Richard
de Montbaston et collaborateurs. Saint
Fursy et le moine (Saint Fursey, Forseus)..
Vies de saints. Cote : Français 185 , Fol. 218. Paris, XIVe siècle
Saint Fursy
abbé (✝ v. 650)
abbé (✝ v. 650)
Moine irlandais, disciple de saint
Colomban, fondateur de l’abbaye de Lagny (qui devint
bénédictine).
Moine à Mézerolles en Ile de France. D’origine irlandaise si l’on en croit la
tradition qu’il n’y a pas de raison de mettre en doute, il prêcha l’Evangile
durant douze années dans son pays où il fonda l’abbaye de Burghcastle dans le
comté de Suffolk puis vint en Gaule vers 646. Il fut sans doute "chorévêque"
de saint Landry de
Paris.
Au martyrologe, il est indiqué qu'il est fêté,
à Mézerolles dans le Ponthieu, saint Fursy, abbé, qui fonda et dirigea des
monastères d’abord en Irlande, puis en Angleterre, enfin en Gaule, à
Lagny-en-Brie. il mourut en allant visiter ses frères restés en Angleterre.
A lire aussi, sur le site de l'Eglise de Polynésie: "De tous les
anciens saints Irlandais, Fursy est celui dont la vie nous est le mieux
connue..." moine irlandais, mort en 649 à Péronne (dont il est le
protecteur). Sa 'vision' du monde spirituel et de la vie d’outre-tombe
enthousiasma St Bède le Vénérable qui le cite abondamment et inspira
aussi plus d’une page de 'La Divine Comédie'.
Martyrologe
romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/443/Saint-Fursy.html
Monument dédié à
Saint Fursy, Bellefontaine (Bièvre)
St.
Fursey
An Abbot of Lagny,
near Paris, d. 16 Jan., about 650. He was the son of Fintan,
son of Finloga, prince of South Muster,
and Gelgesia, daughter of Aedhfinn, prince of Hy-Briuin
in Connaught. He was born probably amongst the Hy-Bruin, and was baptized by St. Brendan the Traveller, his father's uncle, who then ruled a monastery in the Island of Oirbsen, now called Inisquin in Lough
Corrib. He was educated by St. Brendan's monks, and when of proper age he embraced the religious life in the same monastery under the Abbot
St. Meldan, his "soul-friend" (anam-chura). His great
sanctity was early discerned, and there is a legend
that here, through his prayers, twin children of a chieftain related to King
Brendinus were raised from the dead. After some years he founded a monastery at Rathmat
on the shore of Lough Corrib which Colgan identifies as Killursa, in the deanery
of Annadown. Aspirants came in
numbers to place themselves under his rule, but he wished to secure also some
of his relatives for the new monastery. For this purpose he set out with some monks for Munster,
but on coming near his father's home he was seized with an apparently mortal
illness. He fell into a trance from the ninth hour of the day to cock-crow, and
while in this state was favoured with the first of the ecstatic visions which have rendered him famous in medieval literature.
In this vision
were revealed to him the state
of man in sin, the beauty of virtue. He heard the angelic choirs
singing "the saints shall go from virtue
to virtue, the God of Gods will appear in Sion".
An injunction was laid on him by the two angels who restored him to the body to become a more zealous labour in the harvest of the Lord.
Again on the third night following, the ecstasy was renewed. He was rapt aloft by three angels who contended six times with demons for his soul. He saw the fires of hell, the strife of demons, and then heard the angel hosts
sing in four choirs "Holy, holy,
holy Lord God of hosts". Among the spirits
of the just made perfect
he recognized Sts. Meldan and Beoan.
They entertained him with much spiritual
instruction concerning the duties of ecclesiastics and monks, the dreadful effects of pride and disobedience, the heinousness of spiritual
and internal sins. They also predicted famine and
pestilence. As he returned through the fire the demon hurled a tortured sinner at him, burning him,
and the angel of the Lord
said to him: "because thou didst receive the mantle of this man
when dying in his sin the fire consuming him hath
scarred thy body also." The body of Fursey bore the mark ever after. His
brothers Foillan and Ultan
then joined the community at Rathmat,
but Fursey seems to have renounced the administration of that monastery and to have devoted himself to preaching
throughout the land, frequently exorcising evil spirits. Exactly twelve months afterwards
he was favoured with a third vision.
