Erard is said to have
revisited
Ratisbon.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
'= See " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti,"
tomus i. , lib, xvi. , sec. xv. , p. 507.
" Paul's "Life of Erard," lib. i. , cap. ii. "
Conrad's Second Life of Erard," cap. ii. The Breviaries and other documents agree,
"John Horolanus in his Calendar ventures to think he might have been bishop of this place.
'"* Colgan's
" The German Martyrology, Phreislebius, and the author of the Second Life of St,
Erhard, published by Bollandus, incline to
120 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
of Nevers, who had also retired to Alsace. The death of Deodatus is univer- sally allowed to have occurred about a. d. 679.
SomeauthoritiesassertthatSt. ErhardwasBishopofRatisbon. ^^ Certain it is, however, that he and his companions from Ireland preceded in point of time St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, in spreading the Gospel of Christ, among the people of Bavaria. Others deny that St. Erard was bishop over Ratisbon. Mabillon states, that it is a mistake to assign to him such a posi- tion. '? Nor does his name appear among the Ratisbon prelates, in those catalogues relating to them. It is generally allowed, St. Boniface, in the age succeeding St. Erard's, had this city erected into an episcopal see.
Nearly all the German WTiters'^ allow that St. Erhard spent a good part of his
time in Ratisbon. Tradition has it, that here he founded a nunnery for pious
women, and this was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. It was situated in a
low part of that city. Moreover, it is asserted that he built seven different
monasteries. '9 In Ratisbon he lived as an angel in human form, full of charity,
remarkable for his chastity and modesty, illustrious for his miracles, and so
watchful over his charge, that he removed the errors of infidelity and the pest
of heresy from the fold of Christ. As he was distinguished for his virtues in
youth, so his manhood continued to produce the fruits of former studies and
the works of Divine love. His wise conversation, and the cultivation of his
manners, were the sweet odour of Christ, which brought souls into the Church.
Thenobleconfessor,whilebenignanttoallthepeople,hadfewfamiliars. He
was faithful to all, and so he was enabled to collect under his banner many to
contend for the crown. From priesthood, it is said, he attained the episcopal
rank, with the approval of God and men of good-will. In this latter state, he
shone as the morning star through the gloom, as a rose among thorns, as a re-
freshing stream in the desert, as a sweet-sounding calandrus among the tama-
risks : as the nightingale warbling its harmonious strains through the still
hours of night, so did he in vigil sing God's praises, while others slept. As
a fountain relieving the heated traveller in summer, and as a gentle rivulet
waking harmonies through the rocks as it flows, so were his words and works
delightful. When sinners gave proof of repentance, Erard was always com-
passionate towards them, and he rejoiced to impart remission of their former
'^^
CHAPTER III.
bUKE ETICO, AND THE BAPTISM OF HIS DAUGHTER ST. ODILIA—ST. ERARD RETURNS TO RATISBON AND FOUNDS A MONASTERY THERE—HIS PREPARATION FOR DEATH—HE DEPARTS THI—S LIFE ON THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY—SEVERAL MIRACLES WROUGHT AFT—ERWARDS TRANSLATION OF HIS RELICS AND CANONIZATION BY POPE LEO IX. CONCLUSION.
Etico, the son of Leudesius,^ had married Berswinda,^ during the reign of Childeric the Second, King of Austrasia, and afterwards of all France. It is
'* Among these, the German Martyrology, '5 See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S.
the Viola Sanctoram, the Carthusian Martyr- Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sec. xv. , p.
offences.
ology, or Usuard's additions, Andreas De 507. " ^°
Chesne, Historiae Francorum Scriptores Cdsetanei," tomus i. , Hugo Menard in the Benedictine Martyrology, and the author of
the work known as " Panis
'7 See "Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti. "
tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sec. xv. , p. 507,
'* Among these may be mentioned Hun-
See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," viii. Januarii. Vita S. Erardi, authore
dius, in
"
Metropoli," and Rader.
