Gildas the Wise one

The historical character

In his Of excidio Brittania E , Gildas mentions the fact that the year of its birth was the same one as that of the Bataille of the Mount Badonicus (where took part the King Arthur), i.e. around 490 (with a margin of one decade, because the date of the battle is not known with precision).

According to David NR. Dunville, Gildas was the mentor of Vennacius de Findbarr, which became itself that of saint Colomba d' Iona. According to Thomas Stephen, holy Gildas would have also been the father of Aneirin.

A biography of Gildas was written by Caradoc de Llancarfan at the 12th century, and others were made up in Brittany, in particular with Rhuys. These last plead that Gildas was one of wire of Caw, king of Strathclyde; that he was educated by Ildut de Llantwit with Llantwit Major, close to Cardiff; he would have become founder of bells of profession (he would have sent some to Saint Attaches towards 519); in 520, after a pilgrimage with Rome (practice established per many Breton saints) it spent seven years to the abbey of Rhuys in Brittany. It was one year with the head of the abbey of Llancarfan to the Wales, in the absence of its abbot, holy Cadoc. After 528 it is established with Street, in the Somerset (close to Glastonbury) and built a lan (Breton form) or lake (Welsh form), hermitage including/understanding church and enclosed, whose layout would be still visible in Holy Trinity.

Later, (towards 544) it returned to Brittany, in Rhuys, where it remained until its death, except for a voyage in Ireland which would have taken place towards 565, according to the Annales Cambriae , a chronicle discovered in a manuscript containing a version of Historia Brittonum .

Fleeing the Norman invaders, the monks of the abbey, carrying the relics of the saint, found refuge near the lord of Déols (beside current the Chateauroux), Ebbes Noble the, and a new abbey of Saint-Gildas was set up in this place. This one became at the beginning of the 17th century one of richest of the Berry, but, after the secularization of the monastery in 1622, the monks were dispersed and the destroyed abbey. Some vestiges of the old cloister are still visible today.

There exists many Mythe S on Saint Gildas, sometimes difficult to distinguish reality: Caradoc, in its biography, the fact of intervening with king Arthur when the queen Guenièvre was made remove by Meleagan. He would have convinced the two kings to make peace although the brother of Gildas was killed by Arthur. It is difficult to know if this anecdote is true, since it goes back to a manuscript of the 12th century, and that the existence even of king Arthur and the nature of its capacity is dubious.

One charges to Gildas the composition of a canticle called the Lorica , or the Drill plate. It is about a prayer to be delivered evil, which contains interesting Latin specimens hisperic (alternative of Latin creates by Irish monks at the 6th century, used until the 12th century).

The Annales Cambriae fix the death of Gildas Saint in 570 and the Annales of Tigernach in 569.

The De Excidio Britanniae

The De Excidio Britanniae (of the ruin of Great Britain) is a sermon in three parts writes by Gildas saint in whom he condemns the actions of the contemporary kings, as well laic as religious.

The first part is an introduction into which Gildas gives the explanation of his work as well as a short summary of the Roman Great Britain, conquest of the Romans until his time.

The second part opens on “Great Britain has kings, and yet they are tyrants. It has judges, and yet not very virtuous”. Gildas addresses himself then to five his contemporaries where he points out their lives and their actions: Constantine de Dumnonie, Aurelius Caninus, Vortipor of Demetae (called Dyfed today), Cuneglasus of the " fortress of the ours" (it is probably about Dinearth, close to Llandudno), and finally Maglocunus (Maelgwn). He declares them all cruel, covetous and sinning.

The third part starts with: “Great Britain has priests, but they are imbeciles, many excessively pious people, but without shame, of the clerks, but they are only plunderers”. It continues the remainder of its work by fustigating all the clergy, but without naming anybody, which makes difficult to include/understand the influence of the Church well over this time in Great Britain.

