27 It is remarked, by the
Bollandist
writer,
that although he is believed to have come from Ireland in the seventh century, that
there were then no archbishops in Island.
that although he is believed to have come from Ireland in the seventh century, that
there were then no archbishops in Island.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
Dysibod would wish to conceal his agency in those matters, and to refer all such supernatural benefits, not to his own merits, but to the omnipotence of God alone.
The blind, the lame, the weak, as also those possessed by the devil, and persons who had been deprived of their senses, came to him from places far and near, and as the virtue of the Almighty had been exercised through him, they were healed
from their several infirmities.
He led a much stricter life, however, than even the rule demanded, which
had been established for his monks. Although living in such close proximity tothem,Disibod,it issaid,neverremovedintotheircloisters,norassumed the habits of their order j but, he lived a life more austere and self-denying,
2
than that required from his subjects. ^ While spending his days as a hermit,
he laboured zealously to urge upon them the practice of every good work, while he so comforted them, that they desired not to have any other master during his lifetime, so gentle and so inoffensive was his method of governing them. Althoughhehadsuggestedtohismonksthedesirabilityofelecting some other superior to fill his place, yet they would not entertain such a pro- posal. The fame of his holiness and of his happy disposition spread far and wide, so that many persons flocked to his place, even from distant provinces. The people of the villages around him were also delighted to act the part of good neighbours and of good Christians, while they lent willing and very material aid to forward all his enterprises. He thus lived a retired and peni- tential life for thirty years, at Dissenberg, watching and fasting, taking only the most frugal and coarse food, and using a plain rough garment. He imitated the retirement of Blessed Paul, the first hermit, preferring the soli- tude of the desert to the towns which are the haunts of men. We are told, that he celebrated the Divine office of the Altar, not after the manner of a bishop,butaccordingtothecustomofpoorpriests. Alwayswashecheerful in disposition, and his heart was never oppressed with sorrow, endeavouring in all ways to imitate the patience of Christ under affliction. 3°
CHAPTER III.
PROPHECIES OF ST. DISIBOD—HIS DECLINING YEARS AND APPROACH OF DEATH—DATES ASSIGNED FOR IT—MIRACLES WHICH AFTERWARDS TOOK PLACE—FESTIVALS AND MEMORIALS—SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF DISSENBODENBURG—CONCLUSION.
Having spent a long life in Disenberg, and preached much in the neighbour- 1
hood of Mainz, when his multiplied labours there and age had greatly wasted
'9 Sttibid. , sect, ix. , p. 1 14.
s° See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto- rum," tomus i. , Julii viii. De S. Disibodo
Moguntini, in Germania. Vita auctore S. Hildegrade moniali, cap. ii. , iii. , pp. 590 to 593.
Epis.
et Confess, in Dysenberg, Territorii
Chapter hi. — x See Rev. S.
Baring-
July 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 155
his strength, Dysibod predicted to his brethren that their state of existing pros- perity should not always continue, but that the devil, envying their happiness and remembering how much they had served to weaken his power, should labour to bring on them and on their successors future oppression and temporal calamities. he consoled them
However,
of heart, I have hitherto earnestly endeavoured and desired, that I may not live to see your tribulation in this world, and I trust in God this shall happen. Yet, know you, that as my bodily strength is now failing fast, and as my death is near, after you shall have suffered oppression, in later times, better and more prosperous events shall take place, so that even your successors shall abound in possessions, far greater than those I leave you. " When his brethren heard him speak thus, they were filled with sorrow, which found vent in tears, for they now knew, that his death must soon happen. Soon the rumour of his prophecy spread among the neighbouring people, who flocked to him as to their chief patron. They were desirous to receive his last instructions and blessing. He did not conceal from them the secret of his approaching end, but offered up his prayers for them. He then recom- mended to them the care of his monastery and the place ; he also gave his last admonition and blessing. None knew through what medium he pre- judged his near approach to death, except a few religious men to whom he revealed it ; some said, he had an angelic admonition, although he concealed a knowledge of it from men, lest his virtues should be too greatly extolled. All his visitors parted from him, with visible manifestations of grief, because they were to see him living for the last time. More owing to labour than to old age, sickness fell upon him. Then calling all his brethren together, he announced to them who was to be their future superior, and to him he com- mended the guardianship of the monks and their place. He was the same person, as had been formerly recommended for succession. Then with sorrowful voice and in tears, he besought them to lay his body within that oratory, where he had spent a solitary life for so many years, and he pointed out the exact spot where he wished to be interred. This they promised should be done, and in tears, all proclaimed his various good works and holy morals. They exclaimed : "Alas ! alas ! what shall become of us, when we lose you, the consoler and defender of our souls and bodies ! " And, as the thirsting stag pants for the living waters, so did the monks desire he should remain much longer among them, for his presence was as a light for their eyes, and
as a balm for their hearts. His illness still increasing, he called them together once more, and telling them, that the last hour had come, he calmly expired
in their presence, in the eighty-first year of his age. Immediately, a delightful odour, as of myrrh and frankincense, filled that cell, while other miracles like-
wise took,place.
When he had attained that advanced age, he is said to have died, on the
8th day of July, according to St. Hildegarde's account. This statement has been followed by many other writers. However, it is supposed, that this was only the feast for a Translation of St. Disibod's Relics, and not the true date for his death. 2 The foregoing statement of St. Hildegarde probably rests only on some inexact tradition, and as a matter of established certainty, it has been contested.
Everywhere spread the news of his death throughout all that province, when
"
Gould's. Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. ,
July 8, p. 187.
corps, ou de sa translation dont Ton faisoit
la fete du temps de saint Hildegarde. " Baillet's "Vies des Saints," tome hi. ,
Sept. viii. , sec. iii.
2"
etoit plutot le jour de l'elevation de son
II y a apparance que leVIII. de Juillel
by saying :
'* With and sorrow sighs
156 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 8.
