jeudi 29 janvier 2015

Saint GILDAS le Sage (BADONICUS), abbé et missionnaire

Statue de Gildas près du village de Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys (Morbihan).

Saint Gildas

Abbé en Bretagne (+ 570)

Ce noble breton voit le jour en Écosse vers la fin du Ve siècle, l'année où les Bretons romanisés battent les Saxons envahisseurs. D'après nombre d'hagiographes, il aurait étudié dans un monastère du pays de Galles, sous la direction d'un disciple de saint Germain l'Auxerrois. Ordonné prêtre en 518, cet apôtre, surnommé "le sage", convertit d'abord ses compatriotes par une éloquence sacrée aussi simple qu'efficace. Avec le même succès, il passe en Irlande (saint Colomban d'ailleurs lui rendra hommage) pour aboutir en Armorique, la petite Bretagne continentale. D'abord installé dans l'île d'Houat, il va vivre en ermite dans la presqu'île de Rhuys qui ferme, au sud, le golfe du Morbihan. Il y fondera une abbaye qui porte aujourd'hui son nom et où on l'honore toujours. Abélard, le savant théologien du Moyen Age, en sera l'abbé au XIIe siècle. Troublé par l'effondrement de la civilisation romaine sous les coups successifs des envahisseurs saxons, il écrit: "De la ruine de la Bretagne" ouvrage qui connaîtra un grand succès durant tout le haut Moyen Age.

Saint Gildas, dit "Le Sage", est né dans l'île de Bretagne; il y a reçu son éducation dans le sud-est du Pays de Galles actuel... Il s'établit sur le continent y fonda avec quelques compagnons l'abbaye de Rhuys, où il mourut vers 570. L'abbaye de Rhuys a conservé son tombeau et développé son culte... Saint Gildas est connu sous les formes bretonnes Sant Veltas ou sant Gueltas... (diocèse de Quimper et Léon - saint Gildas)

L'abbatiale de Saint Gildas de Rhuys abrite la sépulture du saint mort en 570 sur l'île de Houat.

Voir aussi "l'ère des saints": de 600 à 800 environ site du diocèse de Vannes.

En Bretagne, l’an 570, saint Gildas, abbé, surnommé le Sage. Il écrivit sur la ruine de la Grande-Bretagne en déplorant les calamités de son peuple et en reprochant avec véhémence la dépravation des chefs et du clergé. La tradition lui attribue la fondation du monastère de Rhuys en face de l’Océan et le fait mourir à l’île d’Houat.

Martyrologe romain

SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/526/Saint-Gildas.html

Statue et sarcophage de saint Gildas, dans l'abbaye de saint-Gildas de Ruys (Morbihan, France)


Saint GILDAS

Fils d'un Seigneur d'Écosse, Gildas commence sa formation de moine au pays de Galles sous la direction de saint Iltud. Il évangélise le nord de l'Angleterre et de l'Irlande. D'après un calendrier des saints de l'Eire, il compose un missel liturgique à l'usage des Celtes et saint Colomban lui rendra hommage dans une lettre au pape Grégoire le grand. Gildas gagne ensuite le continent. Il parvient en Armorique, dans l'île de Houat, face à la presqu'île de Rhuys. Son unique but était de mener une vie d'ermite, dédiée à la prière et la méditation des saintes Écritures ; mais comment une telle flamme de vie intérieure aurait-elle pu être cachée ? Très tôt les disciples vont affluer. Fascinés par les entretiens spirituels du moine Gildas, les pêcheurs de Houat alertent les habitants de la Côte : ils viendront le supplier de venir à Rhuys pour y établir un monastère. De là, il étendra son influence spirituelle à l'ensemble de la Bretagne.

On a de lui plusieurs écrits dont un "Sommaire de l'histoire de l'Angleterre depuis sa conquête par les Romains" et une épître fort sévère à l'adresse de plusieurs roitelets et de certains membres du clergé de la région, qu'il accusait de paresse et de simonie.

Le moine Gildas termine sa vie en 570 dans la solitude le l'île de Houat. Avant de mourir, il aurait supplié les siens : "Ne vous disputez pas ma dépouille : dès que j'aurai rendu l'esprit, déposez-moi sur un esquif et poussez-le vers la mer, pour qu'il aille où il plaira à Dieu". Les vagues ont-elles ramené l'embarcation au rivage ? La tradition de Saint-Gildas de Rhuys (dans le Morbihan) atteste que ses restes, d'abord inhumés dans l'abbaye, furent transférés, au moment des incursions des Normands, à Bourg-Dieu-sur-Indre près de Châteauroux.

Saint Gildas, surnommé le sage , a rayonné d'une immense popularité en Bretagne et dans tout l'Ouest dès le VIIe siècle. Il était invoqué contre la rage, la folie, les maux de tête et de dents. Saint Gildas est le patron du diocèse et de la ville de Vannes. Il est également célébré ce même 29 janvier dans les Eglises de l'Orthodoxie. Gildas est un prénom d'origine celtique pouvant correspondre au latin "algigius" (celui qui protège).

Rédacteur : Frère Bernard Pineau, OP

SOURCE : http://www.lejourduseigneur.com/Web-TV/Saints/Gildas

Carnoët. Vallée des Saints. Saint Gildas


Litanies de Saint Gildas

+ en 570

Fête le 29 janvier

Ce noble breton voit le jour en Écosse vers la fin du 5ème siècle, l'année où les Bretons romanisés battent les Saxons envahisseurs. D'après nombre d'hagiographes, il aurait étudié dans un monastère du pays de Galles, sous la direction d'un disciple de Saint Germain l'Auxerrois. Ordonné prêtre en 518, cet apôtre, surnommé "le sage", convertit d'abord ses compatriotes par une éloquence sacrée aussi simple qu'efficace. Avec le même succès, il passe en Irlande (saint Colomban d'ailleurs lui rendra hommage) pour aboutir en Armorique, la petite Bretagne continentale. D'abord installé dans l'île d'Houat, il va vivre en ermite dans la presqu'île de Rhuys qui ferme, au sud, le golfe du Morbihan. Il y fondera une abbaye qui porte aujourd'hui son nom et où on l'honore toujours. Abélard, le savant théologien du Moyen Age, en sera l'abbé au XIIème s. Troublé par l'effondrement de la civilisation romaine sous les coups successifs des envahisseurs saxons, il écrit :"De la ruine de la Bretagne" ouvrage qui connaîtra un grand succès durant tout le haut Moyen Age.

Seigneur, ayez pitié de nous

Christ, ayez pitié de nous

Seigneur, ayez pitié de nous

Christ, écoutez-nous

Christ, exaucez-nous

Père Céleste, qui êtes Dieu, ayez pitié de nous

Fils, Rédempteur du monde, qui êtes Dieu, ayez pitié de nous

Esprit Saint, qui êtes Dieu, ayez pitié de nous

Trinité Sainte, qui êtes Dieu, ayez pitié de nous.

Saint Gildas, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui comme serviteur prudent et zélé, avez été établi sur la famille du Seigneur, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui, étant comme mort, avez mené une vie cachée avec Jésus-Christ, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui avez porté continuellement dans votre corps la mortification de la Croix de Jésus-Christ, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui avez crucifié votre chair avec ses vices et ses mauvais désirs, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui avez été crucifié au monde, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui avez pratiqué la sobriété jusqu'à ne boire ni vin ni autre liqueur, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui avez dissipé les artifices des Démons, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui avez guéri un paralytique et qui avez fait plusieurs autres prodiges par vos prières, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui, dès votre jeunesse, avez renoncé à tout, afin de gagner Jésus-Christ, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui avez châtié votre corps et l'avez réduit en servitude, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui avez usé de ce monde comme si vous n'en eussiez pas usé, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui avez été revêtu de la Force du Tout-Puissant, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui par la pratique des bonnes œuvres, avez amassé sur la terre des trésors pour le Ciel, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui, par-dessus toute chose, avez cherché le Royaume et la Justice de Dieu, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui, par l'amour de la pureté de cœur, vous êtes avancé jusqu'à voir Dieu, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui avez ravi le Ciel,

Saint Gildas, qui, étant pauvre d'esprit, avez mérité de posséder Dieu, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui, ayant été doux et patient en souffrant les injures, possédez maintenant la terre des vivants, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui, ayant eu faim et soif de la Justice, êtes maintenant rassasiés dans le Ciel, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, qui êtes rassasiés de l'abondance de la Maison de Dieu et enivré du torrent de ses Délices, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, notre puissant Avocat auprès de Dieu, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, très digne disciple de Saint Benoît, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, notre cher et incomparable Patron, priez pour nous

Saint Gildas, le protecteur fidèle de tous ceux qui ont recours à vous, priez pour nous

Délivrez-nous de tout mal, délivrez-nous en, Seigneur, par l'intercession de Saint Gildas, notre Patron, soyez-nous favorable, Seigneur, pardonnez-nous.

Quoique nous soyons pécheurs, écoutez-nous, soyez-nous favorable, Seigneur, pardonnez-nous.

Qu'à l'exemple de Saint Gildas, nous soyons d'esprit et de cœur dans le Ciel, soyez-nous favorable, Seigneur, pardonnez-nous.

Que, pour nous conformer à l'esprit de Saint Gildas, nous méprisions toutes les richesses périssables, soyez-nous favorable, Seigneur, pardonnez-nous.

Qu'à l'imitation de ce grand Saint, nous fassions Votre Volonté sur la terre comme il l'accomplit dans le Ciel; que nous imitions par Votre Grâce la vie sainte qu'il a menée sur la terre, soyez-nous favorable, Seigneur, pardonnez-nous.

Qu'en vivant dans la Chasteté et la sobriété, nous obtenions, par Votre Miséricorde, la paix et la tranquillité si nécessaires, soyez-nous favorable, Seigneur, pardonnez-nous.

Que Vous nous rendiez dignes d'avoir part à la Gloire éternelle, soyez-nous favorable, Seigneur, pardonnez-nous.

Agneau de Dieu, qui effacez les péchés du monde, pardonnez-nous, Seigneur.

Agneau de Dieu, qui effacez les péchés du monde, exaucez-nous, Seigneur.

Agneau de Dieu, qui effacez les péchés du monde, ayez pitié de nous, Seigneur.

Saint Gildas, notre Patron, priez pour nous.

Saint Gildas, priez pour nous,

afin que nous soyons rendus dignes des promesses de Jésus-Christ.

Prions

Faites, Seigneur, que le Bienheureux Abbé Saint Gildas, que l'amour d'une vie Sainte et régulière à élevé à la Gloire éternelle nous instruise par les grands exemples de Foi qu'il nous a donnés et nous aide par le secours puissant de ses prières. Nous Vous le demandons par Jésus, le Christ, notre Seigneur. Amen

SOURCE : http://imagessaintes.canalblog.com/archives/2008/07/03/9801067.html

Statue de saint Gildas, Carnoët, Chapelle Saint-Gildas, Façade ouest


Saint Gildas Le Sage

vers 490-570

Fête le 29 janvier

Saint Gildas dit "Sapiens" ("le Sage" en latin), également appelé Gweltaz en breton, était un membre important et renommé du monde Celtique Chrétien dans l'île de Bretagne, ou Grande Bretagne, d'abord, puis de Bretagne Armoricaine. Ordonné prêtre, il mit sa plume au service de l'idéal monastique. D'après des fragments de ses lettres il aurait écrit une « règle » monacale moins austère que celle qu'écrivit son contemporain gallois Saint David, et il y propose des pénitences moins dures en cas d'infraction à la règle. Au delà du personnage historique existe aussi une tradition légendaire du saint.

