Saint Gilles
Ermite près de Narbonne,
en Septimanie (+ 720)
D'origine grecque, Gilles (Aegidius) vécut en ermite dans les forêts près de Nîmes dans le Gard où il fonda une abbaye qui prit son nom: 30800 Saint Gilles du Gard. Sa popularité lui vint de ce que le monastère, construit dès le VIe siècle, se trouvait sur l'un des itinéraires de Rome à Compostelle. Les pèlerins s'y arrêtaient et chantaient les louanges de saint Gilles à leur retour dans leur pays.
Illustration: Saint Gilles et la biche - partie du tableau d'un artiste inconnu appelé le 'maître de Saint Gilles', XVe? siècle.
"Reconnaissable à sa coule bénédictine et à sa biche, on l'invoque contre la panique, le mal caduc, la folie ou les frayeurs nocturnes"
Saint Gilles, dont le culte est florissant depuis le Moyen Age, à cause de l'abbaye gardienne de ses reliques, est un ermite dont l'histoire s'est souvent effacée au profit de la légende. Son tombeau fut un lieu de pèlerinage extrêmement fréquenté au Moyen Age, sur les chemins de Saint Jacques de Compostelle. Un grand nombre de lieux de culte lui sont dédiés tant en France qu'à l'étranger. (source: Les Saints du diocèse de Nîmes)
- Association des Chemins de saint Gilles
- Saint-Gilles (Gard) un grand lieu de pèlerinage médiéval
- La Paroisse de Saint Gilles - diocèse de Nîmes
- Abbatiale Saint-Pierre Saint-Gilles
- L'origine de Saint-Gély-du-Fesc 34980 provient de Saint Gilles dont le culte remonte au VIIIe siècle dans notre région...
- Saint Gilles, saint patron de la paroisse de Malestroit en Bretagne est aussi depuis 2017 le saint patron des camping-caristes qui sont accueillis notamment au Pardon, le samedi, fin août ou début septembre.
Au pays de Nîmes dans la province de Narbonne, au VIe ou VIIe siècle, saint
Gilles, dont le nom a été donné à la ville qui s'est formée ensuite dans la
vallée Flavienne, où lui-même aurait érigé un monastère et terminé sa vie.
Martyrologe romain
Guide du pèlerin de saint
Gilles Même si la route te paraît vide, longue et fastidieuse, elle
t'entraîne à entrer en toi-même. Ne ferme pas cette porte. Tu y trouveras un
jour ou l'autre Dieu qui est en toi, tu découvriras sa vérité. Il te donnera sa
vie. Car il est le Chemin, la Vérité, la Vie.
Prière des
camping-caristes Par l'intercession de Saint Gilles, nous te demandons ta
bénédiction, Seigneur. Qu'avec notre camping-car, nous fassions route en toute
sécurité, que nous fassions preuve de prudence pour la sécurité des autres.
Aide-nous, au cours de nos voyages, à toujours nous émerveiller devant ta
Création et à la respecter. Que les séjours et visites soient des moments de
découvertes mais aussi de rencontres amicales. Que ton Fils Jésus-Christ soit
notre compagnon de route maintenant et toujours. Amen. Paroisse St Gilles
Malestroit -- Diocèse de Vannes (56)
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1774/Saint-Gilles.html
Saint Gilles ou Égide
Abbé
(640-720)
Saint Gilles était d'Athènes. Son éducation fut brillante, comme elle devait être pour un jeune homme de race royale. On lui a attribué de remarquables ouvrages de médecine et de poésie; mais sa science était surtout celle des Saints.
Un jour qu'il se rendait à l'église, il rencontre un pauvre mendiant malade et presque nu, qui lui demande l'aumône. Ému de compassion, Gilles se dépouille de sa riche tunique et la lui donne: à peine le malheureux en est-il revêtu, qu'il se trouve en parfaite santé. Le jeune homme comprit, à ce miracle, combien l'aumône est agréable à Dieu. Peu de temps après, à la mort de ses parents, il distribua tous ses biens aux pauvres et se voua lui-même à la pauvreté, à la souffrance et à l'humilité. Mais Jésus-Christ ne Se laissa pas vaincre en générosité, et les miracles se multiplièrent tellement sous les pas du saint jeune homme, qu'il en fut effrayé lui-même et se résolut à quitter son pays et à faire voile pour l'Occident. Pendant la traversée, il calma par ses prières une effroyable tempête et débarqua bientôt à Marseille, où il guérit la fille de son hôtesse.
Mais il lui fallait la solitude; il la trouva dans une grotte sauvage, où, dégagé de toute préoccupation terrestre, il ne vécut que pour Dieu. Ses jours, ses nuits presque entières s'écoulaient dans une prière continuelle, dans l'adoration et la contemplation. Il jeûnait tous les jours; le lait d'une biche de la forêt, que Dieu lui envoyait, suffisait à son entretien.
Depuis trois ans, Gilles
habitait ce lieu solitaire, quand un jour Wamba, roi des Visigoths d'Espagne,
vint chasser jusque dans les forêts voisines avec une suite nombreuse. La biche
qui nourrissait le saint ermite, poursuivie par les chiens allait succomber;
enfin, exténuée de fatigue, elle vint se jeter aux pieds de son maître. Gilles,
ému jusqu'aux larmes, pria le Seigneur de protéger la vie de l'innocent animal.
Une flèche, lancée par un chasseur, vint frapper la main de l'homme de Dieu et
lui fit une blessure qui ne devait jamais guérir. La biche était sauvée, car le
roi, plein d'admiration pour cet homme qui lui apparaissait avec l'auréole de
la sainteté sur le front, donna ordre de cesser la poursuite. Il fit même, à la
demande de Gilles, bâtir là un monastère. Après avoir dirigé quelques temps ce
monastère, Gilles chercha de nouveau la solitude, et revint enfin terminer ses
jours parmi ses chers religieux.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_gilles_ou_egide.html
SAINT GILLES
Aegidius vient de e, sans, geos, terre, et dyan, illustre ou divin. II fut sans terre en méprisant les choses terrestres, illustre par l’éclat de sa science, divin par l’amour qui assimile l’amant avec l’objet aimé.
(Aegidius), Gilles, né à
Athènes, de lignée royale, fut, n'es son enfance, instruit dans les belles
lettres. Un jour qu'il se rendait à l’église, il donna sa tunique à un malade
gisant sur la place et demandant l’aumône : le malade s'en revêtit et fut
aussitôt guéri. Après quoi, son père et sa mère étant morts dans le Seigneur,
il fit J.-C. héritier de son patrimoine. Une fois, en revenant de l’église, il
rencontra un homme qui avait été mordu par un serpent. Saint Gilles alla
au-devant de lui, fit une prière et expulsa le venin. Il y avait dans (église
un démoniaque qui troublait les fidèles par ses clameurs, saint Gilles chassa
le démon et rendit cet homme à la santé. Or, comme le saint redoutait le danger
de la faveur humaine, il s'en alla en cachette sur le rivage de la mer, où
ayant vu des matelots luttant contre la tempête, il fit une prière et calma les
flots. Les matelots abordèrent et ayant appris que Gilles allait à Rome, ils le
remercièrent de sa bienfaisance et lui promirent de. le transporter sans frais.
Après être arrivé à Arles, où il resta deux ans avec saint Césaire, évêque de
cette ville, il y guérit un homme attaqué de la fièvre depuis trois ans mais
conservant toujours le goût du désert, il s'en alla secrètement et demeura
longtemps avec un ermite d'une sainteté remarquable, appelé Vérédôme : et il
mérita de faire cesser la stérilité de la terre. Partout ses miracles le
rendant illustre, il craignit donc, le danger dans lequel l’entraînerait la
louange des hommes. Il quitta Vérédôme et s'enfonça dans un désert où trouvant
un antre avec une petite fontaine, il rencontra une biche sans doute disposée
par Dieu pour lui servir de nourrice, elle venait à des heures fixes
l’alimenter de son lait. Les gens du roi vinrent chasser en cet endroit; dès
qu'ils virent cette biche, ils laissèrent les autres bêtes et se mirent à la
poursuivre avec leurs chiens : comme elle était serrée de près, elle se réfugia
aux pieds de celui qu'elle nourrissait. Gilles étonné de ce que la biche
bramait contre son habitude, sortit, et quand il eut entendu les chasseurs, il
pria le Seigneur de lui conserver celle qu'il lui avait donnée pour nourrice.
Or, pas un des chiens n'eut la hardiesse d'approcher de lui plus près que d'un
jet de pierre, mais tous revenaient sur les chasseurs en poussant de grands
hurlements. La nuit étant survenue, les chasseurs rentrèrent chez eux, et le
lendemain, ils revinrent- au même endroit, et furent (6) encore obligés de
retourner après s'être fatigués en vain. Le roi, instruit de cela, soupçonna ce
qu'il y avait et s'empressa de venir avec l’évêque et une multitude de
chasseurs. Mais comme les chiens n'osaient pas s'approcher plus qu'auparavant,
et qu'ils revenaient tous en hurlant, on entoura cet endroit que les ronces
rendaient inaccessible. Or, un archer, pour débusquer la biche, décocha à la
volée un trait qui fit une blessure grave à saint Gilles en prière pour la bête
; après quoi les soldats, s'étant ouvert un passage avec leurs épées,
parvinrent à la caverne où ils aperçurent un vieillard en habits de moine,
vénérable par ses cheveux blancs et par son âge, et à ses genoux la biche
couchée. L'évêque seul et le roi ayant mis pied à terre, allèrent le trouver,
après avoir fait rester leur suite en arrière. Ils lui demandèrent qui il
était, d'où il était venu, pourquoi encore il s'était enfoncé dans la
profondeur de ce vaste désert, et enfin quel était l’audacieux qui l’avait
blessé d'une manière aussi grave. Gilles répondit à chacune de leurs questions
; alors ils lui demandèrent humblement pardon, promirent de lui envoyer des médecins
pour guérir sa plaie et lui offrirent beaucoup de présents. Mais il ne voulut
pas employer les médecins, ne daigna pas même regarder les présents qu'on lui
offrait; bien au contraire, convaincu que la vertu se perfectionne dans
l’infirmité, il pria le Seigneur de ne pas lui rendre la santé tant qu'il
vivrait. Mais comme le roi en lui faisant de fréquentes visites en recevait la
nourriture du salut, il lui offrit d'immenses richesses, (lue le saint refusa
d'accepter, donnant conseil au roi (7) d'en fonder un- monastère où la
discipline de l’ordre monastique serait en vigueur. Et quand le roi l’eut fait,
saint Gilles, vaincu par les larmes et les prières du roi, se chargea après
bien des résistances, de la direction de ce monastère.
Dès que le roi Charles
eut été informé de la réputation du saint, il le sollicita de venir le trouver,
et le reçut avec respect. Pendant qu'ils s'entretenaient des choses du salut,
le roi lui demanda en grâce de vouloir bien prier pour lui, parce qu'il avait
commis un crime énorme qu'il n'oserait confesser à personne, pas même au saint
lui-même. Le dimanche suivant, pendant que saint Gilles, en célébrant la messe,
priait pour le roi, un ange du Seigneur qui lui apparut mit sur l’autel une
cédule sur laquelle était écrit à la suite d'abord le péché du roi, et enfin la
rémission qu'en avait obtenue le saint par ses prières, à condition toutefois
que le roi s'en repentirait, s'en confesserait et ne le commettrait plus. Il
était ajouté à la fin que quiconque invoquerait saint Gilles pour n'importe
quel péché, s'il cessait de le commettre, il aurait la certitude d'en recevoir
la rémission par ses mérites. La cédule fut présentée au roi qui, ayant reconnu
son péché, en demanda humblement pardon. Saint Gilles revint comblé d'honneurs,
et en passant par la ville de Nîmes, il ressuscita le fils du prince qui venait
de mourir. Très peu de temps après, saint Gilles annonça par avance que son
monastère allait être bientôt détruit par les ennemis, puis il alla à Rome. Il
obtint un privilège pour son église et à sa demande le pape lui accorda encore
deux portes en bois de cyprès sur (8) lesquelles étaient sculptées les figures
des apôtres. Il les jeta dans le Tibre en les confiant à la conduite de Dieu.
Comme il revenait, il rendit l’usage de ses jambes à un paralytique auprès de
Tyberon. Arrivé à son monastère, il trouva, dans le port, les portes dont il
vient d'être parlé, et après avoir rendu des actions de grâces à Dieu de ce
qu'il les avait conservées entières au milieu des périls de la mer, il les
plaça à l’entrée de son église pour en faire l’ornement et pour être un
témoignage de son union avec le siège de Rome. Enfin le Seigneur lui révéla en
esprit que le jour de sa mort approchait. Il en fit part à ses frères en
réclamant leurs prières, et s'endormit heureusement dans le Seigneur. Beaucoup
de personnes assurèrent avoir entendu les choeurs des anges qui portaient son
âme au ciel. Il vécut vers l’an 700 du Seigneur.
La Légende dorée de Jacques de Voragine nouvellement traduite
en français avec introduction, notices, notes et recherches sur les sources par
l'abbé J.-B. M. Roze, Chanoine Honoraire de la cathédrale d'Amiens Édouard
Rouveyre, Éditeur, 76, rue de Seine, 76 Paris MDCCCCII Tome
I - Tome
II - Tome
III. Numérisé en la fête de la chaire de Saint Pierre
22 février 2004
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/voragine/tome03/131.htm
St Gilles, abbé
Fête depuis le XIIème
siècle (sous Urbain IV), son introduction au calendrier a réduit la fête des 12 Saints
Martyrs de Bénévent à une simple commémoraison.
(Leçon des Matines (avant 1960)
Troisième leçon. Gilles, d’Athènes, et de sang royal, se livra dès sa
jeunesse avec tant d’ardeur à l’étude des saintes lettres et aux œuvres de
charité, qu’il semblait indifférent à tout le reste. Aussi, à la mort de ses
parents, distribua-t-il aux pauvres tout son patrimoine, se dépouillant même de
sa tunique, pour en revêtir un malade indigent qui fut guéri à ce simple
contact. Plusieurs autres miracles ayant augmenté sa réputation, Gilles,
craignant de voir son nom devenir célèbre, se rendit auprès de saint Césaire, à
Arles. Il le quitta deux ans après, pour se retirer dans un désert, où il vécut
longtemps dans une sainteté admirable, n’ayant pour nourriture que des racines
et le lait d’une biche qui venait à lui à des heures réglées. Un jour qu’elle
était poursuivie par la meute royale, cette biche se réfugia dans la grotte de
Gilles, où le roi de France étant arrivé, pressa vivement le Saint de consentir
à la construction d’un monastère en ce lieu. Le saint ermite, sur les instances
du roi, prit à regret la direction du monastère, et après une administration
pieuse et prudente de quelques années, s’endormit doucement dans le Seigneur.
SOURCE : https://www.introibo.fr/01-09-St-Gilles-abbe
La légende de Saint
Gilles, d’après Guillaume de Berneville
Depuis trois ans qu'il
était au désert, ne faisant qu'adorer Dieu, croire en lui et le servir, Gilles
n'avait jamais vu un homme et n'en avait entendu.
Il n'avait plus mangé
depuis quelque mille jours ni pain, ni viande, ni poisson, ne vivant que de
racines et, par gourmandise peut-être, de cresson.
Mais tant vont les choses
pour ceux qui se mortifient, qu'à la fin la santé défaille, les forces
disparaissent et la maladie guette : à ce point en était donc Gilles, qui
ne se sentait guère bien portant.
Or, écoutez le joli
miracle que Dieu fit pour son serviteur. Un jour qu'il était dans sa cabane de
feuillages, priant selon 1'ordinaire, l'Ermite entendit du bruit dans les
fourrés et il vit devant lui paraître une biche sauvage qui, sans crainte,
s'avançait vers lui.