multitudes flocked to assist at his funeral obsequies, and to witness the wonderswhichtheAlmightywroughtinhonourofHisfaithfulservant. For thirty days after St. Dysibod's decease a miraculous odour was diffused around his grave ; while many lame, blind and deaf persons, as also several demented and infirm, received healing by touching even the clay in which he was buried. The nun St. Hildegarde observes, that those miracles became less frequent ostensibly, because people trusted over much to experience them, without merits and good works of their own, while the Holy Spirit measures their accomplishment for a purpose different from the expectations of men, and even produces hidden miracles of grace in their souls, although signs and wonders may not be visible in great physical changes. She adds many other useful moral reflections, which, however, may be pretermitted, as they have no special bearing on personal details, regarding our saint's biography. 3
There are writers who aver, that St. Dysibod having come into Germany « a little while after the death of St. Benedicts must have lived there also towards the close of the sixth century. While some place his death, so early as about the year 580, there are others, who think it took place one hundred years later. 6 At the year 639, his departure is noticed by Christopher Brower
j7 while Adrien Baillet places it
other writers calculate it about a. d. 674 ;
towards the year 700. 9 The death of St. Disibod occurred, about the begin-
ning of of the eighth century, according to Trithemius. 10 The exact year, however, is not known. "
Several of the ancient and classical Martyrologies pass over St. Disibod without notice, viz. : Bade, Florus, Ado, Usuard, and Notker, It seems more strange, that Wandelbert, who was a monk in the monastery of Prumiens, near Disenberg, should have been silent regarding a saint so well known and having so long established a reputation in. Germany. His chief festival is kept on this day, July the 8th. The date for his departure is supposed, however,
12 At this latter it is set down day,
to have have been the 8th of
in the Martyrology of the Blessed Raban Maur. 3
noticed,
but not as a
bishop.
for his festival,
September.
and likewise the Abbess St. Hildegarde has it as the date for his death. This
accountis Wion,1* 16and Bucelin. Intheaddi-
followed, by by Dorgan, by
3 See the Bollandists' " Acta Sanctorum," u See the dissertation on this subject, in the tomus ii. , Julii viii. De S. Disibodo Epis. Bollandists' " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , et Confess, in Dysenberg, Territorii Mogun- Julii viii. De S. Disibodo Epis. et Con- tini, in Germania. Vita auctore S. Hilde- fessore,"&c. Commentarius Prsevius, sect,
garde Moniali, cap. hi. , num. 32 to 41, pp.
to
593 595-
* This has been stated by Menard in his
et Incremento Ordinis
Oriyine S. Benedicti," p. 860.
s This occurred a. n. 543.
'See Father Stephen White's " Apologia
pro Hibernia," cap v. , p. 66.
1 In Annalibus Trevirensibus.
8
that St. Disibod came into Germany, during the reign of Clodovoeus II. , who died A. D. 662, according to Labbe, or as some suppose, at an earlier period, Cointe is of opinion, that the date given in the text
cannot be far from the true mark.
9 See " Les Vies des Saints," tome ix. ,
September viii. , p. 142. Ed. , Paris, 1701,
See De Viris Illustribus Ordinis S. Benedicti," lib. iii. , cap. 288.
ii. , num. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, pp. 584, 585
I2 A further account of him will be found,
at that date,
' 3 Thus "Et in surburbanis Moguntia- censis ecclesioe, Natale Sancti Disibothi Con- fessoris. " He lived two or three centuries after the time of our saint,
x4 "Neanmoins le bienhereuxRaban, Arch- veque deMayence,qui etoitde trios cents ans
work "De
:
Supposing
plus pres
du
temps
de notre Saint et qu'elle,
8vo. ~"
sans doute mieux informe, l'a mis dans son
Martyrologe au VIII. de Septembre, sous le
titre de simple confesseur, sans lui donner la qualite d'eveque, comme font les mo- dernes. "—Baillet's "Vies des Saints," tome iii. , Sept. viii. , sect. iii.
*s Thus : "In Monte, S. Disibodi epis- copi, qui episcopatu relicto, Pater multorum factus est monachorum, in monasterio dice- cesis Moguntinse, comitatus Spanheimensis,
8
J
1 * The 8th of is
July assigned
By him, St. Dysibod is
July 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 157
1 18
tions to Usuard, ? at the 8th of July, his feast is set down. Trithemius has
x
strangely entered the feast of St. Disibod, at the 8th of June. 9 Several other
ao
Martyrologists appear to have followed him, such as Saussay,
Menard, the
21 Father —and the English Martyrologist John Wilson, Stephen White,"
Scotch Dempster. Menard also has his feast at the 8th of June 33 evidently a mistake for 8th of July. Henry Fitzsimon enters his feast at the same date ;
but, in the anonymous list, published by O'Sullevan Beare, we find the name ofDisibodus,atthe7thofthismonth. 2< Atthisdate,likewise,isheentered by Camerarius. At the 8th of September, Baillet, in his u Les Vies des
2* sets down St. Disibod or Disen.
In certain mediaeval artistic remains, we have illustrations of popular vene-
ration for many holy persons, nor has the present noble confessor been for- gotten in this mode for manifesting devotion towards him. A very interesting memorial of St. Disibod had been found by the Jesuit Father Alexander Wilthem, and he wrote an account of this to Father Papebrochin 1676. This consisted of four brass plates, which joined together formed a square frame. On these were various figures and inscriptions. Among the rest are repre- sented St. Disibod and his companions Gislialdus, Clemens and Sallust, chiefly serving to illustrate the life and acts of the former. It had enamelling introduced. This has been reproduced in a copperplate engraving, which has been published by the Bollandists,26 with an accompanying account. There are illustrations of Disibod, likewise, in which he is represented, as wearing
27 in a 28 of that Life of copy
Some years passed after the death of our saint, and according to his pre- diction during life, the calamities and rapine of war, fell upon those Rhenish
provinces around Dysenburg. Knowing the hill upon which it had been built to be a strong and steep defensive position, the chiefs and people of that district fled thither and occupied it, much to the discomfort and against the remonstrances of the monks. This seems to have happened, when Charles Martel, after the death of Chilperic II. 30 invaded Germany, and passed over the Rhine, in 725, with a large army. The hill was then forti- fied and garrisoned by warriors, who hoped, through the natural strength of their cantonments there, as also through the protection of Blessed Dysibod,
Saints,
with an
the saint written by St. Hildegarde. ^
a low very
mitre,
archiepiscopal pallium, 2
a6 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Julii viii. De S. Disibodo Episc. et Confess, in
Dysenberg, Territorii Moguntini, in Ger- 16 He has it " S. Disibodi episcopi Trans- mania. Commentarius Praevius, sect, iii. ,
qui locus postea a suo nomine, Mons S. Disibodi dictus est, et miraculis clarus in
pace quievit. "
latio. "
17 Edition of Lubec and Cologne.
18 Thus : "Ipso die, beati Disibodi, epis- copi et confessoris. "
19 —
Thus: "cujus festum agitur VIII.
pp. 586, 587.
27 It is remarked, by the Bollandist writer,
that although he is believed to have come from Ireland in the seventh century, that
there were then no archbishops in Island.
28
This is assigned to the twelfth century, and the figures of this saint, repeated in six different places, are supposed to represent pretty accurately the episcopal habit of that
Junii. "
" De Viris Illustribus Ordinis S.
Benedicti,"lib. iii. , cap. 288. 20 "
Martyrologium Anglicanum. " Apologia pro Hibernia," cap. iv. ,
^
In Martyroloyium Gallicanum. " 21 "
In his
22 " See
p. 44.