The De Excidio Britanniae a long time represented Great Britain of the time like a ground devastated by the plunderers and with the corrupted administrative system. This vision indeed supported the thesis of a Roman civilization destroyed by barbarians and explained why Great Britain is one of the rare areas of the Roman Empire which did not adopt Latin (as the France did it, the Spain or the Romania). It is necessary nevertheless to keep in mind which it acted above all of a kind of sermon that Gildas addressed to his contemporaries and not of a chronicle for the posterity. Although Gildas offers to us one of the first descriptions of the Hadrian's Wall, it omits many details when those are not relevant as for the message which it wants to make pass. Its work however remains extremely important from the point of view of the historians and the linguists, because it is a question of the one of the rare documents of the 6th century to have crossed the centuries.

The heritage of Gildas

In the years which followed the De Excidio , the work of Gildas was a model for the Anglo-Saxon writers, who it is in Latin or other languages. For example, the Historia ecclesiastica of Bède Worthy the rests enormously on Gildas for his version of the Anglo-Saxon invasions, and the implication draws some that the divine favor lost of Breton was found by the Anglo-Saxons after their christianization. At one later time, the writings of Gildas became the model of Alcuin in its work on the invasions Vikings, in particular its letters on the plundering of Lindisfarne of 793.

In fact, some saw in work of Gildas the idea that the evangelization and the moral reform could constitute a rampart against cruelty and the invasions. It is the thesis which takes again Wulfstan of York on Gildas, in its sermons.

The legend of Gildas Saint

(According to “Travel souvenirs in Brittany and Greece”, Paris, 1864)

In the year 536 lived with broad of the Morbihan, in the small island of Houat, then uncultivated and deserted, a saint hermit of the name of Gildas, whom one said wire of a king of England. Gildas (in Breton Gweltaz) had been born in Arecluda (Dumbarton) at the end from IVe century, in a Christian family. Any young person, it had been entrusted to the abbey of the famous Iltud abbot, where it had received a very complete formation. He had come there from his country to request God in the retirement. The prayers of this saint were powerful with the sky, and its councils came to of course the ground: also each one ran to require its prayers and its councils. Several same brought rich person present to make it more favorable to them but he said to them: “Gain that.” And as they did not want, it threw the invaluable objects with the sea: because there were no poor in the island, to which it could give them.

It lived all alone there, in a cave, and did not have to lie down that a marine grass bed; and for its food, he ate the fish which he was going to fish; he had only one bad boat with battered half; but although in these places the sea is stormy, it had never arrived to him badly;: because the hand of God was on him. It made cook fish on dry sheets, and a small source provided him water; ; he thus lived, without bread, neither wine, nor meat, and since, though large and famous among the world, he lived always also sobrement.

As the island of Houat is far from the large ground, several failed to drown while going to visit the saint man, and, seeing him that, says to them;: “Do not come any more. ” But they answered: “Man of God, we will perish rather than more to hear you and see you.” Gildas then thought in his heart which better its retirement was worth to leave than to expose to evil the hearts and the bodies of so much of people. He thus says to the first which found it: “Is there a place in your boat?” Those answered that there was one of them. Then the saint says to them: “I will leave with you. ” Very delighted by this news, they blessed God of what the saint man had taken the resolution to live among them.

Gildas embarked at once, not carrying anything with him but the wood cross which it had planted in front of the door of his cave. He crossed the sea fortunately, and approached with the place which is called today its name Saint-Gildas-of-Rhuys. However those which had brought it started to gather all people of the surrounding country, shouting with all that the saint came to live among them. They had much joy of it: because they hoped that God would bless their fishing and their fish because of his Gildas servant.

They prepared a great festival with the hermit; but him, without stopping drinking nor to eat with them, says to them: “I must go to speak to the count de Vannes: who of you wants to lead me? ” And more than ten then offered themselves to carry out it: it chooses two of them, and, having gone the whole night, it arrived at Vannes at the following day, as the sun was being gone to raise. However the count of Vannes was called Guérech; it was a man right and fearing God, who révérait also his ministers, when they were faithful to their promises, i.e. if they were pious, humble, detached, consolateurs of unhappy and defenders of the people of modest means, as was Gildas. When the count learned the arrival from the saint, it was going to leave to drive out all the day in the forest of Rhuys; but he says: “I will not go: because I want to see the man of God. ”