Elle était étrangement
belle, beige clair et le regard d'une exquise douceur. Ses pis étaient pleins
de lait.
Comme Gilles, en silence,
la regardait approcher, la biche entra dans la logette et se coucha à ses
pieds, comme pour lui signifier qu'elle s'offrait à le servir.
Et Gilles, à qui les
intentions du Seigneur étaient toujours assez claires, comprit que Dieu la lui
envoyait.
Et voici comment la biche
miraculeuse servit l'Ermite affaibli. Pour lui rendre des forces, fallait-il
mieux que le lait ?
Chaque jour, elle courait
la campagne paissant les prés : quand venait l'heure de dîner point
n'était besoin que Gilles l'appelât, car elle savait parfaitement l'heure et
rentrait d'elle-même auprès de son ami.
Gilles lui avait fait une
logette de feuillages près de la sienne afin qu'elle fût protégée du froid de
la nuit.
Et cela dura de longs
mois, peut-être des années, sans que quiconque d'humain connût cette histoire,
hormis le Seigneur, qui connaît tout.
Or, en ce temps-là, le
maître du pays était Flovent, duc de Provence et de Gascogne, prince puissant,
qui était soumis au Grand Charles, alors roi de France.
C'était un homme fort
courtois, élevé à la française, honnête Chrétien et bon chevalier. II n'avait
qu'une passion au monde, la chasse, et son équipage était des plus beaux.
C'était merveille de voir
ses éperviers, ses vautours, ses gerfauts, et les chiens de sa meute, limiers,
mâtins et lévriers.
Il n'était point
d'exemple que cette meute, une fois lancée, eût abandonné la poursuite, et 1'on
ne comptait plus les cerfs, les daims, les chevreuils et les biches qui avaient
été mangés à sa table, sans compter maintes autres bêtes sauvages.
Ses terres allaient
jusqu'au bord du Rhône, à l'endroit où il est le plus large, non loin de la
vieille ville d'Arles, où le grand Saint Césaire enseigna.
Aussi quand, poursuivis
par les chiens, les animaux étaient arrêtés par le fleuve, bien rares étaient
ceux qui avaient chance d'échapper.
C'est au temps de l’Avent
que vient la saison de chasser la biche. Flovent était à Montpellier, et, pour
distraire ses vassaux et leur plaire, il les invita tous à une grande chasse,
les plus petits comme les plus hauts.
Levé de bon matin, il
partit donc avec deux meutes et toute la vaste cavalcade de ses hôtes. Des deux
meutes la moins bonne prit deux cerfs et la meilleure en a pris quatre.
Mais c'était une
biche que voulait le duc Flovent et de n'en point trouver il
commençait à se mettre en colère quand son veneur lui signala la
plus belle, la plus élégante des biches que jamais la Camargue eût
vues... Et tout l'équipage de courir après elle.
Cris des veneurs !
abois des chiens ! Par le bois et par la plaine, on galope à plein étrier.
Mais où est la biche ? Plus de biche ! Les uns croient 1'avoir vue
qui s'engageait dans une petite combe à l'impénétrable fourré, mais sa
disparition a été si rapide que les autres opinent qu'elle a bien pu s'envoler
au ciel.
Qui est bien marri ?
Le veneur. Nombreuse est l'assistance au château ; les beaux valets vêtus
de vair, d'hermine, de ciglaton et de pourpre servent un magnifique repas.
« Ah, veneur,
s'écrie le duc en se moquant, vous chassez donc la biche de nuit que vous
rentrez si tard ?
Et sans prise, n'est-ce
pas ? Je le vois à votre mine ! »
« Sire, répond le
chasseur, que demain Dieu me damne si je ne rapporte pas la tête de cette
bête ! »
Mais le lendemain, à
grands sons de cor, quand la chasse fut repartie, quand les chiens eurent
repris le vent de la biche, quand on l'eut encore trois grandes heures
pourchassée, ne voilà-t-il pas que le même mystère recommence !
Elle était là, la jolie
tête blonde, et brusquement, elle n'est plus là. Où donc est-elle ?
Sorcellerie ?
En rentrant à la nuit
lourde, les chasseurs n'étaient pas loin de le croire. Et quand ils rentrèrent
à Montpellier, le duc ne les reçut guère avec honneur.
Ce fut le troisième jour,
triste jour, jour de misère, que le drame se produisit. Elle broutait
paisiblement, la biche, dans un pré dégagé quand le duc reparut, avec ses
archers à l'affût, ses cavaliers et ses cent quarante chiens qu'il lança tous à
la fois.
Comme elle eut peur, la
pauvrette, comme elle crut venu son dernier jour ! Tout le bois
retentissait de cris horribles.
Il ne lui fallut rien de
moins que toute sa vigueur et son courage pour s'échapper une fois encore. Si
elle n'avait été si agile, d'elle c'en eût été fait.
Mais au moment où elle
bondissait sur la sente qui menait à son cher ermitage, un chien la suivit, et
derrière le chien un archer basque, preste et prompt presque autant qu'elle. Il
la vit disparaître dans le fourré et c'est alors qu'il fit un bien mauvais
coup. Il lâcha la corde de son arc et le trait s'envola...
L'homme écouta,
n'entendit rien. Peut-être un sourd gémissement... pas davantage. Et il
repartit en hâte crier au duc :
« Seigneur, Seigneur, je
sais où est cachée la biche. C'est à peine si un homme peut passer. Venez vite,
peut-être y est-elle encore ! »
Quand Flovent eut fait
dégager les broussailles et ouvrir la sente à son passage, il arriva avec les
siens dans une combe ravissante, dont la beauté leur fut à merveille.
C'était comme un verger planté
d'arbres à fruits, partout pêches, figues et amandes, qui répandaient une odeur
exquise.
Sans trop comprendre que
ces merveilles puissent mûrir en temps d'Avent, ils approchèrent ses compagnons
et lui, vers une cabane de feuillages qui se dressait dans la clairière.
Et là, ils trouvèrent un
homme exsangue, le visage aussi pâle que les poils de sa barbe, qui avait
encore un grand trait d'arc planté dans la poitrine et qui les regardait
doucement. A ses pieds était étendue la biche, et il la caressait de la main.
Alors, l’Évêque de
Montpellier, qui était de la suite du prince, s'écria :
« Ah, Duc, ne nous
étonnons plus que par deux fois, votre meute ait été bien mise en défaut !
Cette biche est sous la protection de Dieu et de Gilles, qui est le meilleur de
ses serviteurs ! Ce serait grand péché que d'y toucher dans la main même
de celui à qui elle a été donnée ! »
Aussitôt, s'agenouillant,
Flovent s’écria : « Saint Ermite Gilles, homme de Dieu, nous ne te
voulions aucun mal, à toi ! »
« A moi, peut-être,
répondit l'ermite, mais à cette douce bête que voici ?
Et crois-tu donc que, sur
la terre, tu n'aies qu'à pourchasser les bêtes et à leur donner la mort ?
Seigneur duc, je te le demande, ne viens plus chasser par ici, ni poursuivre
celle qui me nourrit ! »
A ces mots, Flovent fit
retour sur lui-même. En entendant le Nom de Dieu prononcé par les lèvres d'un
Saint, il se mit à pleurer.
N'était-il pas vrai qu'il
ne pensait guère au Seigneur, tout occupé à chasser les bêtes ? Et, ayant
fait soigner l'Ermite, il s'en retourna tout pensif.
Mais il revint souvent.
Le soir, en secret, tout seul, il arrivait le long de la sente silencieuse
jusqu'au petit vallon.
Chaque fois il apportait
quelque présent, que Gilles, doucement, l’obligeait à reprendre. « Que
voulez-vous donc, Ermite ? qu'attendez-vous de moi ? »
« Tous ces trésors
qui ne vous servent de rien pour le Salut de votre âme, donnez-les au Christ et
c'est Lui qui vous les rendra un jour ! »
Et le soir où Gilles lui
tint ce langage, le duc s'en retourna encore plus pensif. Mais les paroles du
Saint remuaient son âme et elles y faisaient leur chemin.
« Que devrai-je donc
faire, Saint Ermite, pour que Dieu accepte une offrande ? »
« Avec toutes tes
terres, et tes bijoux, et ton or, fais construire une Abbaye afin qu’un peuple
de Moines y prie nuit et jour pour toi, tes sujets et la paix de la
Chrétienté ! »
« Je l'accepte, à
une condition, que tu sois Abbé de ce Couvent, auquel je donnerai tout le
nécessaire, dortoir, chapitre et bon cellier, hôtellerie et réfectoire, le tout
construit en pierre blanche, la meilleure qu'on pourra trouver. »
Il ne fallut pas qu'un
soir pour décider l'Ermite Gilles. Le souci d'innombrables âmes, comme le porte
le Père Abbé, lui paraissait si lourd, si lourd !
Mais tandis qu'il
hésitait encore et que, dans sa chère solitude, il se demandait ce que Dieu
attendait de lui, voici qu’il sentit sur sa main la douce langue de sa biche.
Elle le regarda
longuement, puis elle se leva en étirant les pattes et, à pas lents elle s'en
alla. A trois reprises le Saint 1'appela, mais elle ne tourna même pas la tête.
Et c'est ainsi que
l'Ermite comprit que le temps de la solitude était pour lui achevé. Et c'est
ainsi qu'il accepta l'offre du duc Flovent.
Et c'est ainsi que sortit
de terre cette Abbaye que, sur le moment, on nomma Saint-Pierre, mais
qu'aujourd'hui nous appelons Saint-Gilles, en mémoire de l'Ermite à la biche et
de sa douceur.
SOURCE : http://reflexionchretienne.e-monsite.com/pages/vie-des-saints/septembre/saint-gilles-abbe-ermite-640-720-fete-le-01-septembre.html et
Saint Gilles (+720)
Fils de Théodore et
Pélagie, un couple appartenant à la noblesse d’Athènes, il distribue sa fortune
aux pauvres à la mort de ses parents,et se rend jusqu’en France. Arrivé en
Arles, il opère un miracle qui lui confère aussitôt une notoriété qu’il cherche
cependant à fuir. Il quitte donc la ville et passe près de deux ans dans une
grotte des bords du Rhone en compagnie d’un compatriote nommé Vérédème. Mais
toujours en quête d’une plus grande solitude, il repart à nouveau et s’installe
finalement dans une grotte nichée au creux d’une épaisse forêt des environs de
Nîmes. Sa seule compagnie est celle d’une biche, qui demeure auprès de lui en
tout temps et lui procure le lait dont il se nourrit. Un jour que le roi et sa
suite participent à une chasse dans les environs, un chasseur décoche une
flèche en direction de la biche dans l’espoir de la toucher, mais au lieu de
cela la flèche va se planter dans la jambe de Gilles. Le roi demande à ses
médecins de le soigner, et à partir de ce jour lui voue un grand respect.
Bientôt, il fait même bâtir un monastère pour les nombreux disciples qui
viennent se placer sous sa direction (Saint-Gilles du Gard) et dont il devient
l’abbé. Malheureusement, les hordes de Sarrasins s’abattent bientôt sur la
région et provoquent des ravages importants sur les édifices religieux. St
Gilles et ses religieux s’enfuient alors en direction d’Orléans pour se placer
sous la protection de Charles Martel. Peu de temps après, les Sarrasins ayant
été contraints à fuir vers l’Espagne, il retrouve les ruines de son monastère
et consacre le reste de sa vie à travailler à sa reconstruction.
SOURCE : http://www.peintre-icones.fr/PAGES/CALENDRIER/Septembre/1.html
Also
known as
Aegidius, Aegidus,
Aigeides, Aigigios, Egidio, Egidius, Egydius, Gil, Gilg, Gilgen, Gilgian,
Gilles, Ilg, Ilgen, Jilg
Profile
Born to a wealthy noble
family, when his parents died,
Giles gave his fortune to help the poor.
Known as a miracle worker.
To avoid followers and adulation, he left Greece c.683 for France where
he lived as a hermit in
a cave in the diocese of Nimes,
a cave whose mouth was guarded by a thick thorn bush, and a lifestyle so impoverished that,
legend says, God sent
a deer to
Giles to nourish him with her milk.
One day after he had
lived there for several years in meditation, a royal hunting party
chased the hind into
Giles’ cave. One hunter shot
an arrow into
the thorn bush, hoping to hit the deer, but instead hit
Giles in the leg, crippling him.
The king sent doctors to
care for hermit‘s wound,
and though Giles begged to be left alone, the king came
often to see him.
From this, Gile’s fame as
sage and miracle worker
spread, and would-be followers gathered near the cave. The French king,
because of his admiration, built the monastery of
Saint Gilles du Gard for these followers, and Giles became its first abbot, establishing
his own discipline there. A small town grew up around the monastery, and
upon Giles’ death,
his grave became
a shrine and
place of pilgrimage;
the monastery later
became a Benedictine house.
The combination of the
town, monastery, shrine and pilgrims led
to many handicapped beggars hoping
for alms; this
and Giles’ insistence that he wished to live outside the walls of the city, and
his own damaged leg,
led to his patronage of beggars,
and to cripples since begging was
the only source of income for many. Hospitals and
safe houses for the poor, crippled,
and leprous were
constructed in England and Scotland,
and were built so cripples could
reach them easily. On their passage to Tyburn for execution, convicts were
allowed to stop at Saint Giles’ Hospital where
they were presented with a bowl of ale called Saint Giles’ Bowl, “thereof
to drink at their pleasure, as their last refreshing in this life.”
In Spain, shepherds consider
Giles the protector of rams. It was
formerly the custom to wash the rams and
colour their wool a bright shade on Giles’ feast day, tie
lighted candles to their horns, and bring the animals down
the mountain paths to the chapels and
churches to have them blessed. Among
the Basques,
the shepherds come
down from the Pyrenees on 1 September,
attired in full costume, sheepskin coats, staves, and crooks, to attend Mass with their
best rams,
an event that marks the beginning of autumn festivals, marked by processions
and dancing in the fields. One of the Fourteen
Holy Helpers, the only one not to die as
a martyr.
Born
at Athens, Greece
between 710 and 724 in France of
natural causes
legend says that those
who attended his funeral heard choirs of angels singing and
then fading away as they carried his soul to heaven
his tomb is
in the crypt of
the abbey church of
Saint-Gilles in Gard, France
in 1562, Huguenots burned the abbey, murdered the monks,
looted the church,
and vandalized the tomb;
the surviving relics of Saint Giles were
distributed to other churches
in Scotland in
the seventeenth
century, his relics were
stolen from a church which
triggered a great riot
abandoned
people; against abandonment
—
in Austria
in Italy
Benedictine monk accompanied
by a hind
lilies growing in
the sand (refers to a legend that says three lilies blossomed
in dry sand as Giles explained three points to prove the perpetual virginity
of Mary to
a doubter)
Additional
Information
A
Garner of Saints, by Allen Banks Hinds, M.A.
Book of
Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Book
of Saints and Friendly Beasts, by Abbie Farwell Brown
In
God’s Garden, by Amy Steedman
Legends
of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, by Father Bonaventure
Hammer
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
Short
Lives of the Saints, by Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly
books
Lives of the Saints, by Omer Englebert
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Oxford Dictionary of Saints, by David Hugh Farmer
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
Some Patron Saints, by
Padraic Gregory
other
sites in english
images
video
webseiten
auf deutsch
Apotheke
zum Heiligen Aegidius
Legende der Heiligen für katholische Familien
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
Abbé
Christian-Philippe Chanut
fonti
in italiano
Abbazia
s. Egidio in Fontanella via Regina Teoperga
websites
in nederlandse
MLA
Citation
“Saint Giles“. CatholicSaints.Info.