23" 2
Thus
In Monte S. Disibodi,
The Bollandists
:
give copperplate
deposi- tio ejusdem Disibodi episcopi, qui relict© episcopatu, factus est monachorum Pater in
dicecesi Moguntina. "
24 See " Historic Catholicae Ibernise Com-
pendium," tomusi. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , xii. , pp. SO, 53.
25 See tome iii. , Sept. viii. , pp. 67 to 69.
period.
* aen-
graving, representing St. Disibod, in three different attitudes. In one, he is laid in an ornamented coffin or tomb. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus viii. Propylaeum Maii. Conatus Chrono-Historicus ad Catalogum
Pontificum, pars i. , p. 209.
3° This crent occurred a. d. 720.
our
158 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 8.
that they might be saved from the fury of a cruel tyrant. Not over scrupulous in his greed for spoil, Charles Martel plundered the monastery, and divided a good portion of its accumulated lands among some of his adherents. How- ever, it was not possible for the congregation of monks to remain there in the peaceful and unfettered practice of their religious services. It was resolved, with the advice of the chiefs and people, that, with the exception of a few perfect and self-sacrificing men, who should remain at the tomb of their holy Patron, the rest ought to divide themselves and seek places of residence in more distant places. It pleased God, that those evils of war did not endure for a long time, and the province was again freed from its former enemies and
oppressors. Accordingly, the exiled monks were brought back, when all that had been built on the mountain was restored to them ; and, in addition, they obtained more ample endowments in land, than they had at first. Thus seemedliterallytobefulfilledtheprophecypronouncedbySt. Dvsibod. To the wickedness and barbarous habits of men at this time is ascribed the decline of miracles at the saint's tomb. Only occasionally were these wonders wrought. Wherefore,thechiefpersonsofthatdistrict,layandecclesiastic, took counsel together, and requested St. Boniface, then Bishop of Mayence, thatasolemnTranslationofSt. Dysibod'srelicsshouldtakeplace. Hiscon- sent having been obtained, and a day being named for that ceremony, a great conflux of people came to meet St. Boniface, who solemnly officiated on the occasion. To prevent those precious relics from passing out of their hands, with those portions of their territory that were not consecrated directly to God, the monks approached the tomb and reverently lifted the bones of Disibod from their first resting place in the oratory, and then laid them in the Kloster Kerche, on the top of the hill, and looking westwardly. The lifting and re-interment took place in 754. These ceremonies were conducted
1
with extraordinary ecclesiastical magnificence, in presence of St. Boniface^ allpresentsingingPsalmsandHymns. Thebodywasdepositedinasuita- ble shrine. On this occasion, likewise, great miracles were wrought, and
again the supernatural fragrance was experienced by all those who were pre- sent. Wherefore, the annual return of that day was regarded as one of great devotion throughout the whole province, and crowds of people visited the tomb of St. Dysibod, bringing with them oblations, while they engaged in prayer. The monks afterwards lived for many years in peace, preserving a great reverence for their patron and serving God. They were greatly loved by the people, and as a result, large presents and endowments were made to the monastery, so that the inmates were enriched with worldly goods and possessions.
This state of affairs continued for a long lapse of years, but disturbances once more took place, in that part of the country. The chiefs and princes there began to hanker for some of the monastic lands, and began to question
the monks' validity of title, while they represented to Charlemagne, then wielding supreme power, that oppressed as the nobility had been in bearing the brunt of war and the heavy charges thereon, they had neither money nor means to serve the kingdom nor to render themselves useful as his subjects. They insinuated, likewise, that as the monks should serve God and not the
world, they had a superfluity of riches, which might better be distributed. Accurately divining their motives for this complaint, the politic and just king, with hardly dissembled sarcasm, replied, that what the faithful had span-
s'HehadbeenalreadyappointedbyPope Zachary to the See of Mainz, as its first
Archbishop, A. d. 751.
32ThiswasOthoI. , whosereigndates from A. D. 961.
3 t This was Hatto II. —at first abbot of
July 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 159
taneously given to those monks, in the shape of lands or other goods, he had no right to take from them. This pronouncement from so powerful a monarch
was a reproof they well understood, and accordingly, if their covetous desires were not repressed, their action to give them effect altogether failed.
The Norman Invasion followed, about 880. Then, Kreuznach and the
palace of the Frankish kings, as also Mainz, Worms, Odernheim, and all the surrounding country, were taken and laid in ashes. About the year 900, still more ferocious hordes of Hungarians broke into the Empire. These laid waste Alsace, Neustria, and more particularly the Rheinland, with a horrid cruelty, the monkish chronicles can hardly find words to depict, in sufficiently lurid colours.
and under another German 2 descen- Emperor,3
After a of long lapse
time,
dants of the aforesaid chiefs, who had importuned Charlemagne, addressed
their complaints to the sovereign, and asserted, that the monks of Disenberg
possessed the lands and properties of their ancestors, and they knew not
by what right. He lent a ready ear to their assertions, and appointed a
commission of enquiry. Understanding what should please the Emperor and the chiefs, the commissioners soon managed to obtain much false and con-
cocted testimony ; while, as might be expected, their interests and prejudices urged them to frame a report, which pronounced, that the monks held lands without Imperial charter or concession. It is stated, that the Bishop of Maintz33 was an accomplice in this proceeding. Accordingly, the courtier
judges unjustly deciding, and the imperial decree having gone forth, the monks of Disenburg were deprived of their lands and finely cultivated farms. 34 Borne down with the weight of this cruel and wicked persecution, as also having their possessions ravaged through the devastation caused by the past and impending wars, while bemoaning their destitute condition, the plundered monks were obliged to leave their beloved monastery and to wander else- where as exiles. To prevent them from ever returning, the aforesaid unjust invaders of their rights levelled their habitations to the ground, excepting only the consecrated church in which the bones of St. Dysibod had been laid after their Translation. Notwithstanding, lest that place should be left without the Divine offices celebrated, one priest was appointed to look after that church and the spiritual interest of those people attending it. Out of its former ample revenues, even he was not awarded a decent allowance for his support. Thus, for a long time, the place seemed abandoned to desolation. This wretched provision for religious services continued, until a certain noble and rich Count of that province and named Liuthard, seeing that steep and charming mountain abandoned as it had been, conceived a desire to do honour to its holy Patron, by making a provision for three priests to reside there. 35 Afterwards, in the year 976,36 a certain Bishop of Maintz, named Willigisus,37 pious, humble and contrite of heart, having made a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Dysibod, began to restore the place to something like its formersplendour. Heresolvedtogivebacksomeofthosefarms,whichformerly belonged to the monastery, and which he then held in possession. He had
Fulda—who did not long continue Bishop, as Serarius shows, and who died a. d. 970, according to Marianus Scotus. He was re- markable for his extreme avarice and unpopu-
larity. See "Nouvelle Biographie Gene- rale," tome xxiii. , cols. 541, 542. He is said to have been devoured by rats. This legend
"
is related in Rev. S. Baring-Gould's (Juri-
ous Myths of the Middle Ages," Second Series, pp. 182 to 205.