The angel remained with him a whole day, instructed him
for his preaching, and prescribed for him twelve years of apostolic
labour. This he faithfully
fulfilled in Ireland, and then stripping himself of all
earthly goods he retired for a
time to a small island in the ocean. Then he went with his brothers and other monks, bringing with him the relics of Sts. Meldan
and Beoan, through Britain
(Wales) to East Anglia where he was honourably received by King Sigebert
in 633. The latter gave him a tract of land at Cnobheresburg
on which he built a monastery within the enclosure of a Roman
fort--Burghcastle in Suffolk--surrounded by woods and overlooking the sea. Here
he laboured for some years converting
the Picts and Saxons. He also
received King Sigebert into the religious
state. Three miracles are recorded of his life in this monastery. Again he retired for one year to live with Ultan
the life of an anchorite.
When war threatened East Anglia, Fursey, disbanding his
monks until quieter times should come, sailed with
his brothers and six other monks to Gaul.
He arrived in Normandy in 648.
Passing through Ponthieu, in a
village near Mézerolles he found grief and lamentation on all sides, for the
only son of Duke Hayson, the Lord
of that country, lay dead. At
the prayer of Fursey the boy was restored. Pursuing his
journey to Neustria he cured many infirmities on the way, by miracles he converted
a robber and his family, who attacked the monks in the wood near Corbie,
and also the inhospitable worldling Ermelinda, who had refused to
harbour the weary travellers. His fame preceded him to Péronne, where he was joyfully
received by Erkinoald, and
through his prayers obtained the reprive
of six criminals. He was offered
any site in the king's dominions for a monastery. He selected Latiniacum (Lagny),
close to Chelles and about six miles from Paris, a spot beside the Marne, covered with shady
woods and abounding in fruitful vineyards. Here he built his monastery and three chapels, one dedicated
to the Saviour, one to St.
Peter, and the third, an unpretending structure, afterwards
dedicated to St.
Fursey himself. Many of his countrymen were attracted to his rule at Lagny,
among them Emilian, Eloquius,
Mombulus, Adalgisius, Etto,
Bertuin, Fredegand, Lactan, Malguil. Having certain
premonitions of his end, he set out to visit his brothers Foillan
and Ultan who had by this time
recruited the scattered monks of Cnobheresburg
and re-established that monastery but his last illness struck him down in the very
village in which his prayer had restored Duke
Haymon's son to life. The
village was thence-forward called Forsheim, that is, the house of Fursey. In
accordance with his own wish his remains were brought to Péronne, many
prodigies attending their transmission, and deposited in the portico of the church of St. Peter to which he had consigned the relics of Sts. Meldan
and Beoan. His body lay
unburied there for thirty days pending the dedication
of the church, visited by pilgrims from all parts, incorrupt and exhaling a sweet
odour. It was then deposited near the altar.
Four years later, on 9 February, the remains were translated with great solemnity
by St. Eligius, Bishop of Noyon, and Cuthbert,
Bishop of Cambrai, to a chapel specially built for them to the east of the altar.
In the "Annals of the Four Masters",
Péronne is called Cathair Fursa.
In art St.
Fursey is represented with two oxen at his feet in commemoration of the prodigy
by which, according to legend, Erkinoald's
claim to his body was made good;
or he is represented striking water from the soil at Lagny
with the point of his staff; or
beholding a vision of angels, or gazing at the flames of purgatory and hell. It is disputed whether he was a bishop; he may have been a chorepiscopus. A litany attributed to him is among the manuscripts in Trinity College
Dublin. An Irish prophecy
is attributed to him by Harris.
Mulcahy, Cornelius. "St. Fursey." The
Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 16 Jan. 2016 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06324d.htm>.
Fursey of Lagny OSB,
Abbot (RM)
(also known as Fursa of Pérrone)
Born Island of Inisquin(?), Lough Corri, Ireland; died in France c. 648. After
Saint Columbanus, Fursey is perhaps the best known of the Irish monastic
missioners abroad in the earlier middle ages. Born of noble parents, Saint
Fursey left home to build a monastery at Rathmat (probably Killursa), attracted
throngs of disciples, and then after a time at home began preaching.