Quotidianus.
"
Chap. hi.
great friend of St. Fursey, and mayor of the palace. He died about 660.
" She was sister to the queen and a daugh- ter of the sister of St Leodegarius.
Conrado, cap. i.
p. 29.
—'The son of a Erchenoald,
,
January 8. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
variously stated, he was killed a. d. 667,3 671,+ or 673,5 or as others assert in 676. *^ This king had made Etico duke of Germany. ? Accordingly he resided at Ehenheim, in the castle of Hohemburg. ^ Dr. Lanigan is of opinion that
Pepin, mayor of the palace, or Pepin de Heristal, who had held that office, from about 688 until 714, must have been meant. He was the father of another Charles, i. e. , Charles Martel. 9 This Pepin had governed Austrasia with almost sovereign authority since about 680. ^°
While St. Erard was near the Rhine, he baptized the daughter of Atticus, otherwise known as Duke Etico. " She was afterwards the celebrated St. Odilia. St. Hidulph joined, it is stated, in this act. Through the prayers
of St. Erard, while the sacrament of Baptism was being administered, Odiha, who was born blind, recovered the faculty of vision. '^ The circumstances connected with such an incident prove that our saint flourished before the times of the most renowned King Pepin. His reign did not commence until about the middle of the eighth century; while the birth of Odilia cannot have been later than about its commencement. There are some statements, which appear very extravagant and improbable in reference to this matter, as related by the biographer Paul, and which doubtless must have rested solely on popular rumour. ^3 Ethico is said to have determined on putting his daughter to death, because she happened to be born blind, and that the mother to preserve her child charged a nurse to have her secretedinamonasterycalledPalma. ThenarevelationcametoSt. Erard, who was in Bavaria at the time, that he should hasten to where the girl lived, and he prayed God to effect not only the enlightenment of her mind by Baptism,butthathercorporaleyesmightlikewisebeopened. Sheobtained the name of Othiha, which is Latinized " Deus Sol,"'4 when immersed in the baptismal font. The restoration of his daughter's sight caused the father's
unbounded joy, the mother's great consolation, the child's own beatification, while the Divine praises were extolled by all who heard of or witnessed this miracle. According to an account, in a life of St. Hildulph, he is said to have baptized the girl, while St. Erard raised her as a sponsor from the font ;'
3 According to Mirasus, in Chronico.
* According to Baronius and other writers. s See "Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti,"
tomusi. , lib. xvi. , sec. xxxii. , pp. 515, 516.
*
According to Sigbertus, Gordonus, and other writers.
7 On account of this relationship by mar-
copper of a carved stone, extant in the beginning of the last century, on Mount St. Odilia. This had carvings of Eticho Dux, S. Odilia, and S. Leudegar, over corre- sponding figures, in their appropriate cos- tumes. Mabillon thinks this stone must have been carved before a. d. iioo. See tomus i. , lib. xv. , sec. Ixi. , pp. 489, 490.
'^ There is a account of very interesting
this holy virgin in Mabillon's great work.
See z(^/a^. , sec. Ixii. , A. D. 667, pp. 491 to492. '3 With better judgment Conrad has sup-
pressed the improbabilities, but he adds the unnoted circumstances, that Odilia received instruction in the Catholic faith, and then Erardbaptizedher. Thefameofthemiracle
riage, his promotion took place. See An-
dreas du tomus "
Chesne, i. , Scriptorum
Rerum Franciarum. "
^ From these circumstances, Bollandus
justly concludes that this baptism, and other events, were prior to the times of King Pepin
"
and Charlemagne. See
Januarii," tomus i. , viii. Januarii. Com- mentarius Prsevius.
vol. iii. , chap, xviii,, n. loo, p. 1 10.