3* This spoliation took place about the
year 968.
35 To about the year 970, this partial en-
dowment may be referred.
& This is the date given by Marianus
Scotus.
37 See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sect, xliv. ,
p. 523.
3* Under this year, Trithemius places the
160 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 8.
another project in view, to serve that place. The monastery church of St. Disibod was afterwards erected into a Collegiate Church of Canons, in the diocese of Mentz, and that bishop raised the number of servitors to twelve, so that they should be regarded as an Apostolic College.
But further benefits and glories were destined for Disenberg, when
another prudent and worthy Bishop of Maintz, named Ruthard, resolved to establish the discipline and rule of St. Benedict there. He provided else- where for the secular canons, and thus arranged matters for the mutual satis- faction of both communities. He selected Burchard, Abbot of the great monastery of St. James at Maintz, to become first superior over the new monastery,whichwastobefoundedatDisenberg. Thefirststoneofthe great church ot' this monastery was laid on the 30th of June, and it was built by Archbishop Ruthard, as stated, from a. d. 1108 3 8 to n 12. It was in the form of a cross—the principal entrance to the west—at the east end arose the high altar, with two smaller altars, beside it. 39 These with the transepts formed the cross. The nave contained a double row of pillars, supporting the vaulted r—oof. Towards the north-east side of the great church stood the Mary chapel probably the oldest portion of the ruins. Over against it was a range of buildings, comprehending the refectory and cells of the monks. To find space for these buildings, they had to construct a double vaulting, ontheslopeofthathill,onwhichthebuildingsthemselvesrested. * Beyond the and towards the
north,
was a 1 which the monks passage,* by
church,
came from the cloisters in procession on great occasions. To the right of this are the remains of the 2 that was the Kloster
chapel-house/ Beyond
garden. <3 To the west lay the abbot's apartments. " To the right stood the
high church of the monastery. ^ Before entering at the old door of the monastery, a little chapel is on the outside. *6
The country about here is described as covered with impenetrable forests,
tangled with thorns and brambles, during the early and middle ages. Here and there were desert tracts, while human habitations were far asunder, and travelling through it was difficult. Thus it became a great object with the monksofDisibodenbcrgtofacilitateattendanceatpublicworship. Atwhat seem to be very short intervals, they built little forest chapels, the attendance at which they undertook, as a service in connexion with their order. Those good fathers had many vineyards along the sunny slopes of the Nahe, espe- cially at Monzigen, at Nahrhenn, and at other places. Most probably, these spots owe their strong and lively wines of to-day to the assiduous culture of their vineyards by the monks of Disibodenberg. Brambles, too, were in
restoration, in his "Chronicon Hirsaugien-
"
sis.
39 There were ten altars or chapels round
that church, founded by the nobles and
Ritterschaft of the surrounding country. In return for these foundations, they received
family burial-places in the area of the church, as the many existing gravestones show.
4a In which are gravestones belonging to some of the Abbots.
** In the middle of it was a cistern, into which water was brought by pipes from the Kloster mills higher up the Glan, and at the southern foot of the hill.
44 These commanded from the abbey bal- cony a splendid outlook down the Nathe- thai.
4* There is a little chapel remaining still —
probably the mortuary chapel.
*6 About its origin or purposes no accounts
can be given. The threshold of the old gate is still observable.
*Itisrecorded,theymadefromthesea jelly for table use, as also cordials for the sick.
4" n They drew whatever they could get,
40
Further east are the remains of the abbey
smithy, and of other useful buildings with a
second cistern. The rain-water from the
Kloster buildings was collected into a sub-
terranean vault with a double coating of ce-
ment, and after settling there, it was led into
thiscisternforuse. Somewhatbehindthis
there is a subterranean cell.
41
There are still many gravestones of the
monksall this
along passage.
July 8. ]
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 161
8
request. ** Even in such a wilderness, they lvd tithes of certain products. * To their credit be it told, moreover, the Benedictines in Disibodenberg were
cultivators of letters. 4'
While Conon,s° the fourth Abbot ot this new foundation ruled there, a
transference of our saint's relics was resolved on; and accordingly, Dom. Gerard, Abbot of St. Maximinus, and Dom. Bernhelm, the first Abbot of
Spanheim, with all his congregation, having been summoned for the occasion, on the Parasceve of the Pasch, and on the Kalends of April, in the year 1 138, the grave of Disibod was opened, in that old monastery, where his remains had been deposited by Archbishop Willegis. The following year, 11 39, on the Kalends of November, and by the same Abbot Conon, his relics were transferred to the new church, built in Disibodenberg, by Archbishop Ruthard. Four years afterwards, a. d. 1143,51 the new monastery and its principal altar were solemnly dedicated, by Henry, Archbishop of Mentz, in honour of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of His glorious Mother, as also of the Blessed John the Evangelist, and of the Most Holy Father Disibod, confessor and pontiff. On the same day and year, in the vestibule of that monastery, an altar was dedicated by the aforesaid Archbishop, in honour of the Most Vic-
torious Cross and of St. John the Baptist. On the iii. of the October Kalends, the same Prelate had the remains of St. Dysibod collected into two little leaden caskets,52 and he deposited them in a marble sarcophagus," which restedonpillarsbehindthehighaltar. Duringthecenturiesthathaveelapsed since the time of our saint, a large portion of the history of Disibodenberg oscillatesbetweenthenoblesandrittersrobbingthemonasteryofits lands, and their bestowing renewed donations for its support. However, the sar- cophagus of the saint and its caskets have disappeared, while the sacred dust of Disibod has long been blown about the world. For more than three hundred years after the time of St. Disibod, the Benedictines held possession of this monastery at Disenberg ; but, in the fifteenth century, it had fallen into the hands of the Cistercians. 54
The Reformation period of its history is also full of incidents. 55 The Kloster itself was not free from the new heresy. 56 But the commencement
great
the shape of pitch and resin, which were em-
ployed in lighting their churches. They pro- cured beeswax for which they found many ecclesiastical uses, and wild honey, with which
S3 A stone with an inscription formed part
of this sarcophagus.
54 go states John of Trittenheim —born
there 1st of February, 1462, and who died
Abbot of St. — at James,
made
tionery, and also corrected the acidity of their
they
many
kinds of confec-
of " De Viris Illustribus Ordinis S. Benedicti," lib. iii. ,
wines.