Twelve years later,
sometime after 630, with his brothers SS. Foillan and Ultan, he travelled to
East Anglia (England) as a "pilgrim for Christ," and was welcomed by
King Saint Sigebert of the East Angles, who was encouraging the work of Saint
Felix of Dunwich at just this time. Sigebert gave them the old fortress of
Cnobheresburg (Burgh Castle, Suffolk) and its adjacent lands for a monastery.
Fursey, therefore,
established a monastery on this land, and ministered from there for about ten
years. About 642, on the death of Sigebert in battle against King Penda of
Mercia, Fursey left on a pilgrimage to Rome. He never returned. Instead he moved
on to Gaul, where he was given land by Mayor Erchinoald of Neustria (into whose
household Saint Bathildis had recently been sold). There Fursey founded a
monastery at Lagny- sur-Marne, near Paris, c. 644.
Fursey died at
Mezerolles (Somme) while on a journey, and was buried at Péronne (Picardy),
where his tomb became a place of pilgrimage and the monastery there an Irish
center.
Saint Bede wrote
more about Fursey than any other Irish missionary, except Saint Aidan. Fursey,
says Bede, was 'renowned for his words and works, outstanding in goodness,' and
it is Bede who relates the visions of the unseen world of spirits, good and
evil, which account for much of Fursey's fame. From time to time he would fall
into a trance-like state for a considerable period, during which he would see
such things as the fires of falsehood, covetousness, discord, and injustice
lying in wait to consume the world. He also had a vision of the afterlife,
which Bede recounts--one of the earliest such. Together with those of the English
Drithelm (also recorded by Bede), Saint Fursey's visions had considerable
influence in the religious thought of western Europe in the later middle ages,
notably as expressed in Dante's Divine Comedy.
Fursey made a big
impression on everyone that met him. So many miracles were attributed to him in
his own lifetime that he should be counted among the greatest of saints. He
initiated his mission in France by restoring to life the son of a local
nobleman, Count Haymon, who begged him to build his monastery on the nobleman's
land. The saint declined, but this is the very site on which he died. Fursey's
sanctity was a topic of conversation and came to the attention of French kings
and nobles, who vied with each other to attract him to their territory, even after
his death.
Count Haymon
intended to inter Fursey in Mezerolles, but the Chancellor of Péronne,
Erchinoald, sent a royal guard to seize the remains. His holy body lay in a
portico for four years, awaiting the completion of a magnificent new church to receive
him. Bede records "concerning the incorruption of his body, we have
briefly taken notice so that the sublime character of this man may be better
known to the readers."
In 654, Fursey's
relics were translated to a shrine "in the shape of a little house,"
supposedly made by Saint Eligius. They were translated again in 1056. King
Saint Louis, in 1256, declared his desire to be present for the retranslation
of his remains to a new shrine at Péronne. On his return from a crusade, Louis
went straight to Péronne, where he placed his own seal on the sepulchre. Most
of the relics remained until the French Revolution; a head reliquary survived
even the Prussian bombing of 1870. French, Irish, and English calendars
(especially at Canterbury, which claimed his head relics) attest to his cultus.
(Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Montague).
In art Saint Fursey
is portrayed as an abbot raising from the dead a youth, son of a nobleman. He
may also by shown in ecstasy (Roeder). The figure of Fursey is now carried on
the banner of the city of Péronne (Montague).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0116.shtml
Saint Fursey of Péronne
Saint Fursey of Péronne
Also known as
- Fursey of Lagny
- Fursa
- Furseo
- Furse
- Fursae
- Fursu
- Fulsey
- Furseus
Profile
Son of an Irish prince. Related to Saint
Foillan and Saint
Ultan of Péronne. Educated by Saint
Brendan the Voyager. Priest. Abbot
of a house at Rathmat, Ireland. Preached, evangelized, and established monasteries
in Ireland for twelve years. Evangelized in England, building monasteries.
Evangelized in France, working with Saint
Blitharius; they had great success. Clovis,
king of the Franks, received him, and asked that he build a house at Lagny, France. Raised the young son of a court nobleman from the dead. Given to ecstacies
and trances during which he received visions of a immense struggle between good
and evil, with glimpses of heaven and hell. The visions were described in the
aptly named Visions of Fursey, and had a great effect on such
works as Dante’s Divine Comedy. Bede
wrote extensively and glowingly of Fursey. His image is on the
banner of the city of Peronne, France.