La légende de Saint Gildas

(D'après « Souvenirs de Voyages en Bretagne et en Grèce », Paris, 1864)

En l'an 536 vivait au large du Morbihan, dans l'îlot d'Houat, alors inculte et désert, un saint ermite du nom de Gildas, qu'on disait fils d'un roi d'Angleterre. Gildas (en breton Gweltaz) était né à Arecluda (Dumbarton) à la fin du IVe siècle, dans une famille chrétienne. Tout jeune, il avait été confié à l'abbaye du célèbre abbé Iltud, où il avait reçu une formation très complète. Il était venu là de son pays pour prier Dieu dans la retraite. Les prières de ce saint étaient puissantes au ciel, et ses conseils venaient à bien sur la terre : aussi chacun accourait demander ses prières et ses conseils. Plusieurs même apportaient de riches présents pour le rendre à eux plus favorable mais il leur disait: «Remportez cela.» Et comme eux ne voulaient pas, il jetait les précieux objets à la mer : car il n'y avait pas de pauvres dans l'île, à qui il pût les donner.

Il y vivait tout seul, dans une caverne, et n'avait pour se coucher qu'un lit d'herbes marines; et pour sa nourriture, il mangeait le poisson qu'il allait pêcher ; il n'avait qu'un mauvais bateau à demi défoncé ; mais bien qu'en ces lieux la mer soit orageuse, il ne lui était jamais arrivé mal;: car la main de Dieu était sur lui. Il faisait cuire le poisson sur des feuilles sèches, et une petite source lui fournissait de l'eau;; il vivait ainsi, sans pain, ni vin, ni viande, et depuis, quoique grand et renommé parmi le monde, il vécut toujours aussi sobrement.

Comme l'île d'Houat est loin de la grande terre, plusieurs faillirent se noyer en allant visiter le saint homme, et lui, voyant cela, leur dit;: « Ne venez plus. » Mais eux répondirent : « Homme de Dieu, nous périrons plutôt que de ne plus vous entendre et vous voir.» Gildas alors pensa dans son cœur que mieux valait quitter sa retraite que d'exposer à mal les âmes et les corps de tant de gens. Il dit donc aux premiers qui vinrent le trouver: «Y a-t-il une place dans votre bateau?» Ceux-ci répondirent qu'il y en avait une. Alors le saint leur dit : « Je partirai avec vous. » Très réjouis de cette nouvelle, ils bénirent Dieu de ce que le saint homme avait pris la résolution de vivre parmi eux.

Gildas s'embarqua aussitôt, n'emportant rien avec lui que la croix de bois qu'il avait plantée devant la porte de sa caverne. Il traversa la mer heureusement, et vint aborder au lieu qui s'appelle aujourd'hui de son nom Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys. Cependant ceux qui l'avaient amené commencèrent à rassembler tous les gens du pays environnant, criant à tous que le saint venait habiter parmi eux. Ils en eurent beaucoup de joie : car ils espéraient que Dieu bénirait leur pêche et leurs poissons à cause de son serviteur Gildas.

Ils préparèrent une grande fête à l'ermite ; mais lui, sans s'arrêter à boire ni manger avec eux, leur dit : « Je dois aller parler au comte de Vannes : qui de vous me veut conduire ? » Et plus de dix alors s'offrirent à le mener : il en choisit deux, et, ayant marché la nuit entière, il arriva à Vannes au lendemain, comme le soleil s'allait lever. Or le comte de Vannes s'appelait Guérech ; c'était un homme juste et craignant Dieu, qui révérait aussi ses ministres, quand ils étaient fidèles à leurs promesses, c'est-à-dire s'ils se montraient pieux, humbles, détachés, consolateurs des malheureux et défenseurs des petites gens, comme était Gildas. Quand le comte apprit l'arrivée du saint, il allait partir pour chasser tout le jour dans la forêt de Rhuys ; mais il dit : « Je n'irai point : car je veux voir l'homme de Dieu. »

Il fit donc entrer Gildas, et lui dit : « Que me voulez-vous, bon Père ? » Gildas lui répondit : « Monseigneur, vous êtes le maître du pays : donnez-moi une hutte et quelques pieds de terre au bord de la mer, pour y vivre en priant Dieu. » Guérech lui répondit : « J'ai ce qu'il vous faut. Reposez-vous aujourd'hui ; demain nous irons au lieu où je vous veux mettre. » Et toute la journée ils s'entretinrent ensemble avec un grand plaisir. Le lendemain, le comte ayant mené Gildas au lieu même où il avait débarqué, lui dit : « Vous voyez ce château près de la mer, et les champs qui sont autour : je veux que tout cela soit vôtre. »

Mais Gildas ne voulait pas accepter, et il disait : « Comte, c'est trop pour moi ; si les serviteurs de Dieu devenaient si riches, ils répandraient sur le peuple moins de grâces que de scandale. » Le comte insista, lui disant : « Ceci est pour vous, mais non pour vous seul : s'il y a dans ce pays des hommes pieux qui veuillent y vivre selon une règle, avec vous, et travailler au salut de nos âmes, vous les recevrez. Car il y a déjà des monastères aux pays de France et d'Italie, et je veux qu'il y en ait également en ma comté ; s'il n'y avait gens savants et pieux pour contenir les hommes armés et leur imposer le respect, nous autres, comtes et ducs, aurions trop beau jeu pour pressurer et vexer le pauvre peuple. » Alors Gildas accepta, et ainsi fut fondé le monastère qui fleurit encore à l'ombre de son nom et de ses vertus. Il en fut le premier abbé, et y vécut jusqu'à la fin de son âge ; il fit beaucoup d'actions saintes et miraculeuses, tant après sa mort que durant sa vie, desquelles je rapporterai une seule, qui est la plus grande et la plus célèbre.

Le comte avait une fille, nommée Trifine (ou Tréphine). Sa beauté était merveilleuse, et plusieurs qui dans leurs songes avaient vu la Vierge Mère, affirmaient qu'elle n'était presque pas plus belle que Trifine ; et celle-ci était aussi très bonne aux pauvres et très vertueuse. Elle avait dans le saint ermite une entière confiance, et ne prenait conseil, après son père, que de lui.

Or il arriva que Conomor, comte de Plusigner, vit Trifine à l'église de Saint-Gildas, où l'avait attiré le bruit des miracles du saint homme, et il fut si fort épris de sa beauté qu'il alla tout aussitôt la demander en mariage à son père. Guérech fut alors en très grand embarras : car Conomor était un homme féroce et violent, connu pour ses cruautés et ses débauches ; il avait eu déjà plusieurs femmes, et, s'en étant dégoûté, les avait fait périr : il disait alors qu'elles étaient mortes par accident, et si quelqu'un osait le contredire, il le tuait.

Guérech craignait cependant, s'il refusait Trifine à Conomor, d'attirer sur elle et sur lui la vengeance de ce méchant homme. Il demanda conseil à Trifine ; laquelle, ayant beaucoup pleuré, dit enfin : « Répondez-lui que nous ferons ce que le saint nous dira de faire. »

Conomor, ayant reçu cette réponse, alla trouver Gildas et lui dit : « Homme de Dieu, si vous dites à Trifine de m'épouser, j'agrandirai votre monastère et vos champs. » Mais Gildas lui dit : « Je ne conseillerai point à Trifine de t'épouser : car je sais que tu es un méchant homme, que tu as tué déjà trois femmes que tu avais épousées. » Alors Conomor eut bien envie de se jeter sur le saint pour le tuer ; mais comme il était hypocrite encore plus que cruel, il se contint et dit d'une voix soumise : « Il est bien vrai que j'ai péché, mon Père ; mais Dieu m'a converti a lui. - Comment puis-je croire à ce que vous dites ? lui répondit Gildas. - Imposez-moi quelque épreuve. - Eh bien, vous resterez ici comme un frère novice, priant Dieu, pleurant vos fautes, et vivant d'herbes sauvages. »

Conomor intérieurement se dit : c'est bien dur : mais je ferais plus encore pour avoir la belle Trifine, et je n'ose l'enlever de force. Et durant un an tout entier, il resta dans le monastère, et fut si doux, si pieux et si obéissant, que chacun fut émerveillé. Gildas lui-même, ayant cru qu'il était vraiment converti, rendit grâces à Dieu et vint dire à Trifine : « Il faut avoir pitié du pécheur qui revient à bien : épousez Conomor, ma fille, si le veut ainsi votre père, et achevez de le convertir. » Trifine aurait bien voulu résister, mais elle n'osa penser autrement que le saint homme. Elle épousa Conomor, et ils vécurent trois mois en parfaite union ; tant que Trifine elle-même espérait qu'elle serait aimée toujours. Mais sur ce temps, il advint que Conomor, ayant vu au pays de Quimper une autre femme, qui était aussi fille du comte du pays, il la trouva plus belle que Trifine et commença à désirer de l'épouser.

Pour se débarrasser de Trifine, il employa une ruse infâme : il feignit de croire qu'elle lui avait été infidèle ; et comme elle disait simplement : « Montrez-moi que je suis coupable, » il répondit : « Vous allez mourir. » Il l'enferma dans un cachot très noir, qui avait une porte de fer et une petite fenêtre étroite. Et l'ayant laissée là sans rien lui donner à boire ou à manger, il se réjouissait en pensant qu'elle mourrait bientôt de faim.

Mais Trifine, ayant par miracle réussi à briser les barreaux de la fenêtre, s'enfuit par là comme la nuit venait, et courut bien fort vers la ville de Vannes, qui était à vingt-cinq milles du château de Plusigner. Mais Conomor, s'étant aperçu de sa fuite, fit seller son meilleur cheval et se mit à la poursuivre. Il pensait bien qu'elle était allée chercher secours auprès de son père ; et ayant tourné vers la ville, il l'atteignit comme elle était déjà en vue des murailles. Elle, aussitôt qu'elle l'aperçut, tombant à genoux, s'écria : « Merci, Monseigneur. » Mais Conomor, sans même lui laisser un moment pour prier Dieu, lui plongea son épée dans le cœur, et, la laissant à terre, il retourna vers son château.