4» They boasted of one name, that is not
even yet forgotten, by those who take an in- terest in the history of mediaeval literature, viz. , Petrus a Roberiis, or Peter of Retiborn. While only a common monk of Disiboden- berg, on account of his great learning, he had been elevated by Pope Boniface IX.
from their several infirmities.
He led a much stricter life, however, than even the rule demanded, which
had been established for his monks. Although living in such close proximity tothem,Disibod,it issaid,neverremovedintotheircloisters,norassumed the habits of their order j but, he lived a life more austere and self-denying,
2
than that required from his subjects. ^ While spending his days as a hermit,
he laboured zealously to urge upon them the practice of every good work, while he so comforted them, that they desired not to have any other master during his lifetime, so gentle and so inoffensive was his method of governing them. Althoughhehadsuggestedtohismonksthedesirabilityofelecting some other superior to fill his place, yet they would not entertain such a pro- posal. The fame of his holiness and of his happy disposition spread far and wide, so that many persons flocked to his place, even from distant provinces. The people of the villages around him were also delighted to act the part of good neighbours and of good Christians, while they lent willing and very material aid to forward all his enterprises. He thus lived a retired and peni- tential life for thirty years, at Dissenberg, watching and fasting, taking only the most frugal and coarse food, and using a plain rough garment. He imitated the retirement of Blessed Paul, the first hermit, preferring the soli- tude of the desert to the towns which are the haunts of men. We are told, that he celebrated the Divine office of the Altar, not after the manner of a bishop,butaccordingtothecustomofpoorpriests. Alwayswashecheerful in disposition, and his heart was never oppressed with sorrow, endeavouring in all ways to imitate the patience of Christ under affliction. 3°
CHAPTER III.
PROPHECIES OF ST. DISIBOD—HIS DECLINING YEARS AND APPROACH OF DEATH—DATES ASSIGNED FOR IT—MIRACLES WHICH AFTERWARDS TOOK PLACE—FESTIVALS AND MEMORIALS—SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF DISSENBODENBURG—CONCLUSION.
Having spent a long life in Disenberg, and preached much in the neighbour- 1
hood of Mainz, when his multiplied labours there and age had greatly wasted
'9 Sttibid. , sect, ix. , p. 1 14.
s° See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto- rum," tomus i. , Julii viii. De S. Disibodo
Moguntini, in Germania. Vita auctore S. Hildegrade moniali, cap. ii. , iii. , pp. 590 to 593.
Epis.
et Confess, in Dysenberg, Territorii
Chapter hi. — x See Rev. S.
Baring-
July 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 155
his strength, Dysibod predicted to his brethren that their state of existing pros- perity should not always continue, but that the devil, envying their happiness and remembering how much they had served to weaken his power, should labour to bring on them and on their successors future oppression and temporal calamities. he consoled them
However,
of heart, I have hitherto earnestly endeavoured and desired, that I may not live to see your tribulation in this world, and I trust in God this shall happen. Yet, know you, that as my bodily strength is now failing fast, and as my death is near, after you shall have suffered oppression, in later times, better and more prosperous events shall take place, so that even your successors shall abound in possessions, far greater than those I leave you. " When his brethren heard him speak thus, they were filled with sorrow, which found vent in tears, for they now knew, that his death must soon happen. Soon the rumour of his prophecy spread among the neighbouring people, who flocked to him as to their chief patron. They were desirous to receive his last instructions and blessing. He did not conceal from them the secret of his approaching end, but offered up his prayers for them. He then recom- mended to them the care of his monastery and the place ; he also gave his last admonition and blessing. None knew through what medium he pre- judged his near approach to death, except a few religious men to whom he revealed it ; some said, he had an angelic admonition, although he concealed a knowledge of it from men, lest his virtues should be too greatly extolled. All his visitors parted from him, with visible manifestations of grief, because they were to see him living for the last time. More owing to labour than to old age, sickness fell upon him. Then calling all his brethren together, he announced to them who was to be their future superior, and to him he com- mended the guardianship of the monks and their place. He was the same person, as had been formerly recommended for succession. Then with sorrowful voice and in tears, he besought them to lay his body within that oratory, where he had spent a solitary life for so many years, and he pointed out the exact spot where he wished to be interred. This they promised should be done, and in tears, all proclaimed his various good works and holy morals. They exclaimed : "Alas ! alas ! what shall become of us, when we lose you, the consoler and defender of our souls and bodies ! " And, as the thirsting stag pants for the living waters, so did the monks desire he should remain much longer among them, for his presence was as a light for their eyes, and
as a balm for their hearts. His illness still increasing, he called them together once more, and telling them, that the last hour had come, he calmly expired
in their presence, in the eighty-first year of his age. Immediately, a delightful odour, as of myrrh and frankincense, filled that cell, while other miracles like-
wise took,place.
When he had attained that advanced age, he is said to have died, on the
8th day of July, according to St. Hildegarde's account. This statement has been followed by many other writers. However, it is supposed, that this was only the feast for a Translation of St. Disibod's Relics, and not the true date for his death. 2 The foregoing statement of St. Hildegarde probably rests only on some inexact tradition, and as a matter of established certainty, it has been contested.
Everywhere spread the news of his death throughout all that province, when
"
Gould's. Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. ,
July 8, p. 187.
corps, ou de sa translation dont Ton faisoit
la fete du temps de saint Hildegarde. " Baillet's "Vies des Saints," tome hi. ,
Sept. viii. , sec. iii.
2"
etoit plutot le jour de l'elevation de son
II y a apparance que leVIII. de Juillel
by saying :
'* With and sorrow sighs
156 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 8.
multitudes flocked to assist at his funeral obsequies, and to witness the wonderswhichtheAlmightywroughtinhonourofHisfaithfulservant. For thirty days after St. Dysibod's decease a miraculous odour was diffused around his grave ; while many lame, blind and deaf persons, as also several demented and infirm, received healing by touching even the clay in which he was buried. The nun St. Hildegarde observes, that those miracles became less frequent ostensibly, because people trusted over much to experience them, without merits and good works of their own, while the Holy Spirit measures their accomplishment for a purpose different from the expectations of men, and even produces hidden miracles of grace in their souls, although signs and wonders may not be visible in great physical changes. She adds many other useful moral reflections, which, however, may be pretermitted, as they have no special bearing on personal details, regarding our saint's biography. 3
There are writers who aver, that St. Dysibod having come into Germany « a little while after the death of St. Benedicts must have lived there also towards the close of the sixth century. While some place his death, so early as about the year 580, there are others, who think it took place one hundred years later. 6 At the year 639, his departure is noticed by Christopher Brower
j7 while Adrien Baillet places it
other writers calculate it about a. d. 674 ;
towards the year 700. 9 The death of St. Disibod occurred, about the begin-
ning of of the eighth century, according to Trithemius. 10 The exact year, however, is not known. "
Several of the ancient and classical Martyrologies pass over St. Disibod without notice, viz. : Bade, Florus, Ado, Usuard, and Notker, It seems more strange, that Wandelbert, who was a monk in the monastery of Prumiens, near Disenberg, should have been silent regarding a saint so well known and having so long established a reputation in. Germany. His chief festival is kept on this day, July the 8th. The date for his departure is supposed, however,
12 At this latter it is set down day,
to have have been the 8th of
in the Martyrology of the Blessed Raban Maur. 3
noticed,
but not as a
bishop.
