Saint Magnus d'Orkney
Prince viking,
martyr (✝ 1115)
Ses reliques sont
dans la cathédrale de Kirkwall (site en anglais).
Saint patron des îles des Orcades et des Shetland.
Fils d’un viking, prince des Orcades, il fut d’abord pirate, mais embrassa
bientôt la foi chrétienne. Échappant à l’emprise du roi de Norvège et à ses
raids sur les côtes, il vécut comme un pénitent, puis, devenu à son tour prince
des Orcades, il partagea le pouvoir avec son cousin Hakon mais, celui-ci se
saisit de lui, désarmé, dans une église et le fit traîtreusement assassiner.
Martyrologe
romain
|
Magnus of Orkney M (AC)ORKNE
Died on Igilsay Island, Norway, 1116.
Earl Magnus Erlendsson of
Norway, son of Erling, ruled over half the Orkney Islands. He was killed by his
cousin Haakon, who ruled over the other half. Magnus is venerated as the
protector of Scotland and a martyr, even though as a young man he participated
in the Viking raids on Scotland.
As a young man, Magnus
visited Wales at least twice and had friends there, including a bishop, because
he was related to the Scottish royal family. Haakon and Magnus travelled with
King Magnus Barelegs in 1098 to raid the western islands of Scotland: Lewis,
Uist, Skye, Tiree, and Mull. As the raiding party continued on to Wales, Magnus
Erlendsson refused to participate saying, "I have no quarrel with any man
here."
Needless to say, this did
not endear him with his Viking brethren. The king ordered him below decks. But
Magnus insisted that God would shield him. He stood on the prow singing Psalms
and prayers in a loud voice. Companions saw this as cowardice, as did the king.
While at anchor, Magnus left the ship one night and hid on shore. He made his
way to the court of King Malcolm and Queen Margaret of Scotland, where the
Gospel message was taken seriously. Here he became fast friends with
Prince Edgar.
Magnus was made earl of
Caithness. In 1105, he married a Scottish woman. After Magnus Barelegs was
killed in 1102 at Ulster, Ireland, Magnus returned to Norway to find Haakon had
taken over his earldom, too, with aggression and violence to his subjects.
Magnus sought and gained the support of the Norwegian Thing (council) and went
to the newly crowned King Eystein to gain a royal judgement in his favor.
Peace reigned for many
years. Magnus was no pacifist--he fought off Viking chief Dufnjal when
attacked. At that time Magnus and Haakon worked together to defend their
people. Tensions again rose between the cousins when Magnus forbade his people
from joining raiding parties. When Magnus went to the court of King Henry I of
England for a year, Haakon seized control of Magnus's earldom and much of
Caithness. Once again the dispute was settled by the Thing.
During Easter week, Haakon
and Magnus met on the island of Egilsay, which belonged to the Church. The
stated intention was reconciliation, but Haakon arrived with eight warships.
Magnus prayed throughout the night and he refused the protection of his few
men. He received Communion and waited for his cousin.
Magnus was taken prisoner
by Haakon's men, judged during a mock trial, and was killed by Haakon's chef,
Lifolf. Magnus was eventually buried in Kirkwall cathedral, which is dedicated
in his honor. After his death, devotion grew for Magnus. He was honored for his
virtue and piety, but there appears to be no reason why he should have been
called a martyr.
His name was invoked in
time of danger, and for the sick who were cured. Later, Haakon made a
pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land. Thereafter he ruled well, though he never
tolerated open devotion to the cousin he murdered. Magnus stood against wanton
violence and racism against foreigners. He is another model for our times. An
account concerning Magnus is included in the final portion of the Orkney Saga,
which is published in English by Penguin (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia,
Markus, Mooney).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0416.shtml
History of Saint MAGNUS of ORKNEY
The raid on Anglesey
Magnus becomes Earl
The earls' quarrel
Betrayal on Eglisay
The martyrdom of Earl Magnus
Miraculous happenings
Sainthood
SOURCE : http://www.stmagnusmartyr.org.uk/history/history-st-magnus-orkney
Voir aussi : http://www.schola-sainte-cecile.com/2011/07/24/nobilis-humilis-une-hymne-norvegienne-a-saint-magnus/
April 16
St. Mans, or Magnus, Bishop and Martyr
IN the reign of
Duncan, king of Scotland, an army of savage Pagan Norwegians, under Hacon,
ravaged the isles of Orkney. To stop the butchery of the inhabitants, Mans, the
zealous bishop, met the barbarians, and when they threatened him with death,
boldly replied: “I am ready to die a thousand times over for the cause of God
and his flock: but in his name I command you to spare his people.” Commending
his soul to his Redeemer, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, St.
