappearing. It seems to have been the mediaeval custom for those affected with fevers or other maladies to be carried to the shrine of St. Maunsey, where they devoutly sought his intercession on their behalf; and various instances are recorded by Adso of cures thus effected,* while he declares, it should be impossible to remember all that came to his knowledge, or that were related in reference
1
to the holy patron of Toul. *
The people of Toul were always accustomed to celebrate St. Maunsey's
festival as -a special Holyday, and they regarded it as one to be observed by
abstaining from servile works or unnecessary travelling. Indeed, the con- trary custom was regarded as bringing with it some such danger as had
were delivered from a which was — religiously. Suddenly they danger, likely
with fervour. • Soon he great
experien—ced
impression
to certain
with loads of salt through Gondreville on that festival day, and who made light of the popular veneration. Having journeyed towards the Moselle River, which they desired to cross, the oxen yoked to their waggons became restive, and could not be controlled by the drivers, who had nearly been carried over a precipice. Seeing the danger that threatened, those peasants felt a sudden remorse for having violated St. Mansuy's day. They then implored his pardon, and solemnly vowed thenceforward to observe it
nearly happened
waggoners
to have been attend—
A venerable man
ed with the forfeit of their lives. 43
Grimaldus by name had been appointed Abbot over the monastery of St.
Afre, chiefly through the instrumentality of St. Gauzlin. On one occasion, a cow belonging to the community had been stolen, nor was there a prospect
of her recovery. But, having prayed to St. Maunsey, on the following day, most unexpectedly and to the great admiration of all the monks, that animal returned to her proper stall. Soon after this account, Adso records the happy demise of St. Gauzlin,44 who was interred at Bouxieres-aux-dames, in the church of that religious community of Benedictine nuns founded by himself. He died in the year 962.
Born in the city of Cologne, and highly educated, especially in all branches of ecclesiastical learning, on the death of Gauzlin, Bruno, Arch-
bishop of Cologne and Duke of Lorraine, appointed Gerard45 in 963, to
41 "
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Septembris iii. , Vita Prolixior, lib. ii. , cap. i. , ii. , pp. 645 to 647.
42 So called from Bar-le-Duc, its capital,
and it lies between the Marneand the Moselle
in Lorraine. See M. Vivien de Saint-Mar-
"
succeed,
approbation
Nouveau Dictionnaire de Geographie Universelle," tome i. , p. 351.
43 See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies des
Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. Preuves de l'Histoire de Lorraine, col. 335,
336.
45 See a very complete account of this dis-
tinguished prelate in Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des Saints," tome iv. , Jour xxiiie
d'Avril, pp. 623 to 632.
46 Surnamed the Great. He became
tin,
Saints," tome x. , 433*
Jour
iiie de
Septembre, p.
44 Adso states " :
Emperor of Germany, a. d. 936.
He was of
a
dies vii Idus Septembris agitur. "
the Saxon line,
and had
inherited
Cujus
depositions See the Vita
prepon- derating power in the north of Germany, Prolixior, lib. ii. , cap. ii. , pp. 647, 648. which he greatly increased by his own
success in war. He died on the 25th of December, A. D. 967. See Dean Henry
"
Adso is mistaken in the account that St. Gauzlin was in the forty-fourth year of his con- secration as since his
Hart Milman's
History of Latin Chris-
bishop, predecessor, Drogon, died on the iv. of the March Nones, A. d. 922, which a Charter of Charles the
tianity," vol. iii. , book v. , chap, xii. , pp. 305 to 316.
of 2 who continued to travel Barrois,*
of the Otho 6 of the and Emperor I. ,* clergy
with the
people of Toul, and he was consecrated at Treves. One of his earliest cares
Simple, King of Fiance, proves, dated on the "
same year and day. See Calmet's Histoire
on his back—for
D
5o LIVESOfTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September3
was to visit the church in which reposed the body of St. Maunsey. There he prayed with great devotion, and took a vow, that he would endeavour to effect its entire renovation. He resolved on seeking aid from a powerful patron. With such a view he obtained a charter from the Emperor Otho I. , 4 ? dated in the year 965, on the iv. of the June Nones. This confirmed the possessions, privileges and rules of the monks therein living, and who were under the Order of St. Benedict. *8 He not that
foundation, butheliberallyendowedit. 4^ Moreover,headvancedthePrioroverSt. Peter's monasterytothedignityofanAbbot. OnthesiteofSt. Peter'soratory,a celebrated Benedictine Abbey was built, and it was dedicated to St. Mansuy. s°
The choir of the Abbey Church was erected over the saint's tomb.