for his festival,
September.
and likewise the Abbess St. Hildegarde has it as the date for his death. This
accountis Wion,1* 16and Bucelin. Intheaddi-
followed, by by Dorgan, by
3 See the Bollandists' " Acta Sanctorum," u See the dissertation on this subject, in the tomus ii. , Julii viii. De S. Disibodo Epis. Bollandists' " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , et Confess, in Dysenberg, Territorii Mogun- Julii viii. De S. Disibodo Epis. et Con- tini, in Germania. Vita auctore S. Hilde- fessore,"&c. Commentarius Prsevius, sect,
garde Moniali, cap. hi. , num. 32 to 41, pp.
to
593 595-
* This has been stated by Menard in his
et Incremento Ordinis
Oriyine S. Benedicti," p. 860.
s This occurred a. n. 543.
'See Father Stephen White's " Apologia
pro Hibernia," cap v. , p. 66.
1 In Annalibus Trevirensibus.
8
that St. Disibod came into Germany, during the reign of Clodovoeus II. , who died A. D. 662, according to Labbe, or as some suppose, at an earlier period, Cointe is of opinion, that the date given in the text
cannot be far from the true mark.
9 See " Les Vies des Saints," tome ix. ,
September viii. , p. 142. Ed. , Paris, 1701,
See De Viris Illustribus Ordinis S. Benedicti," lib. iii. , cap. 288.
ii. , num. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, pp. 584, 585
I2 A further account of him will be found,
at that date,
' 3 Thus "Et in surburbanis Moguntia- censis ecclesioe, Natale Sancti Disibothi Con- fessoris. " He lived two or three centuries after the time of our saint,
x4 "Neanmoins le bienhereuxRaban, Arch- veque deMayence,qui etoitde trios cents ans
work "De
:
Supposing
plus pres
du
temps
de notre Saint et qu'elle,
8vo. ~"
sans doute mieux informe, l'a mis dans son
Martyrologe au VIII. de Septembre, sous le
titre de simple confesseur, sans lui donner la qualite d'eveque, comme font les mo- dernes. "—Baillet's "Vies des Saints," tome iii. , Sept. viii. , sect. iii.
*s Thus : "In Monte, S. Disibodi epis- copi, qui episcopatu relicto, Pater multorum factus est monachorum, in monasterio dice- cesis Moguntinse, comitatus Spanheimensis,
8
J
1 * The 8th of is
July assigned
By him, St. Dysibod is
July 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 157
1 18
tions to Usuard, ? at the 8th of July, his feast is set down. Trithemius has
x
strangely entered the feast of St. Disibod, at the 8th of June. 9 Several other
ao
Martyrologists appear to have followed him, such as Saussay,
Menard, the
21 Father —and the English Martyrologist John Wilson, Stephen White,"
Scotch Dempster. Menard also has his feast at the 8th of June 33 evidently a mistake for 8th of July. Henry Fitzsimon enters his feast at the same date ;
but, in the anonymous list, published by O'Sullevan Beare, we find the name ofDisibodus,atthe7thofthismonth. 2< Atthisdate,likewise,isheentered by Camerarius. At the 8th of September, Baillet, in his u Les Vies des
2* sets down St. Disibod or Disen.
In certain mediaeval artistic remains, we have illustrations of popular vene-
ration for many holy persons, nor has the present noble confessor been for- gotten in this mode for manifesting devotion towards him. A very interesting memorial of St. Disibod had been found by the Jesuit Father Alexander Wilthem, and he wrote an account of this to Father Papebrochin 1676. This consisted of four brass plates, which joined together formed a square frame. On these were various figures and inscriptions. Among the rest are repre- sented St. Disibod and his companions Gislialdus, Clemens and Sallust, chiefly serving to illustrate the life and acts of the former. It had enamelling introduced. This has been reproduced in a copperplate engraving, which has been published by the Bollandists,26 with an accompanying account. There are illustrations of Disibod, likewise, in which he is represented, as wearing
27 in a 28 of that Life of copy
Some years passed after the death of our saint, and according to his pre- diction during life, the calamities and rapine of war, fell upon those Rhenish
provinces around Dysenburg. Knowing the hill upon which it had been built to be a strong and steep defensive position, the chiefs and people of that district fled thither and occupied it, much to the discomfort and against the remonstrances of the monks. This seems to have happened, when Charles Martel, after the death of Chilperic II. 30 invaded Germany, and passed over the Rhine, in 725, with a large army. The hill was then forti- fied and garrisoned by warriors, who hoped, through the natural strength of their cantonments there, as also through the protection of Blessed Dysibod,
Saints,
with an
the saint written by St. Hildegarde. ^
a low very
mitre,
archiepiscopal pallium, 2
a6 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Julii viii. De S. Disibodo Episc. et Confess, in
Dysenberg, Territorii Moguntini, in Ger- 16 He has it " S. Disibodi episcopi Trans- mania. Commentarius Praevius, sect, iii. ,
qui locus postea a suo nomine, Mons S. Disibodi dictus est, et miraculis clarus in
pace quievit. "
latio. "
17 Edition of Lubec and Cologne.
18 Thus : "Ipso die, beati Disibodi, epis- copi et confessoris. "
19 —
Thus: "cujus festum agitur VIII.
pp. 586, 587.
27 It is remarked, by the Bollandist writer,
that although he is believed to have come from Ireland in the seventh century, that
there were then no archbishops in Island.
28
This is assigned to the twelfth century, and the figures of this saint, repeated in six different places, are supposed to represent pretty accurately the episcopal habit of that
Junii. "
" De Viris Illustribus Ordinis S.
Benedicti,"lib. iii. , cap. 288. 20 "
Martyrologium Anglicanum. " Apologia pro Hibernia," cap. iv. ,
^
In Martyroloyium Gallicanum. " 21 "
In his
22 " See
p. 44.
23" 2
Thus
In Monte S. Disibodi,
The Bollandists
:
give copperplate
deposi- tio ejusdem Disibodi episcopi, qui relict© episcopatu, factus est monachorum Pater in
dicecesi Moguntina. "
24 See " Historic Catholicae Ibernise Com-
pendium," tomusi. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , xii. , pp. SO, 53.