Palladius and St. Servanus, patron of that diocess, he presented his head to be
struck off by the executioner. He suffered in the year 1104, in the isle of
Eglis, one of the Orcades, and was buried in the same. His tomb became famous
for the reputation of miracles, and the devotion of pilgrims. See Hunter, de
Viris Illustr. Scotiæ; Lesley, Descr. Scot. p. 40. King; the ancient hymn in
his honour, &c.
History of Saint MAGNUS of ORKNEY
The following abridged account of St Magnus is
taken from the “Orkneyjar” website (by kind permission).
There is further analysis on this excellent site.
The story of Magnus Erlendsson - Orkney's Saint
Magnus - begins in 1098 - a time when the Orkney earldom was divided between
two brothers, the earls Paul and Erlend. Magnus was the eldest son of Earl
Erlend, while his cousin, Hakon, was the son of Paul. In 1098, the Norwegian
king,. Magnus "Barelegs", arrived suddenly in Orkney. He unseated
both earls and made his illegitimate son, Sigurd, overlord of the islands.
Earls Paul and Erlend were instructed to go to Norway, where they both died
before winter's end. With Sigurd in place as "king" of Orkney, King
Magnus left Orkney on a raiding expedition, making sure he took Hakon and the
18-year-old Magnus with him. Heading down the west coast of Scotland, the
raiders travelled as far south as Anglesey.
The raid on Anglesey
According to the sagas, on the voyage south, young
Magnus would not fight during the raids. When the Vikings attacked the Welsh
rulers of Anglesey, Magnus refused to participate. Instead, we are told he
chose to remain on the ship singing psalms - overtly Christian behaviour that
did not please the Norwegian King, who already disliked Magnus, who he regarded
a coward, intensely.
This episode, although perfectly setting up the
saintly image of Magnus, could have a number of explanations.
Firstly, it is highly possible that the account is
a later addition, specifically introduced to emphasise Magnus' piety. The lack
of references to Magnus in other historical accounts of the raiding voyage has
prompted suggestions that his inclusion in the Orkneyinga Saga version of
events was purely fictional.
However, if we assume that Magnus was part of the
raiding party, his refusal to fight could have been for purely political
reasons rather than spiritual. The historian William Thomson points out in his
New History of Orkney, that Magnus had a "surprisingly frequent involvment
in Welsh affairs".
Whatever the truth, the Orkneyinga Saga goes on to
explain that Magnus escaped from the king's ship. Slipping overboard one night,
he swam to the shore of Scotland, where he "disappeared" until the
death of King Magnus in Ireland in 1102. We know little about this time in
hiding.
Magnus becomes Earl
By the time Magnus reappears in the Orkneyinga
Saga, Sigurd Magnusson had returned to Norway to become joint ruler, leaving Magnus'
cousin Hakon in the position of earl. A few years later, and after making
representations to the Norwegian throne, Magnus was granted his share of the
earldom. At first there was a good relationship between the two earls, and
their reign, from 1105 until 1114, was said to be a just and pleasant one.
However, this "Golden Age" did not last.
The earls' quarrel
The Orkneyinga Saga is not clear on the reason the
cousins turned on each other. It simply states that men of "evil
disposition" began stirring trouble between Hakon and Magnus. Hakon, says
the saga, was jealous of Magnus’ popularity and was therefore "more
disposed to listen to these miserable men".
Whatever their motives, the agitators succeeded in
creating enmity between Magnus and Hakon, so much so that they drew up for
battle at a "thing" - an assembly - on the Orkney Mainland. The site
of this meeting has been suggested as being Tingwall (from the Old Norse
thingvollr - Assembly Field) in the Mainland parish of Rendall. But a battle
was averted.
Neutral parties managed to persuade the two earls
to make peace. A further meeting was arranged to finalise this treaty, with the
earls to meet on Egilsay at Easter, each bringing only "two ships and an
equal number of men". At the allotted time, and with the agreed number of
men, Magnus set out for Egilsay.
Approaching the island in calm water, says the
saga, a great wave rose up and struck Magnus' ship. This, it recounts, was
taken to be an omen of the earl's death. “No wonder that you are surprised by
this," said Magnus to his men, "Indeed, I take this as a foreboding
of my death."
Betrayal on Eglisay
Magnus was the first to arrive on Egilsay, where
he waited for the arrival of his cousin. When, later that day, eight warships
came into view it became clear that treachery was afoot. Hakon and his men
landed on Egilsay the following morning. After first ransacking the church,
Hakon sought out Magnus, who had "gone to another part of the island, to a
certain hiding place".
