ON ST. BAUMADUS, CONFESSOR, AT TULLE AMONG THE LIMOUSINS IN GAUL.
Sixth Century.
A COLLECTION
ON HIS CULT AND DEEDS,
From Baluze's Monuments of Tulle.
Baumadus, Confessor, at Tulle (St.)
BHL Number: 1048
BY THE AUTHOR J. B. S.
Long ago, namely in the fifty-sixth year of the century just past, the illustrious Étienne Baluze published Once scarcely known, a little dissertation, learned above all, a not inconsiderable part of which would deserve to be referred to nearly every day of our Acts, against the tyrannical, as he calls it, and plainly barbarous cruelty of the ignorance of the ages, or of the middle age, of most unskilled men who savagely ravaged the true histories of the Saints, either by profaning and shamefully mangling them, or by wrapping them in so much darkness that, after devouring often immense tedium, you think you have found much if you finally attain even this, that you may safely judge that some Saint of that name certainly existed in the nature of things. The title of the little work is: A Dissertation of Étienne Baluze of Tulle on Sts. Clarus, Laudus, Ulfardus, Baumadus, whose sacred relics are preserved in the cathedral church of Tulle among the Limousins. Chiefly to be noted is the preface of the book, of which I was just saying that it deserves to be prefixed to very many Acts of the Saints, and which accordingly I should judge should be transcribed here, had not Henschen reported almost the whole of it at the day 1 of June, where, in reviewing the deeds of St. Clarus from the same little work, he discussed that subject more fully.
[2] he has been praised by moderns, And certainly the Saint of whom treatment is here made can be said to be of their number, as one of whom scarcely anything besides his name and cult survives, and that indeed so unknown in our ecclesiastical Calendars that, had not Baluze adduced the indubitable monuments of the church of Tulle for his cult, scarcely would arguments be available from elsewhere by which he might safely enough be added to the number of our Saints. For among so many Usuardine codices, augmented in so many various places and with so many Saints, as our edition reports, not even one has been found in which his memory exists; and it has been sought elsewhere in vain, so that one might even doubt of Saussay, when he marks Baamirus on the III of November, did not the circumstances, rightly weighed, show that the two are to be identified. Castellanus is added, expressly commemorating the Saint on this day, in these words: In the same place, namely in the territory of Le Mans, of St. Boamadus (in French Baumez), a solitary, Aquitanian by origin, whose relics, with others of St. Ulfacius, were translated to Tulle in the time of the Normans, where he is called St. Baumardus. And these things Castellanus, already praised, says on this day; from whose other announcement at the day III of November you will easily understand that a question about the name can here not undeservedly be raised.
[3] There he has it thus: At Odo's-Lodge (in French Auton) in the Perche, by Castellanus of St. Baomadus, deacon, catechist under St. Innocentius bishop of Le Mans; who, being at Paris at the time when king Childebert was ill, healed him by his prayers. His body is honored partly at Tulle, where they call him Baumarus; partly at St. Deodatus' near Blois, where he is called Baudomirus; partly at St. Frambaldus' of Senlis, where he is named Baumezius. You have heard above Boamadus and Baumardus; here you read Baumarus and Baudemirus; Saussay at the same III of November stands for Boamirus, as I shall presently report; Baluze constantly names him Baumadus. Moreover Castellanus in the margin of this announcement cites a diploma of Charlemagne, granted to Franco I, bishop of Le Mans, where he is named Baomadus, as we have written it here. Call him, then, however it may seem good to you, provided that you understand that Saint of whom we are here speaking, and the greatest part of whose relics, unless we are much mistaken, was translated to Tulle, where today, at least in Baluze's time, they were celebrated. Here now is Saussay's eulogy:
[4] In the district of Le Mans, of St. Boamirus, priest and confessor, likewise glorious. and formerly by Saussay; He, brought forth of an illustrious family and enriched with the gifts of the grace of the spirit, having enlisted some companions of holy purpose, with the permission of St. Innocentius, bishop of Le Mans, withdrew into the solitude of a vast wilderness, to the place where the brook of Brygia rises: where, an observance of most holy life being prescribed for himself and his companions, he strove to serve Christ with such purity and ardor of spirit that he pursued a heavenly rather than an earthly manner of living and acting. And when the lights of his sanctity were now bursting forth far and wide, St. Innocentius, that he might the more commend his merits, adorned the humble Man, and despiser of himself, with this honor, that he distinguished him with