25 See tome iii. , Sept. viii. , pp. 67 to 69.
period.
* aen-
graving, representing St. Disibod, in three different attitudes. In one, he is laid in an ornamented coffin or tomb. See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus viii. Propylaeum Maii. Conatus Chrono-Historicus ad Catalogum
Pontificum, pars i. , p. 209.
3° This crent occurred a. d. 720.
our
158 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 8.
that they might be saved from the fury of a cruel tyrant. Not over scrupulous in his greed for spoil, Charles Martel plundered the monastery, and divided a good portion of its accumulated lands among some of his adherents. How- ever, it was not possible for the congregation of monks to remain there in the peaceful and unfettered practice of their religious services. It was resolved, with the advice of the chiefs and people, that, with the exception of a few perfect and self-sacrificing men, who should remain at the tomb of their holy Patron, the rest ought to divide themselves and seek places of residence in more distant places. It pleased God, that those evils of war did not endure for a long time, and the province was again freed from its former enemies and
oppressors. Accordingly, the exiled monks were brought back, when all that had been built on the mountain was restored to them ; and, in addition, they obtained more ample endowments in land, than they had at first. Thus seemedliterallytobefulfilledtheprophecypronouncedbySt. Dvsibod. To the wickedness and barbarous habits of men at this time is ascribed the decline of miracles at the saint's tomb. Only occasionally were these wonders wrought. Wherefore,thechiefpersonsofthatdistrict,layandecclesiastic, took counsel together, and requested St. Boniface, then Bishop of Mayence, thatasolemnTranslationofSt. Dysibod'srelicsshouldtakeplace. Hiscon- sent having been obtained, and a day being named for that ceremony, a great conflux of people came to meet St. Boniface, who solemnly officiated on the occasion. To prevent those precious relics from passing out of their hands, with those portions of their territory that were not consecrated directly to God, the monks approached the tomb and reverently lifted the bones of Disibod from their first resting place in the oratory, and then laid them in the Kloster Kerche, on the top of the hill, and looking westwardly. The lifting and re-interment took place in 754. These ceremonies were conducted
1
with extraordinary ecclesiastical magnificence, in presence of St. Boniface^ allpresentsingingPsalmsandHymns. Thebodywasdepositedinasuita- ble shrine. On this occasion, likewise, great miracles were wrought, and
again the supernatural fragrance was experienced by all those who were pre- sent. Wherefore, the annual return of that day was regarded as one of great devotion throughout the whole province, and crowds of people visited the tomb of St. Dysibod, bringing with them oblations, while they engaged in prayer. The monks afterwards lived for many years in peace, preserving a great reverence for their patron and serving God. They were greatly loved by the people, and as a result, large presents and endowments were made to the monastery, so that the inmates were enriched with worldly goods and possessions.
This state of affairs continued for a long lapse of years, but disturbances once more took place, in that part of the country. The chiefs and princes there began to hanker for some of the monastic lands, and began to question
the monks' validity of title, while they represented to Charlemagne, then wielding supreme power, that oppressed as the nobility had been in bearing the brunt of war and the heavy charges thereon, they had neither money nor means to serve the kingdom nor to render themselves useful as his subjects. They insinuated, likewise, that as the monks should serve God and not the
world, they had a superfluity of riches, which might better be distributed. Accurately divining their motives for this complaint, the politic and just king, with hardly dissembled sarcasm, replied, that what the faithful had span-
s'HehadbeenalreadyappointedbyPope Zachary to the See of Mainz, as its first
Archbishop, A. d. 751.
32ThiswasOthoI. , whosereigndates from A. D. 961.
3 t This was Hatto II. —at first abbot of
July 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 159
taneously given to those monks, in the shape of lands or other goods, he had no right to take from them. This pronouncement from so powerful a monarch
was a reproof they well understood, and accordingly, if their covetous desires were not repressed, their action to give them effect altogether failed.
The Norman Invasion followed, about 880. Then, Kreuznach and the
palace of the Frankish kings, as also Mainz, Worms, Odernheim, and all the surrounding country, were taken and laid in ashes. About the year 900, still more ferocious hordes of Hungarians broke into the Empire. These laid waste Alsace, Neustria, and more particularly the Rheinland, with a horrid cruelty, the monkish chronicles can hardly find words to depict, in sufficiently lurid colours.
and under another German 2 descen- Emperor,3
After a of long lapse
time,
dants of the aforesaid chiefs, who had importuned Charlemagne, addressed
their complaints to the sovereign, and asserted, that the monks of Disenberg
possessed the lands and properties of their ancestors, and they knew not
by what right. He lent a ready ear to their assertions, and appointed a
commission of enquiry. Understanding what should please the Emperor and the chiefs, the commissioners soon managed to obtain much false and con-
cocted testimony ; while, as might be expected, their interests and prejudices urged them to frame a report, which pronounced, that the monks held lands without Imperial charter or concession. It is stated, that the Bishop of Maintz33 was an accomplice in this proceeding. Accordingly, the courtier
judges unjustly deciding, and the imperial decree having gone forth, the monks of Disenburg were deprived of their lands and finely cultivated farms. 34 Borne down with the weight of this cruel and wicked persecution, as also having their possessions ravaged through the devastation caused by the past and impending wars, while bemoaning their destitute condition, the plundered monks were obliged to leave their beloved monastery and to wander else- where as exiles. To prevent them from ever returning, the aforesaid unjust invaders of their rights levelled their habitations to the ground, excepting only the consecrated church in which the bones of St. Dysibod had been laid after their Translation. Notwithstanding, lest that place should be left without the Divine offices celebrated, one priest was appointed to look after that church and the spiritual interest of those people attending it. Out of its former ample revenues, even he was not awarded a decent allowance for his support. Thus, for a long time, the place seemed abandoned to desolation. This wretched provision for religious services continued, until a certain noble and rich Count of that province and named Liuthard, seeing that steep and charming mountain abandoned as it had been, conceived a desire to do honour to its holy Patron, by making a provision for three priests to reside there. 35 Afterwards, in the year 976,36 a certain Bishop of Maintz, named Willigisus,37 pious, humble and contrite of heart, having made a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Dysibod, began to restore the place to something like its formersplendour. Heresolvedtogivebacksomeofthosefarms,whichformerly belonged to the monastery, and which he then held in possession. He had
Fulda—who did not long continue Bishop, as Serarius shows, and who died a. d. 970, according to Marianus Scotus. He was re- markable for his extreme avarice and unpopu-
larity. See "Nouvelle Biographie Gene- rale," tome xxiii. , cols. 541, 542. He is said to have been devoured by rats. This legend
"
is related in Rev. S. Baring-Gould's (Juri-
ous Myths of the Middle Ages," Second Series, pp. 182 to 205.