"In Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," there is a fine engraving' on
9 See L. P.
France. " Premiere Race dite des Merovin- giens, pp. 54 to 56. See likewise the ac- count of his exploits in Greenwood's "First Book of the History of the Germans : Bar- baric Period," chap, xii. , sect, iv. , A. D. 640 to A. D. 724, pp. 711 to 719.
wrought
Anquetil's
" See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
Acta Sanctorum
" Histoire de
tended to confirm the Norici in a profession of the Christian faith. See Col- gan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," viii. Januarii. Vita S. Erardi, authore Conrado, cap. ii. , p. 31.
''•Bollandus attempts, but hardly to his own satisfaction, the solution of this etymon in his notes to Conrad's Life of St. Erard, chap. ii. See "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus i. , viii, Januarii, n. (Aa), p. 543-
122 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
while again the action of either saint has been exactly reversed, by other authors. The pious writer Paul remarks, that only Jesus Christ Himself opened the eyes of one born blind, as recorded in the Gospels, until St. Erard wrought this miracle. He then adored the Divine clemency, and gavethankstoGodforHismercy. Healsomanifestedhisreverencefor Odilia, and when he had learned the doom to which she had been destined by a cruel father, to the latter he forwarded an admonitory message, that he should shun all devices of the devil. He added, moreover, that if Ethico hated Odilia for a blameless blindness, that she should thenceforth be loved for the corporal light received from Christ, with her soul's illumination ; and he intimated, that if this counsel were despised, the father must incur a dread penalty for his crime,^s After the baptism of Odilia, St.
Erard is said to have revisited Ratisbon. ^^ There he built what was aftenvards called the
Lower Monastery, and it was dedicated to the ever-glorious Virgin Mary, MotherofGod. Thischurchwasafterwardsservedbycelibatecanonesses.
Whilst living, St. Erard, according to tradition, dug a very deep well near this house, and he accomplished the labour with his o^\ti hands. Very clear water was contained in it, and at a subsequent period an abbess of the community there had it carefully enclosed. The people entertained a great veneration for this fountain, and many miracles were reported to have happened in connection with it.
As the time of Blessed Erard's death approached, he desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Deploring the bonds of the flesh, his soul seemed to anticipate its future state, and to sigh not for visible but invisible things, not for transient but for permanent delights. Often and with great
fervour he " When shall I repeated :
and
before the face of our
go
Lord? " As the day of his release was near, he frequently ejaculated:
"WhenshallIbedeliveredfromthestraitsofthiscorruption? \\Tienshall I be drawn from the misery of this earthly prison ? When shall my hopes be satisfied ? When shall God's glory be revealed to me ? When shall I learn that my labours have pleased Him? When shall I understand the nature of my judgment, or what may be that reward of which the Apostle speaks, how neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive what God has prepared for those who love Him? " Thus, according to the apostolic precept, forgetting the world, and crucifying it with its vices and concupiscences, he looked forward to Jesus Christ ; and during his last struggle, he revolved in mind all his past actions, as being about to stand before the tribunal of his judge, while the hope of immortal bliss was to him a shield against every fear. Holy thoughts caused him to relinquish earthly regrets, and already the angelic choirs were opening to receive him into their august assembly, where he was thenceforth destined to sing the Divine praises. His will was to see and hear what his bright anticipations pictured to his mind; the movements of life alone remained, and gradually closed, as the eyes of his heart turned from worldly scenes, during the few days of his last illness. His days of health and labour were the true preparation for his moment of happy departure. As a pilgrim on earth, he felt exiled from Heaven ; but things corruptible passed away, as with a fer\'ent desire he hastened towards the grave. He longed for the victory of death; frequently were his reverent eyes and suppliant hands elevated in prayer ; and he awoke, at last, to the ineffable visions of bhss, when he had fallen asleep in the Lord. '7
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
Paulo,
'^ See " Annales Ordinis Mabillon's
'S See
S.
Colgan's
nise," viii. Januarii, Vita S, Erardi, authore
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sec. xv. , p. 507.
lib.
i. , cap. iii. , pp. 24, 25.