Various translations of the holy Bishop's relics are on record. It is said, that about the year 971, St. Gerard, Bishop of Toul, repaired that church
dedicated to St. Maunsey's memory, and that afterwards, he solemnly translated the relics of the holy patron from the place of their deposition, to one more suitable for their reception. The relics were placed in a wooden shrine within the church, and before it the monks sang their office, with their accustomed rites, while the faithful frequenting the sanctuary to pray received many benefits through the saint's intercession. Moreover, it is related of this pious prelate, that a band of Greeks and Scots having arrived in Toul, he maintained them at his own 1 In an
had
altars, at which they offered prayers to God, according to the manner of their respective nations. 52 It is supposed, that the disturbances of the time in their own countries5* brought those strangers to seek an asylum in his city
expense. *
During times ot great drought, and when a loss of the growing crops was feared, the clergy and people of Toul sought the saint's shrine in solemn procession, and devoutly trusted that the prayers of their Patron should procure for them fertilizing showers. This was illustrated in a miraculous manner, during the period of St. Gerard's incumbency in the see of Toul. 55 An unusually dry season had visited the country all around ; the earth cracked open, and vegetation was burned up, through excessive heat ; the labours of the husbandman seemed destined to produce nothing of value from the land; even the sky presented very extraordinary phenomena. Deeming these to
from the charitable bishop. 54
4? See an account of this celebrated Em- side of the ancient walls of the
city,
in the
"
peror in Jules Zeller's
magne," tome ii. , chap, xiii. , pp. 250 to 385.
4® The feast of this illustrious Abbot falls onthe21stofMarch. SeeanaccountofSt.
Faubourg de St. Mansuis.
5I " Hie cation Gnvcorum ac Scotto-
rum congregasse, ac propriis stipendiis aluisse dicitur, divisis inter illos altaribus in
Benedict and of his Order in
"
Histoire
oratorio, ubi Deo supplices laiules peisolvcrent
Complete et Costumes des Ordres Monas-
tiques, Religieux et Militaires, et des Con-
gregations Seculieres des deux Sexes," par
le R. P. He'lyot, avec Notice, Annotations et Complement, par V. Phillipon de la Madelaine, tome iv. , Premiere Partie, pp. 5 et seq.
49 See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," at A. D. 982. Tomus iv. , lib. xlix. , num. xiii. , pp. 8, 9.
50 Besides a fine copper-plate engraving of a map, representing the former Diocese of Toul, in Dom Augustin Calmet's " Histoire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. there is another Plan de la Villede Toul, on which its position is shown near the northern
Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus iv. , lib. I, num. cii. ,
p. 90.
sa This account seems to indicate, that both
the Greeks and Irish, who are here alluded
to, prayed in their own language, and used
their own peculiar rites of worship, differing from those of Gaul.
53 Especially in Ireland the Danes and Norwegians committed great devastations during the ninth and tenth centuries, as noticed in our Annals.
54 See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des Saints," tome iv. , Jour xxiiic d'Avril, p. 625. ss See Dom Calmet's Histoire Ecclesias- tique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i.
Histoire d'Alle-
,
only completed
morepatriot—
oratory they
separate
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 51
be indications of the Divine displeasure for the sins of his people, and at their request, the holy Bishop Gerard instituted a fast for three days, at the end of which time, the shrine of St. Maunsey, containing his blessed body, was to be borne in solemn procession over the parched fields. While litanies and hymns were sung by the clergy and a vast number of the laity assembled, and while they thus moved to the church of St. Apri or Epvre, which was a stage to be reached by the processionists ; suddenly the clouds lowered, the lightnings flashed, and loud peals of thunder followed. Then came torrents of rain, which drenched the multitude present, but which
brought refreshing showers on the fields, the object so earnestly sought. Nor was this the only remarkable occurrence to be related. Sindebard, Count of Toul, was about to have his hand cauterized, because it had withered and caused him great agony \ yet, remembering the merits of the Patron saint, he most earnestly desired leave for carrying that shrine, in which the sacred remains were deposed. This permission he readily obtained, and with Immon, a noble officer in the bishop's service, he walked in that procession. When the shrine was returned to the place in which it usually had been deposited, Mass was commenced, and at its conclusion, the Count found all pain removed from his hand. This he raised up before all those who were present, as a manifestation of St. Maunsey's merits and intercession^6 Immediately after these occurrences, and having placed the sacred remains in the church,5? after vigils and devotions of the previous night, it was solemnly dedicated in honour of the Holy Mother of the Man-God and ofSt. Maunsey. Thenceforward,severalremarkablemiracleswerewrought in it through their intercession, and numbers of devout worshippers were favoured with remission of their sins. Another miracle is related regarding a boy, who had long been a cripple, owing to some spinal contraction. His father, a rustic, had conveyed him in his arms for ten successive years to the tomb of St. Maunsey, but without any alleviation of his son's sufferings. One day, a certain Jew reproached the poor man for his credulity ; when suddenly, the boy who had been laid on the pavement before the shrine felt himself able to arise and walk, to the great admiration of the devout persons who were present. 58 Moreover, on another occasion, and on a Saturday night, while the monks were engaged reciting the Divine Office, and preparing for the Sunday's services on the morrow, St. Gerard, happening to sleep in their monastery at that time,s° had an apparition of St. Maunsey,60 who seemed to enter the chamber with an effulgence of light. Approaching the bed on which the bishop lay, the latter found a hand laid on his body, and
"
heard a voice calling out,
vigils, why are you buried in so deep a slumber ? for the kingdom of Heaven comes not to those sleeping, but to the wakeful. '' At once the bishop arose, and not without some shameful feeling and excitement, he hastened to the church and joined the choir, although not in good time, as the office had long before commenced. 67
Preuves de l'Histoire de Lorraine, Historia
Episcoporum Tullensium, cap. xx. , col. 101.