16 June 2024. Web. 17 November 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-giles/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-giles/
Article
(Aegidius) (Saint)
(September 1) (7th century) Said to have been by birth a Greek. He passed his
life as a hermit in the South of France. The many miracles he wrought made him
famous in the West of Europe, as is evidenced by popular devotion and by the
many churches which bear his name. He died early in the eighth century. Butler
notes the very common confusing of this Saint Giles with another Saint of the
same name who was Abbot near Aries about two hundred vears earlier.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Giles”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
7 May 2016. Web. 17 November 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-giles/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-giles/
New Catholic
Dictionary – Saint Giles
Derivation
Latin: AEgidius
Profile
Confessor (7th
century), abbot.
Of a noble Athenian family, he went to Gaul,
where he established himself first in a wilderness near the mouth of the Rhone
and then by the River Gard. Later he withdrew to a forest near Nimes, where he
spent many years, his sole companion being a hind. Here he built a monastery,
which he placed under the Rule of Saint Benedict. The cult of Saint Giles
spread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, and numberless churches and monasteries have
been dedicated to him. Among the most important are the church of Saint Giles,
now Anglican,
Cripplegate, London, and Saint Giles’s Cathedral,
Edinburgh, now a Presbyterian church. Invoked as one of the Fourteen
Holy Helpers against epilepsy, insanity, and sterility of women. Emblems:
hind, crosier, hermitage.
Relics dispersed during Calvinistic disturbances
and partly brought to Saint Sernin, Toulouse, France. Feast,
Roman Calendar, 1
September.
MLA
Citation
“Saint Giles”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info.
25 May 2016. Web. 17 November 2025. <https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-giles/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-giles/
St. Giles
(Latin Ægidius.)
An Abbot, said to have
been born of illustrious Athenian parentage about the middle of the seventh
century. Early in life he devoted himself exclusively to spiritual things, but,
finding his noble birth and high repute for sanctity in his
native land an obstacle to his perfection, he passed over to Gaul, where he
established himself first in a wilderness near the mouth of the Rhone and later
by the River Gard. But here again the fame of his sanctity drew
multitudes to him, so he withdrew to a dense forest near Nîmes, where in the
greatest solitude he spent many years, his sole companion being a hind. This
last retreat was finally discovered by the king's hunters, who had pursued the
hind to its place of refuge. The king [who according to the legend was Wamba
(or Flavius?), King of the Visigoths, but who must
have been a Frank,
since the Franks had
expelled the Visigoths from
the neighbourhood of Nîmes almost
a century and a half earlier] conceived a high esteem for solitary, and would
have heaped every honour upon
him; but the humility of
the saint was proof against
all temptations.
He consented, however, to receive thenceforth some disciples, and built a monastery in his
valley, which he placed under the rule of St. Benedict.
Here he died in the early part of the eighth century, with the highest repute
for sanctity and miracles.
His cult spread rapidly
far and wide throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, as is
witnessed by the numberless churches and monasteries dedicated
to him in France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, and the British
Isles; by the numerous manuscripts in
prose and verse commemorating his virtues and miracles; and especially
by the vast concourse of pilgrims who from
all Europe flocked
to his shrine. In 1562 the relics of the saint were secretly
transferred to Toulouse to
save them from the hideous excesses of the Huguenots who were
then ravaging France,
and the pilgrimage in
consequence declined. With the restoration of a great part of the relics to the
church of St. Giles in 1862, and the discovery of his former tomb there in 1865,
the pilgrimages have
recommenced. Besides the city of St-Gilles, which sprang up around the abbey, nineteen other
cities bear his name, St-Gilles, Toulouse, and a
multitude of French cities, Antwerp, Bridges, and
Tournai in Belgium, Cologne and
Bamberg, in Germany, Prague and Gran
in Austria-Hungary, Rome and Bologna
in Italy,
possess celebrated relics of
St. Giles. In medieval art
he is a frequent subject, being always depicted with his symbol, the hind.
His feast is
kept on 1 September. On this day there are also commemorated another St. Giles,
an Italian hermit of the tenth
century (Acta SS., XLI, 305), and a Blessed Giles, d. about 1203, a Cistercian abbot of Castaneda
in the Diocese of
Astorga, Spain (op.
cit. XLI, 308).
Murphy, John
F.X. "St. Giles." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
6. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1909. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06559a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph P. Thomas.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil
Obstat. September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John
M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06559a.htm
Feastday: September 1
Patron: of beggars; blacksmiths; breast cancer; breast feeding; cancer patients; disabled people; Edinburgh (Scotland); epilepsy; fear of night; noctiphobics; forests; hermits; horses; lepers; mental illness; outcasts; poor peoples; rams; spur makers; sterility
Birth: 650
Death: 710
St. Giles, Abbot (Patron
of Physically Disabled) Feast
day - September 1
St. Giles is said to have
been a seventh century Athenian of noble birth. His piety and learning made him
so conspicuous and an object of such admiration in his own country that,
dreading praise and longing for a hidden life, he left his home and sailed for
France. At first he took up his abode in a wilderness near the mouth of the
Rhone river, afterward near the river Gard, and, finally, in the diocese of
Nimes.
He spend many years in
solitude conversing only with God. The fame of his miracles became so great
that his reputation spread throughout France. He was highly esteemed by the
French king, but he could not be prevailed upon to forsake his solitude. He
admitted several disciples, however, to share it with him. He founded a
monastery, and established an excellent discipline therein. In succeeding ages
it embraced the rule of St. Benedict. St. Giles died
probably in the beginning of the eighth century, about the year 724.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=186
St. Giles
According to tradition, St. Giles was born in Athens, Greece, and was of noble
extraction. After his parents died, he fled from his fatherland to avoid
followers and fame. He went to France, and in a cave in a forest near the mouth
of the Rhone he was able to lead the life of a hermit. Legend notes a hind came
everyday to his cell and furnished him with milk. One day the King's hunters
chased the hind and discovered St. Giles and his secret hermitage. The hunters
shot at the hind, but missed and hit Giles' leg with an arrow, which kept him
crippled the rest of his life. He then consented to King Theodoric's request of
building a monastery (known later as "Saint Gilles du Gard") and he
became its first Abbot. He died some eight years later towards 712.
In Normandy, France,
women having difficulty becoming pregnant would sleep with a picture or statue
of the saint.
In England, churches
named for St. Giles were built so that cripples could reach them easily. St.
Giles was also considered the chief patron of the poor. In his name charity was
granted the most miserable. This is evidenced from the custom that on their
passage to Tyburn for execution, convicts were allowed to stop at St. Giles'
Hospital where they were presented with a bowl of ale called St. Giles' Bowl,
"thereof to drink at their pleasure, as their last refreshment in this
life."
St. Giles is included in
the list of the fourteen "Auxiliary Saints" or "Holy
Helpers." These are a group of saints invoked because they have been
efficacious in assisting in trials and sufferings. Each saint has a separate
feast or memorial day. The group was collectively venerated on August 8, until
the 1969 reform of the Roman calendar, when the feast was dropped.
Patronage: abandoned;
Beggars; blacksmiths; breast cancer, breastfeeding; cancer patients; crippled
people; disabled; epilepsy; fear of night/noctiphobia; forests; handicapped;
hermits; horses; insanity; lepers; leprosy; mental illness; paupers; physically
disabled; rams; spur makers; woods; against lameness; against leprosy; against
sterility; against infertility
Symbols and
Representation: arrow, cave, crosier, deer, hind, doe, roe, hermitage
Often represented as:Hand pierced with arrows; hind pierced with arrows; gold
doe, pierced by a silver arrow; Benedictine with crosier, arrow piercing hand,
protecting hind, Benedictine monk accompanied by a hind, lilies growing in the
sand
Highlights and Things to
Do:
Pray to St. Giles for the
conversion of England and Scotland.
Learn more about St.
Giles:
Visit Christian
Iconography for images and symbols of St. Giles.
Visit this site to learn more about the influence St. Giles had
in England. Keep in mind that the church was a Catholic Church before Henry the
VIII confiscated all the Church's property. This site shows how the reformation affected St. Giles
Cathedral in Scotland.
Read The Golden Legend of St. Giles.
For children, read In God's
Garden—St. Giles by Amy Steedman.
St. Giles is one of the
Fourteen Holy Helpers. Read Legends of the Fourteen Holy Helpers – Saint Giles, Hermit and
Abbot. He was invoked against plague, epilepsy, mental illness, and
nightmares, for a good confession, and patron of cripples, beggars,
blacksmiths, and breast-feeding mothers.
SOURCE : https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-09-01
A Garner of Saints –
Saint Giles
Article
(Latin: Egidius;
Italalian: Egidio; French Gilles) Born of a noble family of Athens; but seeing
that his piety and erudition attracted great attention, he fled to France in
order that he might lead a solitary life. Before his departure he went one day
to the church and saw a sick man lying on the ground and asking alms. He gave
the beggar his tunic, and as soon as the man had put it on he was healed. On
his voyage to France the ship was assailed by a fearful tempest, but at his
prayers the tumult ceased. When they landed the sailors took him with them, and
continued to accompany him until he had found a cell, after which they left
him. In his cell he lived in complete solitude, being nourished by a hind, who
allowed him to milk her at certain hours. But the king’s sons hunted in the
forest, and seeing the hind, chased her with their dogs. And being hard pressed,
the hind took refuge at the feet of Giles, and he prayed that God would
preserve the creature’s life. The dogs would not come within a stone’s cast of
the holy man, but returned howling to the huntsman, who went home empty-handed.
When the king heard what had happened he hastened to the spot, followed by the
bishop and a multitude of huntsmen, but the dogs, as before, would not go near,
and ran away howling. Then a huntsman, in order to make the hind move, shot an
arrow carelessly, which severely wounded the holy man. The knight, however,
followed the path, and found the holy man dressed like a monk, with the hind at
his feet. The bishop and king went up to him, ordering the others to remain
behind, and asked him who he was, and why he was there. And when he told them
all, they asked his pardon for the wound, promising to send physicians. They
also offered him many gifts, but he refused both the gifts and the medicine,
praying to God that he might never again enjoy his former health. After this
the king visited him frequently, and offered him large sums, which he refused
for himself, but accepted for the purpose of founding a monastery, of which he
subsequently took charge. When Charles Martel heard of his fame he sent for him
and received him reverently. The king asked Giles to pray for him, as he had
committed a terrible sin which he dared to confess to no one. The following day
as Giles was praying for the king, an angel appeared to him, and placed a
schedule upon the altar, upon which it was written that the king had been
pardoned at Giles’s intercession, but that he must abstain from the sin in
future. Giles returned in honour to Nantes and raised the king’s son to life.
He died about the beginning of the eighth century. Among other events related
of him, are a visit from King Childebert, and the casting out of a devil from a
man in a church. 1
September.
Attributes
Hind taking refuge, the
saint’s hand pierced by an arrow.
MLA
Citation
Allen Banks Hinds, M.A.
“Saint Giles”. A Garner of Saints, 1900. CatholicSaints.Info.
19 April 2017. Web. 17 November 2025. <https://catholicsaints.info/a-garner-of-saints-saint-giles/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/a-garner-of-saints-saint-giles/
Golden Legend –
Life of Saint Giles
Here followeth the Life
of Saint Giles, and first the interpretation of his name.
Giles in English, and
Egidius in Latin. And it is said of E, that is without, and geos, that is the
earth, and dya, that is clear or godly. He was without earth, by despising of
earthly things, clear by enlumining of science, divine or godly by love,which
assembleth the lover to him that is loved.
Of Saint Giles.
Saint Giles was born in
Athens, and was of noble lineage and royal kindred. And in his childhood he was
informed in holy lettrure. And on a day as he went to the church, he found a
sick man which lay all sick in the way and demanded alms of Saint Giles, which
gave him his coat. And as soon as he clad him withal he received full and
entire health. And after that, anon his father and his mother died, and rested
in our Lord, and then Saint Giles made Jesu Christ heir of his heritage. On a
time as he went to the church a man was smitten with a serpent and died, and
Giles came against this serpent, and made his orison, and chased out of him all
the venom. There was a man which was demoniac in the monastery with other
people, and troubled them that heard the service of God. Then Giles conjured
the devil that was in his body, and anon he issued out, and anon he was all
whole.
Then Giles doubted the
peril of the world, and went secretly to the rivage of the sea, and saw there
mariners in great peril and like to perish in the sea. And he made his prayer,
and anon the tempest ceased, and anon the mariners came to land and thanked
God. And he understood by them that they went to Rome, and he desired to go
with them, whom they received into their ship gladly, and said they would bring
him thither without any freight or hire. And then he came to Arles, and abode
there two years with Saint Cezarien, bishop of that city, and there he healed a
man that had been sick of the fevers three years. And after, he desired to go
into desert, and departed covertly, and dwelled there long with a hermit that
was a holy man. And there by his merits he chased away the sterility and
barrenness that was in that country, and caused great plenty of goods. And when
he had done this miracle he doubted the peril of the glory human, and left that
place, and entered farther into desert and there found a pit, and a little
well, and a fair hind, which without doubt was purveyed of God for to nourish
him, and at certain hours ministered her milk to him.
And on a time servants of
the king rode on hunting, and much people and many hounds with them. It happed
that they espied this hind, and they thought that she was so fair that they
followed her with hounds, and when she was sore constrained she fled for succour
to the feet of Saint Giles, whom she nourished, and then he was much abashed
when he saw her so chauffed, and more than she was wont to be. And then he
sprang up and espied the hunters. Then he prayed to our Lord Jesu Christ that
like as he sent her to him, to be nourished by her, that he would save her.
Then the hounds durst not approach her by the space of a stone cast, but they
howled together, and returned to the hunters, and then the night came, and they
returned home again and took nothing. And when the king heard say of this thing
he had suspicion what it might be, and went and warned the bishop, and both
went thither with great multitude of hunters, and when the hounds were on the
place whereas the hind was, they durst not go forth as they did before, but
then they all environed the bush for to see what there was, but that bush was
so thick that no man ne beast might enter therein for the brambles and thorns
that were there. And then one of the knights drew up an arrow follily for to
make it afeard and spring out, but he wounded and hurt the holy man, which
ceased not to pray for the fair hind. And after this the hunters made way with
their swords and went into the pit, and saw there this ancient man, which was
clothed in the habit of a monk, of a right honourable figure and parure, and
the hind Iying by him. And the king and the bishop went alone to him, and
demanded him from whence he was, and what he was, and why he had taken so great
a thickness of desert, and of whom he was so hurt; and he answered right
honestly to every demand; and when they had heard him speak they thought that
he was a holy man, and required him humbly pardon. And they sent to him masters
and surgeons to heal his wound, and offered him many gifts, but he would never
lay medicine to his wound, ne receive their gifts, but refused them. And he
prayed our Lord that he might never be whole thereof in his life, for he knew
well that virtue should profit to him in infirmity. And the king visited him
oft, and received of him the pasture of health. And the king offered to him
many great riches, but he refused all. And after, he admonished the king that
he should do make a monastery, whereas the discipline of the order of monks
should be, and when he had do make it, Giles refused many times to take the
charge and the crosier. And at the last he was vanquished by prayers of the
king and took it.
And then king Charles
heard speak of the renown of him, and impetred that he might see him, and he
received him much honourably, and he prayed him to pray for him; among other
things because he had done a sin so foul and villainous that he durst not be
shriven thereof to him ne to none other. And on the Sunday after, as Saint
Giles said mass and prayed for the king, the angel of our Lord appeared to him,
and laid a schedule upon the altar where the sin of the king was written in by
order, and that was pardoned him by the prayers of Saint Giles, so that he were
thereof repentant and abstained him from doing it any more, and it was adjoined
to the end that, who that required Saint Giles for any sin that he had done, if
he left it that it should be pardoned to him. And after the holy man delivered
the schedule to the king, and he confessed his sin and required pardon humbly.