^
'? See
Colgan's
"Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
appear
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 123
Having thus led a most holy life and •wTought many miracles, St. Erard terminated his earthly career at Ratisbon, on an. 8th of January, Hence nearly all writers on St. Erard have placed his festival at this day. Thus, the German Martyrology, published by Canisius, Galesinus, the Utrecht Martyrology, Johannes Horolanus and Ferrarius, in their respective calendars ; Bruner, Rader, Aventinus, Felici, and Menard in their Martyrologies ; all state, that he was venerated on the 8th of January. ^^ The —exact year of his death —cannot now be ascertained. It seems to be placed yet only proxi- mately under a. d. 671, by the learned Mabillon. ^9 The Breviary of Ratisbon and Hundius state, that St. Erard died during the reign of Pepin, fatherofCharlemagne. Itdoesnotseemprobablethathelivedontothat period. Soon after his departure, however, the citizens of Ratisbon especially had cognizance of his sanctity, in the number of miracles there wrought through his intercession. St. Erard's remains were interred on the north side of the conventual church he had erected.
St. Wolfgang was accustomed to visit the tomb of St. Erard. On one
of these occasions, and at night, the latter appeared to the holy bishop and warned him to exercise his pastoral duty in reforming the order of canon- esses,^" who kept the church in which his remains lay. This admonition the bishop bore in mind and fulfilled to the best of his ability. ^^ Judith, the Duchess of Bavaria, collected many relics in the Holy Land, whither she made a pilgrimage. These she bestowed on the church and monastery of St. Erard, which she completely restored and amply endowed. ^^ There too she was interred. From many evidences adduced, the ancient writers of oursaint'sactsrelatevariousmiracleswroughtathistomb. Onewasthat of a woman, who, on the saint's festival day, recovered the use of a hand paralysed. Several persons, who had fallen into the very deep well dug by St. Erard's own hands, were brought out of it, not only in a living state, but in some instances, without even having been hurt. Paul had seen a woman, living when he wTOte, whose limbs were very much distorted, and who attributed their restoration, partly to the merits of St. Wenceslaus,^3 and partly to those of St. Erard. Another miraculous detection of a robber, and occurring at the tomb of St Erard, is related. Conrad states, that when labouring under a most debihtating infirmity of long standing, he had a remarkable dream. It seemed as if he were at the kneeling place of the LowerMonasteryinRatisbon. Lookingupwards,hefanciedthatthefollow- ing Latin verses were inscribed on a scroll, over the tomb of Erard :
"Erhardus mores augmentat, res et honores Hue omni genti pro laude sua venienti. "
Conrad had himself conveyed by a boat on the River Danube from Vienna to Ratisbon. There, one day, having been assisted by some friends and
nige," viii. Januarii, Vita S. Erardi, authore Anonymous Life of St. Erard, cap. ii. , and
Paulo, lib. i. , cap. iii. , p. 25.
^^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
in Conrad's Life of St. Erard, chap, iii. , "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," viii. Januarii, pp. 538, 540, 541, 544.
nise," Appendix ad Vitam S. Erardi, cap. i. ,
" ==
PP- 34> 35- Also Bollandus Acta Sane- She was mother to the Emperor Henry torum Januarii," tomus i. , viii. Januarii, II. , sumamed the Pious. See Bollandus,
Commentarius Prsevius, p. 533.
'9 See Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sec. xv. ,p. 507. ^° The Breviary of Ratisbon. See a fur- ther account of this incident in Mabillon's " Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus iii. ,
lib. xlviii. , sec. ix. , pp. 629, 630.
^' See the account of this vision in Paul's
Life of St. Erard, book ii. , chap. i. , in the
"Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus i. , viii.
Januarii, n. (c), p. 539. Her son Henry II. was regarded as a great warrior and states- man. See Benevenuti de Rambaldis Liber Augustalis. Burcardus Gotthelffius Stru- vius' "Rerum Germanicarum Scriptores Varii," tomus ii. , p. 18.