56 The old writer, who records the
then maintained at the charges of the church. 59 It is stated, the bishop had been much
venerable aspect, his habit being of a white colour.
6l This narrative Adso had from St. Gerard himself,andheaddsinconclusion: "Cujus rei testis non sine sui pudore refert, quid in illo sit passus secreto cubiculi virtute prae-
:
57 This raisedfromitsfoundations.
ipse
previously
Ibid.
Bishop
Gerard had
Why sleep you ? while others keep their pious
fatigued, owing " 6o
previous
miracle, adds
—testis certus, si a quolibet fuerit requisitus. "
Cujus rei adhuc est
s8 In continuation the chronicler remarks, that when he wrote, that boy was living and
foregoing
.
to
He seemed of large stature, and of a
labours
52 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September3.
On several occasions, when the plague prevailed in the city and country around Toul, the people offered prayers to St. Mansuy, and bore the shrine
containing his body in public and solemn procession. We have an account 62
of that deadly plague, which visited the city during the pontificate of St.
Gerard, when great numbers of all classes and of both sexes were stricken
with the pest. This usually proved mortal after an illness of three days.
Whereupon, St. Gerard resolved on proclaiming a fast for three days, at the
end of which time, he intended removing the saint's shrine from the place in
which it had been deposited not long before, and having called the people
together, a procession was formed to the church of the Blessed Virgin at
Ecrouves,63 near Toul. From that time forward, the plague was known to
have decreased in virulence. Yet, public apprehensions were not wholly
allayed, when a second and much greater procession took place to the Bene-
dictine 6* at 6* where the nuns were to receive the Convent, Buxeria, prepared
precious remains. In that place, also, Bishop Gerard spent the night. Multitudes assembled to join the procession from the villages and farms along the route, both going and returning ; nor was the River Meurte an obstacle to their pious zeal, for many persons forded it, although swollen with a night's rain. On the return to St. Maunsey's church, the sun shone out with remarkable brightness, while the enthusiasm of the people was mani- fested in tears of joy, shared even by their saintly bishop. Although abating, the plague had not altogether ceased, and a third procession was ordered, when the bodies of St. Maunsey and of St. Epvre were brought in their respectiveshrinesthroughthestreetsofToul. Afterwards,thepestentirely
relief and
of the 66 people.
to the
St. Gerard had granted the villages of Angeria and Molesiac to the
monastery of St. Maunsey, as dependencies for its maintenance ; but, he afterwards revoked this grant, and then he remarked a sudden failure of his strength and health. He became so spare and debilitated, that, he had no appetite, nor could he sleep, Especially for three weeks did he continue in this state, and had abandoned all hope of recovery. Despite the objections raised by members of his household, he expressed a wish to be conveyed to the monastery of St. Maunsey. This happened in the year 974, when he was afflicted with that severe malady, which his physicians were unable to heal through the ordinary courses prescribed. The bishop was restored, however, by invoking the aid of St. Maunsey, and by making a visit to the holy Patron's shrine and monastery.
A remarkable miracle, wrought in favour of an English girl through the merits of St. Maunsey, took place in the year iooq. 6? She had been accessory
stanti beati Mansueti. "—Vita prolixior, lib. by no religious vow.
ii. , cap. iii. , p. 649. 6s The modern French name for it is
disappeared
great
joy
63
and St. Gerard, adds :
ita superveniens irruperat, ut ad unum the Moselle, about five hours' journey from
The old chronicler in relation to Toul Bouxieres-aux- dames. It is situated on the
"
quemlibet, exceptis aliis diversarum eccle- siarum, locum, sicut idem pontifex non sine
gemitu memorabat, denos vel septenos mor- . fuorum loculos sub oculis aspiceret inferri tumulandos.
of St.