Born
- 648 at Mezerolles, France
- buried at Peronne, Picardy, France
- when his relics
were translated in 654, his body was found incorrupt
- relics
re-translated in 1056
- relics
re-translated in 1256
- miracles
reported at his tomb
- most relics
destroyed in the French Revolution
- abbot
raising a young nobleman from the dead
- abbot
in an ecstastic trance
- priest in a trance with spectral images hovering nearby
- man with two oxen
at his feet
- striking water from the soil at Lagny with the
point of his staff
- watching a vision of angels
- watching the flames
of purgatory and hell
Saint
Fursa
Patron Saint
of Killursa Parish, Co. Galway, Ireland
&
Peronne,
France
Saint Fursa ( or Fursey as he is
known in Ireland ), was a remarkable man whose beacon of light shone into
Britain and Europe during the dark ages. He, along with St. Columbanus, are
regarded as two of the greatest Christian missionaries ever to leave Ireland's
shores and venture into danger and the unknown to spread the gospel.
According to a 12th
century written version of his life, ( called Beatha Fursa in
Irish or Vita Fursaeus in Latin ), Fursa was born at Rathmat on
the island of Inchiquin in Lough Corrib c. 584AD. His father was Fintan, King
of Munster and his mother Gelgies, daughter of the King of Connacht. They had
fled to sanctuary and St. Brendan's protection in Lough Corrib after some
trouble in Munster ( Brendan was Fintan's uncle ). Fursa had two brothers, Enda
( later St. Enda of Aran fame and founder of Killeaney ) and Cunna (later St.
Cunna who founded the Kilcoona monastic settlement ). Brendan's successor at
his monastic community in Rathmat on Inchiquin was St. Meldan, of the Hua-Cuinn
family, from which the island of Inis-Mhic-Ui-Chuinn took its
name, and he educated the young boy and groomed him for the religious life. The
story goes that Fursa eventually moved across to the mainland and established
his own monastery at the site now known as Killursa where the cemetery exists
on the road to Headford. Incidentally, the names of the townlands Kildaree,
Ardfintan and Cahirfintan supposedly derive their names from Fintan, Fursa's
father.
However, this story
is at odds with the known information of Fursa's life before the 12th
century version. The first version of his Vita was written a few
years after this death in 650 AD at his monastic foundation in France and
paints a different picture of his early life. Fursa was not a native of
Inchiquin and indeed originally came from Ulster ( possibly the Cavan area ).
He may have indeed visited St. Meldan at Inchiquin but he was not related to
him or St. Brendan. He setup his own monastery at Killursa and soon built a
thriving monastic settlement in the early 7th century. There is no evidence
that he had brothers named Enda or Cunna either. In fact, his brothers as
mentioned in his later travels, are stated as being Foltan and Ultan. There is
indeed strong evidence that Fursa's early life story was altered in the 12th
century to suit political expediency6 at that time.
What is not in
dispute between the two versions of his 'Life' is that Fursa
founded his monastic settlement at Killursa ( Cill Fhursa or Fursa's Church ) and we are told that the establishment flourished
there. Many young men were attracted to the religious life and joined the
energetic Fursa. It is likely the early stone church on this site was small but
as the years passed and the community grew, it was enlarged and extended over
several hundred years. The current structure, with its Gothic pointed doorway
and large Gothic mullioned window was almost certainly erected after the Norman
invasion ( 13th century ). There are still elements of the
existing ruin which may date back to the 7th century so
perhaps Fursa's own hands helped construct some of that original building. The
monks would have lived in wooden huts around the church and tilled the land and
raised cattle for meats, hides, leather, etc. They would have been
self-sufficient in every way. Whether Killursa was a centre of scholarship and
learning there can be little doubt but no manuscripts or other written material
from that era has survived as being authored at this location. The most
remarkable thing about Killursa is its founder and his subsequent life.
It was at Killursa
that Fursa had his first ecstatic vision, which has made him unique and one of
the most famous of 7th century Irish saints. These visions
were also to render him famous in later medieval literature.
Fursa was siezed
with an apparently mortal illness. He fell into a trance from 9pm until
cockcrow next morning and when in this state was favoured by God with the first
of his ecstatic visions. In this trance were revealed to him the state of man in
sin and the beauty of virtue. He heard the angelic choirs of heaven singing.