3* This spoliation took place about the
year 968.
35 To about the year 970, this partial en-
dowment may be referred.
& This is the date given by Marianus
Scotus.
37 See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sect, xliv. ,
p. 523.
3* Under this year, Trithemius places the
160 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 8.
another project in view, to serve that place. The monastery church of St. Disibod was afterwards erected into a Collegiate Church of Canons, in the diocese of Mentz, and that bishop raised the number of servitors to twelve, so that they should be regarded as an Apostolic College.
But further benefits and glories were destined for Disenberg, when
another prudent and worthy Bishop of Maintz, named Ruthard, resolved to establish the discipline and rule of St. Benedict there. He provided else- where for the secular canons, and thus arranged matters for the mutual satis- faction of both communities. He selected Burchard, Abbot of the great monastery of St. James at Maintz, to become first superior over the new monastery,whichwastobefoundedatDisenberg. Thefirststoneofthe great church ot' this monastery was laid on the 30th of June, and it was built by Archbishop Ruthard, as stated, from a. d. 1108 3 8 to n 12. It was in the form of a cross—the principal entrance to the west—at the east end arose the high altar, with two smaller altars, beside it. 39 These with the transepts formed the cross. The nave contained a double row of pillars, supporting the vaulted r—oof. Towards the north-east side of the great church stood the Mary chapel probably the oldest portion of the ruins. Over against it was a range of buildings, comprehending the refectory and cells of the monks. To find space for these buildings, they had to construct a double vaulting, ontheslopeofthathill,onwhichthebuildingsthemselvesrested. * Beyond the and towards the
north,
was a 1 which the monks passage,* by
church,
came from the cloisters in procession on great occasions. To the right of this are the remains of the 2 that was the Kloster
chapel-house/ Beyond
garden. <3 To the west lay the abbot's apartments. " To the right stood the
high church of the monastery. ^ Before entering at the old door of the monastery, a little chapel is on the outside. *6
The country about here is described as covered with impenetrable forests,
tangled with thorns and brambles, during the early and middle ages. Here and there were desert tracts, while human habitations were far asunder, and travelling through it was difficult. Thus it became a great object with the monksofDisibodenbcrgtofacilitateattendanceatpublicworship. Atwhat seem to be very short intervals, they built little forest chapels, the attendance at which they undertook, as a service in connexion with their order. Those good fathers had many vineyards along the sunny slopes of the Nahe, espe- cially at Monzigen, at Nahrhenn, and at other places. Most probably, these spots owe their strong and lively wines of to-day to the assiduous culture of their vineyards by the monks of Disibodenberg. Brambles, too, were in
restoration, in his "Chronicon Hirsaugien-
"
sis.
39 There were ten altars or chapels round
that church, founded by the nobles and
Ritterschaft of the surrounding country. In return for these foundations, they received
family burial-places in the area of the church, as the many existing gravestones show.
4a In which are gravestones belonging to some of the Abbots.
** In the middle of it was a cistern, into which water was brought by pipes from the Kloster mills higher up the Glan, and at the southern foot of the hill.
44 These commanded from the abbey bal- cony a splendid outlook down the Nathe- thai.
4* There is a little chapel remaining still —
probably the mortuary chapel.
*6 About its origin or purposes no accounts
can be given. The threshold of the old gate is still observable.
*Itisrecorded,theymadefromthesea jelly for table use, as also cordials for the sick.
4" n They drew whatever they could get,
40
Further east are the remains of the abbey
smithy, and of other useful buildings with a
second cistern. The rain-water from the
Kloster buildings was collected into a sub-
terranean vault with a double coating of ce-
ment, and after settling there, it was led into
thiscisternforuse. Somewhatbehindthis
there is a subterranean cell.
41
There are still many gravestones of the
monksall this
along passage.
July 8. ]
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 161
8
request. ** Even in such a wilderness, they lvd tithes of certain products. * To their credit be it told, moreover, the Benedictines in Disibodenberg were
cultivators of letters. 4'
While Conon,s° the fourth Abbot ot this new foundation ruled there, a
transference of our saint's relics was resolved on; and accordingly, Dom. Gerard, Abbot of St. Maximinus, and Dom. Bernhelm, the first Abbot of
Spanheim, with all his congregation, having been summoned for the occasion, on the Parasceve of the Pasch, and on the Kalends of April, in the year 1 138, the grave of Disibod was opened, in that old monastery, where his remains had been deposited by Archbishop Willegis. The following year, 11 39, on the Kalends of November, and by the same Abbot Conon, his relics were transferred to the new church, built in Disibodenberg, by Archbishop Ruthard. Four years afterwards, a. d. 1143,51 the new monastery and its principal altar were solemnly dedicated, by Henry, Archbishop of Mentz, in honour of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of His glorious Mother, as also of the Blessed John the Evangelist, and of the Most Holy Father Disibod, confessor and pontiff. On the same day and year, in the vestibule of that monastery, an altar was dedicated by the aforesaid Archbishop, in honour of the Most Vic-
torious Cross and of St. John the Baptist. On the iii. of the October Kalends, the same Prelate had the remains of St. Dysibod collected into two little leaden caskets,52 and he deposited them in a marble sarcophagus," which restedonpillarsbehindthehighaltar. Duringthecenturiesthathaveelapsed since the time of our saint, a large portion of the history of Disibodenberg oscillatesbetweenthenoblesandrittersrobbingthemonasteryofits lands, and their bestowing renewed donations for its support. However, the sar- cophagus of the saint and its caskets have disappeared, while the sacred dust of Disibod has long been blown about the world. For more than three hundred years after the time of St. Disibod, the Benedictines held possession of this monastery at Disenberg ; but, in the fifteenth century, it had fallen into the hands of the Cistercians. 54
The Reformation period of its history is also full of incidents. 55 The Kloster itself was not free from the new heresy. 56 But the commencement
great
the shape of pitch and resin, which were em-
ployed in lighting their churches. They pro- cured beeswax for which they found many ecclesiastical uses, and wild honey, with which
S3 A stone with an inscription formed part
of this sarcophagus.
54 go states John of Trittenheim —born
there 1st of February, 1462, and who died
Abbot of St. — at James,
made
tionery, and also corrected the acidity of their
they
many
kinds of confec-
of " De Viris Illustribus Ordinis S. Benedicti," lib. iii. ,
wines.
4» They boasted of one name, that is not
even yet forgotten, by those who take an in- terest in the history of mediaeval literature, viz. , Petrus a Roberiis, or Peter of Retiborn. While only a common monk of Disiboden- berg, on account of his great learning, he had been elevated by Pope Boniface IX.