However, when the Emperor Charles V. , in 1552, had taken Metz, Toul and Verdun from the French, the old Church of St. Maunsey was destroyed, and that stone was removed to the cloister of St. Gengulph's Collegiate Church in Toul. Long afterwards, that stone might be seen bearing an inscrip
;
His place of rest a foreign grave verses, byT. D. Sullivan, p. 85.
! " —"Green Leaves. " A volume of Irish
21
Thus Ussher records his demise under the year of Christ 105, in these words : " Mansuetus Ilibernus, primus Tullensium
anno ministeri—i sui
Kpiscopus, " (jaadragesimo
mortem obiisse dicitur. " Britannicarum
Kcclesiarum Antiquitates," Index Chronolo
gicus, p. 508.
"Seethe Pita ProKxiort VSx i. ,cap. iii. ,
num. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, pp. 642, 643.
23 His feast is celebrated at Toul, on the
23rd of October.
34 See the Vita Brevior, sect. 5, 6, and
f'ita Prolixior, lib. i. , cap. iv. , sect. 25, 26. 25 Adso, who quotes from documents ot
2? In the church of the
Abbey Maunsey at Toul had long been preserved a stone, on which St. Martin is said to have knelt, when he came thither as a pilgrim.
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
•17
28
frequent pious colloquies with St. Maximinus, Bishop of Triers or
Treves.
From an early period, the Irish Scots, who had a great veneration for
their compatriot, St. Maunsey, were accustomed to frequent his church and
to offer their devotions at his shrine. Among those were to be found many
poor pilgrims, who were obliged to lodge in the hospice, while waiting some favours through the saint's intercession. One case in particular is related by Adso, regarding a poor Irishman and his wife, who while there had a pig stolen from them, which they needed for their common support. Their prayersforitsrecoverywereofferedtoSt. Maunseyinhischurch. ^ Thelost animal is stated to have been miraculously restored to them, but in a fashion too legendary to merit credence^
1
Years had passed away after the death of St. Maunsey, and the Vandals^ having taken possession of Toul, subjected his church to their devastations. In the commencement of the fifth century, witli other German tribes, they had crossed the Rhine, and spread like a torrent over Gaul, which had then experienced the benefits of Roman civilization. The flourishing city of Mentz was surprised and destroyed, while many thousand Christians were inhumanly massacred in the church. In like manner, Strasburg, Spiers,
Rheims, Tournay, Arras, and Amiens, experienced the oppression of the German invaders ; houses and churches were despoiled of their valuables ; while the clergy and laity were obliged to flee for their lives before the mercilessandrapaciousbarbarians. 32 Thecharitablefoundationsforpilgrims experienced also the natural results of wars that embroiled the people living in and around Toul. Wherefore,, those endowments were dissipated, and the
tion to the effect, it was the one on which St. Martin prayed at the tomb of St. Maunsey, when he visited Toul. In the beginning of the last century, that old church had not been repaired, and the Benedictines, who were in possession of the site, having con- verted the former refectory into a chapel, also celebrated the Divine Office in it. There, likewise, according to the two Bene- dictines of the Congregation of St. Maur, the body of St. Maunsey had been preserved. See Dom Augustin Calmet's " Histoire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine," in his Dissertation on the early Bishops of Toul, lib. v. , num. 21, and tome iii. , lib. xxxiii. , num. 66. Also, the Literary Itinerary of two Benedictines, part ii. , p. 130, published in
Paris, 1 7 17.
28 He was born at Monterre-Silly, in Foitou, towards the end of the third or the
been dead several years before St. Martin became Bishop of Tours.
29 The matter is thus related by Adso :
" Furantis autem personam cum nusquam
deprehenderet ; dampni sui non ferens dis- pendium, ad sacram sedem tendit, et effertis, ut Scotorum natura est, animis tumulo Sancti
se msestum injecit et plenum querimoniis, et ut rustici verbis eloquar ; O Sancte Dei,
Scottum, inquam, te Scottum et me, genti Scottigenae propitius miserere. Me eminus positum forte juvare debueras : ecce peregre constitutum quid aporiari pateris, quid rebus destitui permittis ? Redde, obsecro, quod perdidi : redde, quod fur impius forte jam absumit. Hsec et his similia multa prosequens pauper ille, tristis recipitur hospicio. "
30 Adso intimates, that such a popular story need not be trusted, nor does it merit his own approval, neither does it that of his editor, Father John Limpen. In Calmet's edition of Adso's Life of our Saint, the narrative above noticed is ended thus : "Vitseet actuum beati Mansueti pontificis
beginning of the fourth century. Upon the
death of St. Agritius, Bishop of Triers, he
was chosen successor, A. n. 332. He was one
of the most illustrious defenders of the
Catholic faith in the Council of Sardica, held
in 347. He died on a visit to his relations* rum," tomus i. , Septembris iii. Vita Pro- in Poitou, a. d. 349. His feast is celebrated
at Poitiers, on the 29th of May. See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Viesdes Saints," tome
vi. , xxixe Jour de Mai, pp. 292 to 294.