Then Saint Giles returned
thence with honour, and when he came to the city of Nemausense, he raised the
son of a prince that was dead. And a little while after he denounced that his
monastery should be destroyed of enemies of the faith. And after he went to
Rome and gat privileges of the pope to his church, and two doors of cypress, in
which were the images of Saints Peter and Paul, and he threw them into the
Tiber at Rome, and recommended them to God for to govern. And when he returned
to his monastery he made a lame man to go, and found the two doors of cypress
at the gate of his monastery, whereof he thanked God that had kept them without
breaking in so many adventures as they had been, and sith he set them at the gates of the
church for the beauty of them, and for the grace that the church of Rome had
done thereto. And at the last our Lord showed to him his departing out of this
world, and he said it to his brethren, and admonished them to pray for him, and
so he slept and died goodly in our Lord. And many witness that they heard the
company of angels bearing the soul of him into heaven. And he flourished about
the year of our Lord seven hundred.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/golden-legend-life-of-saint-giles/
St. Giles, Abbot
The life of St. Giles was compiled by
one who collected whatever memorials he could amass together, without discernment,
and who confounded the saint with the Abbot of Arles of the same name. See
Mabillon, Annal. Ben. t. 3, p. 433 et Sæc. 3, Bened. in Proleg. And especially
the learned dissertation and remarks of Stilting the Bollandist, Sept. t. 1, p.
284. Also the Maurist monks, Hist. Littér. de la France, t. 10, p. 60.
About the End of the Seventh Century.
HIS saint, whose name has been
held in great veneration for several ages in France and England, is said to
have been an Athenian by birth, and of noble extraction. His extraordinary
piety and learning drew the admiration of the world upon him in such a manner,
that it was impossible for him to enjoy in his own country that obscurity and
retirement which was the chief object of his desires on earth; and he dreaded
the sunshine of temporal prosperity and the applause of men, as fraught with
dangerous poison, which easily insinuates itself into the heart. Therefore,
leaving his own country, he sailed to France, and chose an hermitage first in
the open deserts near the mouth of the Rhone, afterwards nigh the river Gard,
and lastly, in a forest in the diocess of Nismes. He passed many years in this
close solitude, using no other subsistence than wild herbs or roots, and water,
conversing only with God, and living rather like an angel than a man; so
perfectly was he disengaged from earthly cares, and with so great purity of
affections, with such constancy and ardour was his soul employed in the
exercises of heavenly contemplation. His historian relates, that he was for
some time nourished with the milk of a hind in the forest, and that a certain
prince discovered him in hunting in those woods, by pursuing the chase of that
hind to his hermitage, where the beast had sought for shelter at his feet. The
reputation of the sanctity of this holy hermit was much increased by many
miracles which he wrought, and which rendered his name famous throughout all
France. Some, by mistake, have confounded this saint with one Giles, whom St.
Cæsarius made abbot of a monastery near the walls of Arles, and whom he sent to
Rome with his secretary, Messianus, in 514, to Pope Symmachus, to obtain of him
a confirmation of the privileges of the metropolitan church of Arles. But the
Bollandists prove very well, in a long and learned dissertation, that the great
St. Giles lived only in the end of the seventh, and beginning of the eighth
century, not in the sixth; and that the French were at that time masters of the
country about Nismes. Messianus and Stephen, in the second book of the life of
St. Cæsarius, inform us, that the French took Arles in 541, the year before the
death of St. Cæsarius; after which, the Goths yielded up to them that whole
province. St. Giles was highly esteemed by the French king; but could not be
prevailed upon to forsake his solitude. He, however, admitted several
disciples, and settled excellent discipline in the monastery of which he was
the founder, and which, in succeeding ages, became a flourishing abbey of the
Benedictin Order, though it has been long since converted into a collegiate
church of canons. A considerable town was built about it, called St. Giles’s,
which was famous in the wars of the Albigenses. This saint is commemorated in
the Martyrologies of Bede, Ado, and others; and is the patron of many churches in
France, Germany, Poland, &c.
Entire constant solitude is a state
which few are able to bear with unabated fervour in the uninterrupted exercises
of arduous penance and contemplation. A man in solitude, whom sloth often
warps, or whose conversation is not always with God and his holy angels, is his
own most dangerous tempter and worst company. Aristotle having defined man a
social creature, 1 or
one born for society, added, that he who lives alone must either be a god or a
beast. But that philosopher was unacquainted with the happiness of religious
contemplation. The ancient Christian proverb is more exact, that he who lives
always alone is either an angel or a devil. This state therefore is not without
snares and dangers; nor does an hermitage necessarily make a saint; but when a
person, by an extraordinary call, embraces it with fervour, and strenuously
applies himself to all the exercises of holy retirement and penance, such a one
being disengaged in his affections from all earthly ties, exchanges the society
of a vain and sinful world for that of God and holy spirits, and the contagious
commerce of foolish toys for the uninterrupted glorious employment of the
angels, and has certainly attained the highest degree of happiness under
heaven; this state is its novitiate, and in some degree an anticipation of its
eternal sweet and noble employ. He who accompanies these most fervent exercises
of contemplation and divine love with zealous and undaunted endeavours to
conduct others to the same glorious term with himself, shall be truly great
in the kingdom of heaven. 2
Note 1. [Greek]. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler
(1711–73). Volume IX: September. The Lives of the Saints. 1866
SOURCE : https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/lives-of-the-saints/volume-ix-september/st-giles-abbot
Weninger’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Aegidius or Giles, Abbot and Hermit
Article
Athens, the Capital of
Greece, was the birthplace of Saint Aegidius. His parents, Theodore and Pelagia,
were of high rank and wealthy, but they were still more distinguished for their
virtue and piety. Hence, their first care was, not to leave great riches to
their son, but to lead him in the path of rectitude by their example and
instruction. Aegidius followed the wishes of his parents in all things, and
already in his youth evinced a magnanimous contempt for the world and all that
is temporal, and a most generous love for the poor and unfortunate, whom he
endeavored to assist in every possible way. Af- ter the early death of his
parents, the pious youth gave the whole of his inheritance to the poor, with
the intention of serving God in voluntary poverty, and aspiring only to
heavenly treasures. This heroic deed God rewarded with still greater favors
than the former, and with the continual gift of miracles. A man possessed by
the evil spirit, one day disturbed the congregation in Church by terrific
howls. Aegidius went up to him and commanded the devil, in the name of Jesus
Christ, to be silent and leave the man; and he was immediately obeyed. At
another time, a poisonous serpent had wound itself around a man and mortally
wounded him. The Saint commanded the reptile to depart, and healed the man who
was already in his last agony. These miraculous events brought upon Aegidius so
much honor and esteem, that he resolved to leave his home and seek a place
where, unknown and without fear of receiving empty honors, he might serve the
Almighty. He therefore, went on board a ship which was going to France. During
the voyage, a terrible storm arose, which threatened destruction to all.
Scarcely, however, had Aegidius raised his hands to the Almighty, when the sea
became calm, and all signs of danger disappeared. When the ship arrived in
France, the Saint went to Arles, to the holy Archbishop Caesarius, and
requested to be led by him in the path of spiritual perfection. Two years were
thus spent by him; but after this time, he again secretly went away, desiring
to escape earthly praise; for, the gift he possessed of working miracles
procured for him everywhere the greatest veneration, which to him was
unendurable. Crossing a river, he came to an old hermit, with whom he lived for
a time a most quiet, holy life; but here also he soon became known for the many
miracles he wrought on the sick; and the great honors paid him drove him away
once more. In a dark forest to which he fled, he found, after long wandering, a
cavern in a rock, which he chose as a dwelling. The ground about it produced
nothing but wild herbs and roots, which became his only sustenance. As
notwithstanding this, he was determined to remain there and to serve God in
deep solitude, the Almighty provided for His servant by a miracle. He sent him,
daily at a certain hour, a hind which nourished him with her milk. The Saint,
humbly thanking heaven for this grace, found in it a new motive to serve the
Lord with still greater zeal. He led a life more angelic than human, occupying
his time in prayer, praising God, and pious meditations.
Some years later the King
of France was hunting in the same forest where Saint Aegidius dwelt. The dogs,
having pursued the hind, which fed the Saint with her milk, to the cavern,
barked loudly at its entrance, until a huntsman, who had followed them, shot an
arrow into the cave, with the intention of driving the animal out of it. But
instead of doing so, he wounded the holy man, who received the shot without
uttering the slightest complaint. The hunters, forcing their way into the
cavern, found him covered with blood, and the hind lying at his feet The King,
to whom the whole was reported, came to beg the hermit’s pardon, and ordered
his wounds to be bandaged and all possible care to be taken of his health. He
wished to bestow upon him a royal gift, but the Saint refused to accept his
offers. Before leaving, the King asked if there was nothing he could do for
him; to which the Saint answered that if the King wished really to confer a
favor on him, he would erect a monastery on the place where they were standing,
wherein the ancient discipline of the Egyptian hermits should be observed. The
King promised to build the monastery and kept his royal word
Hardly was the monastery
finished, when a great many desired to be admitted into it, in order to serve
God in solitude and with the greatest perfection. Saint Aegidius became their
Abbot, and how solicitous he was for their spiritual welfare may be concluded
from the eminent degree of holiness at which he arrived. He was in every virtue
a model to those under him and animated them to follow his example. The
miracles which he again wrought made him famous far and near. The greatest of
these was the conversion of the King, for whom Saint Asgidius had obtained from
God by his prayers, so efficacious a grace, that he confessed his great iniquities
and did penance until his death.
At length, the Saint,
full of merits, left this world on the first of September, towards the end of
the sixth century, after he had lived many years in great holiness, had
converted many hardened sinners and worked for the salvation of men and the
honor of the Almighty. The many miracles which took place at his tomb, gathered
there, in a short time, so great a number of people, that a considerable town
was built which, to this day, bears the name of the holy Abbot and hermit,
Aegidius.
Practical Considerations
• Saint Aegidius fled
from one place to another, to escape from the praises of men. Most persons act
very differently. They seek empty honor, and vain praises, by the little good
they do. Thus, in ancient times, acted the Scribes and Pharisees; this was the
moving power of their prayers, fasts and alms-giving. “They do aii rheir deeds
that they may be honored by men,’* says Christ. But what benefit did they
derive from it? The Saviour says: “They have received their reward.” (Matthew
6) This reward was the empty praise of men. They could have gained, by their
good deeds, an eternal reward in heaven, if they had done them rightly, and out
of love for God; but as they sought human praise, they received it as their reward
in this world, without the hope of anything further in heaven. Do not follow
their example. If you do kind or good deeds, as is your duty, do them not with
the intention of being praised by men, but to glorify the Almighty; do them for
love of Him. What avails all human praise? You can obtain so great a reward for
your works in heaven; why then do you endeavor to obtain so miserable a one on
earth? Where is the servant who would be satisfied with small wages when he is
offered more? Hence every morning, begin the day with the intention that you
will do and suffer for the honor of God all that is to be done and suffered.
Renew this intention during the day, and say:
“All for the glory of my
God: “or “Lord, for love of Thee!” In this manner, you will obtain for all your
works, ah eternal reward in heaven. Take heed, however, that you have this
intention not only for those works which in themselves are good, as for
instance, prayer, visits to the Churches, etc., but also, for those, which are
in themselves neither bad nor good, as the labors which you perform according
to your station in life, eating, drinking, sleeping, enduring heat or cold,
etc. “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever else you do, do all to
the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10)
• How miraculously was
Saint Aegidius nourished and preserved in the desert by the Almighty! In times
long gone by, God fed the prophet Elias by a raven; and in the time of the New
Covenant, He nourished Aegidius by a hind. Thus does God deal with His faithful
servants. Rather than abandon them, he works a miracle. If you desire of God
your temporal sustenance, serve him faithfully, and labor according to your
station in life, and He will surely give you all that is beneficial to you. An
excessive care for temporal goods, and an immoderate grief in adversity are
signs of very little trust in God. They are displeasing to the Almighty, and
more hurtful to us than we are willing to believe. Hence, when Christ gave to
those, who were too solicitous for their temporal welfare the parable of the
lily and the sparrow, both of which are clothed and fed by the Almighty, He
exhorted them not to be solicitous, but to seek, before all things, the Kingdom
of God, with the promise that, with it, they should receive all else they
needed. If you believe in this promise of the Lord, divest yourself of all
immoderate care and sadness. Seek first the kingdom of heaven, endeavor
earnestly to serve your God, work to the best of your ability and place your
trust in Providence. “Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.”
(Psalm 54)
In regard to what I have
said of the pious parents of Aegidius, I will add another instruction. Their
principal care was, not to leave to their son great treasures and riches, but
to lead him in the path of salvation. Oh, how happy was Aegidius to possess
such parents, and how pleasing was their conduct in the sight of the Lord!
There are parents who are anxious only to leave their children temporal goods,
and they amass these in every possible manner, even by fraud, theft, injustice
and other sinful means. With this end in view, they will not indemnify those
whom they have wronged, on the plea that they must not leave their children in
poverty. What blindness! What a deceit of Satan! It is true that parents are
obliged to endeavor, according to their station, to save something for their
children, which they may leave them after their death. Love for their children
requires this, and parents commit great sin who neglect to do so. But to accumulate
riches in an unjust manner in order to leave them to children, is unlawful,
neither is it true love. It is not lawful, as one breaks the seventh
commandment by obtaining wealth in such a manner. It is not true love, as it
does not benefit the children, but harms them; for, the curse of the Almighty
rests upon riches unjustly acquired, which, therefore, cannot bring happiness
to their possessors. If, notwithstanding all this, you will still call it love,
it must be a disorderly, foolish, and wicked love; since such parents love
their children more than God, as they offend Him for their children’s sake and
make themselves unhappy for all eternity, in order to give their children a
short worldly prosperity. And who can tell if this dishonestly acquired wealth
may not cause the children to lose heaven? Will such children thank their
parents in hell for the false love that prompted the accumulation of riches for
them by unjust means? If parents wish to show true love to their children, they
should leave them only what they have justly obtained, though it be ever so
little, and, with it, the blessing of God. For, as the Psalmist says: “Better
is a little to the just, than the great riches of the wicked.” (Psalm 36) The
first care of parents should be to procure spiritual riches for their children.
How this may be done, Saint Salvian teaches. He exhorts in the words of Saint
Paul: “Bring up your children in the doctrines and fear of the Lord,” and adds:
“Attend well, ye parents, to the possessions which you should procure for your
children: good instruction, the fear of God, virtue and piety. These are
possessions that will truly enrich your children and give them happiness.
Unjust riches give to the children but a short enjoyment, and bring upon both
parents and children, eternal misery. How senseless it is,” he continues, “to
rob yourselves of the heavenly inheritance, in order to leave to your children
one which is only temporal!” You will make your children rich, and thereby
reduce your selves and them to eternal beggary. It is right that you should
love your children; but love them not more than your own soul, not more than
God. If you endeavor to educate your children piously, as the parents of Saint
Aegidius did, they will be rich and happy; and for such love they will thank
you in heaven. But for a false love they will curse you through all eternity.
MLA
Citation
Father Francis Xavier
Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Aegidius or Giles, Abbot and Hermit”. Lives of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
30 April 2018. Web. 17 November 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-aegidius-or-giles-abbot-and-hermit/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-aegidius-or-giles-abbot-and-hermit/
Pictorial
Lives of the Saints – Saint Giles, Abbot
Saint
Giles, whose name has been held in great veneration for several ages in France
and England, is said to have been an Athenian by birth, and of noble
extraction. His extraordinary piety and learning drew the admiration of the
world upon him in such a manner that it was impossible for him to enjoy in his
own country that obscurity and retirement which was the chief object of his
desires on earth. He therefore sailed to France, and chose an hermitage first
in the open deserts near the mouth of the Rhone, afterward near the river Gard,
and lastly in a forest in the diocese of Nismes. He passed many years in this
close solitude, living on wild herbs or roots and water, and conversing only
with God. We read in his life that he was for some time nourished with the milk
of a hind in the forest, which, being pursued by hunters, fled for refuge to
the Saint, who was thus discovered. The reputation of the sanctity of this holy
hermit was much increased by many miracles which he wrought, and which rendered
his name famous throughout all France. Saint Giles was highly esteemed by the
French king, but could not be prevailed upon to forsake his solitude. He,
however, admitted several disciples, and settled excellent discipline in the monastery
of which he was the founder, and which, in succeeding ages, became a
flourishing abbey of the Benedictine Order.