Two angles restored him to his body and urged him to become a more zealous
labourer in the harvest of the Lord. On the third night after the initial
vision, the ecstasy was renewed. He was raised aloft by six angels who
contended six times with demons for his soul. He saw the fires of hell, the
strife of demons and then heard the angels of heaven once more. Among the
spirits of the just he recognized were his old tutors Saints Meldan and Beoan.
They gave him much spiritual instruction concerning the duties of ecclesiastics
and monks, the dreadful effects of pride and disobedience, the heinousness of
spiritual and internal sins. They also predicted famine and pestilence. As Fursa
returned through the fire with his angel 'bodyguards' a demon hurled a tortured
sinner at him. It hit him on the shoulder and cheek and ever afterwards Fursa
bore the scar of the burns he received.
These two episodes
in quick succession seem to have had a life altering affect on Fursa. His
brothers Foillan and Ultan joined him at Killursa but he slowly withdrew from
administration of the monastic settlement there and instead devoted himself to
preaching throughout the locality, frequently exorcising evil spirits. Exactly
twelve months after the first vision, Fursa experienced a third ecstatic
trance. This time an angel remained with him an entire day, instructed him for
his preaching and prescribed for him 12 years of apostolic labour. This he
faithfully fulfilled throughout Ireland and many places have sites attributed
to Fursa of Killursa1.
After his 12
years of labour in the field, he stripped himself of all his worldly goods
and retired for a short time to a small island in the ocean to pray and
meditate.
WHILST
Sigbert still governed the kingdom, there came out of Ireland a holy man called
Fursa. renowned both for his words and actions, and remarkable
for singular virtues, being desirous to live as a stranger and pilgrim for the
Lord's sake, wherever an opportunity should otter. On coming into the province
of the East Angles, he was honourably received by the aforesaid king, and
performing his wonted task of preaching the Gospel, bv the example of his
virtue and the influence of his words, converted many unbelievers to Christ,
and confirmed in the faith and love of Christ those that already believed. Here
he fell into some infirmity of body, and was thought worthy to see a vision of
angels; in which he was admonished diligently to persevere in the ministry of
the Word which he had undertaken, and indefatigably to apply himself to his
usual watching and prayers; inasmuch as his end was certain, but the hour
thereof uncertain, according to the saying of our Lord, "Watch therefore,
for ye know neither the day nor the hour. " Being confirmed by this
vision, he set himself with all speed to build a monastery on the ground which
had been given him by King Sigbert, and to establish a rule of life therein.
This monastery was pleasantly situated in the woods, near the sea; it was built
within the area of a fort, which in the English language is called
Cnobheresburg, that is, Cnobhere's Town; afterwards, Anna, king of that
province, and certain of the nobles, embellished it with more stately buildings
and with gifts. This man was of noble Scottish blood4, but much more noble in mind than in birth.
From his boyish years, he had earnestly applied himself to reading sacred books
and observing monastic discipline, and, as is most fitting for holy men, he
carefully practiced all that he learned to be right. Now, in course of time he
himself built a monastery, wherein he might with more freedom devote himself to
his heavenly studies.
Here, in East
Anglia, Fursa laboured for some years converting the Picts and Saxons. He
received King Sigebert into the religious state. Three miracles are recorded of
his life in this monastery. Again, he retired for one year to live with his
brother Ultan in quiet pray and contemplation.
When war threatened
East Anglia, Fursa, disbanding his monks until quieter times should come,
sailed with his two brothers and six other monks to Gaul ( France ). He arrived
in Normandy about 642 AD. At the village of Ponthieu, Fursa raised a young boy
to life; he was the only son of Duke Hayson the Lord of that country. His fame
preceded him to Peronne, where Fursa and his band were joyously received by the
ruler of that region, Erkinoald. He was offered any site for a monastery. He
selected Latiniacum ( Lagny ), about six miles from present day Paris beside
the river Marne, in a shady spot and abounding in fruitful vineyards. The site
is close to present day Euro Disney.
Here, Fursa built
his monastery and three chapels, one dedicated to the Saviour, one to St.
Peter, and a third unpretending structure, afterwards dedicated to Fursa
himself. Many Irishmen were attracted to this location and from here their
mission spread throughout Europe.
Having certain
premonitions that his end was near, Fursa decided to return to England to visit
his brothers who had earlier returned to gather the scattered monks of Cnobheresburg in East Anglia and reestablish that monastery.