Hence, it can be inferred, that Adso's state-
ment of the familiarity passing between St.
Martin of Tours, and St. Maximinus of have been a Slavonic and not a German Treves, and their journey to Rome in com- people.
pany, cannot be admitted. The latter had 3J See Edward Gibbon's *' History of the
liber primus explicit/' See
"
Ac:a Sancto-
lixior, lib. i. , cap. iv. , nums. 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, with notes, pp. 644, 645.
31 These people were spread along the banks of the Oder, and on the sea-coast of
Pomerania and Mecklenburgh, at an early period. Originally, they are supposed to
48 LIVESOETHEIRISHSAIATS. [September3.
church, as likewise the hospice, fell into ruin. Frequently, too, those establishments and their possessions were seized by seculars and treated with small regard, even in the mediaeval times. When Garibalde, Bishop of Toul, died about the year 735, he was succeeded by Godon, who presided over the See for about twenty years; and during that period the city was burned, when the archives of his church were reduced to ashes. 33
Nevertheless, the veneration of the faithful for our saint continued, and
through the whole diocese of Toul, his feast was solemnly celebrated, so that
it became a matter of sacred obligation to cease from servile work on that
day ; while it seems probable, that although ruinous, the Church of St. Peter
had not been wholly deserted, nor had the religious services there been
discontinued, although shorn much of their early splendour. However,
in the southern suburbs, where an ancient Abbey of the Benedictines stood,
oneArchembald3*ruledasAbbot,betweentheyears936and948. Tohim,
St. Gauzlin,35 Bishop of Toul, committed the Church of St. Peter, and the
care for its restoration, on condition that he should send some of the religious
of St. Afre36 to dwell there, and to sing the Divine office, at the tomb of
St. Maunsay. During the lifetime of St. Gauzlin, the work of repairing St.
Peter's was commenced, but it was not completed, at the time of his death,
a. d. 962. During his pontificate, a woman, blind for seven years, and who
lived in the villa of Count Widon,3? was led on the vigil of St. Maunsey's
feast to his church, where she desired to remain for that night. However,
her request was not granted. Then taking her place with others before the
closed doors, and praying with great fervour to the saint in the middle of
the night, burning lights suddenly appeared to her restored vision. She gave
thanks to God and to his saint in loud ejaculations of gratitude. Another
miracle was in favour of a soldier's 8 who lived on a farm wrought daughter^
notfarfromToul. Shewasregardedasapossessedperson,andinastateof mental derangement, wherefore she was bound with cords and left in charge
of keepers. However, her parents brought the girl to the oratory of St. Maun- sey. There she was allowed to remain within the church that whole night, with a single guardian. She returned to her home restored to a sound state of mind. Another poor person, whose body was covered with a leprosy, called Elephantiasis,39 approached the church, and as having lived on alms, he humbly presented a portion of salt at the saint's shrine, and prayed there
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," place after that date, since the ruined church vol. iv. , chap, xxx. , p. 52. Dr. William in which the body of St. Maunsey had been
Smith's edition.
33 See Dom. Aug. Calmet's "Histoire
Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. , liv. xi. , sect, lxvii.
34 By Adso, he is styled Ilerchemboldus. In two charters, dated a. d. 941 and 942, his name is written Archembaldus, as found in
"
Augustine Calmet's Histoire Ecclesias-
tique et Civile de Lorraine, "tome i. Preuves de l'Histoire de Lorraine, col. 348 and 350. 35 His feast is celebrated on the 7th of
September.
36 His festival is held on the 5th of August.
* In a document which bears date 5 Idus Octobris, a. d. 936, ihe signature of this Count Wido is found. See Calmet's " His-
deposed was not at that time given by Bishop Gauzlin to the Abbey of St. Apre.
38 Her father was named Stephen.
» " A disease affecting chiefly the legs and feet, which, becoming rough, scaly, and swollen, have been compared to an elephant : the skin gets thick, unctuous, and insensi-
toire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine,"
tome i. Preuves de L'Histoire de Lorraine,
col. 344. The miracle here recorded took sey.
ble, and the li—mb occasionally attains an "
enormous size. " Dictionary of Science, 'Literature, and Art," by W. T. Brande and
Rev. George W. Cox, vol. i. , p. 764.
