47 At this time, the Abbot Madaluinus is stated to have
presided
over the monastery of Moyenmoutier.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
, pp.
487, 488.
" Chronicon lib. Senoniensis," i. ,
signifies
' 9 Son to Sigebert, King of Austrasie. He was killed in an insurrection of the nobles. See L. P. Anquetil's "Histoire de France. " Premiere Race dite des Merovingiens, sect. v. , p. 54.
20 21
See his Life, at the 2 1 st of July.
This was a commune of France, in the
Department of the Vosges, eight miles north of St. Die, and on the left bank of the
Ravodoh. See " Gazetteer of the
"
Lives of
a to the sister of St. See
vol. ix. , p. 408.
22 "
See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's
youth
brought afterwards called
World,
daughter Andreas Chesnius, Francise," tomus i.
"
Leodegar. Scriptorum Historic Fragmentum Histori-
again by place Moyen-Moutier
Arbogast.
or the Middle Monastery
denomination was obtained from the circumstance, that it lay between monasteries of St. Die Bon-Moutier, Senones and Estival. At Moyenmoutier,
23
likewise, Hildulphbuilttwochurches; oneinhonouroftheBlessedVirgin, and another in honour of St. Peter. 2* At a later period, he erected a third without the monastic enclosure, for use of pilgrims and infirm persons, who came to visit him and his monks ; this he dedicated to St. John the Baptist. He erected a fourth church, likewise, which he dedicated to St. Gregory. This latter he placed on a hill, southwards from the monastery, and in the middle of a ground-plot, which he had chosen to be a cemetery for his com- munity.
It is St. Erard of Ratisbon lived for some time with 2 5 when said, Hildulph,
he retired in the Vosges. 26 There he had founded his monastery. 27 St. Erhard is also said to have built a monastery near Schelestad in Alsace, and it was called Ebersheim, as supposed, because its name was taken from Erhard or Eberhard. 28 ItmeantthemansionofEberhard,intheopinionofMabillon. 2?
2 Thismonastery3°wasfoundedbyDukeEtico,Ethic3IorAtticus3 ofElsass,
who was father of St. Odilia. 33 The latter was baptized when an infant, by St. Erard, while St. Hildulph is said to have assisted at the ceremony.
Notwithstanding his retirement, Hildulph did not cease to receive among his
Richarius states, that owing to the con- flux of clerics and laymen to his place, St. Hildulph was obliged to construct different cells not far from his "
monastery: nempe ad septem abietes, ad sanctum Joannem de Hurimonte, apud Orbacum, apud sanctum Projectum, apud Visivallum, ad Altam petram, quae monasterio supereminet, ad locum in summitate montis, qui Roberti
fons ad dicitur, denique
where he founded a
religious community. 22
Its the
the Saints," vol. vii. , July 1 1, pp. 279, cam Alberti Argentinensis Chronico prse-
280.
the boar's habitation, 29 See " Annales Ordinis S.
3° In the second half of the seventh cen-
tury, this religious house is thought very generally to have been founded.
3I His signature is to be found affixed to charters and grants of Chilperic II. and Thierry, from a. d. 652 to a. d. 691. See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. , July II, p. 279.
32 Atticus was the husband of Bereswinda,
fixum, p. 782.
i9S LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Julyi t.
disciples many persons, distinguished as well by their birth as by their virtues. Soon his monastery was like to a hive filled with honey, and diffusing around a religious flavour. The Almighty had conferred on him the gift of miracles. Wherefore, many crippled and indisposed persons came to ask the favour of his prayers, and to be relieved from their respective maladies. He also exorcised possessed persons. 34 Even many seculars built houses around the monastic precincts, so that they might rejoice in spiritual and temporal bene fits ; wherefore, a spot which had been heretofore deserted and lonely soon became populous. Among those who came to live under him was St. Spinule or Spinulus,35 who had the gift of working miracles, but who died a long time before his superior. However, as we are told, fearing the crowds of people there arriving should interfere with regular monastic discipline and prevent the exercises of a contemplative life, Hildulph, prostrating himself before the disciple's tomb, prayed with tears in his eyes and even commanded him to cease from working such miracles. To prove the still greater virtue of monastic obedience, the blessed Spin obeyed the order of his former superior,norweresuchwondersafterwardswrought. 36 Amonghisdisciples, St. John and St. Benin or Benignus 3 ? were also distinguished. In fine, the reputation of St. Hildulph spread so well, that he. was regarded as a man specially sent from Heaven ; while princes and seigneurs liberally endowed
Moyen-Moutier and other religious houses founded by him, in that part of the country.
a motive similar to that of our saint, Deodatus 3* or quite
Through
Dieudonne had left his See of Nevers to live in solitude. He went to the Val du Galilee, where he built the monastery of Jointuress since called St. Die, as also was the town which afterwards grew around it. —It was about two leagues d—istant from Moyen-Moutier. For St. Deodatus afterwards
a warm attachment ; and, once each year, both Abbots met to enjoy the sight and conversation of each other. *° On that day chosen for this visit, both Abbots left their respective houses at the same hour. Wherever they met on the road, both went on their knees and prayed, giving each other the kiss of peace, and
—This holy accord-
called St. Die abbot of Jointures, our saint is said to have formed
then engaging in conference on the obligations of a spiritual life.
friendship lasted for eight years, until St. Deodatus died, a. d. 677 +
ing to other accounts a. d. 679. By the expressed wish of St. Deodatus to his monks before his departure, the charge of both monasteries devolved on St. Hildulph. Nor would the religious of Jointures have any other Abbot. He lived, however, at Moyen-Moutier, while he appointed a vicar, who dis- charged the functions of prior, at the monastery of Jointures. Both houses were thus united, in the strictest bonds of fraternal charity. In memory of their former affectionate meetings, St. Hildulph allowed the monks of Join- tures and those of Moyen-Moutier to visit each other once a year for religious discourse.