However, he was struck down with illness in the very village of Ponthieu in
which his prayer had raised the boy to life. There, on 16th
January in 650 AD, Fursa died. The name of the village was changed at that time
from Ponthieu to Forsheim, meaning House of Fursa and has
remained so ever since.
In accordance with his
own wishes his body was brought to Peronne and buried in the chapel of St.
Peter along with the relics of his mentors, Meldan and Beoan. While the chapel
was awaiting dedication before his burial, his body lay 'in state' there for
thirty days, visited by pilgrims from many parts. His corpse remained
uncorrupted and exhaled a sweet odour. Four years later the body was reloacted
to a specially prepared place of honour near the altar; it was found his body
was still completely free from decomposition. In the "Annals of the Four
Master", Peronne is called Cathair Fursa ( Fursa's City ).
As stated earlier,
Fursa's visions of Heaven and Hell prompted much later discussion and analysis
in medieval times and are thought to have inspired Dante's Divine
Comedy5. Most pictorial representations of Fursa show
him in a trance-like state undergoing one of his visions. That is the depiction
in the stained glass window shown above.
And so that
believers might understand what Fursa experienced in his visions and how they
affected him, Bede writes :
But as for
the story of his visions, he ( Fursa ) would only relate them to those who, from desire of
repentance, questioned him about them. An aged brother of our monastery is
still living, who is wont to relate that a very truthful and religious man told
him, that he had seen Fursa himself in the province of the East
Angles, and heard those visions from his lips; adding, that though it was in
severe winter weather and a hard frost, and the man was sitting in a thin
garment when he told the story, yet he sweated as if it had been in the heat of
mid-summer, by reason of the great terror or joy of which he spoke.
Notes
1
St Fursey's Well is situated in the townland of Killurley West, in the Parish
of Caherciveen, Co Kerry. It lies at the foot of Knocknadobar (Mountain of the
Wells). It supposedly got its name from St Fursey who washed his eyes there and
was cured from threatened blindness. Also, a church in the townland of Ballymacgibbon,
Cong is called Killarsa ( or Killarsagh ) and is attributed to Fursa.
2
Bede was born around the time England was finally completely Christianized (
672 AD ). Raised from age seven in the abbey of Saints Peter and Paul at
Wearmouth-Jarrow, and lived there his whole life. Benedictine monk. Spiritual
student of the founder, Saint Benedict Biscop. Ordained in 702 AD by Saint John
of Beverley. Teacher and author, he wrote about history, rhetoric, mathematics,
music, astronomy, poetry, grammar, philosophy, hagiography, homiletics, and
Bible commentary. He died in 725 AD.
3
Bede was known as the most learned man of his day, and his writings started the
idea of dating this era from the incarnation of Christ. The central theme of
Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica is of the Church using the power
of its spiritual, doctrinal, and cultural unity to stamp out violence and
barbarism. Our knowledge of England before the 8th century is mainly the result
of Bede's writing. He was declared a Doctor of the Church on 13th November 1899
by Pope Leo XIII when he was canonised.
4
This reference to Scotland reinforces the 7th century knowledge that Fursa was
probably of Scotch/Ulster extraction and not born in Inchiquin as 12th century
texts claim.
5
Dante Alighieri ( 1265-1321 AD ), an Italian born in Florence, completed his
series of poems in three volumes of the Divina Commedia on the
themes of Inferno ( Hell ), Purgatorio ( Purgatory
) and Paradiso ( Heaven ) in the 14th century. It is widely
believed he was partly inspired by the visions of St. Fursa.
6
See 'Sanctity and Politics in Connacht c. 1100 - the case of St Fursa' by
Padraig O'Riain in Cambridge Medieval Studies No. 17 (summer,
1989), pp 1-14. Also, see 'A Very Puzzling Irish Missal' by John A. Claffey in
Journal of The Galway Archaeological and Historical Society Volume 55: 2003, pp
1-12. For a summary of the political intrigue that forced a rewrite of Fursa's
early life, see here.
