medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> 5) Gilduin (d. 1077). G. is a saint of the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Père (Saint-Pierre) at Chartres, now often called Saint-Père/Pierre-en-Vallée. According to his Vita by a monk of that house (BHL 3545), he was a highly born Breton noble who as a child excelled in his studies and who as a youth entered the clergy of Dol. Quickly elevated to the diaconate, he was elected only a few years later to succeed a simoniac, married archbishop (Saint-Père seems to have accepted Dol's pretensions to metropolitan status) whom Gregory VII had deposed at the request of other bishops of Brittany. G. declined on account of his youth and inexperience and, when it was clear that his refusal alone would be insufficient, journeyed to Rome to ask Gregory to set aside his election. Gregory did so, naming the bishop of Rennes in G.'s place.
>
> On his return journey G. detoured first to the Orléanais to visit his mother's family and then to Chartres on pilgrimage. At Chartres his sanctity was revealed when he expelled a devil. Struck down by a fever, G. practiced self-mortification all the same. Foreseeing his approaching death and kissing the Virgin's tunic, he commended himself to Mary and the saints in the cathedral. G. died on this day at Saint-Père and was buried in a stone chamber beneath the choir of the abbey church. Miracles were reported at his grave and his hair shirt, his tunic, and his dalmatic became precious relics. Thus far this Vita.
>
> G.'s remains are reported to have been accorded an Elevatio in 1165. In 1793, one reads, they were hidden in the church of Champhol (Eure-et-Loir) to prevent their profanation in the Revolution; there they were forgotten until their discovery after a bombing in 1944. The then bishop of Chartres, a Breton, placed them at Saint-Père in 1948 and restored G.'s cult. Since 1950 G. has been the patron saint of expatriate Bretons.
>
>
There seems to have been quite a close Breton connection at Chartres
during the Middle Ages. In the 13th century, there was a "Breton
quarter" in the town, and there was a whole slew of relics of Breton
saints in the cathedral, including those of St Turiaf, St Tugdual and St
Piat, although the latter quite early got confused with a more famous St
Piat from northern France. Most of these relics were reputed to have
arrived at Chartres during the Norman invasions, but I've never quite
understood why Chartres should have this strong Breton connection, that
certainly transcended the Norman period. I would be interested to know
the source for Gilduin's arrival at Chartres being "on pilgrimage". By
the way, it is unlikely that Gilduin kissed the Virgin's Tunic before
his death, since it was enclosed in a reliquary, the Sainte-Chasse, that
was never opened; he probably only got to kiss the reliquary (which when
opened in 1712 was found, in any case, not to contain a tunic).
Cheers,
Jim
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|