33 Her feast occurs, on the 13th of Decern- ber. She was a native of Strasburgh, and abbess of Hohenbourg in Alsace.
3* In art, he is represented exorcising a boy.
Iconographie. See Very Rev. Dr. Husen- ''"
37 These survived him, and long after the death of St. Hildulph, they died on the same day, 2nd of the August Kalends, and they weie buried in the same tomb in the oratory of St. Gregory, where their relics had been
long preserved,
38 j^is feast occurs, on the 19th of June. 39 it was so called, because the rivulet Rath-
bach here joined the River Meurthe.
beth's Emblems of Saints, Third Edition,
p.
102.
35 See Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , num. xiv. , p. C07.
3« See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des
"
Saints'' tome viii. , p. 252.
ix e
Jour de
Juillet,
"
Lives of
4I This is stated in a Life of St. Deodatus,
40 See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's
the Saints," vol. vii. , July II, p. 280.
published by the Bollandists in their
Acta
1
-
July n. j
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
99
For twenty-eight years after the death of St. Die, Hildulph continued his penitential life and exercises. His health even continued robust, and what is very remarkable, in his extreme old age, he was able to labour with his hands, and to gain what was necessary for his own support and for that of his monks. He is said to have been superior over three hundred monks, some of whom lived at Moyen-Moutier, and others in different cells, scattered about that locality. Although through modesty, he regarded St. Die, his friend, as being the father of Jointures, doubtless we must consider that its chil- dren were included in the attributed number of Hildulph's subjects. Although he wished thirteen years before his death to procure more time for religious con- templation, yet such was his love for the monks there, that he would not resign thecareoftheirhouse. Thisshowedhowreligiouslyhedesiredtodischarge that trust committed to him by his deceased friend, who wished of all things his disciples to be under St. Hildulph's guidance. However, he appointed Leut- balde to rule in his place over Moyen-Moutier. This Abbot died before him-
self a. d. 704. At the request of his monks, Hildulphe was obliged to resume once more the government of his own foundation. He thus ruled simultaneously over two monasteries. Before the death of St. Hildulph, he had a vision, when St. Deodatus appeared to him and gave warning, that the time for his dissolution was fast approaching. A fever seized him, and when the last moment arrived, the monks who had assembled at his bedside received his affectionate blessing, with sighs and tears for his loss to them. He also commended himself to their prayers, while exhorting them to a zealous dis- charge of all their monastic duties. Several writers assert, that Hildulph of Treves flourished in the seventh century, and that he died very old, on the 1 ith day of July, a. d. 707. 42 The author of the Third Life of our saint fixes his departure at that date, during the consulate of Justinian Junior,*3 but he is mistaken in stating, that Pope Sergius 44 was then the Sovereign Pontiff. -* 3 St. Hildulph died about the year 710, according to other writers.
His body was buried by his monks in the church dedicated to St. Gregory, the Pope, and on the right hand side of its altar. Great numbers of the faithful flocked to his tomb, and several miracles were there wrought, some
of these being specified, especially in the Third Life of our saint. *
6
There
can hardly be a doubt, but that his monks, as also those of Jointures, regarded him as one of the sanctified servants of God, and they were accustomed to regard even his tunic with reverence. In the year 786 or 787,47 his remains were transferred to the church of the Blessed Virgin, and placed under a monument of carved stone, having plates of gold and silver over it. It is thought, that this monument—according to the usage of the period—assumed the form of a vault or some similar structure. 48 The monastery of Moyen- moutier had a chequered history in the ages succeeding, but a reformation took place in the tenth century. Under the government of Adalbert, Abbot of Jointures, the body of St. Hildulph was removed from the earth, and then placed in a wooden shrine. This took place a. d. 942, when Adalbert had been constituted Abbot of Moyenmoutier, and in the fourteenth year of his presidency. He then called together a great number of abbots and religious men. Withgreatceremony,therelicsofoursaintwereplacedinawooden loculus, and at the same time, the relics of his disciples John and Benignus
Sanctorum," at the 19th of June.
42 See " The Circle of the Seasons," p. 193.
43 Otherwise Justinian II. , then ruling for the second time.
44 He died a. d. 701,
45 In the year 707, Pope John VII. filled the Papal chair.
46 See cap. xxii. , xxiii. , xxiv. , in the Bol- landists' " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii ix. De S. Hildulfo, Confessore, &c, pp. 237, 238.