*° One of these was wrought in favour of
a distinguished cleric, who had been brought to the last extremity through fever ; while another named Drogo, who was a soldier, and a native of Dulmensis, in the circle of Westphalia, was in like manner restored, owing to his faith in the merits of St. Maun-
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 49
some
he had prostrated himself on the floor and then suddenly arising, he found
a new vigour in his limbs, the leprosy entirely disappearing. It seems to have been the mediaeval custom for those affected with fevers or other maladies to be carried to the shrine of St. Maunsey, where they devoutly sought his intercession on their behalf; and various instances are recorded by Adso of cures thus effected,* while he declares, it should be impossible to remember all that came to his knowledge, or that were related in reference
1
to the holy patron of Toul. *
The people of Toul were always accustomed to celebrate St. Maunsey's
festival as -a special Holyday, and they regarded it as one to be observed by
abstaining from servile works or unnecessary travelling. Indeed, the con- trary custom was regarded as bringing with it some such danger as had
were delivered from a which was — religiously. Suddenly they danger, likely
with fervour. • Soon he great
experien—ced
impression
to certain
with loads of salt through Gondreville on that festival day, and who made light of the popular veneration. Having journeyed towards the Moselle River, which they desired to cross, the oxen yoked to their waggons became restive, and could not be controlled by the drivers, who had nearly been carried over a precipice. Seeing the danger that threatened, those peasants felt a sudden remorse for having violated St. Mansuy's day. They then implored his pardon, and solemnly vowed thenceforward to observe it
nearly happened
waggoners
to have been attend—
A venerable man
ed with the forfeit of their lives. 43
Grimaldus by name had been appointed Abbot over the monastery of St.
Afre, chiefly through the instrumentality of St. Gauzlin. On one occasion, a cow belonging to the community had been stolen, nor was there a prospect
of her recovery. But, having prayed to St. Maunsey, on the following day, most unexpectedly and to the great admiration of all the monks, that animal returned to her proper stall. Soon after this account, Adso records the happy demise of St. Gauzlin,44 who was interred at Bouxieres-aux-dames, in the church of that religious community of Benedictine nuns founded by himself. He died in the year 962.
Born in the city of Cologne, and highly educated, especially in all branches of ecclesiastical learning, on the death of Gauzlin, Bruno, Arch-
bishop of Cologne and Duke of Lorraine, appointed Gerard45 in 963, to
41 "
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Septembris iii. , Vita Prolixior, lib. ii. , cap. i. , ii. , pp. 645 to 647.
42 So called from Bar-le-Duc, its capital,
and it lies between the Marneand the Moselle
in Lorraine. See M. Vivien de Saint-Mar-
"
succeed,
approbation
Nouveau Dictionnaire de Geographie Universelle," tome i. , p. 351.
43 See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies des
Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. Preuves de l'Histoire de Lorraine, col. 335,
336.
45 See a very complete account of this dis-
tinguished prelate in Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des Saints," tome iv. , Jour xxiiie
d'Avril, pp. 623 to 632.
46 Surnamed the Great. He became
tin,
Saints," tome x. , 433*
Jour
iiie de
Septembre, p.
44 Adso states " :
Emperor of Germany, a. d. 936.
He was of
a
dies vii Idus Septembris agitur. "
the Saxon line,
and had
inherited
Cujus
depositions See the Vita
prepon- derating power in the north of Germany, Prolixior, lib. ii. , cap. ii. , pp. 647, 648. which he greatly increased by his own
success in war. He died on the 25th of December, A. D. 967. See Dean Henry
"
Adso is mistaken in the account that St. Gauzlin was in the forty-fourth year of his con- secration as since his
Hart Milman's
History of Latin Chris-
bishop, predecessor, Drogon, died on the iv. of the March Nones, A. d. 922, which a Charter of Charles the
tianity," vol. iii. , book v. , chap, xii. , pp. 305 to 316.
of 2 who continued to travel Barrois,*
of the Otho 6 of the and Emperor I. ,* clergy
with the
people of Toul, and he was consecrated at Treves. One of his earliest cares
Simple, King of Fiance, proves, dated on the "
same year and day. See Calmet's Histoire
on his back—for
D
5o LIVESOfTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September3
was to visit the church in which reposed the body of St. Maunsey. There he prayed with great devotion, and took a vow, that he would endeavour to effect its entire renovation. He resolved on seeking aid from a powerful patron. With such a view he obtained a charter from the Emperor Otho I. , 4 ? dated in the year 965, on the iv. of the June Nones. This confirmed the possessions, privileges and rules of the monks therein living, and who were under the Order of St. Benedict. *8 He not that
foundation, butheliberallyendowedit. 4^ Moreover,headvancedthePrioroverSt. Peter's monasterytothedignityofanAbbot. OnthesiteofSt. Peter'soratory,a celebrated Benedictine Abbey was built, and it was dedicated to St. Mansuy. s°
The choir of the Abbey Church was erected over the saint's tomb.