After a search, Magnus was found, captured and
brought before an assembly of local chieftains. There, the saga stresses,
Magnus was concerned only for the welfare of his deceitful cousin's immortal
soul. Magnus made three suggestions that would save Hakon from breaking his
oath by killing an unarmed man. The first, that Magnus would go on a pilgrimage
and never return to Orkney, was rejected, as was the second, that Magnus be
exiled to Scotland and imprisoned. The final suggestion was that Hakon should
"have me mutilated in anyway you choose, rather than take my life, or else
blind me and lock me in a dungeon".
Hakon deemed this acceptable, but the assembly
were not so keen. The chieftains leapt to their feet and announced that one of
the earls had to die. They had had their fill of joint-rule in Orkney. Hakon
smugly informed the dissenters that, as he preferred ruling and was not ready
to die, Magnus should be slain. Magnus put forward no argument so "was
doomed to death". Informing his followers they were not to die defending
him, Magnus stepped forward to accept his fate.
The martyrdom of Earl Magnus
With Magnus’ fate sealed, Hakon ordered Ofeig, his
standard-bearer, to execute the eark. But the warrior refused angrily. Enraged,
Hakon turned to his cook, Lifolf, and instructed him to kill Magnus. According
to the saga, Lifolf wept loudly but Magnus spoke comforting words and forgave
him for the acts he must carry out: "Be not afraid, for you do this
against your will and he who forces you sins more than you do."
So Magnus knelt before Lifolf and asked to be
struck hard on the head, rather than beheaded like a common criminal:
"Stand thou before me, and hew on my head a great wound, for it is not
seemly to behead chiefs like thieves. Take heart, poor wretch, for I have
prayed to God for thee, that He be merciful unto thee."
Lifolf struck the blow and cleaved the Earl's
skull in two.
The Orkneyinga Saga declares this act took place
"1,091 winters after the birth of Christ" but this date does not tie
in with documented events and is definitely incorrect. Magnus was killed many
years later - on 16th April in what was most likely 1118.
Initially, Magnus was denied a Christian burial by
Earl Hakon and simply buried where he fell.
Miraculous happenings
Shortly afterwards, the miracles began.
The Orkneyinga Saga recounts that the site of
Magnus’ murder was originally rocky and overgrown, but after his death
"God showed that he had suffered for righteousness' sake" and the
area was miraculously transformed into a green field.
Magnus' mother, Thora, pled with Hakon to allow
her son a Christian burial. Hakon relented and allowed Magnus’ corpse to be
retrieved. It was transferred to Birsay, where it was interred at Christchurch,
the church Magnus’ grandfather, Thorfinn Sigurdsson, had built. The exact
location of this church remains uncertain today. Although it is generally
thought to have either been on Brough o' Birsay or the site of the current St
Magnus Kirk on Mainland Birsay. Recent investigations seem to favour the
latter. Wherever he was laid to rest, from the day of his burial a bright,
heavenly light was said to have been seen above Magnus' grave. This holy light
was accompanied by a "heavenly fragrance".
Before long, as the cult of Magnus grew, other
stories began to spread, each detailing the miraculous happenings around about
the Earl's gravesite. The Orkneyinga Saga recounts in great detail the numerous
miraculous healings that resulted from visits to the Magnus' resting place.
Sainthood
Initially, the Bishop of Orkney, William the Old,
tried to suppress the growing cult of Magnus, dismissing the alleged miracles
and warning that it was "heresy to go about with such tales". But
then, in an episode described in the Orkneyinga Saga, Bishop William was
suddenly convinced of Magnus’ holiness after being struck blind in his Birsay
cathedral. Falling upon Magnus’ grave, and praying, the bishop’s sight was
miraculously restored. Intriguingly the bishop's change of heart seems to have
coincided with a visit to Norway Although the saga makes no mention of the
purpose of this journey, the historian William Thomson suggests that, in
Norway, the bishop had met with the future Earl Rognvald, the man who would
later found St Magnus Cathedral after the Orkney earldom. If this were so,
Bishop William's sudden promotion of the cult of Magnus could have had
political reasons - Rognvald's plans to acquire the earldom centred on the
popularity of the Magnus cult.
Whatever the reason, 21 years after their burial,
Bishop William had Magnus’ remains exhumed, washed and tested in consecrated
fire. Their holiness confirmed, Magnus was proclaimed a saint and his remains
enshrined above the Birsay kirk's altar.
The relics stayed in Birsay "for a long
time" until Magnus supposedly appeared to a Westray man, Gunni, in a dream.
Magnus told Gunni that Bishop William should be told that Magnus wished to
leave Birsay and move east to the growing town, Kirkjuvagr – the Kirkwall we
know today.
SOURCE : http://www.stmagnusmartyr.org.uk/history/history-st-magnus-orkney