Reflection – He who
accompanies the exercises of contemplation and arduous penance with zealous and
undaunted endeavors to conduct others to the same glorious term with himself,
shall be truly great in the kingdom of heaven.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-giles-abbot/
The
Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts – The Ballad of Saint Giles and the Deer
All in the forest far
away
Where no one ever came,
There dwelt a good man, old and gray,
Saint Giles the hermit’s name.
His forest home a rocky
cave
Beneath an aspen tree;
And for his friend Saint Giles did have
A Deer, who wandered free.
A gentle red and mottled
Deer
Who made her home close by,
Who at his call came without fear,
Forgetting to be shy.
Sure never all in lovely
France
Was there a Deer so tame;
Ah, but to see her start and prance
When he would call her name!
She gave him milk, his
simple fare,
And browsed upon the green,
Ah, such a gentle, loving pair
I wis was never seen.
And he was happy in his
cell,
And joyous ‘neath his trees,
Content with woodland beasts to dwell,
His only neighbors these.
The wood was dark, the
wood was grim,
And never till one day
Had human voices troubled him,
Or world-folk passed that way.
But on a dewy springtime
morn
When April climbed the hill,
There came the wind of silver horn,
Halloos and whistles shrill;
The galloping of horses’
feet,
The bloody bay of hounds,
Broke through the forest silence sweet
And echoed deadly sounds.
Saint Giles sat in his
lonely cell,
Whenas the rout drew nigh;
But at the noise his kind heart fell
And sorrow dimmed his eye.
He loved not men who hunt
to kill,
Loved not the rich and grand,
For in those days the Pagans still
Held lordship in the land.
But scarcely had he
reached the door
And seized his staff of oak,
When like a billow with a roar
The chase upon him broke.
With one last hope of
dear escape,
Into the open space
Bounded a light and graceful shape,
The quarry of the chase.
All flecked with foam,
all quivering
With weariness and fear,
Crouched at his feet the hunted thing,
His gentle friend, the Deer.
Behind her bayed the pack
of hounds,
Their cruel teeth gleamed white,
Nearing with eager leaps and bounds;
He turned sick at the sight.
Saint Giles looked down
upon the Deer,
Saint Giles looked up again,
He saw the danger drawing near,
The death, with all its pain.
He laid his hand upon her
head,
The soft head of his friend,
“And shall I let thee die?” he said,
“And watch thy hapless end?”
He stooped and gently
murmured, “Nay!”
Stroking her mottled side,
He stepped before her where she lay;
“They slay me first!” he cried.
Her frightened eyes
looked up at him,
Her little heart beat high,
She trembled sore in every limb,
The bushes parted nigh.
“Halloo! Halloo!” the
huntsmen cried
As through the hedge they burst;
An archer all in green espied
The crouching quarry first.
Swift as a thought his
arrow flew,
Saint Giles threw out his arm,
Alack! the aim was all too true,
Saint Giles must bear the harm.
The arrow pierced too
well, too well;
All in that mournful wood
Saint Giles upon the greensward fell,
And dyed it with his blood.
He fell, but falling laid
his hand
Upon the trembling Deer,
“My life for hers, dost understand?”
He cried so all could hear.
Now as upon the green he
lay
All in a deathly swound,
The King dashed up with courtiers gay
And looked upon his wound;
The King rode up, and
“Ho!” he cried,
“Whom find we in our wood?
Who spares the deer with mottled hide?
Who sheds an old man’s blood?”
The King looked down with
ruthful eye
When all the thing was told,
“Alack!” he cried, “he must not die,
So kind a man and bold.
“Bear me the Saint into
his cave;
Who falls to save his friend
Deserves for leech his King to have;
I will his pallet tend.”
They spared to him the
sore-bought Deer;
And in that lowly cell
For many weary days and drear
The King came there to dwell.
The King, who was a
godless man,
A pagan, heart and soul,
Played nurse until the wound began
To heal, and Giles was whole.
But in the little forest
cave
The King learned many things
Known to the meanest Christian slave,
But secrets from the kings.
For good Saint Giles had
won his heart
By his brave deed and bold,
And ere the great King did depart
His Christian faith he told.
And while the red Deer
stood beside,
The King gave Giles his word
That e’er a Christian he would bide,
And keep what he had heard.
And so the monarch rode
away
And left the two alone,
Saint Giles a happy man that day,
The good Deer still his own.
Safe from the eager
hunting horde
The Saint would keep his friend,
Protected by the King’s own word
Thenceforth unto the end.
For unmolested in his
cell,
Careless of everything
Giles with his friendly Deer could dwell
Liege to a Christian King.
– from The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts, by Abbie
Farwell Brown, illustrations by Fanny Y. Cory, 1900
Calendar
of Scottish Saints – Saint Egidius or Giles, Abbot
Article
A.D. 714.
This saint never laboured in Scotland, yet the honour shown to him in the
country is sufficient reason for the mention of his name here. He is said to
have been an Athenian by birth, who fled from his native land to escape the
admiration excited by his extraordinary sanctity. He settled in France and
founded a monastery in the neighbourhood of Nismes, where many disciples placed
themselves under his guidance, and where he died and was laid to rest.
His cultus extended
from France into other countries. Saint Giles was honoured in Edinburgh as
early as 1150, when a monastery existed under his invocation. He became the
recognised patron saint of the city, and his figure appeared in the armorial
bearings of Edinburgh, accompanied by the hind which is said in his legend to
have attached herself to the saint. Since the Reformation the figure of the
saint has disappeared, though that of the animal remains.
The beautiful Church of
Saint Giles was re built in the 15th
century, and was erected into a collegiate church by Pope Paul II. It still
continues to be the glory of the Scottish capital. This church possessed an
arm-bone of the saint, for which a rich reliquary was provided by the city.
Fairs were formerly held in honour of Saint Giles at Moffat and also at Elgin,
where the parish church bore his name.
MLA
Citation
Father Michael
Barrett, OSB.
“Saint Egidius or Giles, Abbot”. The Calendar of
Scottish Saints, 1919. CatholicSaints.Info.
7 December 2019. Web. 17 November 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/calendar-of-scottish-saints-saint-egidius-or-giles-abbot/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/calendar-of-scottish-saints-saint-egidius-or-giles-abbot/
Legend
Athens, in Greece, was
the native city of Saint Giles. He was of noble parentage, and devoted himself
from early youth to piety and learning. After the death of his parents he
distributed his rich inheritance to the poor, and to escape the applause of men
for his charity left his country to bury himself in obscurity.
He sailed for France, and
on his arrival there retired to a deserted country near the mouth of the river
Rhone. Later he made his abode near the river Gard, and finally buried himself
in a forest in the diocese of Nimes. In this solitude he passed many years,
living on wild herbs and roots, with water for his drink. It is related that
for some time a hind came daily to be milked by him, thus furnishing him
additional sustenance. Here he lived, disengaged from earthly cares, conversing
only with God, and engaged in the contemplation of heavenly things.
One day the king
instituted a great hunt in the forest where Giles lived, and encountered the
hind. Giving chase, the royal hunter was led to the saint’s hut, where the
panting animal had sought refuge. The king inquired who he was, and was greatly
edified at the holiness of his life. The fame of the saintly hermit now spread
far and wide, and was much increased by the many miracles wrought through his
intercession. The king tried to persuade him to leave his solitude, but
prevailed upon him only in so far, that Giles accepted several disciples and
founded a monastery in which the rule of Saint Benedict was observed, and of
which he was chosen the abbot. He governed his community wisely and well, and
at the earnest solicitation of his monks was ordained priest.
The fame of Saint Giles’
sanctity induced the Frankish King, Charles Martel to call him to his court to
relieve him of a great trouble of conscience. The saint made the journey, and
told the king that he would find relief and comfort only by the sincere
confession of a sin which he had hitherto concealed. The king followed his
advice, found interior peace and dismissed Giles with many tokens of gratitude.
On his homeward journey the saint raised the recently deceased son of a
nobleman to life.
After a short stay in his
monastery Saint Giles went to Rome, to obtain from the Pope the confirmation of
some privileges and the apostolic blessing for his community. The Pope granted
his wishes, and presented him, besides, with two grand and beautifully carved
doors of cedar wood for his church.
Saint Giles died at a
ripe old age on September 1, 725. Many miracles were wrought at his tomb.
Lesson
Saint Giles left his
native country and retired into solitude to escape the notice and applause of
the world, and served God as a recluse. To lead such a life, there must be a
special call from God. It is not suited to all, and even inconsistent with the
duties of most men. But all are capable of disengaging their affections from
the inordinate attachment to creatures, and of attaining to a pure and holy
love of God. By making the service of God the motive of their thoughts and
actions, they will sanctify their whole life.
In whatever conditions of
life we may be placed, we have opportunities of subduing our evil inclinations
and mortifying ourselves by frequent self-denials, of watching over our hearts
and purifying our senses by recollection and prayer. Thus each one, in his
station of life, may become a saint, by making his calling an exercise of
virtue and his every act a step higher to perfection and eternal glory.
Prayer of the Church
O Lord, we beseech Thee
to let us find grace through the intercession of thy blessed confessor Giles;
that what we can not obtain through our merits be given us through his
intercession. Through Christ our Lord Amen.
– from Mary,
Help of Christians, and the Fourteen Saints Invoked as Holy Helpers,
by Father Bonaventure
Hammer
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/legends-of-the-fourteen-holy-helpers-saint-giles-hermit-and-abbot/
It was in the beautiful
land of Greece that Saint Giles was born, very far away from the grey northern
city, whose cathedral bears
his name. His parents were of royal blood, and were, moreover, Christians; so
the boy was brought up most carefully, and taught all that a prince should
know.
He was a dreamy, quiet
boy, and what he loved best was to wander out in the green woods by himself,
with no companions but the animals and birds and flowers. He would lie for
hours watching the birds busily build their nests, or the rabbits as they
timidly peeped at him out of their holes. And soon all the woodland creatures
began to look upon him as their friend, and even the wildest would come
gradually nearer and nearer, almost within reach of his hand; and they seemed
to listen when he talked to them, as if they could understand what he said. One
thing they certainly did understand, and that was that he loved them and would
do them no harm.
Saint Giles could not
bear to see anything suffer, and his pity was great for all those in pain; and
often he would mend a bird’s broken wing, or bind up a little furry foot that
had been torn in a trap; and the birds and beasts always lay quiet under his
hand, and seemed to know that he would cure them, even though the touch might
hurt.
It happened that one day,
when Saint Giles was kneeling in church, he saw a poor beggar lying there on
the cold, stone floor. He had scarcely any clothes to keep him warm, and his
face had a hungry, suffering look, which filled the heart of the saint with
pity. He saw that the poor man was ill and trembling with cold, so without a
moment’s thought, he took off his own warm cloak and tenderly wrapped it round
the beggar.
The warmth of the cloak seemed
to bring life back to the poor chilled body, and when Saint Giles had given him
food and wine, he was able to lift himself up, and to bless the kind youth who
had helped him.
And when the people saw
what had happened they thought Saint Giles had worked a miracle, and cured the
man by his wonderful touch; for they did not realise that all kind deeds work
miracles every day.
It did not please Saint
Giles that people should think he possessed this miraculous gift of healing,
and he had no wish to be called a saint. He only longed to lead his own quiet
life and to help all God’s creatures who needed his care. But the people would
not leave him alone, and they brought to him those who were sick and lame and
blind, and expected that he would heal them.
It is true that many
needed only a little human aid, and the food and help which Saint Giles gave
them would soon make them well again; but there were some he could not help,
and it wrung his heart to see their pleading eyes, and to watch them bring out
their little store of hard-earned money, eager to buy the aid which he so
willingly would have given had he been able.
So at last Saint Giles
determined to leave his native city, for he had been all alone since his father
and mother had died. He wished to escape from the anxious crowds that refused
to leave him in peace; but first he sold all that he had and gave it to the
poor of the city, an act which made them surer than ever that he was one of
God’s saints. Then he sailed away across the sea to a far-off country.
There Saint Giles found a
lonely cave in which an old hermit lived. “Here at last I shall find peace and
quietness,” said he to himself, “and men will soon forget me.”
But even here ere long
his friends found him, for his fame had spread across the seas. So once more he
set out and went further and further away, by paths that few had ever trod
before, until in the depths of a green forest he found another shelter, a cave
among grey rocks overgrown with lichens, and hidden by the sheltering boughs of
the surrounding trees. Saint Giles had always loved the woods and this was just
the home he had longed for. A clear stream flowed not far off, and his only
companions would be the birds and beasts and flowers.
Early in the morning the
birds would wake him with their song, and the wild creatures would come
stealing out of the wood to share his meal. And his silent friends, the
flowers, would cheer and help him by their beauty, and remind him of God’s
garden whose gate would one day open for him, where he would wander in the
green pastures beside the still waters of Life for evermore.
But of all his companions
the one Saint Giles loved best was a gentle white doe, who came to him as soon
as he settled in the cave. She seemed to have no fear of him from the first,
and stayed with him longer and longer each time, until at last she took up her
abode with him, and would never leave him, lying close to him when he slept,
and walking by his side wherever he went.
This peaceful life went
on for a long time and it seemed as if nothing could disturb its quiet
happiness. But it happened that one day as Saint Giles was praying in the cave,
and his companion, the white doe, was nibbling her morning meal of fresh grass
by the banks of the stream, a curious noise was heard afar off. It came nearer
and nearer, and then shouts of men’s voices could be heard, the sound of horses
galloping and the note of the hunter’s horn. Then came the deep baying of dogs,
and before the startled doe could hide, the whole hunt was upon her. With a wild
halloo they chased her across the greensward and through the trees, and just as
she disappeared into the cave, one of the huntsmen drew his bow and sent an
arrow flying after her. Then they all dismounted and went to see what had
become of the hunted doe, and soon found the opening into the cave. But what
was their surprise, when they burst in, to find an old man kneeling there. He
was sheltering the terrified doe who had fled to him for refuge, and an arrow
had pierced the kind hand that had been raised to shield her.
The huntsmen were ashamed
of their cruel sport when they saw the wounded hand of the old man and the
trembling form of the white doe as it crouched behind him, and they listened
with reverence to the hermit’s words as he spoke to them of man’s duty towards
God’s dumb creatures. The King of France, who was one of the hunting party,
came often after this to see Saint Giles, and at last offered to build him a
monastery and give him all that he could want; but the old man begged to be
left alone in his woodland cave, to serve God in peace and quietness. So there
he lived quietly and happily for many years, until God took him, and he left
his cave for the fairer fields of paradise.
People loved the thought
of this peaceful old saint who dwelt in the woods and was the protector of all
sorrowful and suffering creatures, and so they often called their churches
after Saint Giles, especially those churches which were built in the fields or
near green woods.
The surroundings of many
of these churches are to-day changed. There are no fields now round his
great cathedral church
in the old town of Edinburgh; but the poor and sick and sorrowful crowd very
near to its shelter, and the memory of the pitiful heart of the gentle old
saint still hovers like a blessing round the grey old walls.