47 At this time, the Abbot Madaluinus is stated to have presided over the monastery of Moyenmoutier.
2oo LIVES OP THE IRISH SAINTS. [July it.
wereraised,andtransferredtoamorehonourablesituation. 4? Anothertrans- lation took place in 954,5° by the same Adalbert, and in presence ofa great number of the clergy, monks and laity. Then St. Hildulph's remains were taken from where they had previously rested, 51 to the greater church of St. Peter on the sixth of the October Ides—ioth of that month s*—and they were placed in a wooden shrine. At the same time were raised the relics of the holy brothers John and Benignus, and these were buried together in the same tomb. On that day, although dark clouds collected and rain had fallen, tradition reports, that a great calm ensued at the moment of this translation. " It furnished occasion for instituting a special festival in our saint's honour.
It is stated, moreover, that about the year 1028, 54 the remains of St. Hildulph had been removed to the Val de Galilee, where on account of damp they were deposited in the monastic church of St. Die. This afterwards caused a contentionfortheirpossessionbetweenthereligiousofbothhouses. Inthe year 1044, Humbert, a distinguished monk of Moyenmoutier, composed Hymns and metrical Responses in praise of our saint, with many other similar compositions. 55 These Responses are still in the Proper Office of St. Hildulph, and they were sung in a solemn manner on the festivals dedicated to his memory. In 1129 s6 or 1 130, the monks of Moyen-Moutier procured a still more valuable shrine of silver, in which St. Hildulph's remains were enclosed. On this, beautiful figures were wrought, which exhibit the style of art at that period, while these have been described for us, as containing a representation of Hildulph and Erhard, clothed with the Archiepiscopal Pal- lium. " Also,theyareunited,inbaptizingSt. Othilia; ingivingeachother the kiss of peace; also, at the dedication of some church; besides a king, doubt- less Childeric, offering the episcopal or abbatial staff to Hildulph. In the year 161 8, this shrine was repaired, but it is feared in the work of renovation, some of the ancient figures have been removed. 58 The monastery church of St. Hildulph has since become a parish church. In it, the remains of St. Hildulph have been preserved to the present day. Down to the period of the French Revolution, a silver shrine contained the relics of St. Hildulph. Since then it has disappeared. 5?
The French and German Martyrologies commemorate this holy man, at the present day. In some ancient Missals, evidences of his veneration are also to be found. Thus, at the v. Ides of July, the feast of St. Hildulph, Bishop of Treves, is to be found in a Manuscript Missal, belonging to the church of St. Simeon at Treves. This commemoration is repeated, more-
over, in an old Manuscript Missal, belonging to the Monastery of Epternac, and written, at latest, in the twelfth century, with the addition, that not only
48 See Mabillon's "Annates Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus ii. , lib. xxv. , num. bo, p. 277.
*9 See ibid. , tomus iii. , sect, xlviii. , p. 465.
s° The author of the Tract, "DeSuccesso-
ribus B. Hildulphi in Vosago does not give any date for this occurrence ; but, he tells us, that the oratory of the Blessed Virgin was then in a ruinous state.
s 1 Mabillon incorrectly supposes this to have been the oratory of St. Gregory.
p. 523.
s2
the vii. of t
that month and at A. D. 956 or 963.
sis," lib. ii. , cap. xviii.
56 According to John of Bayon, lib. ii. ,
cap. 96.
57 See Mabillon's "Annates Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sect, xv. , p. 507.
s * See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii xi. De S. Ilildulfo, Con-
fessore, primum Archiepiscopo Trevirensi
Vosago. Commentarius Prsevius, sect, vi. ,
pp. 219 to 221.
59 See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of
accounts have this —
Other translation, on
—he November Ides
53 See Mabillon's "Annates Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus iii. , lib. xlv. , num. lxxiv. ,
7th
day
54 By John of Bayon, in lib. ii. , cap. 48.
5S See " Chronicon Senonien- Richerius,
; of deinde Abbate Mediani Monasterii in
July ii. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
was he a bishop but an archbishop. At the v. Ides—corresponding with the nth—ofJuly, likewise, an old copy of Usuard's Martyrology, belonging to
60
the Monastery of Luxeu, has an account of his deposition, at that date.
at the nth of Likewise is his feast at this day, in the Lubec and Cologne imprint6* of
in 6 ' as edited Also, Ado,
Mosander, his feast Usuard. In Arnold Wion's Benedictine
by
occurs,
June.
Sausay's this date. In the " Menologium Scoticum "6s of Thomas Dempster, his feast
"
Martyrologium Gallicanum,''
6* and in other
6 3 in
his feast is set down at
Martyrology, works,
at this 66 The feast for the Translation of St.
day. — Hildulph's
is also
Relics was held, on the vi. Ides—corresponding with the 8th of November, as may be seen in Father John Baptist Soller's edition of Usuard's Martyr- ology enlarged, by additions from the Luxeu copy and from Greven.
recorded,
dead without works," and since a dead faith is no faith, this blessed prelate and preacher earnestly persuaded believers unto a holy and sincere faith by their diligent practice of good works. His example was as a light to those sitting in darkness. He lived solely for God, and loved to work out the Divine will. With senti- ments of most perfect resignation, and with the most complete abandonment of himself to God, giving him glory for the past, and commending to him all
concerns for the future, he breathed forth his pious soul at the moment of departure, and then received his eternal reward.