Qui pourrait dire la douleur et les gémissements de Guérech, alors qu'on lui apporta le corps sanglant de sa fille. Il pleura deux jours et deux nuits, sans parler ni manger ; et, le troisième jour, comme sa douleur était un peu apaisée, il pensa que c'était Gildas qui lui avait conseillé de marier Trifine à Conomor, et il conçut contre lui une terrible colère. Il le fit venir à Vannes, et, dès qu'il l'aperçut, il l'accabla d'injures, et lui dit : « N'es-tu pas le complice de Conomor, et n'est-ce pas toi qui m'a conseillé de lui donner Trifine ? Je te chasserai de mes terres ; je défendrai à quiconque tient à la vie de te donner à manger ; et si tu es vraiment l'homme du ciel, Dieu te nourrira. » Et il pleurait amèrement, en disant : « Je me vengerai, oui, je me vengerai, mais cela ne ressuscitera pas mon enfant. » Alors le saint lui dit : « Ayez foi en Dieu ; j'ai failli dans mon conseil, mais Dieu exaucera les prières de son serviteur. »

Et s'étant mis à genoux devant le cadavre, il pria durant tout le jour ; et le soir, ayant touché la blessure que Trïfine avait au cœur, il la guérit ; ayant touché ses yeux, il les rouvrit ; et l'ayant prise par la main, elle commença à marcher, et à saluer son père et tous ceux qui étaient là. Alors ils se prosternèrent aux pieds du saint, criant « Miracle ; il a ressuscité celle qui était morte ». Mais lui s'arracha du milieu d'eux ; et, étant sorti son bâton à la main, il commença à faire le tour de la Bretagne. Et par toutes les villes où il y avait des évêques, il leur disait : « Dans un mois soyez à Vannes. » Et au jour dit, ils y furent ; car ils obéissaient tous au saint homme, encore qu'il n'eût aucun pouvoir sur eux.

Le saint leur raconta les crimes de Conomor et sa fausse conversion, et il dit : « Il a péché et il a feint le retour, et il a péché derechef : ne mérite-t-il pas d'être anathème ? » Et tous les évêques s'écrièrent : « Qu'il soit anathème. » Depuis ce jour la force de Conomor sembla tombée ; et tous ceux qui le craignaient, s'enhardirent ; et les voisins puissants qu'il avait outragés s'unirent contre lui, Guérech à leur tête, et le chassèrent du château de Plusigner ; nul ne voulut le recevoir, et il mourut misérablement. Trifine, pour se dérober à la curiosité d'une multitude de gens qui venaient du monde entier voir en elle le miracle du saint, se retira en l'évêché de Tréguier, au village qui porte aujourd'hui le nom de Sainte-Tréphine. Elle y vécut dans la piété et les saintes œuvres, et mourut longtemps après dans un âge fort avancé. Ses vertus et les grâces particulières dont elle avait été l'objet la firent déclarer sainte après sa mort.

Cette histoire authentique de la vie et des miracles de saint Gildas a été composée sur les lieux mêmes, et, d'après les traditions du pays, par deux écoliers de l'université de Paris ; laquelle Dieu et saint Gildas aient toujours en leur garde et protection.

Le personnage historique

Dans son De excidio Brittaniae, Gildas mentionne le fait que l'année de sa naissance fut la même que celle de la bataille du Mont Badonicus (où participa le roi Arthur), c'est-à-dire aux environs de 490 (à une décennie près, car la date de la bataille n'est pas connue avec précision). D'après David N. Dunville, Gildas fut le mentor de Vennacius de Findbarr, qui devint lui-même celui de saint Colomba d'Iona. Selon Thomas Stephen, saint Gildas aurait également été le père d'Aneirin. Une biographie de Gildas fut écrite par Caradoc de Llancarfan au XIIe siècle, et d'autres furent composées en Bretagne, notamment à Rhuys. Ces dernières allèguent que Gildas était un des fils de Caw, roi de Strathclyde; qu'il fut éduqué par Ilut de Llantwit à Llantwti Major, près de Cardiff; il serait devenu fondeur de cloches de profession (il en aurait envoyé une à Saint Bride vers 519) ; en 520, après un pèlerinage à Rome (usage suivi par beaucoup de saints bretons) il passa sept années à l'abbaye de Rhuys en Bretagne. Il fut un an à la tête de l'abbaye de Llancarfan au Pays de Galles, en l'absence de son abbé, saint Cadoc. Après 528 il s'établit à Street, dans le Somerset (près de Glastonbury) et construisit une lan (forme bretonne) ou llan (forme galloise), ermitage comprenant église et enclos, dont le tracé serait encore visible à Holy Trinity. Plus tard, (vers 544) il revint en Bretagne, à Rhuys, où il demeura jusqu'à sa mort, à l'exception d'un voyage en Irlande qui aurait eu lieu vers 565, d'après les Annales Cambrige, une chronique découverte dans un manuscrit contenant une version de Historia Brittonus. Fuyant les envahisseurs normands, les moines de l'abbaye, emportant les reliques du saint, trouvèrent refuge auprès du seigneur de Déols (à côté de l'actuel Châteauroux), Ebbes le Noble, et une nouvelle abbaye de Saint-Gildas fut érigée en ce lieu. Celle-ci devint au début du XVIIe siècle une des plus riches du Berry, mais, après la sécularisation du monastère en 1622, les moines furent dispersés et l'abbaye détruite. Quelques vestiges de l'ancien cloître sont encore visibles aujourd'hui. Il existe de nombreux mythes sur Saint Gildas, parfois difficiles à discerner de la réalité : Caradoc, dans sa biographie, le fait intervenir auprès du roi Arthur lorsque la reine Guenièvre se fit enlever par Meleagan. Il aurait convaincu les deux rois de faire la paix bien que le frère de Gildas ait été tué par Arthur. Il est difficile de savoir si cette anecdote est vraie, étant donné qu'elle date d'un manuscrit du XIIe siècle, et que l'existence même du roi Arthur et la nature de son pouvoir est incertaine. On impute à Gildas la composition d'un cantique appelé la Lorica, ou encore le Plastron. Il s'agit d'une prière pour être délivré du mal, qui contient d'intéressants spécimens de latin hispérique (variante du latin crée par des moines irlandais au VIe siècle, utilisé jusqu'au XIIe siècle). Les Annales Cambriae fixent la mort de Saint Gildas en 570 et les Annales de Tigernach en 569.

Le De Excidio Britanniae

Le De Excidio Britanniae (de la ruine de la Grande-Bretagne) est un sermon en trois parties écrit par saint Gildas dans laquelle il condamne les actions des rois contemporains, aussi bien laïcs que religieux. La première partie est une introduction dans laquelle Gildas donne l'explication de son travail ainsi qu'un bref résumé de la Grande Bretagne romaine, de la conquête des Romains jusqu'à son époque. La seconde partie s'ouvre sur « La Grande-Bretagne a des rois, et pourtant ce sont des tyrans. Elle a des juges, et pourtant peu vertueux ». Gildas s'adresse alors à cinq de ses contemporains où il rappelle leurs vies et leurs actions : Constantine de Dmnonie, Arelius Caninus, Vortipor des Demetae (aujourd'hui appelé Dyfed), Cuneglasus de la "forteresse de l'ours" (il s'agit probablement de Dinearth, près de Llandudno), et enfin Maglocunus (Maelgwn). Il les déclare tous cruels, cupides et pécheurs. La troisième partie commence par : « La Grande-Bretagne a des prêtres, mais ce sont des imbéciles, de nombreux dévôts, mais sans vergogne, des clercs, mais ce ne sont que des pilleurs ». Il continue le reste de son œuvre en fustigeant tout le clergé, mais sans nommer personne, ce qui rend difficile de bien comprendre l'influence de l'Église sur cette époque en Grande-Bretagne. Le De Excidio Britanniae a longtemps représenté la Grande-Bretagne de l'époque comme une terre dévastée par les pilleurs et au système administratif corrompu. Cette vision soutenait en effet la thèse d'une civilisation romaine détruite par des barbares et expliquait pourquoi la Grande-Bretagne est l'une des rares régions de l'Empire Romain qui n'ait pas adopté le latin (comme le fit la France, l'Espagne ou encore la Roumanie). Il faut néanmoins garder à l'esprit qu'il s'agissait avant tout d'une sorte de sermon que Gildas adressait à ses contemporains et non pas d'une chronique pour la postérité. Bien que Gildas nous offre une des premières descriptions du Mur d'Hadrien, il omet de nombreux détails quand ceux-ci ne sont pas pertinents quant au message qu'il veut faire passer. Son travail reste pourtant extrêmement important au point de vue des historiens et des linguistes, car il s'agit de l'un des rares documents du VI e siècle à avoir franchi les siècles.

L'héritage de Gildas

Dans les années qui suivirent le De Excidio, le travail de Gildas fut un modèle pour les écrivains Anglo-saxons, que ce soit en latin ou d'autres langues. Par exemple, l'Historia ecclesiastica de Bède le Vénérable se repose énormément sur Gildas pour sa version des invasions anglo-saxonnes, et en tire l'implication que la faveur divine perdue des Bretons fut retrouvée par les Anglo-saxons après leur christianisation. À une époque ultérieure, les écrits de Gildas devinrent le modèle d'Alcuin dans son travail sur les invasions vikings, en particulier ses lettres sur le pillage de Lindisfarne de 793. En fait, certains ont vu dans les travaux de Gildas l'idée que l'évangélisation et la réforme morale pouvaient constituer un rempart contre la barbarie et les invasions. C'est la thèse que reprend Wulfstan de York sur Gildas, dans ses sermons.

Source wikipedia

L'Abbaye de Saint-Gildas de Rhuys

L'abbaye Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys a le privilège d'avoir été fondée par un de ces moines qui ont quitté l'île de Bretagne pour l'Armorique à l'époque de la migration des bretons fuyant les invasions saxonnes. Mais son histoire est mal connue. Pourtant depuis quelques années, on semble de nouveau s'intéresser à ce monastère qui laisse aujourd'hui une des plus belles églises romanes de Bretagne.

Histoire

On peut distingues trois périodes dans l'histoire de l'abbaye de Rhuys.

Première période

D'abord, du VI e au X e siècle, il existe une abbaye bretonne, fondée par Saint Gildas ou par des moines se réclamant de lui et possédant, ou prétendant posséder, ses reliques. Cette abbaye ne laisse aucune trace ni dans les archives, rares pour cette période, mais aussi dans les chroniques. Aucune fouille archéologie sérieuse n'a étudié le site. On a pu douter de son existence. Mais trois faits plaident en faveur de la réalité de l'abbaye à cette époque. D'abord parce que les moines qui s'installent à Déols, un faubourg de Châteauroux, fuyant les Normands vers 920, prétendaient venir de Rhuys et ont fondé une abbaye Saint-Gildas. Ensuite parce que les moines venus de l'abbaye de Fleury en 1008 ont toujours affirmé avoir relevé à Rhuys les ruines d'une abbaye Saint Gildas précédente. Enfin parce que l'on possède tout de même un document, l'inventaire des livres de cette première abbaye. Il s'agit d'un parchemin, datant vraisemblablement du Xe siècle, qui est conservé à la Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève de Paris. Il contient une liste de livres dont les derniers auteurs sont contemporains du départ des moines de Bretagne vers 920. On a noté depuis longtemps dans cette liste un Textum Gildasii, un évangile de Gildas, et deux antiphonaires (livres de chant) qualifiés de bretons.