the priesthood. Nor in vain; for using the happy labor of one drawn out of his hiding-place, he cut down a grove which the people, still in blind superstition, frequented, and overthrew the idol by which that malign spirit was deceiving the people. Hence Boamirus himself was sent by the holy prelate to king Clothar, who, having neglected to admit the Man of God on the very day of his arrival, was seized the following night with a most burning fever, and as a suppliant imploring his suffrages and asking pardon, presently by his very prayer recovered health. Thus sent back with honor to his little cell, he wrought many other admirable things: for a dropsical man, now fixed to his bed for three years, he suddenly cured by anointing him with sanctified oil in the manner of a Cross. A blind man, a penance being enjoined upon him, he restored to sight; another, weakened with a withered hand, he made whole with the application of the consecrated oil. Innumerable persons wasted with fever he restored to the desired balance. From the bodies of many he visibly cast out demons. Then, crowned with the merits of justice, he set out joyfully for the kingdom of Christ, of which he was worthy. At his obsequies there was such a concourse of people that there was scarcely room for the funeral, and such marvels flashed forth that the glory of the blessed confessor was abundantly shown to all beholders. And he was buried in the church of St. Peter, which he had built beside his little monastery.
[5] These things, after Saussay's manner, amply enough, magnificently, and eloquently; but chiefly by Baluze but if the matter took place at Paris in the sixth century, in which the Saint is believed to have lived, those skilled in Frankish history easily understand that Clothar crept in for Childebert. In fewer words Baluze adorns the Saint on page 27 of his Dissertation in this manner: But by what sin should I pass you over in silence, Baumadus? For you were wont to bestow the same benefit upon the people of Tulle which the Nile bestows upon the Egyptians. You drench the earth with rain, on the testimony of Bernard Gui. This exordium being premised, he thus continues: St. Baumadus was an Aquitanian, born of a noble family: who, when from his tender years he had devoted immense effort to virtue and letters, at length, leaving his fatherland, set out for Le Mans. There he lived the life of a monk, known more by his miracles than by his name; and after a good many years he died in that same place on the fourth day of the month of August, on which his passing is celebrated in the church of Tulle, and there he was buried. Whence you may understand that Turrianus is perhaps mistaken, who believes that Baumadus was a monk of Tulle. Finally the sacred relics of Baumadus were brought to Tulle at the same time as those of St. Laudus, that is, at that season when the Normans were most of all troubling the Gauls. But we find the translation of St. Baumadus noted on the IV of the Ides of July in the cited Breviary of Tulle.
[6] reporting the lessons, From it we shall now also give the Lessons, transcribed by the praised Baluze, with this forewarning: That
you must be advised of this, reader, that the first three chapters of this Life of St. Baumadus — they call them lessons — have been deliberately omitted here: because they pertain nothing to the matter, and have nothing but useless verbosity, if you regard the history. And so the first chapter in this edition is the fourth lesson in the Breviary. I wished to advise you of this, lest you should be unaware. We call his five chapters as many lessons, of which the first is: The holy Baumadus therefore, from the region of Aquitaine, begotten not of the lowest parents but sprung of a noble family, was given over to the study of letters and prudently taught. But he himself from the cradle of infancy placed all his hope in the disposition of the Savior; believing it sufficient for himself if he should plant all his affection in the love alone of the heavenly fatherland. He submitted himself so far to the servants of God and to religious men that, their honor being safe, he showed nothing of the privilege of his noble birth; understanding that it is more useful to converse with religious men than to run riot with the powerful or with fools. Lesson II. Finally there advanced in him the special effect of daily exercise to such a degree that, always ascending beyond himself, he surpassed the rest of his fellows by his merits, and, his body being subdued, triumphed rather over himself. To whom, then, would it suffice to tell how outstanding he was in the sparingness of his fasts, assiduous in vigil, delighted in the work of mercy, illustrious in obedience, cheerful in giving, praiseworthy in the reception of hospitality, outstanding in the bestowal of alms, always ready in the performance of the other good works: so that he extinguished the enemy who fought against him, and, afflicting him, gave to all the greatest hope of overcoming.