Article II. —St. Drostan, Confessor, in Scotland. [Sixth and Seventh Centuries. '] The learned Bollandist, John Baptist Soller, gives us the
Since faith, according to the Apostle James, is
"
Actsofthis — in six
saint, comprised paragraphs,
atthe nthof
July.
1 Hetells
—t Dempster elsewhere characterized by the Bollandist as a faithless us, tha
writer has placed the festival of this holy man at the 9th of November, in his Scottish Menology. Dempster makes him an uncle by the mother's side to King Eugenius. Again, he has placed the festival of Drostan, monk, at St.
Andrews, in Scotland, on the 14th of December. 2 Nor does he assign any reason for placing a St. Drostan, at both these days, and in a different form of words ; neither does he remark at either of those days a distinction between both, or whether they be one and the same person. Soller imagines, that Dempster, who raked together many things, had disposed these festivals according to his usual custom, by a mere arbitrary process. Ferrarius appears to have inserted the words of Dempster, and with little alteration, in his general Catalogue. 3 At this date, notices of him may be found in Rev. S.
theSaints,"vol. vii. ,JulyII,p. 280.
60 Thus " S. Hildulfi Archi- : Depositio
pnesulis, Mediano monasterio quiescentis, gloriosae sanctitatis viri. "
:
6sThus "TruerisHildulphiArchiepis-
61
episcopi et confessoris.
Scottish Saints,—" p. 205. »
62
tomus hi. , Julii xi.
fessore in Scotia, pp. 198 to 200.
piscopi
et confessoris. "
2 We find notices of a St. Drostan, son to Conanrod, the King of Demetia's son, by Fyn Wennem, daughter to King Aidus of Scotland, who flourished in the time of St. Columba. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 9, n. (d), p. 35.
3 Arnold Wion enumerates him the among
monks who were sons of kings,—"quorum locus professions ignoratur. " "Lignum
Thus
Thus : "Treviris B. Hildulfi Archie-
Article ii. See "Acta Sanctorum,"
:
"Treviris, S. Hildulfi, "
ejus
urbis
63 Thus " Treviris S. Hildulfi episcopi
:
et confessoris, qui cum gregem sibi commis- sum sanctitate vitse et sapientiae doctrina
rexisset, taedio hujus vitse episcopatum abdi- cans, in saltu Vosagi multorum pater effectus
monachorum, clarus miraculis, quievit in "
pace.
64 Thus : "Treviris S. Hildulfi episcopi
et confessoris," &c.
copi °6
VV. "
See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
De S. Drostano, Con-
202 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [J uly i i .
Baring-Gould'swork. * Sollerwasundersomedoubt,whetherSt. Drostan's
feast should be assigned to the nth of July. However, being moved by the
authority of Sirinus, who gave a short history of this saint,s and even by that 6
of Dempster, he appeals to the consent of churches belonging to his nation, as also, finding the festival of this saint, assigned to this day, in two editions of the English Martyrology, by Wilson. 7 Sufficient evidence has been estab- lished,toassertthevenerationduetothissaint. Sirinuswillnotallow,how- ever, that the Benedictine Order, to which Wilson says our saint belonged, had been established in Scotland, in the sixth century. Until this time, the rule of St. Columba, Abbot of Iona, prevailed there ; and even Mabillon does not enumerate Drostan among saints belonging to the Benedictine Order. There are conflicting accounts, also, regarding our saint. Thus, John Major 8 tells us, that Aidan, King of the Scots, grieved so much at the death of St. Columba,3 that he survived that saint only for a short time. Eugenius then succeededhiminthekingdom. Inthesetimes,St. Drostan,whowasuncle to the king on the mother's side, led a monastic life. He was famous for his miracles. From the obscurity of his manner in expressing himself, how- ever, Major leaves us in doubt, as to whether Drostan was an uncle on the mother's side to Aidan or to Eugene. But, Lesley explains this more clearly He says, that Drostan was uncle on the mother's side to Aidan the King, and
that disdaining the fleeting things of this world, he retired to a monastery. By the example of his great sanctity, he drew many to the profession of a
good life. 10 Some particulars, also, are to be gleaned from Hector Boetius, regarding this saint. 11 The Scottish writers generally agree, that St. Drostan flourished about the end of the sixth century, and at the beginning of the seventh. The Scottish writers thus appearing almost unanimous in these accounts, Soller wonders why O'Sheerin wishes to claim St. Drostan, as an Irishman. Speaking about St. Drostan, Sirin says, he was born and educated in Ireland, as also was his sister Fedhelmia. She was mother to King Aidan, and a daughter to Fethelmius, a nobleman of Connaght origin. These par- ticulars are gleaned from a book, treating on the Mothers of the Kings and illustrious and from the Life of St.
Abbot. 12
in the opinion of O'Sheerin, it is most probable, this St. Drostan lived for the most part in Ireland, and that he was identical with that saint, to whom a parochial church had been dedicated. This was called Kill-Drostan,^ or the "cellofDrostan,"inElphindiocese. 1* TothesestatementsofSirinus,Soller
Cormac,
See his "Historia Majoris Britannia? tarn Angliae quam Scotiae," lib. ii. , cap. vii. , p.