Seconde période

La seconde période qui va de 1008 jusqu'à la fin du XVe siècle est mieux connue, par l'église romane, ses tombeaux, quelques archives sauvées des destructions, et des témoignages divers. Le monastère est restauré à partir de 1008 à la demande du duc de Bretagne Geoffroi 1er de Bretagne. Un groupe de moines venus de Fleury sur Loire, conduits par un breton, saint Félix, relève ou reconstruit totalement les bâtiments. Il y a en effet débat pour savoir si le nouveau monastère est construit exactement sur l'emplacement du précédent. Le XIe siècle est marqué par la présence d'autres saints, d'abord saint Goustan, puis un abbé mal connu, saint Rioc. L'abbé Vital, semble être, selon Ferdinand Lot, l'auteur de la Vie de saint Gildas, qu'il aurait écrite vers 1060. L'abbaye développe le culte de saint Gildas, et d'autres saints qui lui sont liés, comme Saint Colomban, sainte Brigitte et saint Armel. Elle possède un important prieuré Saint-Sauveur à Locminé. Bientôt le monastère possède une vingtaine de prieurés. Mais l'abbaye semble ensuite manquer de moyens et les moines cherchent un abbé puissant capable de les aider. Ils font appel en 1125 à Pierre Abélard dont le passage est un échec. Il décrit des moines indisciplinés, un seigneur voisin tyrannique. Pierre Abélard doit finalement s'enfuir. Il a tout de même une petite rue à Saint-Gildas... On ignore si l'église abbatiale a jamais été terminée. Mais par la suite l'abbaye profite de la présence des ducs de Bretagne au château voisin de Suscinio. En 1189, la duchesse Constance assiste à un office et donne une charte à l'abbaye, avec une donation. Les enfants des ducs morts à Suscinio sont inhumés dans l'abbaye. Mais les problèmes historiques restent nombreux, du fait de la destruction des archives pendant la Guerre de Cent Ans.

Saint Goustan

Saint Goustan est né en Cornouaille britannique en 974. San Sten, en breton, tient son nom de l'étain. A 18 ans, il est enlevé par des pirates. Au cours de leurs voyages, le jeune Goustan se blesse au pied. Abandonné sur l'île d'Ossa (probablement l'île d'Houat), il doit son salut, d'abord à la Providence qui lui fournit des poissons, ensuite à Saint Félix qui le soigne puis le convertit au christianisme. Saint-Goustan est souvent représenté avec un poisson à la main : c'est l'illustration de la légende qui l'entoure.Blessé sur son île, il se serait contenté d'une portion d'un gros poisson (un marsouin ?), en gardant parcimonieusement pour le lendemain. Et chaque jour, le poisson se recomposait totalement. En 1025, Goustan devient moine et fonde un prieuré sur l'île de Hoëdic. Entre temps, il prie parmi ses frères moines de Rhuys. C'est là que reposent aujourd'hui ses restes, dans l'abbaye de Saint-Gildas de Rhuys. Goustan est devenu le patron des marins et des pêcheurs.

Troisième période

De la fin du XV e siècle à la Révolution Française, les archives de l'abbaye ont été presque intégralement conservées et constituent l'actuelle série 4H des archives du Morbihan. L'histoire de l'abbaye peut alors éclairer celle de toute la presqu'île de Rhuys. On peut lire à ce sujet le livre écrit par l'abbé Luco en 1869 qui a été réédité, ou celle du chanoine Le Mené dans le Bulletin de la Société Polymathique en 1902 (téléchargeable sur le site Gallica de la BNF). Mais ces études sont anciennes et l'histoire de l'abbaye, comme celle de son fondateur, saint Gildas, méritent des études nouvelles. Noter enfin que le trésor de l'abbaye, sauvé pendant la Révolution par le recteur Le Duin, dont la tombe est toujours au cimetière de Saint-Gildas, est un des plus importants de Bretagne.

Source wikipedia

Le culte de Saint Gildas

A Saint Gildas de Rhuys, (canton de Sarzeau), dans le Morbihan, dans l'église, derrière le maître autel, l'on peut voir lre tombeau de Saint Gildas, que les pèlerins viennent honorer pour obtenir le soulagement de leurs divers maux. Mais le culte de Saint Gildas ne s'arrête pas là, en toute la Bretagne, il est très florissant et suivi.

Dans le Finistère, à Cast (Canton de Châteaulin, Saint Gildas est invoqué contre troutes les rages, y compros, naturellement les rages de dents. Les demandes se font dans la chapelle qui lui est dédiée, car la source ne reçoit plus de pèlerins (garanties sanitaires insuffisantes).

Pour l'apaisement des peurs, singulièrement des peurs nocturnes des enfants, il est invoqué à Lanidult, (Canton de Ploudalmézeau), dans le Finistère. Une chapelle et une fontaine lui sont dédiées à l'Abert Ildut, et les pèlerins se rendent toujours à l'une et à l'autre. Les mamans, outre la guérison des peurs ou des convulsions, demandent parfois une intervention en faveur des jeunes enfants qui tardent à marcher.

Dans le Morbihan, Saint Gildas était invoqué dans la commune de Gueltas (Canton de Pontivy), où une jolie fontaine du 17e siècle lui est, consacrée, dans la rue des Fontaines. Il semble que l'eau de cette source possèderait un pouvoir de guérison des troubles d'origine nerveuse.

Sources: « Les Saints qui guérissent en Bretagne » d'Hyppolite Glancel, aux Ed. Ouest France, volumes 1 et 2

Site de l'Abbaye Saint Gildas de Rhuys

 http://www.abbaye-de-rhuys.fr

SOURCE : http://spiritualitechretienne.blog4ever.com/saint-gildas

Statue de Gildas portant la crosse avec la volute tournée vers l'extérieur (symbole de l'évêque)

et non vers l'intérieur (symbole de l'abbé)[2]chapelle Saint-Gildas de Bieuzy.


Saint Gildas the Wise

Also known as

Badonicus

Gildas di Rhuys

Memorial

29 January

Profile

Born to the English nobility. As a child, he was placed under the care of a nearby monastery where he was trained by Saint Illtyd. Friend of Saint Samson of York and Saint Peter AurelianTeacher of Saint Finnian of ClonardSaint Kenneth of Wales, and Blessed Bieuzy of Brittany. Exceptional studentMonk. Moved to Ireland to study and give his life over to GodPriestEvangelist in Britain. Founded churches and monasteries in IrelandAbbotMiracle worker. Following a pilgrimage to RomeItaly he became a hermit, living on the tiny island of Rhuys. He attracted followers, and his hermitage became a monastery where he served as its abbotWrote several works aimed at monks, encouraging them to holiness. Spiritual advisor. After several years, he returned to England to preach in the north, at which vocation he spent the rest of his life. Earliest British historian; his works were used by Bede the Venerable.

Born

c.516 at Scotland, possibly at Clydeside

Died

c.570 at Houat, Brittany (in modern France)

Canonized

Pre-Congregation

Representation

with a bell nearby

Additional Information

Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate

Catholic Encyclopedia

Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler

New Catholic Dictionary

Saints of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein

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Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints

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Celtic Saints

Independent Catholic News

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Martirologio Romano2001 edición

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Svetniki

MLA Citation

“Saint Gildas the Wise“. CatholicSaints.Info. 1 October 2021. Web. 23 January 2023. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-gildas-the-wise/>

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-gildas-the-wise/


Cléden-Cap-Sizun : chapelle Saint-Trémeur, retable et statue de saint Gildas.


Gildas (Badonicus) the Wise, Abbot Bishop (RM)

Born c. 500; died c. 570 (some scholars believe he may have died as early as 554).

Gildas may have been born in the lower valley of Clydeside in Scotland. He is often called "Badonicus" because he was born in the year the Britons defeated the Saxons at Bath. He may have married and been widowed, but he eventually became a monk at Llanilltud in southern Wales, where he was trained by Saint Illtyd together with Saint Samson and Saint Paul Aurelian, though he was much younger. Well-known Irish monks, including Saint Finnian, became his disciples. He made a pilgrimage to Ireland to consult with his contemporary saints of that land and wrote letters to far-off monasteries. He seems to have had considerable influence on the development of the Irish church.

Around 540 he wrote the famous work De excidio et conquestu Britanniae with the purpose of making known "the miseries, the errors, and the ruin of Britain." The work laid bare and severely criticized the lives of Britain's rulers and clerics, blaming their moral laxity for the triumph of the Anglo-Saxon invaders. Although the fierceness of its rhetorical invectives has been criticized the wide scriptural scholarship that it reveals is uncontested. It also shows that he was knowledgeable about Virgil and Ignatius. This work was cited by Saint Bede.

He is considered to be the first English historian. He lived as a hermit for some time on Flatholm Island in the Bristol Channel, where he copied a missal for Saint Cadoc and may have written De excidio. Gildas made a pilgrimage to Rome and on his return founded a monastery on an island near Rhuys (Rhuis or Morbihan) in Brittany, which became the center of his cult. Though he lived for a time on a tiny island in Morbihan Bay, he gathered disciples around him and does not seem to have cut himself off entirely from the world; he did travel to other places in Brittany. He is said to have died on the isle of Houat, though this is uncertain.

The De excidio, which very influential in the early Middle Ages, may not have been written entirely by Gildas. Some of it may have been a forgery shortly after his time. The work serves as an example of the classical and early Christian literature that was then available in England. Gilda's writings were used by Wulfstan, archbishop of York, in the 11th century in his Sermon of the Wolf to the English people during the disordered reign of Ethelred the Unready.

The chronology of Gildas's life has been disputed. Some say that the lives of two men of the same name have been confused. Some early Irish martyrologies commemorate his feast as does the Leofric Missal (c. 1050) and Anglo-Saxon calendars of the 9th through 11th centuries (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Gill, Farmer, Walsh, White).

He is portrayed in art with a bell near him (White).

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-gildas-badonicus-the-wise-abbot-bishop/


Statue de saint Gildas dans le chevet de la chapelle Saint-Gildas de Bieuzy


St. Gildas

Surnamed the Wise; b. about 516; d. at Houat, Brittany, 570. Sometimes he is called "Badonicus" because, as he tells us, his birth took place the year the Britons gained a famous victory over the Saxons at Mount Badon, near Bath, Somersetshire (493 or 516). The biographies of Gildas exist — one written by an unknown Breton monk of the Abbey of Rhuys in the eleventh century, the other by Caradoc, a Welshman in the twelfth century. Both biographies contain unchronological and misleading statements, which have led some critics to reject the lives as altogether valueless. Ussher, Ware, Bale, Pits, and Colgan endeavour to adjust the discrepancies by contending that there were at least two saints named Gildas, hence their invention of such distinctive surnames as "Albanicus", "Badonicus", "Hibernicus", "Historicus", etc. The more general opinion, however, adopted by Lanigan, Leland, Healy, Stingfleet, Mabilon, Bollandus, and O'Hanlon, is that there was but one St. Gildas. The discrepancies may be accounted for by the fact that the lives were drawn up in separate countries, and several centuries after the saint existed. As to Caradoc's statement that Gildas died at GlastonburyO'Hanlon remarks that Glastonbury appropriated more saints than Gildas (Lives of Irish Saints, I, 493).

Both narratives agree in several striking details, and may thus be harmonized: Gildas was born in Scotland on the banks of the Clyde (possibly at Dumbarton), of a noble British family. His father's name was Cau or Nau; his brother's, Huel or Cuil. He was educated in Wales under St. Iltut, and was a companion of St. Samson and St. Peter of Léon. Having embraced the monastic state, he passed over to Ireland, where he was advanced to the priesthood. He is said to have lived some time in Armagh, and then to have crossed to North Britain, his teaching there being confirmed by miracles. On his return to Ireland, at the invitation of King Ainmire, he strengthened the faith of many, and built monasteries and churches. The Irish annalists associate him with David and Cadoc in giving a special liturgy or Mass to the second order of Irish saints. He is said to have made a pilgrimage to Rome. On the homeward journey his love of solitude caused him to retire to the Isle of Houat, off Brittany, where he lived a life of prayer, study and austerity. His place of retreat having become known, the Bretons induced him to establish a monastery at Rhuys on the mainland whither multitudes flocked (Marius Sepet, "St. Gildasde Rhuys", Paris, s.d.). It was at Rhuys he wrote his famous epistle to the British kings. His relics were venerated there till the tenth century, when they were carried for safety into Berry. In the eighteenth century they were said to be preserved in the cathedral of Vannes. He is the patron of several churches and monasteries in Brittany and elsewhere. His feast is locally observed on 29 January; another feast, 11 May, commemorates the translation of his relics.