Copyright ©
Michael H. Carroll, 2006
SOURCE : http://www.lalley.com/fursa.htm
January
16
St. Fursey, Abbot in Ireland
SON of Fintan, king of part of Ireland, he was abbot
first of a monastery in his own country, in the diocess of Tuam, near the lake
of Orbsen, where now stands the church of Kill-fursa, says Colgan. Afterwards
travelling with two of his brothers, St. Foilan and St. Ultan, through England,
he founded, by the liberality of king Sigibert, the abbey of Cnobbersburg, now
Burg-castle in Suffolk. Saint Ultan retired into a desert, and St. Fursey,
after some time, followed him thither, leaving the government of his monastery
to St. Foilan. Being driven thence by the irruptions of king Penda, he went
into France, and, by the munificence of king Clovis II. and Erconwald, the
pious mayor of his palace, built the great monastery of Latiniac, or Lagny, six
leagues from Paris, on the Marne. He was deputed by the bishop of Paris to
govern that diocess in quality of his vicar: on which account some have styled
him bishop. He died in 650 at Froheins, that is, Fursei-domus, in the diocess
of Amiens, whilst he was building another monastery at Peronne, to which church
Erconwald removed his body. His relics have been famous for miracles, and are
still preserved in the great church at Peronne, which was founded by Erconwald
to be served by a certain number of priests, and made a royal collegiate church
of canons by Lewis XI. Saint Fursey is honoured as patron of that town. See his
ancient life in Bollandus, from which Bede extracted an account of his visions
in a sickness in Ireland, l. 3. hist. c. 19. See also his life by Bede in MS. in
the king’s library at the British Musæum, and Colgan, Jan. 16. p. 75. and Feb.
9. p. 282.
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume I:
January. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/1/164.html
Trascorso un periodo come predicatore itinerante, con i confratelli San Foillan (31 ottobre) e Sant’Ultan (2 maggio) si trasferì in Inghilterra e più precisamente nell’Anglia orientale. San Beda narrò nelle sue cronache: “Vive ancora un fratello molto anziano nel nostro monastero, il quale è solito raccontare che un uomo pio e veritiero gli aveva detto di aver visto Fursa in persona nella terra degli angli orientali e di aver udito quelle visioni proprio dalla sua bocca. Le visioni riguardavano la lotta tra bene e male ed includevano una delle prime testimonianze raccolte su visioni della vita dell’aldilà, in cui Fursa vide il paradiso e l’inferno, angeli e demoni, e quattro grandi fuochi pronti a bruciare chi si era macchiato di diversi tipi di peccato, tutti riuniti insieme per mettere alla prova ogni uomo secondo i meriti delle sue opere”.
Il re dell’Est Anglia San Sigeberto II (27 settembre), venerato come martire, lo ricevette cortesemente ed affidò a lui ed ai suoi compagni l’antica fortezza di Cnobheresburg perché la trasformassero in un monastero. Il santo sovrano morì poi in battaglia il 27 settembre 637 e negli anni successivi Fursa si recò in Gallia, ove fu ricevuto con tutti gli onori dal re Clodoveo II. Fondò poi un monastero a Lagny-sur-Marne, su un terreno donatogli dal governatore della Nesturia Ercinoaldo. Il santo abate morì tra il 648 ed il 650 presso Mezerolles, nella regione della Somme, durante un viaggio.
In seguito le sue reliquie vennero traslate in Piccardia nel monastero irlandese di Péronne, per poi essere riposte nel 654 in un “sacrario a forma di cassetta”, ritenuto opera del fabbro Sant’Eligio. Nel 1056 i suoi poveri resti furono nuovamente spostati e gran parte di essi furono preservati sino alla Rivoluzione francese. Il reliquiario contenebte la sua testa sopravvisse addirittura ai bombardamenti della guerra franco-prussiana del 1870.
Il Martyrologium Romanum ricorda San Fursa al 16 gennaio, quale abate prima in Irlanda, poi in Inghilterra ed infine in Francia.
Autore: Fabio Arduino
San Fursa (Furseo) Abate
m. Mezerolles, Francia, 648/650 circa
Nacque
forse sulla costa occidentale irlandese, nei pressi di Lough Corrib, nella
contea di Galway, o forse sull'isoletta di Inchiquin. Rispetto ai numerosi
altri primi santi irlandesi dei quali ben poco è stato tramandato, possediamo
invece parecchi elementi della vita di Fursa, soprattutto grazie alla «Storia
Ecclesiastica» scritta da San Beda il Venerabile entro un secolo dalla sua
morte, basandosi su racconti di testimoni oculari. Secondo Beda, Fursa fondò un
monastero a Rathmat, nome fittizio forse inventato da una leggenda successiva.