" Chronicon lib. Senoniensis," i. ,
signifies
' 9 Son to Sigebert, King of Austrasie. He was killed in an insurrection of the nobles. See L. P. Anquetil's "Histoire de France. " Premiere Race dite des Merovingiens, sect. v. , p. 54.
20 21
See his Life, at the 2 1 st of July.
This was a commune of France, in the
Department of the Vosges, eight miles north of St. Die, and on the left bank of the
Ravodoh. See " Gazetteer of the
"
Lives of
a to the sister of St. See
vol. ix. , p. 408.
22 "
See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's
youth
brought afterwards called
World,
daughter Andreas Chesnius, Francise," tomus i.
"
Leodegar. Scriptorum Historic Fragmentum Histori-
again by place Moyen-Moutier
Arbogast.
or the Middle Monastery
denomination was obtained from the circumstance, that it lay between monasteries of St. Die Bon-Moutier, Senones and Estival. At Moyenmoutier,
23
likewise, Hildulphbuilttwochurches; oneinhonouroftheBlessedVirgin, and another in honour of St. Peter. 2* At a later period, he erected a third without the monastic enclosure, for use of pilgrims and infirm persons, who came to visit him and his monks ; this he dedicated to St. John the Baptist. He erected a fourth church, likewise, which he dedicated to St. Gregory. This latter he placed on a hill, southwards from the monastery, and in the middle of a ground-plot, which he had chosen to be a cemetery for his com- munity.
It is St. Erard of Ratisbon lived for some time with 2 5 when said, Hildulph,
he retired in the Vosges. 26 There he had founded his monastery. 27 St. Erhard is also said to have built a monastery near Schelestad in Alsace, and it was called Ebersheim, as supposed, because its name was taken from Erhard or Eberhard. 28 ItmeantthemansionofEberhard,intheopinionofMabillon. 2?
2 Thismonastery3°wasfoundedbyDukeEtico,Ethic3IorAtticus3 ofElsass,
who was father of St. Odilia. 33 The latter was baptized when an infant, by St. Erard, while St. Hildulph is said to have assisted at the ceremony.
Notwithstanding his retirement, Hildulph did not cease to receive among his
Richarius states, that owing to the con- flux of clerics and laymen to his place, St. Hildulph was obliged to construct different cells not far from his "
monastery: nempe ad septem abietes, ad sanctum Joannem de Hurimonte, apud Orbacum, apud sanctum Projectum, apud Visivallum, ad Altam petram, quae monasterio supereminet, ad locum in summitate montis, qui Roberti
fons ad dicitur, denique
where he founded a
religious community. 22
Its the
the Saints," vol. vii. , July 1 1, pp. 279, cam Alberti Argentinensis Chronico prse-
280.
the boar's habitation, 29 See " Annales Ordinis S.
3° In the second half of the seventh cen-
tury, this religious house is thought very generally to have been founded.
3I His signature is to be found affixed to charters and grants of Chilperic II. and Thierry, from a. d. 652 to a. d. 691. See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. , July II, p. 279.
32 Atticus was the husband of Bereswinda,
fixum, p. 782.
i9S LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Julyi t.
disciples many persons, distinguished as well by their birth as by their virtues. Soon his monastery was like to a hive filled with honey, and diffusing around a religious flavour. The Almighty had conferred on him the gift of miracles. Wherefore, many crippled and indisposed persons came to ask the favour of his prayers, and to be relieved from their respective maladies. He also exorcised possessed persons. 34 Even many seculars built houses around the monastic precincts, so that they might rejoice in spiritual and temporal bene fits ; wherefore, a spot which had been heretofore deserted and lonely soon became populous. Among those who came to live under him was St. Spinule or Spinulus,35 who had the gift of working miracles, but who died a long time before his superior. However, as we are told, fearing the crowds of people there arriving should interfere with regular monastic discipline and prevent the exercises of a contemplative life, Hildulph, prostrating himself before the disciple's tomb, prayed with tears in his eyes and even commanded him to cease from working such miracles. To prove the still greater virtue of monastic obedience, the blessed Spin obeyed the order of his former superior,norweresuchwondersafterwardswrought. 36 Amonghisdisciples, St. John and St. Benin or Benignus 3 ? were also distinguished. In fine, the reputation of St. Hildulph spread so well, that he. was regarded as a man specially sent from Heaven ; while princes and seigneurs liberally endowed
Moyen-Moutier and other religious houses founded by him, in that part of the country.
a motive similar to that of our saint, Deodatus 3* or quite
Through
Dieudonne had left his See of Nevers to live in solitude. He went to the Val du Galilee, where he built the monastery of Jointuress since called St. Die, as also was the town which afterwards grew around it. —It was about two leagues d—istant from Moyen-Moutier. For St. Deodatus afterwards
a warm attachment ; and, once each year, both Abbots met to enjoy the sight and conversation of each other. *° On that day chosen for this visit, both Abbots left their respective houses at the same hour. Wherever they met on the road, both went on their knees and prayed, giving each other the kiss of peace, and
—This holy accord-
called St. Die abbot of Jointures, our saint is said to have formed
then engaging in conference on the obligations of a spiritual life.
friendship lasted for eight years, until St. Deodatus died, a. d. 677 +
ing to other accounts a. d. 679. By the expressed wish of St. Deodatus to his monks before his departure, the charge of both monasteries devolved on St. Hildulph. Nor would the religious of Jointures have any other Abbot. He lived, however, at Moyen-Moutier, while he appointed a vicar, who dis- charged the functions of prior, at the monastery of Jointures. Both houses were thus united, in the strictest bonds of fraternal charity. In memory of their former affectionate meetings, St. Hildulph allowed the monks of Join- tures and those of Moyen-Moutier to visit each other once a year for religious discourse.