– from In God’s Garden, by Amy Steedman
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/in-gods-garden-saint-giles/
Encyclopedia
Britannica – Saint Giles
Article
Giles (Gil, Gilles),
Saint, the name given to an abbot whose festival is celebrated on the 1st of
September. According to the legend, he was an Athenian (Aegidius) of royal
descent. After the death of his parents he distributed his possessions among
the poor, took ship, and landed at Marseilles. Thence he went to Arles, where
he remained for two years with Saint Caesarius. He then retired into a
neighbouring desert, where he lived upon herbs and upon the milk of a hind
which came to him at stated hours. He was discovered there one day by Flavius,
the king of the Goths, who built a monastery on the place, of which he was the
first abbot. Scholars are very much divided as to the date of his life, some
holding that he lived in the 6th century, others in the 7th or 8th. It may be
regarded as certain that St Giles was buried in the hermitage which he had
founded in a spot which was afterwards the town of St-Gilles (diocese of Nîmes,
department of Gard). His reputation for sanctity attracted many pilgrims.
Important gifts were made to the church which contained his body, and a
monastery grew up hard by. It is probable that the Visigothic princes who were
in possession of the country protected and enriched this monastery, and that it
was destroyed by the Saracens at the time of their invasion in 721. But there
are no authentic data before the 9th century concerning his history. In 808
Charlemagne took the abbey of St-Gilles under his protection, and it is
mentioned among the monasteries from which only prayers for the prince and the
state were due. In the 12th century the pilgrimages to St-Gilles are cited as
among the most celebrated of the time. The cult of the saint, who came to be
regarded as the special patron of lepers, beggars and cripples, spread very
extensively over Europe, especially in England, Scotland, France, Belgium and
Germany. The church of St Giles, Cripplegate, London, was built about 1090,
while the hospital for lepers at St Giles-in-the-Fields (near New Oxford
Street) was founded by Queen Matilda in 1117. In England alone there are about
150 churches dedicated to this saint. In Edinburgh the church of St Giles could
boast the possession of an arm-bone of its patron. Representations of St Giles
are very frequently met with in early French and German art, but are much less
common in Italy and Spain.
MLA
Citation
Hippolyte Delehate.
“Saint Giles”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911. CatholicSaints.Info.
31 December 2019. Web. 17 November 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/encyclopedia-britannica-saint-giles/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/encyclopedia-britannica-saint-giles/
Sant' Egidio Abate
sec. VI-VII
L'epoca in cui visse
l'abate Egidio (in francese Gilles) non si conosce con precisione. Alcuni
storici lo identificano con l'Egidio inviato a Roma da S. Cesario di Arles
all'inizio del secolo VI; altri lo collocano un secolo e mezzo più tardi, e
altri ancora datano la sua morte tra il 720 e il 740. La leggenda in questo
caso non ci viene in aiuto, poiché tra i vari episodi della vita del santo
annovera anche quello che viene illustrato da due vetrate e da una scultura del
portale della cattedrale di Chartres, in cui è raffigurato Sant'Egidio mentre
celebra la Messa e ottiene il perdono di un peccato che l'imperatore Carlo
Magno non aveva osato confessare a nessun sacerdote. La tomba del santo,
venerata in un'abbazia della regione di Nimes, risaliva probabilmente all'epoca
merovingica, anche se l'iscrizione non era anteriore al secolo X, data in cui
fu anche composta la Vita del santo abate, intessuta di prodigi sul tipo delle
pie leggende raccontate a scopo di edificazione. Numerose sono le
testimonianze del suo culto in Francia, Belgio e Olanda. (Avvenire)
Patronato: Eremiti,
Madri, Cavalli
Etimologia: Egidio =
figlio di Egeo, nato sull'Egeo, dal greco
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale, Cerva
Martirologio
Romano: Nel territorio di Nîmes nella Gallia narbonense, ora in Francia
meridionale, sant’Egidio, da cui poi prese il nome la cittadina fiorita nella
regione della Camargue, dove si tramanda che egli costruì un monastero e pose
termine al corso della sua vita mortale.
Nella famiglia
francescana il nome di Egidio è molto caro, per essere stato onorato da vari
beati, il più noto dei quali, celebrato il 23 aprile, è il terzo compagno di S.
Francesco, quel candido frate Egidio che della sua origine contadinesca aveva
serbato l'operosità e la saggezza, costantemente pervaso da "perfetta
letizia" e dal dono dell'arguzia. Ma il santo odierno, assai popolare in
Francia, non appartiene alla famiglia francescana, essendo vissuto molti anni
prima di S. Francesco. L'epoca in cui visse l'abate Egidio (in francese Gilles)
non si conosce con precisione. Alcuni storici lo identificano con l'Egidio
inviato a Roma da S. Cesario di Arles all'inizio del secolo VI; altri lo
collocano un secolo e mezzo più tardi, e altri ancora datano la sua morte tra
il 720 e il 740.
La leggenda in questo
caso non ci viene in aiuto, poiché tra i vari episodi della vita del santo
annovera anche quello che viene illustrato da due vetrate e da una scultura del
portale della cattedrale di Chartres, in cui è raffigurato S. Egidio mentre
celebra la Messa e ottiene il perdono di un peccato che l'imperatore Carlo
Magno (768-814) non aveva osato confessare a nessun sacerdote. La tomba del
santo, venerata in un'abbazia della regione di Nimes, risaliva probabilmente
all'epoca merovingica, anche se l'iscrizione non era anteriore al secolo X,
data in cui fu anche composta la Vita del santo abate, intessuta di prodigi sul
tipo delle pie leggende raccontate a scopo di edificazione.
Tra le narrazioni che più
hanno contribuito alla popolarità del santo vi è quella della cerva inviata da
Dio per recare il latte al pio eremita, che viveva da anni rintanato in un
bosco, lontano dal consorzio umano. Un giorno la benefica cerva incappò in una
battuta di caccia condotta dal re in persona. Il regale cacciatore inseguì la
preda, ma al momento di scoccare la freccia non si accorse che l'animale
spaurito era già ai piedi dell'eremita. Così il colpo destinato al mansueto
quadrupede ferì, seppur di striscio, il pio anacoreta. L'incidente ebbe un
seguito facilmente intuibile: il re, divenuto amico di Egidio, si fece
perdonare facendogli omaggio dell'intero territorio, sul quale più tardi sorse
una grande abbazia. Qui il buon eremita, in cambio della solitudine
irrimediabilmente perduta, ebbe il conforto di veder prosperare un'attiva
comunità di monaci, di cui Egidio fu l'abbas, cioè il padre. Numerose sono le
testimonianze del suo culto in Francia, Belgio e Olanda, in cui viene invocato
contro il delirio della febbre, la paura e la follia.
Autore: Piero
Bargellini
La storia di Sant’Egidio (in francese Gilles) si intreccia tra storia e leggenda. Si sa che è esistito ma non precisamente quando. Di origini greche si trasferisce nella Francia meridionale, in Provenza, si presume nell’VIII secolo (ma altre fonti indicano il VI secolo) dove a Saint-Gilles, presso Arles, fa costruire un convento, ancora oggi meta di grande e devoto pellegrinaggio. Fin da ragazzo Egidio, di famiglia benestante, con le sue preghiere compie miracoli di guarigione. Una volta il mare in tempesta, grazie ad Egidio, d’improvviso si acquieta. Dove arriva lui la natura diventa rigogliosa: il raccolto abbondante, gli alberi colmi di frutti, i fiumi ricchi di pesci.
Celebre è la storia della cerva. Egidio trascorre il suo tempo da solo in un bosco della Francia meridionale. Prega molto. Gli tiene compagnia una cerva inviata da Dio per dargli il necessario nutrimento con il suo latte. Un giorno, il re dei Visigoti Wamba, durante una battuta di caccia, nel tentativo di colpire una cerva (preda ambita tra i cacciatori) che va a rifugiarsi accanto ad Egidio, ferisce non gravemente il monaco. I cani, davanti alla cerva e all’eremita ferito, stranamente, non si avvicinano. Il re si pente dell’accaduto e chiede perdono ad Egidio. Diventa suo amico e, per rimediare, offre denaro e oro che il monaco rifiuta. Allora il re regala il terreno su cui Egidio costruisce la grande abbazia che reca il suo nome. Il convento diventa un’abbazia importante dove confluiscono numerosi monaci.
Si racconta di tanti miracoli avvenuti grazie alla preghiere di Egidio, come la guarigione dalla febbre e dai deliri di pazzia. Sant’Egidio muore, si presume, il 1° settembre del 720. È particolarmente venerato in Francia, ma anche in Belgio e Olanda dove molte chiese sono a lui intitolate. È protettore di foreste, eremiti, indigenti, mendicanti e disabili. Viene invocato per il buon allattamento e contro il delirio della febbre, l’epilessia, gli attacchi di panico, la paura, le fobie, la pazzia, la lebbra, la sordità.
Autore: Mariella Lentini
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/68500
Cola da Orte, Pannelli di
custodia per statua con Storie della vita di sant'Egidio e disciplinati (1475 - 1480 ca.),
tempera su tavola; Orte, Museo Diocesano d'Arte Sacra
Storia del Santo
Sant’Egidio (fr. Gilles)
VII/VIII sec. ? – eremita
– festa 1 ° settembre
«Il beatissimo Egidio è
il più sollecito di tutti i santi a giungere in soccorso dei bisognosi, dei
tribolati e degli afflitti che a lui si rivolgono»: così la Guida del
pellegrino di Compostella (Codex calixtinus, V, 8) presentava questo antico
eremita a coloro che, diretti al celebre santuario della Galizia, giungevano
lungo la via tolosana alla tappa obbligata di St-Gilles-du-Gard, nella regione
di NT-mes. Qui, sul finire del secolo XI, una nuova basilica era stata
costruita sull’antica cripta che conservava il corpo di Egidio, racchiuso in
una tomba d’età merovingica, ma la cui iscrizione risaliva al X sec.
In seguito Egidio si sarebbe recato a Roma per porre il suo monastero sotto la protezione papale, ottenendo dal pontefice privilegi che sottraevano il cenobio ad ogni altra ingerenza. Morì poco dopo il ritorno da Roma, nella notte del 1° settembre.
Le incertezze e le contraddizioni del racconto agiografico rendono difficile qualsiasi precisa connotazione storica del personaggio, e permettono soltanto di affermare che Egidio fu un eremita o un monaco vissuto nella regione di Nìmes, forse tra VII e VIII secolo, del quale non si doveva conoscere ormai più nulla quando, a partire dal secolo X, lo sviluppo del monastero che ne custodiva le reliquie diede al suo nome una vastissima fama. I monaci di St-Gilles-du-Gard, con l’accrescersi dell’importanza del loro cenobio, tentarono ripetutamente di sottrarsi alla giurisdizione esercitata su di loro, certamente ancora nel IX secolo, dai vescovi di Nìmes. Ciò spiega probabilmente l’inserimento nella Vita dell’episodio del viaggio di Egidio a Roma e la successiva presenza tra i documenti del monastero di due bolle pontificie — rivelatesi in modo evidente dei falsi – con le quali nell’878 papa Giovanni VIII avrebbe ristabilito nei suoi diritti, violati dai presuli di Nimes, l’abate di St-Gilles, basandosi sulla presunta donazione del cenobio fatta dal fondatore alla Santa Sede.
Il culto di Egidio conobbe nei secoli X-XIII una dimensione europea. Reliquie del santo si trovavano in varie località della Francia (in particolare nella chiesa di St-Sernin di Tolosa), del Belgio e della Germania, mentre almeno quattro monasteri pretendevano di conservarne l’intero corpo. Egidio fu invocato contro un gran numero di malattie (dalle febbri malariche alla follia ai terrori notturni) e fu considerato patrono delle genti di mare, dei pastori e dei mendicanti (in Inghilterra degli zoppi e dei mutilati, con riferimento alla ferita ricevuta alla gamba per salvare la cerva), tanto che nel XIV secolo entrò nel novero dei 14 «santi ausiliatori».
Mentre la cerva divenne uno degli attributi iconografici più diffusi del santo,
l’episodio del peccato segreto di Carlo Magno fu tra quelli che maggiormente
colpirono la fantasia: lo si ritrova raffigurato in una vetrata della
cattedrale di Chartres e sulla «cassa delle reliquie» custodita ad Aquisgrana.
La festa si celebra il 1° settembre.
BIBL.
AASS Septembris, I (Venezia 1756), 284-304; AB, Vili (1889), pp. 103-120; BHL
I, nn. 93-98, pp. 17-18; ÂF. BRITTAIN, Saint Gilles, Cambridge 1928; E.
MÂLE, L’art religieux du XIII’siècle en France, Paris 1948, p. 626. BSS,
IV, 958-959.D. TUNIZ in Il grande libro dei Santi, Ed. San Paolo,
Cinisello Balsamo (MI), 1998, vol. I, pp. 574-575.
SOURCE : https://www.santegidioinfontanella.it/storia-del-santo/
Ägidius von St-Gilles
auch: Gilgen, Gilg, Gill, Ill
französischer Name: Gilles
Gedenktag katholisch: 1. September
Hochfest in der Stadt Graz
nicht gebotener Gedenktag im Bistum Graz-Seckau
Übertragung von Reliquien in die Jesuitenkirche São Roque nach Lissabon: 25. Januar
Auffindung des Kopfes: 15. Juni
Übertragung der Gebeine: 10. September
Gedenktag anglikanisch:
1. September
Gedenktag orthodox: 1.
September
Name bedeutet: der
Schildträger (griech.)
Einsiedler, Gründer des Klosters St-Gilles, Nothelfer
* um 640 in Athen in Griechenland
† 1. September 720 (?) in St-Gilles in
der Camargue in Frankreich
In der zweiten Hälfte des
7. Jahrhunderts soll Ägidius, ein vornehmer Athener Kaufmann,
seinen gesamten Besitz den Armen verschenkt und sich in ein Boot gesetzt haben,
das er einfach treiben ließ und mit dem er schließlich in der Camargue in
Frankreich landete. Dort lebte er zunächst als Einsiedler am Rand der großen
Sümpfe; der Legende zufolge nährte ihn eine Hirschkuh mit ihrer Milch. Ägidius
wurde bei einer Jagd vom Pfeil des Westgotenkönigs Wamba getroffen,
als dieser versuchte, das Tier zu erlegen; in anderer Version fing Ägidius den
Pfeil, der schon in der Luft war, und rettete so das Tier. Der beeindruckte
Monarch gestattete Ägidius, ein Kloster zu gründen. So entstand demnach um 680
das Kloster St-Gilles,
und dem Ägidius bis zu seinem Tod als Abt vorstand; später wurde es Benediktinerabtei,
die sich 1066 den Reformen von
Cluny anschloss.
Die von Papst Benedikt
II. ausgestellte Urkunde für das Kloster St-Gilles aus
dem Jahr 685 ist unecht, deshalb gibt es keine sichere Nachricht über Ägidius.
Die Legende von der nährenden Hirschkuh ist möglicherweise aus seinem
Namensbestandteil - griechisch αίξ = Ziege, Bock - abgeleitet. Andere
Überlieferung nennt einen Gotenkönig Flavius als Gönner.
Die Legende lässt Ägidius
den Sohn des Fürsten von Nîmes zum
Leben erwecken. In Rom warf
er demnach unter Gebeten die ihm vom Papst für sein Kloster geschenkten Türen
aus geschnitztem Zypressenholz in den Tiber, er fand sie dann nach seiner
Rückkehr im Hafen seines Klosters wieder. Als ein Klosterbruder an der
Jungfräulichkeit der Maria zweifelte
und drei Fragen in den Sand schrieb, erblühten als Antwort des Ägidius drei
weiße Lilien aus dem dürren Boden.