Trascorso un periodo come predicatore itinerante, con i confratelli san Foillan
e sant'Ultan si trasferì in Inghilterra. Qui il re dell'Est Anglia Sigeberto
II, venerato come martire, lo ricevette cortesemente e gli affidò l'antica
fortezza di Cnobheresburg perché la trasformasse in un monastero. Il santo
sovrano morì poi in battaglia il 27 settembre 637 e negli anni successivi Fursa
si recò in Gallia, ove fu ricevuto con tutti gli onori dal re Clodoveo II.
Fondò poi un monastero a Lagny-sur-Marne, su un terreno donatogli dal
governatore della Nesturia Ercinoaldo. Il santo abate morì tra il 648 ed il 650
presso Mezerolles, nella regione della Somme, durante un viaggio. (Avv.)
Martirologio
Romano: A Mézières presso il fiume Authie in Francia, san Fúrseo, abate
dapprima in Irlanda, poi in Inghilterra, quindi in Francia, dove fondò il
monastero di Lagny.
San Fursa nacque con ogni
probabilità sulla costa occidentale irlandese, nei pressi di Lough Corrib,
nella contea di Galway, o forse sull’isoletta di Inchiquin. Rispetto ai
numerosi altri primi santi irlandesi dei quali ben poco è stato tramandato,
possediamo invece parecchi elementi della vita di Fursa, il cui nome si
presenta talvolta nelle varianti di Fursay, Fursae o Fursu, al quale viene dato
un grande risalto nella celebre Storia Ecclesiastica scritta da San Beda il
Venerabile entro un secolo dalla sua morte, basandosi perciò in gran parte su
racconti di testimoni oculari. Non riuscendo però forse a trovare grandi
informazioni sulla prima parte della sua vita, lo storico seguì il classico
schema del pellegrinaggio, a cui si avviò abbandonando la sua vita agiata. Il
viaggio intrapreso, che lo portò in un primo momento a lasciare la patria per
ricevere una migliore formazione, lo ricondusse poi in patria, ove fondò un
monastero a Rathmat, nome fittizio forse inventato da una leggenda successiva.
Trascorso un periodo come predicatore itinerante, con i confratelli San Foillan (31 ottobre) e Sant’Ultan (2 maggio) si trasferì in Inghilterra e più precisamente nell’Anglia orientale. San Beda narrò nelle sue cronache: “Vive ancora un fratello molto anziano nel nostro monastero, il quale è solito raccontare che un uomo pio e veritiero gli aveva detto di aver visto Fursa in persona nella terra degli angli orientali e di aver udito quelle visioni proprio dalla sua bocca. Le visioni riguardavano la lotta tra bene e male ed includevano una delle prime testimonianze raccolte su visioni della vita dell’aldilà, in cui Fursa vide il paradiso e l’inferno, angeli e demoni, e quattro grandi fuochi pronti a bruciare chi si era macchiato di diversi tipi di peccato, tutti riuniti insieme per mettere alla prova ogni uomo secondo i meriti delle sue opere”.
Il re dell’Est Anglia San Sigeberto II (27 settembre), venerato come martire, lo ricevette cortesemente ed affidò a lui ed ai suoi compagni l’antica fortezza di Cnobheresburg perché la trasformassero in un monastero. Il santo sovrano morì poi in battaglia il 27 settembre 637 e negli anni successivi Fursa si recò in Gallia, ove fu ricevuto con tutti gli onori dal re Clodoveo II. Fondò poi un monastero a Lagny-sur-Marne, su un terreno donatogli dal governatore della Nesturia Ercinoaldo. Il santo abate morì tra il 648 ed il 650 presso Mezerolles, nella regione della Somme, durante un viaggio.
In seguito le sue reliquie vennero traslate in Piccardia nel monastero irlandese di Péronne, per poi essere riposte nel 654 in un “sacrario a forma di cassetta”, ritenuto opera del fabbro Sant’Eligio. Nel 1056 i suoi poveri resti furono nuovamente spostati e gran parte di essi furono preservati sino alla Rivoluzione francese. Il reliquiario contenebte la sua testa sopravvisse addirittura ai bombardamenti della guerra franco-prussiana del 1870.
Il Martyrologium Romanum ricorda San Fursa al 16 gennaio, quale abate prima in Irlanda, poi in Inghilterra ed infine in Francia.
Autore: Fabio Arduino