33 Her feast occurs, on the 13th of Decern- ber. She was a native of Strasburgh, and abbess of Hohenbourg in Alsace.
3* In art, he is represented exorcising a boy.
Iconographie. See Very Rev. Dr. Husen- ''"
37 These survived him, and long after the death of St. Hildulph, they died on the same day, 2nd of the August Kalends, and they weie buried in the same tomb in the oratory of St. Gregory, where their relics had been
long preserved,
38 j^is feast occurs, on the 19th of June. 39 it was so called, because the rivulet Rath-
bach here joined the River Meurthe.
beth's Emblems of Saints, Third Edition,
p.
102.
35 See Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , num. xiv. , p. C07.
3« See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des
"
Saints'' tome viii. , p. 252.
ix e
Jour de
Juillet,
"
Lives of
4I This is stated in a Life of St. Deodatus,
40 See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's
the Saints," vol. vii. , July II, p. 280.
published by the Bollandists in their
Acta
1
-
July n. j
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
99
For twenty-eight years after the death of St. Die, Hildulph continued his penitential life and exercises. His health even continued robust, and what is very remarkable, in his extreme old age, he was able to labour with his hands, and to gain what was necessary for his own support and for that of his monks. He is said to have been superior over three hundred monks, some of whom lived at Moyen-Moutier, and others in different cells, scattered about that locality. Although through modesty, he regarded St. Die, his friend, as being the father of Jointures, doubtless we must consider that its chil- dren were included in the attributed number of Hildulph's subjects. Although he wished thirteen years before his death to procure more time for religious con- templation, yet such was his love for the monks there, that he would not resign thecareoftheirhouse. Thisshowedhowreligiouslyhedesiredtodischarge that trust committed to him by his deceased friend, who wished of all things his disciples to be under St. Hildulph's guidance. However, he appointed Leut- balde to rule in his place over Moyen-Moutier. This Abbot died before him-
self a. d. 704. At the request of his monks, Hildulphe was obliged to resume once more the government of his own foundation. He thus ruled simultaneously over two monasteries. Before the death of St. Hildulph, he had a vision, when St. Deodatus appeared to him and gave warning, that the time for his dissolution was fast approaching. A fever seized him, and when the last moment arrived, the monks who had assembled at his bedside received his affectionate blessing, with sighs and tears for his loss to them. He also commended himself to their prayers, while exhorting them to a zealous dis- charge of all their monastic duties. Several writers assert, that Hildulph of Treves flourished in the seventh century, and that he died very old, on the 1 ith day of July, a. d. 707. 42 The author of the Third Life of our saint fixes his departure at that date, during the consulate of Justinian Junior,*3 but he is mistaken in stating, that Pope Sergius 44 was then the Sovereign Pontiff. -* 3 St. Hildulph died about the year 710, according to other writers.
His body was buried by his monks in the church dedicated to St. Gregory, the Pope, and on the right hand side of its altar. Great numbers of the faithful flocked to his tomb, and several miracles were there wrought, some
of these being specified, especially in the Third Life of our saint. *
6
There
can hardly be a doubt, but that his monks, as also those of Jointures, regarded him as one of the sanctified servants of God, and they were accustomed to regard even his tunic with reverence. In the year 786 or 787,47 his remains were transferred to the church of the Blessed Virgin, and placed under a monument of carved stone, having plates of gold and silver over it. It is thought, that this monument—according to the usage of the period—assumed the form of a vault or some similar structure. 48 The monastery of Moyen- moutier had a chequered history in the ages succeeding, but a reformation took place in the tenth century. Under the government of Adalbert, Abbot of Jointures, the body of St. Hildulph was removed from the earth, and then placed in a wooden shrine. This took place a. d. 942, when Adalbert had been constituted Abbot of Moyenmoutier, and in the fourteenth year of his presidency. He then called together a great number of abbots and religious men. Withgreatceremony,therelicsofoursaintwereplacedinawooden loculus, and at the same time, the relics of his disciples John and Benignus
Sanctorum," at the 19th of June.
42 See " The Circle of the Seasons," p. 193.
43 Otherwise Justinian II. , then ruling for the second time.
44 He died a. d. 701,
45 In the year 707, Pope John VII. filled the Papal chair.
46 See cap. xxii. , xxiii. , xxiv. , in the Bol- landists' " Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii ix. De S. Hildulfo, Confessore, &c, pp. 237, 238.