The authentic work of St. Gildas, "De excidio Britannae liber querulus", is now usually divided into three parts: (1) The preface; (2) A sketch of British history from the Roman invasion to his own time; (3) An epistle of severe invective addressed to five petty British kings — Constantine, Vortipor, Cyneglas, Cynan, and Maelgwn. In the same epistle he addresses and rebukes the clergy whom he accuses of sloth and simony. His writings are clearly the work of a man of no ordinary culture and sanctity, and indicate that the author was thoroughly acquainted with the Sacred Scriptures.

Gildas is regarded as the earliest British historian and is quoted by Bede and Alcuin. Two manuscripts copies of his writings are preserved in Cambridge University library.

Edmonds, C. (1909). St. Gildas. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved November 22, 2015 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06557c.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 © 2021 by Kevin Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06557c.htm


Statue de Saint-Gildas. Intérieur de l'église Notre-Dame de Bieuzy (56). 


St. Gildas the Wise: Monk and Missionary

The saint of the day for January 29th is St. Gildas the Wise, a sixth century British monk.

Gildas was born in Scotland around the year 516 to a noble British family. He was educated in Wales under St. Iltut, and was a companion of St. Samson and St. Peter of Léon. Sometimes he is called "Badonicus" because his birth took place the year the Britons gained a famous victory over the Saxons at Mount Badon, near Bath, Somersetshire.

Noted for his piety, Gildas was well-educated, and was not afraid of publicly rebuking contemporary monarchs, at a time when libel was answered by a sword, rather than a Court order.

He lived for many years as a hermit on Flatholm Island in the Bristol Channel. Here he established his reputation for holiness through acts of self-denial. He also preached to Nemata, the mother of St David, while she was pregnant with the Saint.

Around 547 he wrote De Excidio Britanniae (The Ruin of Britain). In this, he writes a brief tale of the island from pre-Roman times and criticizes the rulers of the island for their lax morals and blames their sins (and those that follow them) for the destruction of civilization in Britain. The book was written as a moral tale.

He also wrote a longer work, The Epistle. This is a series of sermons on the moral laxity of rulers and of the clergy. In these, Gildas shows that he has a wide reading of the Bible and of other classical works.

Gildas was an influential preacher, visiting Ireland and doing missionary work. He was responsible for the conversion of much of the island and may be the one who introduced anchorite customs to the monks of that land.

He retired from Llancarfan to Rhuys, in Brittany, where he founded a monastery. Of his work on the running of a monastery (one of the earliest known in the Christian Church), only the so-called Penitential, a guide for Abbots in setting punishment, survives.

He died around 571, at Rhuys. The monastery that he had founded became the center of his cult.

St. Gildas is regarded as being one of the most influential figures of the early English Church. The influence of his writing was felt until well into the Middle Ages, particularly in the Celtic Church.

Gildas is the patron of churches and monasteries in Brittany (modern day France) and other locations. He is regarded as the earliest British historian. Copies of his writings are preserved in the Cambridge University Library.

SOURCE : https://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2015/01/st-gildas-wise-monk-and-missionary.html


Carnoët, chapelle Saint-Gildas : statue de saint Gildas destinée à être portée lors des processions de pardon.


January 29

St. Gildas the Wise, or Badonicus, Abbot, Native of England

HE was son to a British Lord, who, to procure him a virtuous education, placed him in his infancy in the monastery of St. Iltutus in Glamorganshire. The surname of Badonicus was given him, because, as we learn from his writings, he was born in the year in which the Britons under Aurelius Ambrosius, or, according to others, under king Arthur, gained the famous victory over the Saxons at Mount Badon, now Bannesdown, near Bath in Somersetshire. This Bede places in the forty-fourth year after the first coming of the Saxons into Britain, which was in 451. Our saint therefore seems to have been born in 494; he was consequently younger than St. Paul, St. Samson, and his other illustrious school-fellows in Wales: but by his prudence and seriousness in his youth he seemed to have attained to the maturity of judgment and gravity of an advanced age. The author of the life of St. Paul of Leon calls him the brightest genius of the school of St. Iltut. His application to sacred studies was uninterrupted, and if he arrived not at greater perfection in polite literature, this was owing to the want of masters of that branch in the confusion of those times. As to improve himself in the knowledge of God and himself was the end of all his studies, and all his reading was reduced to the study of the science of the saints, the greater progress he made in learning, the more perfect he became in all virtues. Studies which are to many a source of dissipation, made him more and more recollected, because in all books he found and relished only God whom alone he sought. Hence sprang that love for holy solitude which, to his death, was the constant ruling inclination of his heart. Some time after his monastic profession, with the consent, and perhaps by the order of his abbot, St. Iltut, he passed over into Ireland, there to receive the lessons of the admirable masters of a religious life, who had been instructed in the most sublime maxims of an interior life, and formed to the practice of perfect virtue by the great St. Patrick. The author of his Acts compares this excursion, which he made in the spring of his life, to that of the bees in the season of flowers, to gather the juices which they convert into honey. In like manner St. Gildas learned from the instructions and examples of the most eminent servants of God to copy in his own life whatever seemed most perfect. So severe were his continual fasts, that the motto of St. John the Baptist might in some degree be applied to him, that he scarcely seemed to eat or drink at all. A rough hair-cloth, concealed under a coarse cloak, was his garment, and the bare floor his bed, with a stone for his bolster. By the constant mortification of his natural appetites, and crucifixion of his flesh, his life was a prolongation of his martyrdom, or a perpetual sacrifice which he made of himself to God in union with that which he daily offered to him on his altars. If it be true that he preached in Ireland in the reign of king Ammeric, he must have made a visit to that island from Armorica, that prince only beginning to reign in 560: this cannot be ascribed to St. Gildas the Albanian, who died before that time. It was about the year 527, in the thirty-fourth of his age, that St. Gildas sailed to Armorica or Brittany in France: 1 for he wrote his invective ten years after his arrival there, and in the forty-fourth year of his age, as is gathered from his life and writings. Here he chose for the place of his retirement the little isle of Houac, or Houat, between the coast of Rhuis and the island of Bellisle, four leagues from the latter. Houat exceeds not a league in length; the isle of Hoedre is still smaller, not far distant; both are so barren as to yield nothing but a small quantity of corn. Such a solitude, which appeared hideous to others, offered the greatest charms to the saint, who desired to fly, as much as this mortal state would permit, whatever could interrupt his commerce with God. Here he often wanted the common necessaries and conveniencies of life; but the greater the privation of earthly comforts was in which he lived, the more abundant were those of the Holy Ghost which he enjoyed, in proportion as the purity of his affections and his love of heavenly things were more perfect. The saint promised himself that he should live here always unknown to men; but it was in vain for him to endeavour to hide the light of divine grace under a bushel, which shone forth to the world, notwithstanding all the precautions which his humility took to conceal it. Certain fishermen who discovered him were charmed with his heavenly deportment and conversation, and made known on the continent the treasure they had found. The inhabitants flocked from the coast to hear the lessons of divine wisdom which, the holy anchoret gave with an heavenly unction which penetrated their hearts. To satisfy their importunities St. Gildas at length consented to live amongst them on the continent and built a monastery at Rhuis, in a peninsula of that name, which Guerech the first lord of the Britons about Vannes is said to have bestowed upon him. This monastery was soon filled with excellent disciples and holy monks. St. Gildas settled them in good order; then, sighing after closer solitude, he withdrew, and passing beyond the gulf of Vannes, and the promontory of Quiberon, chose for his habitation a grot in a rock, upon the bank of the river Blavet, where he found a cavern formed by nature extended from the east to the west, which on that account he converted into a chapel. However, he often visited this abbey of Rhuis, and by his counsels directed many in the paths of true virtue. Among these was St. Trifina, daughter of Guerech, first British count of Vannes. She was married to count Conomor, lieutenant of king Childebert, a brutish and impious man, who afterwards murdered her, and the young son which he had by her, who at his baptism received the name of Gildas, and was god-son to our saint: but he is usually known by the surname of Treuchmeur, or Tremeur, in Latin Trichmorus. SS. Trifina and Treuchmeur are invoked in the English Litany in the seventh century, in Mabillon. The great collegiate church of Carhaix bears the name of St. Treuchmeur: the church of Quimper keeps his feast on the 8th of November, on which day he is commemorated in several churches in Brittany, and at St. Magloire’s at Paris. A church situated between Corlai and the abbey of Cœtmaloen in Brittany is dedicated to God under the invocation of St. Trifina. 2

St. Gildas wrote eight canons of discipline, and a severe invective against the crimes of the Britons, called De Excidio Britanniæ, that he might confound those whom he was not able to convert, and whom God in punishment delivered first to the plunders of the Picts and Scots, and afterwards to the perfidious Saxons, the fiercest of all nations. He reproaches their kings, Constantine, (king of the Danmonians, in Devonshire and Cornwall,) Vortipor, (of the Dimetians, in South Wales,) Conon, Cuneglas, and Magloeune, princes in other parts of Britain, with horrible crimes: but Constantine was soon after sincerely converted, as Gale informs us from an ancient Welch chronicle. 3 According to John Fordun 4 he resigned his crown, became a monk, preached the faith to the Scots and Picts, and died a martyr in Kintyre: but the apostle of the Scots seems to have been a little more ancient than the former. 5 Our saint also wrote an invective against the British clergy, whom he accuses of sloth, of seldom sacrificing at the altar, &c. In his retirement he ceased not with tears to recommend to God his own cause, or that of his honour and glory, and the souls of blind sinners, and died in his beloved solitude in the island of Horac, (in Latin Horata,) according to Usher, in 570, but according to Ralph of Disse, in 581. 6 St. Gildas is a patron of the city of Vannes. The abbey which bears his name in the peninsula of Rhuis, between three and four leagues from Vannes, is of the reformed congregation of St. Maur since the year 1649. The relics of St. Gildas were carried thence for fear of the Normans into Berry, about the year 919, and an abbey was erected there on the banks of the river Indre, which was secularized and united to the collegiate church of Chateauroux in 1623. St. Gildas is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on the 29th of January. A second commemoration of him is made in some places on the 11th of May, on account of the translation of his relics. His life, compiled from the ancient archives of Rhuis by a monk of that house, in the eleventh century, is the best account we have of him, though the author confounds him sometimes with St. Gildas the Albanian. It is published in the library of Fleury, in Bollandus, p. 954, and most correctly in Mabillon, Act. SS. Ord. St. Bened. t. 1. p. 138. See also Dom Lobineau, Vies des Saints de Bretagne, (fol. an. 1725.) p. 72. and Hist. de la Bretagne, (2 vol. fol. an. 1707.) and the most accurate Dom Morice, Mémoires sur l’Histoire de Bretagne, 3 vol. fol. in 1745, and Hist. de la Bretagne, 2 vol. fol. an. 1750.