Nach anderen Legenden
bemühte sich Karl der
Große um die Fürbitten Ägidius': ein Engel brachte
danach einen Zettel mit der bestätigten Sündenvergebung auf den Altar, an dem
Ägidius früher sein Amt versah. Seitdem gilt Ägidius als Beistand einer guten
Beichte und Vergebung und zählt als solcher zu den 14
Nothelfern. Sein Tod wurde ihm im Voraus verkündet, bei der Bestattung des
Entschlafenen hörten Anwesende die Chöre der Engel, die seine Seele gen Himmel
trugen.
Seit dem 9. Jahrhundert
wird er als Heiliger verehrt, im 10. Jahrhundert entstand Ägidius'
Lebensgeschichte. Im 11. Jahrhundert unterstellt sich das Kloster
St-Gilles dem Verband von Cluny,
Kloster und Kirche konnten prachtvoll ausgebaut werden, Wallfahrten zu
seinem Grabe wurden bedeutend wie die nach Rom oder
zu Jakobus nach Santiago
de Compostela - auch, weil der Ort am Weg dorthin lag und ein für den
Handel wichtiger Hafen war. Graf Raimond IV. von Toulouse startete
von hier aus zum 1.
Kreuzzug. Das Kloster St-Gilles, wurde in den Hugenottenkriegen
des 16. Jahrhunderts zerstört, die Mönche wurden getötet. Die Gebeine von
Ägidius liegen heute in der Basilika Saint-Sernin in
Toulouse.
Der Ägidiustag ist noch
heute vielerorts ein Tag der Volksfeste, an manchen Orten wird dem Vieh
geweihter Fenchel ins Futter gemischt. Im deutschen Sprachraum ist Ägidius auch
unter dem verballhornten Namen Gilg bekannt, viele Orte sind nach ihm benannt,
so Gillenberg -
ein Ortsteil von Kall bei Aachen -, Gillersdorf in
Thüringen, Ilgesheim bei
Trier - ein nach 1933 abgegangener Ort im Truppenübungsplatz bei Baumholder
-, St.
Ilgen bei Heidelberg, St.
Aegyd am Neuwalde in Niederösterreich oder St.
Gilgen am Wolfgangsee.
Die Stadtpfarrkirche in
Steyr ist Ägidius geweiht; von ihr ging das Patrozinium weiter auf andere
Kirchen in der Steiermark,
auch auf den Dom in
Graz. Einer der ältesten Jahrmärkte in Bayern ist nach
Ägidius Gillamoos benannt; er findert jedes Jahr um den ersten
Sonntag im September auf dem Festplatz
Gillamoos in Abensberg bei Regensburg statt. In Nürnberg war das von
König Konrad III. um 1145 gestiftete Schottenkloster Ägidius geweiht,
von ihm zeugt heute die nun evangelische Egidienkirche.
Ägidius ist Patron der Klöpplerinnen, denn an seinem Tag wurde erstmals wieder
mit Licht gearbeitet.
Attribute: vom Pfeil durchbohrt und mit Hirschkuh
Patron von Nürnberg, Osnabrück, Braunschweig und Wollaberg im
Bayerischen Wald, von Graz und
bis 1675 der Steiermark;
der stillenden Mütter, Hirten, Jäger, Schiffbrüchigen, Bogenschützen,
Spitzenklöpplerinnen, Bettler und Aussätzigen; des Holzes, des Waldes und des
Viehs; bei Feuer, Dürre, Sturm und Unglück; bei der Beichte; in geistiger Not
und Verlassenheit; gegen Fallsucht (Epilepsie), Lähmungen, Lepra, Pest,
Ohrenleiden, Geisteskrankheiten, Unfruchtbarkeit von Mensch und Tier; Nothelfer
Bauernregeln: Ist
Ägidius ein heller Tag, so folgt ein guter Herbst.
Ist's an St. Ägidi rein, / wird's so bis Michaelis sein.
Gib auf Ägidius Acht, / er sagt dir, was September macht.
Ist Ägidi ein heller Tag / ich dir einen schönen Herbst ansag.
Wie Ägidius sich verhält, / ist der ganze Herbst bestellt.
Gib auf Ägiditag wohl acht, / er zeigt dir, was der Monat macht.
Wie der Hirsch an Ägidi in die Brunft tritt, / so tritt er an Michaelis wieder
heraus.
Wenn St. Ägidius bläst ins Horn, / heißt es: Bauer sä' Dein Korn.
Willst du Korn im Überfluss, / sä' es an Ägidius;
wenn du säst ins freie Land vor und nach des Neumonds Stand, / wächst kein
Unkraut und kein Brand.
Ist schön Wetter auf Ägiditag, / man guten Wein erhoffen mag.
Ägidi Sonnenschein / bringt guten Wein.
Ägidius Regen / kommt ungelegen.
Die Kirche in St-Gilles ist tagsüber geöffnet, die Krypta von Montag bis Samstag zwischen 9.30 und 12.30 Uhr sowie zwischen 14 und 17 Uhr, im Sommer bis 18 Uhr, der Eintritt beträgt 3 €, bis 18 Jahren ist er frei. (2014)
Der Dom in
Osnabrück ist täglich von 7 Uhr bis 19 Uhr geöffnet. (2024)
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Autor: Joachim
Schäfer - zuletzt aktualisiert am 06.04.2025
Quellen:
• Vera Schauber, Hanns Michael Schindler: Heilige und Patrone im Jahreslauf. Pattloch, München, 2001
• Hiltgard L. Keller: Reclams Lexikon der Heiligen und der biblischen Gestalten. Reclam, Ditzingen 1984
• Otto Wimmer, Hartmann Melzer: Lexikon der Namen und Heiligen, bearb. u. erg. von Josef Gelmi. Tyrolia, Innsbruck, 1988
• Christl. Jahrbuch
• http://www.bauernregeln.net/september.html nicht mehr erreichbar
• Friedrich-Wilhelm Bautz. In: Friedrich-Wilhelm Bautz (Hg.): Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, Bd. I, Hamm 1990
• Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, begr. von Michael Buchberger. Hrsg. von Walter Kasper, 3., völlig neu bearb. Aufl., Bd. 1. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1993
•
https://www.morgenweb.de/fraenkische-nachrichten_artikel,-hoepfingen-kirchenheiliger-wird-gefeiert-_arid,1105296.html
- abgerufen am 18.07.2023
korrekt zitieren: Joachim Schäfer: Artikel Ägidius von St-Gilles, aus dem Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon - https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienA/Aegidius.htm, abgerufen am 18. 11. 2025
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet das Ökumenische
Heiligenlexikon in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte
bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über https://d-nb.info/1175439177 und https://d-nb.info/969828497 abrufbar.
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienA/Aegidius.htm
Onder: Verhaal en Overweging
door Aegidius
Aegidius (ook Egidius, Gilles of Gillis) van
St-Gilles, Frankrijk; kluizenaar & abt; tussen 721 en 725.
Feest 1 september
Geschiedenis
Dat Aegidius echt bestaan
heeft lijdt geen twijfel. Maar welke verhalen die om zijn personen geweven
zijn, op waarheid berusten en welke bijvoorbeeld zijn verward met anderen die
ook Aegidius heten, is lang niet altijd duidelijk.
De Acta Sanctorum komen
tot de volgende slotsom. Aegidius was waarschijnlijk van Griekse afkomst. Hij
moet rond 640 geboren zijn. Op vijfentwintigjarige leeftijd verliet hij zijn
vaderland en bereikte over zee de Franse zuidkust. Twee jaar lang woonde hij in
de buurt van Arles, of een andere plaats. Van daaruit trok hij met een
Veredemius de eenzaamheid in om als kluizenaar te gaan leven. Ze vestigden zich
ergens aan de Gard. Na zo'n twee jaar - dus in 670 of 671 - besloot Aegidius
een nog eenzamere plek op te zoeken. Hier werd hij twee jaar later in augustus
of september 673 door de Visigotische koning Flavius Wamba aangetroffen. Met
deze gebeurtenis is de beroemde legende van het hert of de reekoe verbonden.
Gilles was afkomstig uit
Athene. Zijn ouders waren van adel. Van kindsaf aan had hij zich verdiept in de
gewijde letteren. Op een dag ging hij als gewoonlijk naar de kerk. Op een
pleintje lag een zieke, die hem om een aalmoes vroeg. Gilles gaf onmiddellijk
zijn hele tuniek. Op het moment dat de zieke deze aantrok, was hij genezen.
Bij de dood van zijn ouders stond Gilles de gehele erfenis af aan Christus. Op een andere dag genas hij door zijn gebed een man die door een slang doodgebeten was.
Hij genas ook een bezetene. Deze leidde met zijn geschreeuw in de kerk teveel de aandacht van de andere kerkgangers af. Maar nu werd Gilles bang, dat hij te populair zou worden onder de mensen. Hij vluchtte in het geheim naar de kust. Daar zag hij juist hoe schepelingen dreigden om te komen in een geweldige storm. Op zijn gebed ging de wind meteen liggen.
Toen die zeelui hoorden, dat hij graag naar Rome wou, namen ze hem uit
dankbaarheid gratis mee. Het schip kwam echter in Arles terecht. Daar verbleef
hij twee jaar bij de heilige Cesarius, bisschop van die stad. Ook genas hij
daar een vrouw die al drie jaar ten prooi was aan koortsaanvallen. Toch wou hij
het liefst de eenzaamheid in. Hij verliet dus stilletjes het stadje en leefde
enige tijd met de eremiet Veredomius op een plek waar God ten gunste van hem de
onvruchtbaarheid deed ophouden. Maar nog steeds drong het gerucht van zijn
wonderen tot bij de mensen door. Hij verliet dus zijn metgezel en trok zich nog
verder in de eenzaamheid terug. Tenslotte vond hij een grot dichtbij een bron.
Bovendien kwam daar geregeld een reekoe die hem melk gaf om van te leven.
Op een dag kreeg de zoon
van de koning dat hert tijdens de jacht in de gaten, en zette het met zijn
honden achterna. Doodsbang zocht het zijn toevlucht bij Sint Gilles. Deze kwam
naar buiten op het rare schreeuwgeluid van het beest en hoorde hoe de jagers er
aankwamen. Hij vroeg dus aan God om het dier te redden dat hem zo trouw van voedsel
voorzag. Waarop geen van de honden het dier durfden te benaderen. Ze keerden
onverrichterzake bij de prins terug, en omdat de nacht begon te vallen, moesten
de jagers hun jacht opgeven. De volgende dag ging het net zo: voor ze het dier
te pakken hadden, viel de duisternis in. Toen de koning ervan hoorde, nodigde
hij de bisschop en alle hoogwaardigheidsbekleders uit om deel te nemen aan de
jacht op dit aantrekkelijke dier dat steeds aan zijn achtervolgers wist te
ontsnappen. Ook nu durfden de honden het dier niet te benaderen. Wel had één
der aanwezigen met zijn pijl onwetend de heilige monnik verwond. Toen de jagers
zich eenmaal een weg hadden gebaand door het dichte struikgewas, ontdekten ze
een grijsaard in monnikspij met een reekoe, die zich aan zijn voeten had
neergelegd. De koning en de bisschop stegen af en traden te voet naderbij met
de vraag wie hij was, waar hij vandaan kwam, hoe hij terecht was gekomen op
zo'n onherbergzame plek, en wie hem die wond had toegebracht. Ze vernamen dat
zij daar zelf schuld aan waren; ze reikten hem een grote hoeveelheid
geneesmiddelen aan, met daarbij een schat aan geschenken.
Maar de heilige wenste ze zelfs nog geen blik waardig te keuren: de geschenken niet en de geneesmiddelen ook niet.
Sterker nog, in het besef, dat Gods kracht des te meer in zwakheid aan het
licht komt, bad hij God dat deze hem niet zou genezen van zijn verwonding.
[183]
Geschiedenis (vervolg)
In de maand Augustus trok koning Wamba na de verovering van de Zuid-Franse stad Maguelonne op om een beleg te slaan rond de stad Nîmes.
Een middeleeuwse geschiedschrijver weet te vertellen dat daar in de buurt een vreemdeling woonde die in een visoen had gezien hoe de stad gespaard zou blijven, omdat de bevelhebber van het leger een gelovig man was. Zou dat Aegidius geweest zijn? Hij was inderdaad een vreemdeling en leidde zo'n heilig leven dat het niet vreemd is - zeker niet in die tijd - dat hij voorspellende gebedsvisioenen had.
Het kan ook zijn dat de ontmoeting tussen Aegidius en koning Wamba plaatsvond in de maand september. Immers Wamba had een gedeelte van zijn leger vooruitgestuurd om Nîmes te veroveren. Toen Nîmes eenmaal genomen was, is hij er pas naartoe gegaan. In afwachting van zijn opmars kan hij tijdens de jacht op Aegidius gestoten zijn, zoals de legende vertelt.
Hoe dan ook, in 673, 674 stond koning Wamba hem het hele gebied af om er een
klooster op te vestigen. Het werd toegewijd aan Sint Petrus en al vlug stroomde
het vol met nieuwe monniken. In 684 maakte paus Benedictus II het St-Petrusklooster
exempt; dat wil zeggen dat het niet onder gehoorzaamheid viel van de
plaatselijke bisschop. De bisschop kon zich er dus niet bemoeien met de interne
gang van zaken. Bovendien schonk de paus bij die gelegenheid twee planken van
cypressehout; de een zou dienst doen als drempel, de ander als kroonlijst van
de toegangspoort tot het klooster.
Het klooster kwam tot geweldige bloei. Waarschijnlijk zelfs zozeer dat de monniken vervuld waren van trots. Immers, Aegidius tempert het enthousiasme door te voorpsellen dat het tot de grond toe zou worden verwoest.
Dat gebeurde inderdaad tijdens de invallen van de Saracenen in 720. Aegidius
was toen al tachtig jaar... In de oude boeken is er sprake van dat hij door
Karel Martel naar het hof in Orléans werd ontboden. Dat kan zeer wel in deze
tijd geweest zijn. Deze was na zijn overwinning op Chilperik koning geworden
van Neustrasië en Bourgondië, en kwam in 719 naar Orléans. In datzelfde jaar
719 drong de opperbevelhebber van de saracenen op zijn veroveringstocht door tot
in Zuid-Frankrijk. Het ligt voor de hand dat Aegidius met zijn monniken zijn
toevlucht zocht in het koninkrijk van de Franken, dat Karel Martel van hem
hoorde en hem vroeg naar Orléans te komen.
Waarschijnlijk heeft
Aegidius de Saracenen niet afgewacht. Hij kan simpelweg het voorbeeld hebben
gevolgd van zijn collega Sint Romulus uit het St-Baudeliusklooster. Die
vluchtten bij de nadering van de Saracenen vanuit de stad Nîmes naar
Bourgondië.
Een of twee jaar later is
hij waarschijnlijk weer met zijn monniken naar zijn klooster teruggekeerd. Dat
zou samenvallen met de nederlaag van de Saracenen in de slag bij Toulouse in
721, waar hertog Eudo van Aquitanië als overwinnaar uit de strijd kwam. In 725
kwamen de Saracenen terug en verwoesten toen grote delen van Zuid-Frankrijk.
Daarbij werd Aegidius' St-Petrusklooster geheel met de grond gelijk gemaakt,
juist zoals hij voorspeld. Kort daarvoor, ergens tussen 721 en 725 moet hij op
hoge leeftijd gestorven zijn.
Er bevinden zich relieken
van hem in de St-Sernin te Toulouse.
Verering & Cultuur
Hij ligt begraven in de
kerk die gebouwd is op de plek waar hij heeft geleefd. Daar groeide een
kloostertje uit en tenslotte het plaatsje dat naar hem is genoemd:
Saint-Gilles, in de nabijheid van de stad Nîmes. Saint-Gilles groeide in de
middeleeuwen uit tot een druk bezocht bedevaartcentrum; het lag op de route
naar Compostella. Waarschijnlijk vanwege deze verering is Egidius één van de
Veertien Noodhelpers geworden; daar neemt hij een uitzonderlijke plaats in,
want hij is de enige niet-martelaar onder hen.
