St. Magloire | |
|---|---|
 Saint Magloire of Dol, oil painting byEugène Goyet (1798–1846),Church Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas in Paris | |
| Born | 535 |
| Died | 575 |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholicism Orthodox Christianity |
| Feast | 24 October |
Magloire,[1] better known asSaint Magloire of Dol, is aBreton saint. Little reliable information is known of Magloire as the earliest written sources appeared three centuries after his death. These sources claim that he was a monk from Wales[2] who became the Bishop ofDol-de-Bretagne inBrittany during the 6th century, and ended his life on the island ofSark, where he was abbot of a monastery.[3]
Although unlikely to contain any reliable biographic information concerning Magloire, theVita Sancti Maglorii presents a narrative of his life. According to the text, Magloire was born in the early 6th century toAfrelia andUmbrafel, the aunt and uncle ofSamson of Dol. As a child, he studied atCor Tewdws under the tutelage of St.Illtud. After his ordination, he was made abbot of aLanmeurian monastery where he governed for 52 years. Afterwards, he journeyed toBrittany with his cousin Samson, who became the archbishop of Dol.[4] After Samson's death, Magloire succeeded him as his chosen successor to thearchbishopric, although, having received instructions from a visiting angel, he soon resigned his post toBudoc and withdrew to the island of Sark, where he established a community of 62 monks.[5][6]
According to Butler's dating, he died around 575, but since thehagiography gives no dates, such statements are highly approximate.[7][8]
TheVita Sancti Maglorii attributes severalmiracles to St. Magloire, and claims that he acquired large swaths of land as a result of these miracles. It argues that Count Loisescon, whose illness was miraculously cured by Magloire, gave him a sixth of all his wealth. It also argues that Nivo, the owner ofGuernsey, asked for Magloire's help to cure his daughter who was deaf and intellectually disabled. Magloire was supposedly granted a third of Guernsey for doing so.
One of the most well-known and detailed stories about Magloire concerns his rescue of a group of children. The children were playing in an abandoned wreck on the beach below the monastery when a sudden violent storm swept them out to sea. Magloire is said to have swum out to sea when he heard their cries and saved them and their boat, steering it to the safety of the shore before vanishing.[5]
Other tales include records that he travelled to the island ofJersey and destroyed a dragon, that he resurrected a drowned fisherman of Sark, and that he led the islanders to fight off an anachronistic fleet ofVikings (these may have beenproto-Norse raiders).[citation needed]A legend is also told that Magloire had trouble keeping a vow to drink neitherwine norale, and to fast from all food twice a week. After his struggles, anangelic visitation released him from his vow.
Posthumous miracles of St. Magloire are also included in the surviving texts. After his death,Sark was attacked again byVikings, who sacked themonastery and killed the monks. When seven of the Vikings attempted to open St. Magloire's tomb, they were blinded, and many of the others turned and began to kill each other.
During the reign ofNominoe (846–851), the body of Magloire was stolen by themonks of Lehon Abbey. He was revered by the monks as their primarysaint, and it seems likely that the majority of his hagiography was written there in the late 9th century.[9] With an increase inViking raids in the early 10th century, hisrelics were transported to Paris by the monks, whereHugh the Great granted them land to establish a new monastery. In 1572,Catherine de' Medici decided to use the site as a home for a group ofBenedictine monks who had been expelled from theirabbey of Saint-Magloire. In 1620, the seminary of theOratorians underPierre de Bérulle—the first seminary in France—replaced the Benedictines. It was known as the seminary of Saint-Magloire. The relics of St. Magloire and his disciples were transferred to the hospital at the site of theÉglise Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas, which became a monastery. The relics were buried secretly during theFrench Revolution and were found in 1835, during the installation of a new high altar. St Magloire is one of the four saints surrounding the image of Christon the Pulpit of the Town Church in Guernsey, the others being St Martin, St Peter and St Samson of Dol.[citation needed]
Vita Sancti Maglorii, a work of uncertain provenance written in Latin, details almost all of the knowledge of Maglorius. FolkloristFrançois Duine [fr] (1874–1924) called the work a masterpiece of ancient Breton literature. Scholars place its composition between the late 9th century and the mid-10th century. There is also theTranslatio Parisios, which recounts the flight ofLehonese monks to Paris in the 10th century, and is the primary source for the foundation of their monastery in Paris.[10] TheVita is untranslated, but is accessible in theActa Sanctorum series.[11]
Magloire is venerated in theRoman Catholic Church andEastern Orthodox Church on 24 October.[7][12]