Note 1. Armorica, which word in the old Celtic language signified a maritime country, comprised that part of Celtic Gaul which is now divided into Brittany, Lower Normandy, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine. Tours was the capital, and still maintains the Metropolitan dignity. By St. Gatian about the middle of the third century, the faith was first planted in those parts: but the entire extirpation of idolatry was reserved to the zeal of British monks. Dom Morice distinguishes three principal transmigrations of inhabitants from Great Britain into Armorica: the first, when many fled from the arms of Carausius and Allectus, who successively assumed the purple in Great Britain: Constance made these fugitives welcome in Gaul and allowed them to settle on the coast of Armorica about the year 293. A second and much larger colony of Britons was planted here under Conan, a British prince, by Maximus, whom all the British youth followed into Gaul in 383. After the defeat of Maximus, these Armorican Britons chose this Conan, surnamed Meriedec, king, formed themselves into an independent state, and maintained their liberty against several Roman generals in the decline of that empire, and against the Alans, Vandals, Goths, and other Barbarians. Des Fontaines, (Diss. p. 118.) and after him Dom Morice, demonstrates that Brittany was an independent state before the year 421. The third transmigration of Britons hither was completed at several intervals whilst the Saxons invaded and conquered Britain, where Hengist first landed in 470. Brittany was subjected to the Romans during four centuries: an independent state successively under the title of a kingdom, county, and dutchy, for the space of about eleven hundred and fifty years, and has been united to the kingdom of France ever since the year 1532, by virtue of the marriage of king Charles VIII. with Anne, sole heiress of Brittany, daughter of duke Francis, celebrated in 1491. This province was subdued by Clovis I. who seems to have treacherously slain Budic, king of Brittany. This prince left six sons, Howel I., Ismael, bishop of Menevia, St. Tifei, honoured as a martyr at Pennalun, St. Oudecee, bishop of Landaff, Urbian or Concar, and Dinot, father of St. Kineda. Brittany remained subject to the sons of Clovis, and it was by the authority of Childebert that St. Paul was made bishop of Leon in 512. But Howel, returning from the court of king Arthur in 513, recovered the greater part of these dominions. See Dom Morice, Hist. t. 1. p. 14. Howel I. often called Rioval, that is, king Howel, was a valiant prince, and liberal to churches and monasteries. Among many sons whom he left behind him, Howel II. succeeded him, and two are honoured among the saints, viz. St. Leonor or Lunaire, and St. Tudgual or Pabutual, first bishop of Treguier. See Morice, t. 1. p. 14, and 729. Howel III. alias Juthael, recovered all Brittany. King Pepin again conquered this country, and Charlemagne and Lewis le Debonnaire quelled it when it thrice rebelled. The latter established the Benedictin rule at Landevenec, which probably was soon imitated in others: for the monastic rule which first prevailed here was that of the Britons in Wales, borrowed from the Orientals. After the struggles made by this province for its liberty, Charles the Bald yielded it up in 858, and some time after treated Solomon III. as king of Brittany. See Morice, Des Fontaines, &c. [back]

Note 2. In this church-yard stands an ancient pyramid, on which are engraved letters of an unknown alphabet, supposed to be that of the Britons and Gauls before the Roman alphabet was introduced among them. Letters of the same alphabet are found upon some other monuments of Brittany. See Lobineau, Vies des Saints de la Bretagne, in St. Treuchmeur, p. 8. Dom Morice endeavours to prove that the Welsh, the old British, and the Celtic are the same language. (Hist t. 1. p. 867.) That they are so in part it unquestionable. [back]

Note 3. Mr. Vaughan, in his British Antiquities revived, printed at Oxford in 1662, shows that there were at this time many princes or chieftains among the Britons in North Wales, but that they all held their lands of one sovereign, though each in his own district was often honoured with the title of king. The chief prince at this time was Maelgun Gwynedth, the lineal heir and eldest descendant of Euneda, who flourished in the end of the fourth, or beginning of the fifth century and from one or other of whose eight sons all the princes of North Wales, also those of Cardigan, Dimetia, Glamorgan, and others in South Wales, derived their descent. The ancient author, published at the end of Nennius, says Maelgun, began his reign one hundred and forty-six years after Cunedha, who was his Atavus, or great grandfather’s grandfather. Maelgun was prince only of Venedotia for twenty-five years before he was acknowledged in 564, after the death of Arthur, chief king of the Britons in Wales, whilst St. David was primate, Arthur king of the Britons in general, Gurthmyll king, and St. Kentigern bishop of the Cumbrian Britons. “He had received a good education under the elegant instructor of almost all Britain,” says Gildas, pointing out probably St. Iltutus. Yet he fell into enormous vices. Touched with remorse, he retired into a monastery in 552; but being soon tired of that state, re-assumed his crown, and relapsed into his former impieties. He died in 565. Gildas, who wrote his epistle De Excidio Britanniæ, between the years 564 and 570, that of his death, hints that Verulam was then fallen into the hands of the Saxons: which is certain of London, &c. The other princes reprehended by Gildas were lesser toparchs, as Aurelius Conon, Vortipor, Cuneglas, and Constantine. These were chieftains, Vortopor in Pembrokeshire, the rest in some quarter or other of Britain, all living when Gildas wrote. Constantine, whom Gildas represents as a native of Cornwall, and as he is commonly understood also as prince of that country, did penance. The chief crime imputed to him is the murder of two royal youths in a church, and of two noblemen who had the charge of their education. These Carte imagines to have been the sons of Caradoo Ureich-Uras, who was chief prince of the Cornish Britons in the latter end of king Arthur’s reign, as is attested by the author of the Triades. The prelates whom Gildas reproves, were such as Maelgun had promoted: for the sees of South Wales were at that time filled with excellent prelates, whose virtues Gildas desired to copy. Carte, t. 1. p. 214. [back]

Note 4. Scoti-chron. c. 26. [back]

Note 5. Gildas’s epistle De Excidio Britanniæ, was published extremely incorrect and incomplete, till the learned Thomas Gale gave us a far more accurate and complete edition, t. 3. Scriptor. Britan., which is reprinted with notes by Bertrame in Germany, Hanniæ imp. an. 1757, together with Nennius’s history of the Britons, and Richard Corin. of Westminster, De Situ Britanniæ. Gildas’s Castigatio Cleri is extant in the library of the Fathers, ed. Colon. t. 5. part 3. p. 682. [back]

Note 6. Dom Morice shows that about one hundred and twenty years were an ordinary term of human life among the ancient Britons, and that their usual liquor called Kwrw, made of barley and water, was a kind of beer, a drink most suitable to the climate and constitutions of the inhabitants. See Dom Morice, Mémoires sur l’Histoire de Bretagne, t. 1. preface; and Lemery, Diss. sur les Boissons. [back]

Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73).  Volume I: January. The Lives of the Saints.  1866.

SOURCE : https://www.bartleby.com/210/1/293.html

Carnoët, chapelle Saint-Gildas : statue de saint Gildas, représenté avec un chien et un porc car il était invoqué pour les maux de dents et les morsures de chiens enragé


The Life of Gildas by Caradoc of Llancarfan, ca. 1130-1150

1. Nau [Caw--MJ], the king of Scotia, was the noblest of the kings of the north. He had twenty-four sons, victorious warriors. One of these was named Gildas, whom his parents engaged in the study of literature. He was a boy of good natural disposition, devoted to study, and distinguished for his talents. Whatever he heard from his master he would repeat most diligently, and forgetfulness did not harm him. He eagerly and diligently studied among his own people in the seven arts until he reached the age of youth; when, on becoming a young man, he speedily left the country.

2. He crossed the Gallic Sea and remained studying well in the cities of Gaul for seven years; and at the end of the seventh year he returned, with a huge mass of volumes, to greater Britain. Having heard of the renown of the illustrious stranger, great numbers of scholars from all parts flocked to him. They heard him explaining with the greatest acuteness the science of the seven rules of discipline, according to which men, from being disciples, became masters, under the master's office.

3. The religion of the very wise teacher was magnified and extolled to such a degree by the inhabitants of Britain, in that his equal was neither found, nor could be found, owing to superior merits. He used to fast like the hermit Antony: most thoroughly devoted to religion, he used to pray clad in goat's skin. If anything was given to him, he would forthwith expend it upon the poor. He abstained from milk-foods and honey: flesh was hateful to him: fresh-water herbs were rather a favourite dish with him: he ate barley-bread mixed with ashes, and drank spring water daily. He used not to take a bath, a habit very much in favour by this nation. Thinness appeared in his face, and he seemed like a man suffering under a very serious fever. It was his habit to go into the river at midnight, where he would remain unmoved until he had said the Lord's Prayer three times. Having done this, he would repair his oratory and pray there on his knees unto the divine majesty until broad daylight. He used to sleep moderately, and to lie upon a stone, clothed with only a single garment. He used to eat without satisfying his wants, contented with his share of the heavenly reward; the longing of his heart was after heavenly rewards.

4. He warned men to contemn, he advised them to scorn mere transitory things. He was the most renowned preacher throughout the three kingdoms of Britain. Kings feared him as a man to be feared, and obeyed him after hearing his acceptable preaching. In the time of king Trifinus, he preached every Lord's day in his church by the sea-shore, in the district of Pepidiauc, with a countless number of people listening to him. And when he was once just beginning to preach, the words of the preaching were checked in the preacher himself; and the people were struck with amazement at the wonderful retention. On finding this, St. Gildas bade all who were present to go out, that he might be able to know whether it was owning to one of them that this impediment to the divine preaching was caused; and yet, even after their withdrawal, he could not preach. He then asked whether there was any man or women hiding in the church. Nonnita, who was with child, and was destined to become the mother of the most holy boy, Dewi, answered him: I, Nonnita, am staying here between the walls and the door, not wishing to mingle with the crowd.. Having heard this, he bade her to go out; and when she had gone out he called the people. They were called, and came to listen to the preaching of the gospel. At the close of the sermon, he asked the angel of God the purport of the above-mentioned matter, to wit, why when he had begun to preach he had failed to proceed to the end. And he revealed the matter to him in such words as these: Nonnitta, a saintly woman, remains in the church, who is now with child, and is destined, with great grace, to give birth to a boy whom thou couldst not preach, the divine power withholding thy speech. The boy this is to come will be of greater grace: no one in your parts will equal him.

"To him will I leave this part of the country: he will quickly grow and flourish form one period of life to another. For an angel, the messenger of God declared to me this as my true destiny." Whence it happened that the most holy preacher Gildas crossed over to Ireland, where he converted a great number of people to the Catholic faith.