Various translations of the holy Bishop's relics are on record. It is said, that about the year 971, St. Gerard, Bishop of Toul, repaired that church
dedicated to St. Maunsey's memory, and that afterwards, he solemnly translated the relics of the holy patron from the place of their deposition, to one more suitable for their reception. The relics were placed in a wooden shrine within the church, and before it the monks sang their office, with their accustomed rites, while the faithful frequenting the sanctuary to pray received many benefits through the saint's intercession. Moreover, it is related of this pious prelate, that a band of Greeks and Scots having arrived in Toul, he maintained them at his own 1 In an
had
altars, at which they offered prayers to God, according to the manner of their respective nations. 52 It is supposed, that the disturbances of the time in their own countries5* brought those strangers to seek an asylum in his city
expense. *
During times ot great drought, and when a loss of the growing crops was feared, the clergy and people of Toul sought the saint's shrine in solemn procession, and devoutly trusted that the prayers of their Patron should procure for them fertilizing showers. This was illustrated in a miraculous manner, during the period of St. Gerard's incumbency in the see of Toul. 55 An unusually dry season had visited the country all around ; the earth cracked open, and vegetation was burned up, through excessive heat ; the labours of the husbandman seemed destined to produce nothing of value from the land; even the sky presented very extraordinary phenomena. Deeming these to
from the charitable bishop. 54
4? See an account of this celebrated Em- side of the ancient walls of the
city,
in the
"
peror in Jules Zeller's
magne," tome ii. , chap, xiii. , pp. 250 to 385.
4® The feast of this illustrious Abbot falls onthe21stofMarch. SeeanaccountofSt.
Faubourg de St. Mansuis.
5I " Hie cation Gnvcorum ac Scotto-
rum congregasse, ac propriis stipendiis aluisse dicitur, divisis inter illos altaribus in
Benedict and of his Order in
"
Histoire
oratorio, ubi Deo supplices laiules peisolvcrent
Complete et Costumes des Ordres Monas-
tiques, Religieux et Militaires, et des Con-
gregations Seculieres des deux Sexes," par
le R. P. He'lyot, avec Notice, Annotations et Complement, par V. Phillipon de la Madelaine, tome iv. , Premiere Partie, pp. 5 et seq.
49 See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," at A. D. 982. Tomus iv. , lib. xlix. , num. xiii. , pp. 8, 9.
50 Besides a fine copper-plate engraving of a map, representing the former Diocese of Toul, in Dom Augustin Calmet's " Histoire Ecclesiastique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i. there is another Plan de la Villede Toul, on which its position is shown near the northern
Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus iv. , lib. I, num. cii. ,
p. 90.
sa This account seems to indicate, that both
the Greeks and Irish, who are here alluded
to, prayed in their own language, and used
their own peculiar rites of worship, differing from those of Gaul.
53 Especially in Ireland the Danes and Norwegians committed great devastations during the ninth and tenth centuries, as noticed in our Annals.
54 See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des Saints," tome iv. , Jour xxiiic d'Avril, p. 625. ss See Dom Calmet's Histoire Ecclesias- tique et Civile de Lorraine," tome i.
Histoire d'Alle-
,
only completed
morepatriot—
oratory they
separate
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 51
be indications of the Divine displeasure for the sins of his people, and at their request, the holy Bishop Gerard instituted a fast for three days, at the end of which time, the shrine of St. Maunsey, containing his blessed body, was to be borne in solemn procession over the parched fields. While litanies and hymns were sung by the clergy and a vast number of the laity assembled, and while they thus moved to the church of St. Apri or Epvre, which was a stage to be reached by the processionists ; suddenly the clouds lowered, the lightnings flashed, and loud peals of thunder followed. Then came torrents of rain, which drenched the multitude present, but which
brought refreshing showers on the fields, the object so earnestly sought. Nor was this the only remarkable occurrence to be related. Sindebard, Count of Toul, was about to have his hand cauterized, because it had withered and caused him great agony \ yet, remembering the merits of the Patron saint, he most earnestly desired leave for carrying that shrine, in which the sacred remains were deposed. This permission he readily obtained, and with Immon, a noble officer in the bishop's service, he walked in that procession. When the shrine was returned to the place in which it usually had been deposited, Mass was commenced, and at its conclusion, the Count found all pain removed from his hand. This he raised up before all those who were present, as a manifestation of St. Maunsey's merits and intercession^6 Immediately after these occurrences, and having placed the sacred remains in the church,5? after vigils and devotions of the previous night, it was solemnly dedicated in honour of the Holy Mother of the Man-God and ofSt. Maunsey. Thenceforward,severalremarkablemiracleswerewrought in it through their intercession, and numbers of devout worshippers were favoured with remission of their sins. Another miracle is related regarding a boy, who had long been a cripple, owing to some spinal contraction. His father, a rustic, had conveyed him in his arms for ten successive years to the tomb of St. Maunsey, but without any alleviation of his son's sufferings. One day, a certain Jew reproached the poor man for his credulity ; when suddenly, the boy who had been laid on the pavement before the shrine felt himself able to arise and walk, to the great admiration of the devout persons who were present. 58 Moreover, on another occasion, and on a Saturday night, while the monks were engaged reciting the Divine Office, and preparing for the Sunday's services on the morrow, St. Gerard, happening to sleep in their monastery at that time,s° had an apparition of St. Maunsey,60 who seemed to enter the chamber with an effulgence of light. Approaching the bed on which the bishop lay, the latter found a hand laid on his body, and
"
heard a voice calling out,
vigils, why are you buried in so deep a slumber ? for the kingdom of Heaven comes not to those sleeping, but to the wakeful. '' At once the bishop arose, and not without some shameful feeling and excitement, he hastened to the church and joined the choir, although not in good time, as the office had long before commenced. 67
Preuves de l'Histoire de Lorraine, Historia
Episcoporum Tullensium, cap. xx. , col. 101.