47 At this time, the Abbot Madaluinus is stated to have presided over the monastery of Moyenmoutier.
2oo LIVES OP THE IRISH SAINTS. [July it.
wereraised,andtransferredtoamorehonourablesituation. 4? Anothertrans- lation took place in 954,5° by the same Adalbert, and in presence ofa great number of the clergy, monks and laity. Then St. Hildulph's remains were taken from where they had previously rested, 51 to the greater church of St. Peter on the sixth of the October Ides—ioth of that month s*—and they were placed in a wooden shrine. At the same time were raised the relics of the holy brothers John and Benignus, and these were buried together in the same tomb. On that day, although dark clouds collected and rain had fallen, tradition reports, that a great calm ensued at the moment of this translation. " It furnished occasion for instituting a special festival in our saint's honour.
It is stated, moreover, that about the year 1028, 54 the remains of St. Hildulph had been removed to the Val de Galilee, where on account of damp they were deposited in the monastic church of St. Die. This afterwards caused a contentionfortheirpossessionbetweenthereligiousofbothhouses. Inthe year 1044, Humbert, a distinguished monk of Moyenmoutier, composed Hymns and metrical Responses in praise of our saint, with many other similar compositions. 55 These Responses are still in the Proper Office of St. Hildulph, and they were sung in a solemn manner on the festivals dedicated to his memory. In 1129 s6 or 1 130, the monks of Moyen-Moutier procured a still more valuable shrine of silver, in which St. Hildulph's remains were enclosed. On this, beautiful figures were wrought, which exhibit the style of art at that period, while these have been described for us, as containing a representation of Hildulph and Erhard, clothed with the Archiepiscopal Pal- lium. " Also,theyareunited,inbaptizingSt. Othilia; ingivingeachother the kiss of peace; also, at the dedication of some church; besides a king, doubt- less Childeric, offering the episcopal or abbatial staff to Hildulph. In the year 161 8, this shrine was repaired, but it is feared in the work of renovation, some of the ancient figures have been removed. 58 The monastery church of St. Hildulph has since become a parish church. In it, the remains of St. Hildulph have been preserved to the present day. Down to the period of the French Revolution, a silver shrine contained the relics of St. Hildulph. Since then it has disappeared. 5?
The French and German Martyrologies commemorate this holy man, at the present day. In some ancient Missals, evidences of his veneration are also to be found. Thus, at the v. Ides of July, the feast of St. Hildulph, Bishop of Treves, is to be found in a Manuscript Missal, belonging to the church of St. Simeon at Treves. This commemoration is repeated, more-
over, in an old Manuscript Missal, belonging to the Monastery of Epternac, and written, at latest, in the twelfth century, with the addition, that not only
48 See Mabillon's "Annates Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus ii. , lib. xxv. , num. bo, p. 277.
*9 See ibid. , tomus iii. , sect, xlviii. , p. 465.
s° The author of the Tract, "DeSuccesso-
ribus B. Hildulphi in Vosago does not give any date for this occurrence ; but, he tells us, that the oratory of the Blessed Virgin was then in a ruinous state.
s 1 Mabillon incorrectly supposes this to have been the oratory of St. Gregory.
p. 523.
s2
the vii. of t
that month and at A. D. 956 or 963.
sis," lib. ii. , cap. xviii.
56 According to John of Bayon, lib. ii. ,
cap. 96.
57 See Mabillon's "Annates Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , sect, xv. , p. 507.
s * See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii xi. De S. Ilildulfo, Con-
fessore, primum Archiepiscopo Trevirensi
Vosago. Commentarius Prsevius, sect, vi. ,
pp. 219 to 221.
59 See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of
accounts have this —
Other translation, on
—he November Ides
53 See Mabillon's "Annates Ordinis S. Benedicti," tomus iii. , lib. xlv. , num. lxxiv. ,
7th
day
54 By John of Bayon, in lib. ii. , cap. 48.
5S See " Chronicon Senonien- Richerius,
; of deinde Abbate Mediani Monasterii in
July ii. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
was he a bishop but an archbishop. At the v. Ides—corresponding with the nth—ofJuly, likewise, an old copy of Usuard's Martyrology, belonging to
60
the Monastery of Luxeu, has an account of his deposition, at that date.
at the nth of Likewise is his feast at this day, in the Lubec and Cologne imprint6* of
in 6 ' as edited Also, Ado,
Mosander, his feast Usuard. In Arnold Wion's Benedictine
by
occurs,
June.
Sausay's this date. In the " Menologium Scoticum "6s of Thomas Dempster, his feast
"
Martyrologium Gallicanum,''
6* and in other
6 3 in
his feast is set down at
Martyrology, works,
at this 66 The feast for the Translation of St.
day. — Hildulph's
is also
Relics was held, on the vi. Ides—corresponding with the 8th of November, as may be seen in Father John Baptist Soller's edition of Usuard's Martyr- ology enlarged, by additions from the Luxeu copy and from Greven.
recorded,
dead without works," and since a dead faith is no faith, this blessed prelate and preacher earnestly persuaded believers unto a holy and sincere faith by their diligent practice of good works. His example was as a light to those sitting in darkness. He lived solely for God, and loved to work out the Divine will. With senti- ments of most perfect resignation, and with the most complete abandonment of himself to God, giving him glory for the past, and commending to him all
concerns for the future, he breathed forth his pious soul at the moment of departure, and then received his eternal reward.