5. St. Gildas was the contemporary of Arthur, the king of the whole of Britain, whom he loved exceedingly, and whom he always desired to obey. Nevertheless his twenty-three brothers constantly rose up against the afore-mentioned rebellious king, refusing to own him as their lord; but they often routed and drove him out from forest and battle-field. Hueil, the elder brother, an active warrior and most distinguished soldier, submitted to no king, not even to Arthur. He used to harass the latter, and to provoke the greatest anger between them both. He would often swoop down from Scotland, set up conflagrations, and carry off spoils with victory and renown. In consequence, the king of all Britain, on hearing that the high-spirited youth had done such things and was doing similar things, pursued the victorious and excellent youth, who, as the inhabitants used to assert and hope, was destined to be king. In the hostile pursuit and council of war held on the island of Minau, he killed the young plunderer. After the murder the victorious Arthur returned, rejoicing greatly that he had overcome his bravest enemy. Gildas, historian of the Britons, who was staying in Ireland directing studies and preaching in the city of Armagh, heard that his brother had been slain by King Arthur. He was grieved at hearing the news, wept with lamentation, as a dear brother for a dear brother. He prayed daily for his brother's spirit; and, moreover, he used to pray for Arthur, his brother's persecutor and murderer, fulfilling the apostolic commandment, which says: Love those who persecute you, and do good to them that hate you. [Luke vi, 27]

6. Meanwhile, the most holy Gildas, the venerable historian, came to Britain, bringing with him a very beautiful and sweet-sounding bell, which he vowed to offer as a gift to the Bishop of the Roman Church. He spent the night as a guest honourably entertained by the venerable abbot Cadocus, in Nant Carban. The latter pointed out the bell to him, and after pointing to it, handled it; and after handling it wished to buy it at a great price; but its possessor would not sell it. When king Arthur and the chief bishops and abbots of all Britain heard of the arrival of Gildas the Wise, large numbers from among the clergy and people gathered together to reconcile Arthur for the above-mentioned murder. But Gildas, as he had done when he first heard the news of his brother's death, was courteous to his enemy, kissed him as he prayed for forgiveness, and with a most tender heart blessed him as the other kissed in return. When this was done, king Arthur, in grief and tears, accepted penance imposed by the bishops who were present, and led an amended course, as far as he could, until the close of his life.

7. Then the illustrious Gildas, a peace-making and Catholic man, visited Rome, and presented the afore-mentioned bell to the Bishop of the Roman Church; but when the bell was shaken by the hands of the bishop, it would give forth no sound. Therefore, on seeing this, he thus said: O thou, man beloved of God and men, reveal unto me what happened unto thee on thy journey to make this presentation. And he revealed that the most holy Cadoc, abbot of the church of Nancarvan, had wished to buy the bell, but that he had refused to sell what he had vowed to offer to the apostle St. Peter. When the Apostolic bishop heard this, he said: I know the venerable abbot Cadoc, who seven times visited this city, and Jerusalem three times, after countless dangers and incessant toil. I consent that, if he comes again and wishes to possess it, thou mayst give it to him. For, in consequence of this present miracle, it has been decreed that he should have it. Gildas, therefore, took back the bell after it was blessed, and returned; he brought it back and bestowed it gratutitously upon St. Cadoc. When received by the hands of the abbot and struck, it forthwith sounded, to the surprise of all. Then it remained as an asylum for all who carried it throughout the whole of Gwalia (Gualiuam), and whosoever swore illegally throughout that land, he was deprived of his tongue, or if an evil-doer would straightaway confess the crime.

8. Cadoc, the abbot of the church of Nancarban [aka Llancarfan], asked the teacher Gildas to superintend the studies of his schools for the space of one year; and one being requested, he superintended them most advantageously, receiving no fee from the scholars except the prayers of the clergy and scholars. And there he himself wrote out the work of the four evangelists, a work that still remains in the church of St. Cadoc, covered all over with gold and silver in honour of God, of the holy writer, and of the Gospels. The inhabitants of Wales (Walenses) hold this volume as the most valuable possession in their oaths, neither dare to open it in order to look into it, nor confirm peace and friendship between hostile parties, unless it be present, specifically placed there for the purpose.

9. At the close of the year, and when the scholars were retiring from study, the saintly abbot Cadoc and the excellent master Gildas, mutually agreed to repair to two islands, viz., Ronech and Echin. Cadoc landed on the one nearer to Wales, and Gildas in the one that lies over against England. They were unwilling to be hindered in the church offices by the conflux of men; and on this account, they could think of no better plan that to leave the valley of Carvan and resort to the secrecy of an island. Gildas founded there an oratory in honour of the holy and indivisible Trinity, and close by it was his bed-chamber. It was not in it, however, that he had his bed, but placed on a steep cliff, where, upon a stone he lay until midnight, watching and praying to Almighty God. Then he would enter the church quite faint with cold; but, for God's sake, the cold was sweet and endurable to him. He used to take some small fish in a net, and eggs from bird's nests; and it was on this, which sufficed him for nourishment, that he lived. The one used to visit the other. This mode of living lasted for the space of seven years.

10. The supreme Creator, seeing that his chosen servant, Gildas had no constant supply of water beyond the drops of rain which fell upon stones and were caught as they trickled down, caused a stream to flow out from a steep cliff -- and out it flowed, and still flows out, and will remain constant without exhaustion. While St. Gildas was thus persevering, devoting himself to fasting and prayers, pirates came from the islands of Orcades, who harassed him snatching off his servants from him when at their duties, and carrying them off to exile, along with spoils and all the furniture of their dwelling. Being thereby exceedingly distressed, he could not remain there any longer: he left the island, embarked on board a small ship, and, in great grief, put in at Glastonia, at the time when king Melvas was reigning in the summer country. He was received with much welcome by the abbot of Glastonia, and taught the brethren and the scattered people, sowing the precious seed of heavenly doctrine. It was there that he wrote the history of the kings of Britain. Glastonia, that is, the glassy city, which took its name from glass, is a city that had its name originally in the British tongue. It was besieged by the tyrant Arthur with a countless multitude on account of his wife Gwenhwyfar, whom the aforesaid wicked king had violated and carried off, and brought there for protection, owing to the asylum afforded by the invulnerable position due to the fortifications of thickets of reed, river, and marsh. The rebellious king had searched for the queen throughout the course of one year, and at last heard that she remained there. Thereupon he roused the armies of the whole of Cornubia and Dibneria; war was prepared between the enemies.

11. When he saw this, the abbot of Glastonia, attended by the clergy and Gildas the Wise, stepped in between the contending armies, and in a peaceable manner advised his king, Melvas [Melwas or Melegant], to restore the ravished lady. Accordingly, she who was to be restored, was restored in peace and good will. When these things were done, the two kings gave the abbot a gift of many domains; and they came to visit the temple of St. Mary and to pray, while the abbot confirmed the beloved brotherhood in return for peace they enjoyed and the benefits which they conferred, and were more abundantly about to confer. Then the kings reconciled, promising reverently to obey the most venerable abbot of Glastonia, and never violate the most sacred place nor even the districts adjoining the chief's seat.

12. When he had obtained permission from the abbot of Glastonia and his clergy and people, the most devout Gildas desired to live a hermit's life upon the bank of a river close to Glastonia, and he actually accomplished his object. He built a church there in the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity, in which he fasted and prayed assiduously, clad in goat's hair, giving to all an irreproachable example of a good religious life. Holy men used to visit him from distant parts of Britain, and when advised, returned and cherished with delight the encouragements and counsels they had heard from him.

13. He fell sick at last, and was weighed down with illness. He summoned the abbot of Glastonia to him, and asked him, with great piety, when the end of his life had come, to cause his body to be borne to the abbey of Glastonia, which he loved exceedingly. When the abbot promised to observe his requests, and was grieved at the requests he had heard, and shed copious tears, St. Gildas, being now very ill, expired, while many were looking at the angelic brightness around his fragrant body, and angels were attending upon his soul. After the mournful words of commemoration were over, the very light body was removed by the brethren into the abbey; and amid very loud wailing and with the most befitting funeral rites, he was buried in the middle of the pavement of St. Mary's church; and his soul rested, rests, and will rest, in heavenly repose. Amen.

14. Glastonia was of old called Ynisgutrin, and is still called so by the British inhabitants. Ynis in the British language is insula in Latin, and gutrin (made of glass). But after the coming of the English and the expulsion of the Britons, that is, the Welsh, it received a fresh name, Glastigberi, according to the formation of the first name, that is English glass, Latin vitrum, and beria a city; then Glastinberia, that is, the City of Glass.

Caradoc of Nancarban's are the words;

Who reads, may he correct; so wills the author.

SOURCE:

Two Lives of Gildas by a monk of Ruys and Caradoc of Llancarfan. Hugh Williams, translator. First published in the Cymmrodorion Record Series, 1899.

SOURCE : http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/gildas06.html

St. Gildas the WiseFeast day: Jan 29

St. Gildas was probably born around 517 in the North of England or Wales. His father's name was Cau (or Nau) and, came from noble lineage, and he most likely had several brothers and sisters. There is writing which suggests that one of his brothers, Cuil (or Hueil), was killed by King Arthur (who died in 537 AD), and it also appears that Gildas may have forgiven Arthur for this.

There are two accounts of the life of St. Gildas the Wise, neither of which tell the same story.

He lived in a time when the glory of Rome had faded from Britain. The permanent legions had been withdrawn by Maximus, who used them to sack Rome and make himself Emperor.

Gildas was noted in particular for his piety and good education, and was not afraid to publicly rebuke contemporary monarchs at a time when libel was answered by a sword rather than a Court order.

Gildas lived for many years as a very ascetic hermit on Flatholm Island in the Bristol Channel. There he established his reputation for that peculiar Celtic sort of holiness that consists of extreme self-denial and isolation. At around this time, according to the Welsh, he also preached to Nemata, the mother of St David, while she was pregnant with the Saint.

In about 547 he wrote a book De Excidio Britanniae (The Destruction of Britain). In this he writes a brief tale of the island from pre-Roman times and criticizes the rulers of the island for their lax morals and blames their sins (and those that follow them) for the destruction of civilization in Britain. The book was avowedly written as a moral tale.

He also wrote a longer work, the Epistle, which is a series of sermons on the moral laxity of rulers and of the clergy. In these Gildas shows that he was well read in the Bible and some other classic works.

He was also a very influential preacher. Because of his visits to Ireland and the great missionary work he did there, he was responsible for the conversion of many on the island, and may be the one who introduced anchorite customs to the monks of that land.

From there he retired from Llancarfan to Rhuys, in Brittany, where he founded a monastery. Of his works on the running of a monastery (one of the earliest known in the Christian Church), only the so-called Penitential, a guide for Abbots in setting punishment, survives.

He died around 571, at Rhuys.

He is regarded as being one of the most influential figures of the early English Church. The influence of his writing was felt until well into the middle ages, particularly in the Celtic Church. He is also important to us today as the first British writer whose works have survived fairly intact.

SOURCE : https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-gildas-the-wise-131

St. Gildas the Wise, Abbot Bishop (Badonicus)

29 January

Born c. 520; died c. 570 (some scholars believe he may have died as early as 554).

Gildas may have been born in the lower valley of Clydeside in Scotland. He is often called "Badonicus" because he was born in the year the Britons defeated the Saxons at Bath. His father was of the ruling family of a small kingdom on the borders of Northumbria with its capital at Dumbarton but he was sent from the banks of the Clyde to the monastery of Llaniltut or Llantwit. in southern Wales, where he was trained by Saint Illtyd (f.d. November 6) together with Saint Samson (f.d. July 28) and Saint Paul Aurelian (f.d. March 12), though he was much younger. Well-known Irish monks, including Saint Finnian (f.d. December 12), became his disciples. He made a pilgrimage to Ireland to consult with his contemporary saints of that land and wrote letters to far-off monasteries. He seems to have had considerable influence on the development of the Irish church.