He thus made enter Gildas, and says to him: “That do you want me, good father? ” Gildas answered him: “Monseigneur, you are the Master of the country: give me a hut and a few feet of ground at the seaside, to live there by requesting God. ” Guérech answered him: “I have what you need. You rest today; tomorrow we will go to the place where I want to put to you. ” And all the day they discussed together with a great pleasure. The following day, the count having led Gildas to the place even where it had unloaded, says to him: “You see this castle close to the sea, and the fields which are around: I want that all that is yours. ”

But Gildas did not want to accept, and he said: “Count, it is too for me; if the servants of God became so rich, they would spread on the people less graces than of scandal. ” The count insisted, saying to him: “This is for you, but not for you only: if there is in this country of the pious men who want there to live according to a rule, with you, and to work with the hello of our hearts, you will receive them. Because there are already monasteries with the countries of France and Italy, and I want that there is also in my county; if there were not erudite and pious people to contain the armed men and to impose the respect to them, us others, counts and dukes, let us have too good game to press and upset the poor people. ” Then Gildas accepted, and thus was founded the monastery which still flowers in the shade of its name and its virtues. He was the first abbot, and lived there until the end of his age; it did many holy and miraculous actions, as well after its death as during its life, of which I will bring back only one, which is largest and most famous.

The count had a girl, named Trifine (or Perforator). Its beauty was marvellous, and several which in their dreams had seen the Virgin Mother, affirmed that it was almost not more beautiful than Trifine; and this one was also very good to the poor and very virtuous. It had in the saint hermit a whole confidence, and did not take council, after his/her father, that of him.

However it happened that Conomor, count de Plusigner, saw Trifine with the church of Saint-Gildas, where had attracted the noise of the miracles of the saint man, and he was so extremely enthusiast of his beauty which he went all at once to ask it in marriage his father. Guérech was then in very great embarrassment: because Conomor was a man wild and violent one, known for his cruelties and its vices; it had had already several women, and, about it being disgusted, had made them perish: he said whereas they had died by accident, and if somebody dared to contradict it, he killed it.

Guérech however feared, if he refused Trifine with Conomor, to attract on her and him the revenge on this malicious man. He asked council Trifine; which, having cried, having much said finally: “Answer him that we will do what the saint will say to us to do. ”

Conomor, having received this answer, went to find Gildas and says to him: “Man of God, if you known as in Trifine to marry me, I will increase your monastery and your fields. ” But Gildas says to him: “I will not advise in Trifine to marry you: because I know that you are a malicious man, that you already killed three women whom you had married. ” Then Conomor wanted well to be thrown on the saint to kill it; but as it was hypocritical even more than cruel, it was contained and says of a subjected voice: “It is quite true that I sinned, my Father; but God converted me has him. - How can I accept so that you known as? he answered Gildas. - Impose to me some test. - Eh well, you will remain here like a brother beginner, requesting God, crying your faults, and living wild grasses. ”

Conomor internally is said: it is quite hard: but I would make more still to have beautiful Trifine, and I do not dare to remove it from force. And during one year entire, it remained in the monastery, and was so soft, so pious and if obeying, that each one was filled with wonder. Gildas himself, having believed that it was really converted, returned graces to God and said to Trifine: “It is necessary to have pity of the sinner who returns to good: marry Conomor, my daughter, if your father wants it thus, and complete to convert it. ” Trifine would have agreed to resist, but she did not dare to think differently than the saint man. She married Conomor, and they lived three months in perfect union; as long as Trifine itself hoped that she would be always liked. But over this time, it occurred that Conomor, having seen with the country of Quimper another woman, who was also girl of the count of the country, it found it more beautiful than Trifine and started to wish to marry it.

To get rid of Trifine, it employed an infamous trick: he pretended to believe that it had been inaccurate to him; and as she said simply: “Show me that I am guilty,” he answered: “You will die. ” It locked up it in a very black dungeon, which had an iron door and a small narrow window. And there having let it without anything give him to drinking or eating, he was delighted by thinking that she would die soon of hunger.