Omdat zijn feestdag zo gunstig in het seizoen lag, was het in vele plaatsen op 1 september Sint-Gillismarkt; dat betekende een vrije dag. In Delft bijvoorbeeld was dat de dag dat deur aan deur de belasting werd opgehaald. In de eerste week van september vindt in het Vlaamse Mulken een St-Gillesbedevaart plaats.
Sint-Gillis wordt afgebeeld als eremiet in de eenzaamheid; vaak als abt; meestal met een reekoe naast zich; dikwijls klimt het dier tegen hem op om bescherming te zoeken.
Hij is patroon van Edinburgh, Graz, Heiligenstadt, Jülich, Karinthië,
Klagenfurt, Neurenberg, Oschatz (ten oosten van Leipzig), Osnabrück,
Saint-Gilles (Sint-Gillis, België), Saint-Gilles-du-Gard (Languedoc), Sankt
Gilgen (in Oostenrijk), Sint-Gillis-bij-Dendermonde, Sint-Gilles-Waas en van
Toulouse.
Daarnaast van wild waarop gejaagd wordt, van vee en bosbescherming, van jagers en boogschutters; van herders en paardenhandelaren; van slijpers en smeden; van bedelaars; van grieppatiënten, leprozen, melaatsen; van zogende moeders en huilende kinderen (Krijs-Gilles); van kreupelen.
Hij wordt aangeroepen tegen epilepsie, besmettelijke ziekten, chronische
infectie, kanker, lepra, pest, spastisch lijden, waanzin en tegen echtelijke
onvruchtbaarheid; storm, droogte en brandgevaar; tegen angst en ongeluk;
bovendien bij geestelijke nood, schaamte en verlatenheid, voor goede biecht
(hij zou Karel Martel ooit zover hebben gekregen iets beschamends toe te geven)
en tegen veedieven.
Weerspreuk(en)
'Ägidius Regen
kommt gans ungelegen'[213]
[Met Sint-Gillis regen
komt heel ongelegen]
'Als 't op Sint Gillis
regent,
zal het lang blijven aanhouden'[213]
'Gib auf Ägidi-Tag wohl acht,
er sagt dir was der Monat macht'[213]
[Met Sint-Gilles opgelet
de toon van 't weer voor heel de maand gezet]
'Het weer dat Sint-Gillis
biedt
en eindigt in vier weken niet'[131;213]
'Is Sint Egidius heet,
't geeft schone herfst met zweet'[213]
'Is 't schoon met
Sint-Egied,
tot Sint-Michiel [29 spt] regent 't niet.'
'Is 't schoon met
Sint-Giel
dat zal zijn tot Sint-Michiel'[213]
'Les vents de
Saint-Gilles et suivant
Repassent en fortes bises
bien souvent'[282b]
[Winden met Sint-Gilles
en later dagen
komen straks als noordwesters plagen]
'Regen am Ägidiustag,
gibt nassen Herbst'[213]
[Regen met Sint-Gillis geeft een natte herfst]
'S'il fait beau à la
Saint-Gilles,
Cela durera jusqu'à la Saint-Michel'[282b]
[Is het mooi weer met Sint-Gilles,
dan duurt dat tot Sint Michiel]
'S'il pleut à la
Saint-Gilles,
C'est pour quarante jours'[282b]
[Als het regent met Sint-Gilles,
dan is 't voor veertig dagen]
'S'il pleut à la
Saint-Gilles,
Les essarteurs rangent la houe au grenier.'[282b]
[Als het regent met Sint-Gilles,
bergen de landontginners de hak in de schuur]
'Sint-Egidius-weer
komt in de herfst weer'[213]
'Sint-Giel met zonneschijn,
dan zal dat nog vier weken zijn'[213]
'Sint Gilleke:
't kloske op 't spilleke;
Sint-Michiel:
't kloske op 't wiel.[131]
'Sint-Gillis verbud de
unjere den achterunjere
en kort 'n stuver aan den daagloon'[213]
[Sint-Gillis verbiedt het
middagdutje
en kort het dagloon met een stuiver
(= een uurloon voor één uur minder werken
wegens het korten van de dagen)
'Sint Gillis weer
houdt vier weken aan'[213]
'Wie Ägidius sich verhält
ist der ganze Herfst bestellt'[213]
[Het weer van Sint-Egied
wijkt de hele herfst niet]
Sint Gillis / verhaal
Dat was wel het mooiste
hert dat ze ooit gezien hadden. Onmiddellijk klonk er hoorngeschal. De jagers
wendden de teugels van de paarden. De hele meute honden werd er achteraan
gejaagd. Uitgelaten blaffend renden ze in de richting waar het dier verdwenen
was, hun staart omhoog, de neus vlak langs de grond om het spoor te kunne
volgen. Toch was het hert in het voordeel. Met majesteitelijke sprongen van
links naar rechts en weer naar links zigzaggend maakte het zich uit de voeten.
Het dichte kreupelhout was geen probleem. Moeizaam vochten zich de jagers een
weg door struiken en dicht opeen gegroeide bomen. Hier kwam nooit iemand.
Onbegaanbaar terrien. Maar zo'n mooi hert: dat moesten ze en zouden ze te
pakken krijgen. Vader zou trots zijn. Het geblaf van de honden verwijderde zich
steeds verder. Zolang ze dat hoorden, hadden ze kans.
Eigenlijk was prins
Flavius er door zijn vader, koning Wamba op uitgestuurd om aan eten te komen.
Na een vermoeiende tocht door Spanje en een succesvol beleg voor de muren van
de plaats Maguelonne, was de stad veroverd en in handen gevallen van Flavius
Wamba, vorst der Visigothen. Hij had de voorhoede van zijn lger meteen
doorgestuurd naar Nîmes. Maar de achhterblijvers, een paar honderd manschappen,
hadden voedsel nodig gehad. Maar dit hert maakte er toch een wedstrijd van, een
erekwestie. Ze moesten het hebben. Ze kwamen op de plek waar de honden voor
ondoordringbaar struikgewas stonden te blaffen. Zelfs de dieren konden er niet
doorkomen. laat staan de jagers op hun paarden. Ze keken elkaar aan; haalden
hun schouders op: "Morgen nog eens proberen..."
Bij thuiskomst vertelde
prins Wamba aan zijn vader over dat fabulueze hert: "Prachtige sprongen,
vader. Alsof er springveren in zijn poten zitten. We moeten het hebben."
De volgende dag gingen er veel meer mee dan gisteren. Soms vingen ze een glimp
op van het prachtige dier. Maar weer werden ze gestuit door ondoordringbaar
struikgewas. Weer stonden de honden wezenloos te blaffen tegen stomme braam- en
doornstruiken. Toen ze ook voor de tweede avond zonder prooi terugkwamen, begon
de koning zelf jachtkriebels te voelen. Hij stelde een grote beloning in het
vooruitzicht: het hele grondgebied waarop de jacht op het hert zou
plaatsvinden, was voor degene die het uiteindelijk zou weten te treffen. Niet
alleen koning Flavius en zijn zoon Wamba, maar ook de generaals en de
onderofficieren, ja de gewoontse rijknechten, pages en schildknapen gingen mee:
ieder met een vlammetje hoop in het hart, dat dit buitenkansje hem in de schoot
zou vallen.
Het liep al tegen de
middag, toen hoorngeschal duidelijk maakte dat het hert was gezien. Er werd een
breed front getrokken, zodat het dier niet tussen de jagers door zou kunnen
glippen. Zo werd het almaar meer opgejaagd en in het nauw gedreven. Ze hoorden
het brullen in doodsnood. Een vreemd klaaglijk geluid. Een gejuich steeg op uit
de rangen van de jagers: vandaag zouden ze het te pakken krijgen. En plotseling
stonden ze weer voor hetzelfde struikgewas als de vorige twee dagen. Wat
daarachter was, kon niemand zien. Daarvoor was de begroeiing te dicht. Maar het
klaaglijke geloei van de reekoe klonk vreemd op vanuit het onzichtbare bos. Op
goed geluk legde een van de hovelingen aan en schoot een pijl dwars door de
struiken. Nu meenden sommigen dat ze een kreet van pijn hoorden. Anderen zeiden
dat het verbeelding was. De koning gaf zijn mannen een teken dat ze rust
moesten nemen. Hij steeg af en beval zijn zoon hetzelfde te doen. Toen wees hij
een paar zwaarddragers aan, sterke kerels met dikke gesopierde armen. Zij
moesten zich een weg hakken door het struikgewas. Maar de natuur is taai. En na
een paar lieten ze hevig zwetend hun armen zakken. Nieuwe kappers en hakkersd
werden aangewezen. Ook zij vorderden enkele meters, waarna er al weer een derde
ploeg aan te pas moest komen. Zo verstreken enkele uren. Van achter dit taaite
groeisel klonk nu geen geluid meer. Het dier had zich een uitstekende
schuilplaats uitgekozen. Zou het er nog wel zijn. Eindelijk, eindelijk begonnen
de takken en struiken wat lichter te worden en kon je iets zien...
Het schouwspel dat de
koning en zijn zoon te zien kregen, hebben ze sindsdien nooit meer vergeten en
heeft de geschiedenis van die streek volkomen veranderd. Daar stond het hert -
bij het zien van die oorlogszuchtige mannen die het duidelijk op haar hadden
gemunt, begon het weer dat klaaglijke loeigeluid uit te stoten. Het stond
rechtop tegen een man in een groezelig lang zwart gewaad, de voorpoten op zijn
schouder. Hij had zijn armen in een beschermend gebaar rond het dier geslagen.
De pijl die een der hovelingen zijuist had afgeschoten, stak in zijn linker
bovenarm; het had maar een haar gescheeld of hij was in het hart geraakt
geweest. De man, die mager en tanig was, had een lange baard, waar ongedierte
in zat en schimmels in groeiden. Maar het meest van al trokken zijn ogen alle
aandachht naar zich toe. Vlammmende, fonkelende ogen. Onwillekeurig deinsde de
koning der Visigothen achteruit, en de kroonprins der Visigothen ook. Alsof de
ogen van die man onzichtbare pijlen op hen afschoten. Toen zij enigszins van de
verbijstering bekomen waren, vroegen zij: "Wie bent u? Wat doet u hier?
Wat heeft u met dat hert? Dat is van ons...!"
De man besteedde eerst alle aandacht aan het hert. Hij stelde haar op haar gemak, fluisterde zachte woorden in haar oren; ze bewoog haar oren op en neer, alsof ze haar aandacht verdeelde tussen de vriendelijke geluidjes van haar beschermer en de angst voor haar belagers. Tenslotte legde zij zich aan zijn voeten neer. Toen pas nam hij de moeite zich tot zijn gasten te richten: "Komt u verder. Ik heb weliswaar weinig te bieden. En u schijnt nog wel van koninklijke bloede. Slechts een beker water heb ik voor u, wat bosvruchten en boomstronk om op plaats te nemen. De vorst der Visigothen hadden verfijnde omgangsvormen geleerd!
Aegidius (beter bekend als Gilles van Saint-Gilles du Gard)
'Bericht van boven' KRO Radio 5 zondag 8 november 2009
U zult wel verbaasd zijn
dat ik u vandaag toespreek. Want zoals u weet valt Sint Gilles op 1 september.
En met het onderwerp, jagen, heb ik ook niets. Het enige dat ik najoeg in mijn
leven, was de stilte van het gebed en ongestoord verwijlen bij de dingen van
God. Dat brengt mij wel op de vraag wat u eigenlijk najaagt in uw leven.
Maar dit is niet het
moment van woordpelletjes. Ik wil het met u hebben over de ervaring dat je
opgejaagd wórdt. Dat ze je achternazitten en niet met rust laten. Kent u dat
gevoel? Ik wel. In mijn land van herkomst, Griekenland, wilden ze mij bisschop
maken. Daar was ik volkomen ongeschikt voor. Maar hoe meer ik dat zei, hoe meer
ze mij bewonderden om mijn bescheidenheid. Ze geloofden me niet. Toen ben ik
gevlucht. Ver weg naar het westen. Helemaal tot in Gallië, Frankrijk. Daar
verstopte ik mij diep in een ondoordringbaar bos, bij een bron. Ik bouwde een
hutje. Eindelijk had ik gevonden wat ik najoeg. De stille eenzaamheid van het
kluizenaarsbestaan. Ik leefde van de bosvruchten en sloot vriendschap met de
dieren. Heerlijk.
Op een dag was er lawaai
in het bos. Een hinde sprong brullend van angst door het dichte struikgewas en
ging recht tegen mij op staan. Ik verloor zowat mijn evenwicht. Het arme dier
trilde over het hele lijf, de ogen groot opgezet van paniek. Het angstkreten
gingen door merg en been. Ik sloeg mijn mantel om haar heen en probeerde het te
kalmeren. In de verte hoorde ik het blaffen van jachthonden, en stemmen die
iets riepen. Blijkbaar was mijn hinde op de vlucht voor een jachtpartij. De
struiken waren zo ondoordringbaar dat zelfs de jachthonden er niet door konden.
Maar toch kwam het geluid steeds dichterbij. Ik hoorde kapgeluiden. Ze waren
bezig zich een weg te banen in mijn richting. Het dier in mijn armen kroop zowat
in me. Ik sloeg mijn armen nog steviger om haar heen. Plotseling vloog er iets
dwars door het struikgewas: een pijl. Hij miste het dier, maar kwam in mijn
bovenarm terecht. Dat deed flink pijn.
Eindelijk stonden ze vóór me, de jagers. Stomverbaasd dat ze hier een mens aantroffen. En nog wel met mijn armen om het dier waar zij achteraan hadden gezeten. De op goed geluk afgeschoten pijl in mijn arm wees bijna als een beschuldigende vinger in hun richting. De honden jankten en slopen om mij heen, maar durfden niet dichterbij te komen. De aanvoerder kwam naar voren en stelde zich voor als de koning aan wie dit bos toebehoorde. Het was zijn jachtgebied. Hij vroeg mij wat ik daar deed. Een van zijn hoge gasten sprak mijn taal en fungeerde als tolk. Ik maakte er gebruik van om vrijgeleide te bepleiten voor mijn hinde. Ik legde uit dat jagen angst inboezemt: niet alleen bij dieren, ook bij mensen. Ik vertelde hem dat dit hele tafereel wel erg aan Christus deed denken. In de hinde zag ik het lot van vele mensen die opgejaagd werden en een veilig heenkomen zochten. En dat ze het vonden bij Christus.
De pijl in mijn arm herinnerde aan de pijn die Christus heeft overgehad voor de
mensen die bij hem zijn toevlucht zochten. De koning was onder de indruk. Hij
beval zijn heelmeesters mijn wond te verzorgen en schonk mij het terrein om
daar een kloostertje te beginnen. U kent het als Saint-Gilles du Gard in
Zuid-Frankrijk.
Mijn verhaal herinnert
aan Jezus’ woorden: “Word je achterna gezeten of opgejaagd, heb je geen rust? Kom
maar bij Mij. Ik zal je rust en veiligheid geven.”
[Dries van den Akker
s.j.]
[000»Egidius;000»Dominicus:fotobk:64(kerk); 000»sys; 109p:557(vig);
119p:104; 143p:47; 157p:71(geeft kleding-aan-armen); 160p:150.221; 200;
165p:212.230; 166p:136;167p:221;179p:16.taf:28; 181p:125; 183; 193p:101; 201p:17(5e-2);202p:117;230p:251;237G23;270fo125; 291;
333p:15.t/o:49;Chartres/ext:26]
© A. van den Akker
s.j. / A.W. Gerritsen
SOURCE : https://heiligen-3s.nl/heiligen/09/01/09-01-0723-aegidius.php
Saint Giles: The
Iconography : https://www.christianiconography.info/giles.html