When Gildas graduated from Llantwit he went to Ireland to continue his studies, moving from one monastic centre to another. Possibly he was ordained priest in Ireland and went back to the North of Britain, teaching and preaching in the land of his nativity. The fame of his successful ministry made Ainmeric, a King in Ireland, invite him back to restore the discipline and ordered Liturgy in the monasteries and he taught for a time in the School of Armagh.

On returning to Britain, he assisted S. Cadoc at Llancarven and accompanied him when he went to Brittany, or Armorica as it was called at that time. Gildas also went on pilgrimage to Rome and there is a story that he visited Cadoc on the way. He brought with him a leather pouch and when he opened it he produced a bell, shaped like a square cap. The bell was made of beaten metal, a mixture of silver and copper, and had a very sweet tone so that Cadoc desired it for the monastery he was building at that time. Gildas however told him that it was destined for St Peter's at Rome but when he presented it to the Pope on his arrival in the Holy City, the bell gave no sound at all. On his way back he called on Cadoc again and gave him the bell which now sounded as sweet as ever. From this incident Gildas learnt that his labours should be among his own people.

He is best remembered in Britain for his history of the church in that land from the departure of the Romans to the invasion of the Saxons. It was probably written at Glastonbury about 540 and is entitled De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, The Ruin of Britain, which he says came upon the British through the decadence of their rulers and clergy. The work laid bare and severely criticised the lives of Britain's rulers and clerics, blaming their moral laxity for the triumph of the Anglo-Saxon invaders. Although the fierceness of its rhetorical invectives has been criticised the wide scriptural scholarship that it reveals is uncontested. It also shows that he was knowledgeable about Virgil and Ignatius (f.d. October 17). This work was cited by Saint Bede (f.d. May 26).

He is considered to be the first English historian. He lived as a hermit for some time on Flatholm Island in the Bristol Channel, where he copied a missal for Saint Cadoc (f.d. September 25) and may have written De excidio. Gildas, upon returning from his pilgrimage to Rome, founded a monastery on an island near Rhuys (Rhuis or Morbihan) in Brittany, which became the centre of his veneration. Though he lived for a time on a tiny island in Morbihan Bay, he gathered disciples around him and does not seem to have cut himself off entirely from the world; he did travel to other places in Brittany.

The De excidio, which very influential in the early Middle Ages, may not have been written entirely by Gildas. Some of it may have been added shortly after his time. The work serves as an example of the classical and early Christian literature that was then available in England. Gilda's writings were used by Wulfstan (f.d. January 19), archbishop of York, in the 11th century in his "Sermon of the Wolf" to the English people during the disordered reign of Ethelred the Unready.

He did spend some time as a hermit on the island of Flatholm in the Bristol Channel but he eventually moved to Brittany where he founded a monastery at a place which bears his name St Gildas-de-Rhuys which according to Peter Abelard who was later abbot there was not a very salubrious spot. His tomb is behind the altar in the present church and there are relics in the Sacristy.

Some early Irish martyrologies commemorate his feast as does the Leofric Missal (c. 1050) and Anglo-Saxon calendars of the 9th through 11th centuries (AttwaterBenedictinesBentleyGillFarmerWalshWhite).

He is portrayed in art with a bell near him (White).

Troparion of St Gildas the Wise Tone 8

Truly thou art surnamed 'The Wise', 0 righteous Gildas,
for in thy monastic solitude thou didst use thy God-given gift of words for His greater glory.
Teach us to despise nothing, that all our talents, however small, may be employed in God's service, for the salvation of our souls.

Kontakion of St Gildas the Wise Tone 2

As one learned in the art of writing
0 wise Gildas,
thou didst not hide thy talent, but brought it forth to glorify thy Creator.
Singing praise to thee, we pray for grace to follow thee in offering everything to God for His glory alone.

Medieval Sourcebook

The Works of Gildas:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gildas-full.html

SOURCE : https://celticsaints.org/2014/0129a.html

Vitrail de l'église Saint-Gildas de Magoar :

Saint-Gildas (la volute de la crosse tournée vers lui) et Notre-Dame-des-Victoires.


San Gildas di Rhuys Abate

29 gennaio

Gran Bretagna, V sec. – Houat (Bretagna, Francia), 29 gennaio 570 ca.

Nacque verso la fine del V sec, sulle rive della Clyde, in Gran Bretagna, da una famiglia principesca. Fin dalla prima infanzia fu affidato al santo abate Iltud e fu condiscepolo dei santi Paolo di Lèon, Sansone di Dol e Lunario. Ordinato prete verso il 518, decise di ricondurre alla fede, attraverso la sua predicazione, le regioni settentrionali della Gran Bretagna in cui il Cristianesimo era quasi scomparso. Poco più tardi, chiamato da S. Brigida, passò in Irlanda, dove la Chiesa era in piena decadenza dopo la morte di san Patrizio. Gildas ristabilisce la disciplina nei monasteri, opera numerose conversioni. Terminata la sua missione torna in Inghilterra e si ritira in solitudine nell’isola di Houat, in pieno Oceano. Ma i pescatori dei dintorni non tardano a scoprirlo e così circondato da una numerosa schiera di discepoli egli deve ben presto stabilirsi nella vicina penisola di Rhuys dove fonda un monastero. In quello stesso luogo avrebbe risuscitato S. Trifida, madre di S. Tremoro, assassinata dal marito, il tiranno di Conomor. In seguito percorre la Cornovaglia predicando e fondando monasteri. Ritorna a Rhuys, ma muore ad Houat, dove amava isolarsi, il 29 gennaio del 570. Il corpo, per suo espresso desiderio, affidato al mare in una barca, fu ritrovato sulle coste di Rhuys l’11 maggio seguente e inumato nella chiesa del monastero.

Emblema: Bastone abbaziale, campanella

Era circa il 1060, quando Vitale, abate del monastero di Rhuys, situato sulla riva del mare nella regione di Vannes, scrisse la ‘Vita’ del fondatore del monastero, san Gildas. 

L’autore stesso, assicurò che si era ispirato ad antichi documenti e tradizioni, ma nello stesso tempo egli ampliò il suo racconto con episodi e dati edificanti o folcloristici, secondo la tendenza degli agiografi del tempo; fatto sta, che oggi è impossibile distinguere fra le parti storiche e quelle leggendarie. 

Gildas nacque verso la fine del V secolo in Gran Bretagna sulle rive della Clyde, fiume scozzese, da una famiglia principesca. 

Fin dalla prima infanzia, fu affidato al santo abate Iltuto († 540 ca.), fondatore del monastero di Llanilltud Fawr nel Galles, celebre centro culturale con molti discepoli; ebbe come condiscepoli i santi celtici Sansone vescovo di Dol, s. Paolo di Léon e s. Lunario. 

Verso i 20 anni, Gildas si trasferì nel Galles “per raccogliere le dottrine di altri studiosi sulla filosofia e le divine lettere”; fu ordinato sacerdote nel 518 e decise di fare opera missionaria, e attraverso la sua predicazione ricondurre al Cristianesimo quasi scomparso, le regioni settentrionali della Gran Bretagna. 

Poco più tardi, fu chiamato da santa Brigida di Kildare († 525 ca.) in Irlanda, per rivitalizzare la Chiesa locale, che dopo la morte del vescovo evangelizzatore san Patrizio († 461), era in piena decadenza. 

Gildas ristabilì la disciplina nei monasteri e fra l’altro fondò la celebre scuola di Armagh, operando numerose conversioni. 

Ritornato in Inghilterra, insieme a due studiosi bretoni David e Cadoc, compose una “Messa nuova” per le Chiese celtiche; poi si ritirò nel sud del territorio francese dell’Armorica (l’antico nome della Penisola della Bretagna, detta Britannia dai bretoni che vi si rifugiarono nel V secolo), vivendo in solitudine nell’isoletta di Houat in pieno Oceano. 

Ma la sua presenza orante, sebbene nascosta e isolata, fu ben presto notata dai pescatori dei dintorni e la notizia si diffuse, tanto che numerosi discepoli si aggregarono a lui. 

Per questo Gildas ritenne necessario fondare un monastero per accoglierli, edificio che fu costruito nel luogo di un’antica fortezza romana, nella vicina penisola di Rhuys, striscia di terra della Francia settentrionale, di fronte all’isola di Houat. 

Dopo qualche tempo però, riprese a condurre vita solitaria insieme a san Bieuzy, altro santo eremita bretone, sulle rive del Blavet ai piedi del picco di Castennec. In questo luogo avrebbe scritto il “De Excidio et conquestu Britanniae”, che gli procurò il soprannome di “Saggio”. 

E sempre in prossimità di questo luogo, avrebbe resuscitato santa Trifida, madre di san Tremoro, che era stata uccisa dal marito, il tiranno di Conomor. 

In seguito percorse la Cornovaglia armoricana, sempre predicando, facendo conversioni e fondando monasteri; poi chiamato da re Ainmir, ritornò in Irlanda. 

Infine si recò di nuovo a Rhuys, ma in uno dei suoi ritiri nell’isoletta di Houat, morì il 29 gennaio del 570 ca. Per suo espresso desiderio, il suo corpo deposto su una barca, fu affidato al mare, rituale spesso usato dalle popolazioni costiere nordiche. 

Ma la barca fu poi ritrovata arenata sulla costa di Rhuys, l’11 maggio seguente; il corpo fu così inumato nella chiesa del suo monastero. 

Verso il 919, per timore delle scorrerie dei Normanni, i monaci di Rhuys trasferirono il corpo del fondatore san Gildas, a Bourg-Dieu presso Châteauroux (Indre) nell’interno della Bretagna, dove fu edificata una chiesa in suo onore; l’abbazia di Rhuys all’inizio dell’XI secolo, fu rilevata da s. Felice e divenne il centro della spiritualità di tutta la regione; tomba di numerosi figli dei duchi di Bretagna e fu conservata intatta fino alla Rivoluzione Francese. 

Oggi il monastero è occupato dalle Suore della Carità di S. Luigi, dette del Padre Eterno, e nel coro romanico della chiesa abbaziale, oggi parrocchia, si venera ancora dietro l’altare maggiore, la tomba e qualche reliquia del santo abate Gildas. 

Finché durò l’abbazia, tutte le parrocchie della penisola di Rhuys, furono obbligate a compiervi pellegrinaggi in occasione delle principali feste: il 29 gennaio per la morte di Gildas, il 30 settembre per la dedicazione della chiesa abbaziale e soprattutto per le Rogazioni, in cui si ricordava la scoperta del corpo del santo. 

Attualmente esiste solo la festa del 29 gennaio, spostata al 30 con Ufficio e Messa propri. 

San Gildas gode in Bretagna di un culto molto sentito; nella sola diocesi di Vannes, è patrono di otto parrocchie, ben nove chiese e dieci cappelle gli sono dedicate; varie località portano il suo nome. 

È raffigurato in vesti di monaco, col bastone abbaziale e spesso con una campanella, che ricorda la leggendaria campana fusa dallo stesso s. Gildas, che non volle suonare quando fu donata al papa, perché era stata dapprima promessa all’amico san Bieuzy.

Autore: Antonio Borrelli

SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/Detailed/92215.html

Voir aussi http://orthodoxievco.net/ecrits/vies/synaxair/janvier/gildas.pdf