medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Helier (d. 6th cent.?; in Latin, Helerius; in Jèrriais, Hélyi; in standard modern French, Hélier) is the eponym of St Helier on Jersey. His legendary Passio (BHL 3797) makes him the son of pagan parents (his father a Batavian, his mother a Sueve) who was raised as a Christian by a priest who had cured him of paralysis and whom Helier's father later killed. By that time Helier, who willingly shared his garden with rabbits, had already operated several miracles. He was divinely inspired to seek out St. Marculf (the founder of Nanteuil), whose disciple he became and who after several years sent him to a largely depopulated Jersey then suffering from raids by Northmen.
Helier dwelt on a rocky islet off the southern coast of Jersey for over fifteen years, living very austerely and miraculously healing the afflicted. When Helier had been there for three years Marculf visited him and the two by their prayers brought about the destruction of a fleet of Northmen that had been about to attack the island. Knowing when he was about to die, he sought out a group of the raiders who were now all over Jersey, one of whom obligingly decapitated him. Whereupon the martyr Helier joined the ranks of Francia's numerous cephalophores. Marculf found his body and put it in a boat. The latter miraculously bore the saint's remains to the town of St. Helier, where he was buried on this day _non sine miraculis_. Thus far the Passio.
Helier's medieval cult is attested not only on Jersey (where in 1155 a monastery was founded on a tidal islet off St. Helier identified as the islet of the Passio) but also at Le Mans and in Brittany, Normandy, and Picardy. Helier is the patron saint both of Jersey and of St. Helier. Today is his feast day in Jersey parishes of the Roman Catholic diocese of Portsmouth and his day of commemoration in the Roman Martyrology.
Since the late sixteenth century the islet in St Aubin Bay that once was home to the aforementioned monastery has been occupied by Castle Elizabeth and its outbuildings. Here's a distance view, with, at far left, a rocky chunk bearing a medievalizing modern structure known as the Hermitage of St Helier:
http://tinyurl.com/jt8gyax
Best,
John Dillon
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: subscribe 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: unsubscribe 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/medieval-religion
|