But Trifine, having by miracle successful to break the bars of the window, flees by there as the night came, and ran quite strong towards the town of Valves, which was with twenty-five miles of the castle of Plusigner. But Conomor, being seen of its escape, made to seller its best horse and started to continue it. He thought well that it had gone to seek help near her father; and having turned towards the city, it reached it as it was already in the sight of the walls. She, at once that she saw it, falling to knees, exclaimed: “Thank you, Monseigneur. ” But Conomor, without very leaving him one moment to request God, plunged his sword in the heart to him, and, leaving it with ground, it turned over towards its castle.

Who could say the pain and the moanings of Guérech, whereas to him the body strapping of his daughter was brought. He cried two days and two nights, without speaking nor to eat; and, the third day, as its pain was alleviated a little, he thought that it was Gildas who had advised to him to marry Trifine with Conomor, and he conceived against him a terrible anger. He made it come to Vannes, and, as soon as he saw it, he overpowered it insults, and says to him: “Aren't you the accomplice of Conomor, and this is not you who advised me to give him Trifine? I will drive out you my grounds; I will defend with whoever holds with the life to give you to eat; and if you are really the man of the sky, God will nourish you. ” And he cried bitterly, while saying: “I will be avenged, yes, I will be avenged, but that will not ressuscitera my child. ” Then the saint says to him: “Have faith as a God; I failed in my council, but God will exaucera the prayers of his servant. ”

And being put at knees in front of the corpse, he requested during all the day; and the evening, having touched the wound that Trïfine had in the middle, he cures it; having touched its eyes, it reopened them; and having taken it by the hand, it started to go, and to greet her father and all those which were there. Then they were prosternèrent with the feet of the saint, shouting “Miracle; it has ressuscity that which had died”. But medium of them tore off him; and, having left its stick with the hand, it started to make it tower of Brittany. And by all the cities where there were bishops, it said to them: “In one month be in Vannes. ” And at the said day, they were there; because they all obeyed the saint man, although it had no capacity on them.

The saint told them the crimes of Conomor and his false conversion, and he says: “He sinned and he has pretends the return, and he sinned derechef: doesn't it deserve to be anathema? ” And all the bishops exclaimed: “That it is anathema. ” Since this day the force of Conomor seemed fallen; and all those which feared it, were enhardirent; and the powerful neighbors that it had insults linked against him, Guérech at their head, and drove out it castle of Plusigner; no one did not want to receive it, and he died misérablement. Trifine, to conceal itself with the curiosity of a multitude of people who came from the whole world to see in it the miracle of the saint, was withdrawn in évêché of Tréguier, at the village which bears the name of Holy-Perforator today. She there lived in piety and holy works, and died a long time afterwards in an extremely advanced age. Its virtues and the particular graces of which it had been the object made it declare holy after its death.

This authentic history of the life and the miracles of Gildas saint was made up on the same spot, and, according to the traditions of the country, by two schoolboys of the university of Paris; which God and holy Gildas always have in their guard and protection.

Quotations

" Brittania reges habet, sed tyrannos." De Excidio Brittaniae.
" Gildas deserves to be regarded as most important of the fathers of the Latin literature of our Brittany ". Leon Fleuriot.

See too

Internal bonds

dark Ages of the island of Celtic Brittany
Christianity
Abbey of Saint-Gildas de Rhuys

References

'' De Excidio Britanniae '' translates into English.
Holy Gildas. De Excidio Britanniae. Decline of the Brittany. Text and translation by Christiane Mr. J. Kerboul-Vilhon. 1996 Editions of Pontic. 44.880 Sautron.
Gildas the Wise one. Lives and works. Translations by Christiane Mr. J. Kerboul-Vilhon. 1997 Editions of Pontic. 44.880 Sautron. Important foreword of Gwenael the Duke, professor with the University of High-Brittany, on the character and his work.
'' life of Gildas '' by Caradoc de Llancarfan in English
" The legend of St Gildas and Perforator " in French
Travel souvenirs in Brittany and Greece, Paris, 1864
the brittonic Kingdoms with the Very Early middle ages, Christian Y.M. Kerboul. 1997 Editions of Pontic - Coop Breizh.

Life of saint Gildas/Sant Gweltaz, iconography, sources, translations FR, etc

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