56 The old writer, who records the
then maintained at the charges of the church. 59 It is stated, the bishop had been much
venerable aspect, his habit being of a white colour.
6l This narrative Adso had from St. Gerard himself,andheaddsinconclusion: "Cujus rei testis non sine sui pudore refert, quid in illo sit passus secreto cubiculi virtute prae-
:
57 This raisedfromitsfoundations.
ipse
previously
Ibid.
Bishop
Gerard had
Why sleep you ? while others keep their pious
fatigued, owing " 6o
previous
miracle, adds
—testis certus, si a quolibet fuerit requisitus. "
Cujus rei adhuc est
s8 In continuation the chronicler remarks, that when he wrote, that boy was living and
foregoing
.
to
He seemed of large stature, and of a
labours
52 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September3.
On several occasions, when the plague prevailed in the city and country around Toul, the people offered prayers to St. Mansuy, and bore the shrine
containing his body in public and solemn procession. We have an account 62
of that deadly plague, which visited the city during the pontificate of St.
Gerard, when great numbers of all classes and of both sexes were stricken
with the pest. This usually proved mortal after an illness of three days.
Whereupon, St. Gerard resolved on proclaiming a fast for three days, at the
end of which time, he intended removing the saint's shrine from the place in
which it had been deposited not long before, and having called the people
together, a procession was formed to the church of the Blessed Virgin at
Ecrouves,63 near Toul. From that time forward, the plague was known to
have decreased in virulence. Yet, public apprehensions were not wholly
allayed, when a second and much greater procession took place to the Bene-
dictine 6* at 6* where the nuns were to receive the Convent, Buxeria, prepared
precious remains. In that place, also, Bishop Gerard spent the night. Multitudes assembled to join the procession from the villages and farms along the route, both going and returning ; nor was the River Meurte an obstacle to their pious zeal, for many persons forded it, although swollen with a night's rain. On the return to St. Maunsey's church, the sun shone out with remarkable brightness, while the enthusiasm of the people was mani- fested in tears of joy, shared even by their saintly bishop. Although abating, the plague had not altogether ceased, and a third procession was ordered, when the bodies of St. Maunsey and of St. Epvre were brought in their respectiveshrinesthroughthestreetsofToul. Afterwards,thepestentirely
relief and
of the 66 people.
to the
St. Gerard had granted the villages of Angeria and Molesiac to the
monastery of St. Maunsey, as dependencies for its maintenance ; but, he afterwards revoked this grant, and then he remarked a sudden failure of his strength and health. He became so spare and debilitated, that, he had no appetite, nor could he sleep, Especially for three weeks did he continue in this state, and had abandoned all hope of recovery. Despite the objections raised by members of his household, he expressed a wish to be conveyed to the monastery of St. Maunsey. This happened in the year 974, when he was afflicted with that severe malady, which his physicians were unable to heal through the ordinary courses prescribed. The bishop was restored, however, by invoking the aid of St. Maunsey, and by making a visit to the holy Patron's shrine and monastery.
A remarkable miracle, wrought in favour of an English girl through the merits of St. Maunsey, took place in the year iooq. 6? She had been accessory
stanti beati Mansueti. "—Vita prolixior, lib. by no religious vow.
ii. , cap. iii. , p. 649. 6s The modern French name for it is
disappeared
great
joy
63
and St. Gerard, adds :
ita superveniens irruperat, ut ad unum the Moselle, about five hours' journey from
The old chronicler in relation to Toul Bouxieres-aux- dames. It is situated on the
"
quemlibet, exceptis aliis diversarum eccle- siarum, locum, sicut idem pontifex non sine
gemitu memorabat, denos vel septenos mor- . fuorum loculos sub oculis aspiceret inferri tumulandos.