Article II. —St. Drostan, Confessor, in Scotland. [Sixth and Seventh Centuries. '] The learned Bollandist, John Baptist Soller, gives us the
Since faith, according to the Apostle James, is
"
Actsofthis — in six
saint, comprised paragraphs,
atthe nthof
July.
1 Hetells
—t Dempster elsewhere characterized by the Bollandist as a faithless us, tha
writer has placed the festival of this holy man at the 9th of November, in his Scottish Menology. Dempster makes him an uncle by the mother's side to King Eugenius. Again, he has placed the festival of Drostan, monk, at St.
Andrews, in Scotland, on the 14th of December. 2 Nor does he assign any reason for placing a St. Drostan, at both these days, and in a different form of words ; neither does he remark at either of those days a distinction between both, or whether they be one and the same person. Soller imagines, that Dempster, who raked together many things, had disposed these festivals according to his usual custom, by a mere arbitrary process. Ferrarius appears to have inserted the words of Dempster, and with little alteration, in his general Catalogue. 3 At this date, notices of him may be found in Rev. S.
theSaints,"vol. vii. ,JulyII,p. 280.
60 Thus " S. Hildulfi Archi- : Depositio
pnesulis, Mediano monasterio quiescentis, gloriosae sanctitatis viri. "
:
6sThus "TruerisHildulphiArchiepis-
61
episcopi et confessoris.
Scottish Saints,—" p. 205. »
62
tomus hi. , Julii xi.
fessore in Scotia, pp. 198 to 200.
piscopi
et confessoris. "
2 We find notices of a St. Drostan, son to Conanrod, the King of Demetia's son, by Fyn Wennem, daughter to King Aidus of Scotland, who flourished in the time of St. Columba. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 9, n. (d), p. 35.
3 Arnold Wion enumerates him the among
monks who were sons of kings,—"quorum locus professions ignoratur. " "Lignum
Thus
Thus : "Treviris B. Hildulfi Archie-
Article ii. See "Acta Sanctorum,"
:
"Treviris, S. Hildulfi, "
ejus
urbis
63 Thus " Treviris S. Hildulfi episcopi
:
et confessoris, qui cum gregem sibi commis- sum sanctitate vitse et sapientiae doctrina
rexisset, taedio hujus vitse episcopatum abdi- cans, in saltu Vosagi multorum pater effectus
monachorum, clarus miraculis, quievit in "
pace.
64 Thus : "Treviris S. Hildulfi episcopi
et confessoris," &c.
copi °6
VV. "
See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
De S. Drostano, Con-
202 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [J uly i i .
Baring-Gould'swork. * Sollerwasundersomedoubt,whetherSt. Drostan's
feast should be assigned to the nth of July. However, being moved by the
authority of Sirinus, who gave a short history of this saint,s and even by that 6
of Dempster, he appeals to the consent of churches belonging to his nation, as also, finding the festival of this saint, assigned to this day, in two editions of the English Martyrology, by Wilson. 7 Sufficient evidence has been estab- lished,toassertthevenerationduetothissaint. Sirinuswillnotallow,how- ever, that the Benedictine Order, to which Wilson says our saint belonged, had been established in Scotland, in the sixth century. Until this time, the rule of St. Columba, Abbot of Iona, prevailed there ; and even Mabillon does not enumerate Drostan among saints belonging to the Benedictine Order. There are conflicting accounts, also, regarding our saint. Thus, John Major 8 tells us, that Aidan, King of the Scots, grieved so much at the death of St. Columba,3 that he survived that saint only for a short time. Eugenius then succeededhiminthekingdom. Inthesetimes,St. Drostan,whowasuncle to the king on the mother's side, led a monastic life. He was famous for his miracles. From the obscurity of his manner in expressing himself, how- ever, Major leaves us in doubt, as to whether Drostan was an uncle on the mother's side to Aidan or to Eugene. But, Lesley explains this more clearly He says, that Drostan was uncle on the mother's side to Aidan the King, and
that disdaining the fleeting things of this world, he retired to a monastery. By the example of his great sanctity, he drew many to the profession of a
good life. 10 Some particulars, also, are to be gleaned from Hector Boetius, regarding this saint. 11 The Scottish writers generally agree, that St. Drostan flourished about the end of the sixth century, and at the beginning of the seventh. The Scottish writers thus appearing almost unanimous in these accounts, Soller wonders why O'Sheerin wishes to claim St. Drostan, as an Irishman. Speaking about St. Drostan, Sirin says, he was born and educated in Ireland, as also was his sister Fedhelmia. She was mother to King Aidan, and a daughter to Fethelmius, a nobleman of Connaght origin. These par- ticulars are gleaned from a book, treating on the Mothers of the Kings and illustrious and from the Life of St.
Abbot. 12
in the opinion of O'Sheerin, it is most probable, this St. Drostan lived for the most part in Ireland, and that he was identical with that saint, to whom a parochial church had been dedicated. This was called Kill-Drostan,^ or the "cellofDrostan,"inElphindiocese. 1* TothesestatementsofSirinus,Soller
Cormac,
See his "Historia Majoris Britannia? tarn Angliae quam Scotiae," lib. ii. , cap. vii. , p.