^3 This holy martyr was assassinated on the 28th of September, A. D. 938.
124 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
companions to the Church of the Lower Monastery, he was present at a solemn Mass, celebrated on the altar of St. Erard. Prostrating himself, with outstretched arms before Ihe altar, while "Alleluia, O Gemma pastoralis
"
Salve splendor firmamenti," were in the course of being sung, the patient, in his fervour of soul, applied these words in devotion to St. Erard. From that moment a new vigour seemed to enliven his body, and gradually he recovered the use of his limbs. This miraculous recovery urged him to write a compendious Life of St. Erard for the edifica- tion of his readers, to give glory to God, and to honour his faithful servant. ^4 St. Erard is said to have been canonized by Pope Leo IX. , about the year 1052. ^5 This celebration took place in the time of Henry III. , sur-
named the Black, Emperor of Germany, who died in the year 1057. ^^ On the occasion of Pope Leo IX. visiting Germany, and staying at Ratisbon, the relics of St. Erard were transferred to a new place of sepulture. It is probable an account of the whole proceeding had been written soon after- wards by Pope Leo IX. , in that history contained in the Roman Library, to which Paul alludes. ^? This is presumed to have been a Bull issued by the Sovereign Pontiff, in reference to the elevation and translation of St. Wolf- gang's and of St. Erard's relics. ^^ In an old sarcophagus, containing the rehcs of St. Hildulph, and thought to have been fashioned in the twelfth
century, St. Erard and St. Hildulph are represented as bearing archiepiscopal palliums. ^9 One of the writers^" of Erard's acts, commenting on the deriva- tion of his name, declares, that as God fashioned and elected such an ark of sanctity, so did He place there treasures of honour; and as the noble saint had preserved innocence, during the whole course of his life, he was justly regarded, as chosen solely by and looking constantly on his great Maker. From his earliest years, in the sight of man, he bloomed as a spring flower, breathing fragrance around, owing to his chaste deportment and sincerity of disposition. His prayers were soul-felt and fervent when a child; his obedience and docility at school were grateful to his masters; while he willingly aided his class-fellows, less advanced in ability and knowledge, to overcome the difficulties of study. This happy life-time of youth, Hke the new vine in spring, began to expand its tendrils, to shoot forth its leaves, and to gather its blushing weight of fruit, which ripened at a later season. Among the less accomplished and cultivated of his companions, he was the purple rose growing amid brakes and brambles. In his native Scotia, the odour of his virtues soon became diffused. As he reached the prime of life, holiness increased within him. As life itself declined, his glory shone the more beautiful and gorgeous, like the sun sinking down behind the western waves, leaving a glittering brightness and variety over the myriad billows, surging and chafing on the troubled ocean.
Article III. —St. Ergnat, Virgin, of Tamlacht, County of Ar- magh,ANDOFDuneane,CountyOFANTRIM. \FifthCentury^ Welearn
^®See"ChronicaAustralis"subanno, 440, " Rerum Germanicamm Scriptores
lucida," and the sequence,
"ActaSanctorumHiber-
^*' See
nise," viii. Januarii. Vita S. Erardi, authore
Paulo, lib. ii,, cap. i. , ii. , pp. 26, 27, and aliquot insignes," tomus i. Editio tertia
Colgan's
p,
Conrad's Vita S. Erardi, cap. iii. , pp. 31, 32.
curante Burcardo Gotthelffio Struvio,
^7 In his Life of St. Erard, lib. i. , cap. ii. It seems to have included notices of St.
^s This Sovereign Pontiff died A. D. 1054.
See Sigeberti Gemblacensis Coenobitae Hildulph.
"Chronographia," p. 599, in Johannes Pis- torius Nidanus, "Illustrium Veterum Scrip- torum, qui rerum a Germanis per multas setates Gestarum Historias vel Annales poste« risreliquerunt," tomus i.
"^
See "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus
i,, viii.