[7] Lesson III. His sanctity therefore the Lord willed to demonstrate by miracles. in which concerning his life and miracles: For there was a woman not far from him, long remaining barren: who, compelled by necessity, determined to come to the holy Man, humbly beseeching him to pray for her; so that by his worthy prayers the Lord might give her a son, who should serve at his little cell. By his prayer the woman conceived and bore a son. He, after the example of Samuel, whom his mother Anna obtained by prayer, as this woman too obtained her son, served the Lord in the aforesaid cell, in the monastic habit and with priestly blessing, and diligently guarded the tomb of the same St. Baumadus. Lesson IV. A certain youth of the number of the brethren began to burn with grievous fevers, to such a degree that even his brethren despaired of his life; whom St. Baumadus, prayer being made, healed with the liquor of holy oil and restored to his former obedience. Not long afterward, what miracle the Lord wrought through him must not be passed over in silence. A certain woman, contracted with a debility of the hands, her sinews being numbed, came weeping to St. Baumadus, seeking a remedy from him; and he, compassionating her pain, made the sign of the Cross over her contracted hands, and restored her to her former health. Lesson V. Nor is that miracle less to be proclaimed which happened in what follows. A certain old man, now sick for many years, and never moving even a hand by himself, asked of the aforementioned holy Man that he might receive the blessing of the eulogiae. And the holy Man, recognizing his desire, and fulfilling the Lord's precept, which says, I was sick and you visited me, came to him, and not only gave him the eulogiae of blessings, but poured out a prayer over him. And he, after receiving the blessing, was restored to health, and is renewed like the eagle in youth, according to the prophetic word, where it says: Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle's. This man, therefore, adorned with a heavenly gift and with venerable flowers, wrought by the power of God the signs of many miracles.
[8] Moreover Baluze adds, from an old Manuscript of Tulle, a notice concerning the translation, union, and separation of the relics of St. Laudus and of our Baumadus, likewise concerning his relics and those of St. Laudus the marrow of which we here transcribe. He notes thus: Here therefore are contained the relics of the most blessed men Laudus and Baumadus. And having narrated those things which pertain to the episcopal see of St. Laudus and to the translation of his sacred body made while the Normans were ravaging, he thus continues: But blessed Baumadus, sprung of most noble birth, led in the district of Le Mans a solitary life full of sanctity and virtues, and there rested in a precious death. But the aforesaid persecution of the heathen growing strong, his body was carried to this place by the rectors of that same church, by divine disposition. Each of them was placed in his own crypt. But when afterward the monks of Tulle grew fearful lest they should be deprived of the body of St. Laudus by the countess of Anjou, they took a salutary counsel: to join the relics of the blessed men Laudus and Baumadus, some bones being left in the same casket where his body was previously contained, for the sake of satisfaction. But divine mercy kindly took thought for their love and grief, the aforesaid countess dying not long afterward. But in modern times, when those caskets in which, as has been said, their relics were contained had been consumed and almost broken by excessive age, Peter of St. Aredius, then holding the office of sacristan, bought new caskets for laying up the relics of the said Saints, and placed their bones, so far as it was possible to distinguish them, each in its own. And through the merits of those Saints the Lord at that time wrought countless powers. The year 1153 is marked.
[9] to whom a signal benefit is ascribed. There is finally subjoined, from another Manuscript Codex, also of Tulle, written in the speech of the Limousin, that when in the year 1531, in the months of January, February, and March, a grievous inclemency of the sky threatened destruction both to the animals themselves and to the fruits of the earth, in the next year 1532, beginning from Easter, on Quasimodo Sunday falling on the VII of April, a solemn supplication was instituted around the whole city of Tulle, accompanied not only by the Canons and the whole clergy, but by all the inhabitants, highest and lowest, in which were carried the bodies, or at least the relics, of those four Saints whom we have named above from Baluze, and thus among them those of our St. Baumadus, to obtain, by their intervening merits, the desired serenity of the sky; which followed with such success that, if I rightly understand the Limousin barbarity of that age, it seemed almost to rain down manna — certainly the inhabitants and neighbors had never experienced a more abundant harvest, and all other things equally fertile. And there Baluze's dissertation stops, nor are things available to us from elsewhere by which we might further illustrate the cult, deeds, or miracles of St. Baumadus, since Bondonnet and other writers of Le Mans scarcely greet him from the threshold.