Saint Boisil | |
|---|---|
 Boisil greets Cuthbert at Melrose; 12th-century miniature form British Library Yates Thomson MS 26 version of Bede's proseLife of St Cuthbert | |
| Abbot | |
| Born | unknown Northumbria,England |
| Died | (664-07-07)7 July 664 Melrose, Scotland |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church;[1]Roman Catholic Church;Anglican Communion |
| Majorshrine | Melrose Abbey,Scotland (destroyed) |
| Feast | 7 July (24 February for Orthodox)[2] |
| Attributes | Abbot |
Boisil (died 661) was a monk ofMelrose Abbey, an offshoot ofLindisfarne, then in theAnglo-SaxonKingdom of Northumbria, but now inScotland, where he must have been one of the first generation of monks. He probably moved to the new foundation of Melrose when it was started, some time in the late 640s.
Almost all that is known of Boisil is learned fromBede.[3] He derived his information from Sigfrid, amonk ofJarrow, who had previously been trained by Boisil at Melrose.[4] Boisil was the teacher ofCuthbert.
Boisil was prior of this house under the abbot Eata, both of whom seem to have been trained in monastic discipline byAidan.[5] It was Boisil's evident sanctity, which drew the young Cuthbert to Melrose Abbey, rather than the more famous Lindisfarne, in AD 651.[6] By chance, the prior was standing by the abbey gate when Cuthbert arrived. The latter entered the church to pray and, Bede documents that "Boisil had an intuition of the high degree of holiness to which the boy would rise", and said just this single phrase to the monks with whom he was standing: "Behold the servant of the Lord". Abbot Eata soon gave permission for Cuthbert to enter the community,[7] Boisil succeededEata as abbot in 659.
It was from Boisil that Cuthbert learned the scriptures, pupil and teacher becoming friends. Both travelled among the villages neighbouring Melrose and preached to the local people.[7] The sick and ailing were brought to Boisil from far and near seeking to be cured by his herbal remedies, and by the healing properties of the two local springs containing iron salts.[7]
Contemporaries were deeply impressed with Boisil's supernatural intuitions. Three years beforehand, he foretold the great pestilence of 664, and that he himself should die of it, but that Eata, the abbot, should outlive it.[5]When in the great pestilence Cuthbert was stricken down, Boisil declared he would certainly recover. Somewhat later Boisil himself as he had foretold three years before, fell a victim to this terrible epidemic, but before the end came he predicted that Cuthbert would become a bishop and would effect great things for the Church.[4]
After his death, Boisil appeared twice in a vision to a monk he had known, concerning the future BishopEcgberht of Ripon, who was instructed to concentrate on existing monasteries rather than missionary activity on the Continent.[5] He is believed, on somewhat dubious authority, to have written certain theological works, but they have not been preserved.St Boswells inRoxburghshire commemorates his name.[4] His relics, like those of Bede, were carried off toDurham in the 11th century by the priest,Alfred Westow. In the early calendars, his day is assigned to 23 February. TheBollandists treat of him on 9 September but his feast is generally accepted as 7 July, with a translation on 8 June.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Thurston, Herbert (1907). "St. Boisil". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company.