Paul

ON S. PAUL, BISHOP OF LÉON, AMONG THE ARMORICAN BRETONS, A.D. 573.

HISTORICAL COMMENTARY.

Paul, Bishop of Léon among the Armorican Bretons (S.)

§ I. S. Paul's See, Acts, Translation.

[1] After the Saxons, having turned their arms against the Britons whom they had come to defend against the violence of the Picts and Scots, had driven the remnants of the Roman name and the Christian faith—partly to seek other settlements among the Armorican Bretons, partly into the extreme corners of the island (which are now called by the names of Wales and Cornwall)— Britons driven out by the Saxons nearly two centuries passed before they subjected the remaining part of the British dominion to their rule. The Britons, meanwhile, neither in their homeland nor in exile found so safe a refuge from the barbarians that in the former they were not continually worn down by the incursions of the victorious people, and in the latter they did not have to contend with the piratical fleets of the Danes, by whom the coasts of lower Armorica, facing the British ocean, are said to have been occupied, according to the annals of that people; to the Armorican Bretons until they were driven out by a certain Rivallo, who at the time of Clothar, King of the Franks, was leading a new colony of refugees from Cornwall and neighboring regions: who, with no one opposing him, claimed for himself the kingdom or principality of those parts, and named it Domnonea after the ancient name of his homeland.

[2] The inhabitants of this region in former times were called Osisimi by Caesar and Ptolemy, They occupy the district of the Osismii: Osismii by Mela, Sismii by Solinus, and perhaps by Strabo as well, although now Timii is read in him: their chief settlement was called Osissimum by Antoninus, but by the Britons themselves Ocismor; it is then believed to have been called Legio from a Roman Legion once stationed there for the defense of the Armorican coast, as others were elsewhere: now it bears a nobler name from S. Paul, its first Bishop, and is commonly called the city of Saint Paul of Léon, whose capital then takes its name from S. Paul. Saint Paul de Léon. For the name of Léon or Legio is retained by the entire diocese, extending from north to south and forming the extreme corner of Gaul projecting into the Ocean: the more western part of which is called by the name of the district of Ach in the Acts of S. Paul, while the other part is assigned to the district of Léon.

[3] Over this region Withurus, Count by the benefaction of Childebert, King of the Franks, is said to have presided when S. Paul arrived there: Counts appointed by the Franks whence I conclude that these Kings or Princes of lower Letavia (for this name too prevailed among the Britons), descendants of Rivallo, were to some extent subject to the power of the Franks, just as the others descending from Conan. Hence, when Count Comorus, given as successor to Withurus by the same Childebert (as it seems), had removed Jona, Rivallo's great-grandson, and had cast his son Indwalus into chains, S. Samson is said to have fled to Childebert, as supreme lord, for the purpose of obtaining justice, in the Acts to be presented on 28 July. Hence also, when S. Paul was consecrated Bishop, Childebert subjected to him the districts of Ach and Léon; Indwalus, nevertheless restored to liberty and his ancestral domains, either first bestowed upon S. Paul the possession of the city itself, or ratified a donation made by another.

[4] Whether, moreover, Indwalus and others who preceded or followed him, whether here or in upper Letavia, besides whom there were other hereditary Kings are to be honored with the royal title, there is much contention between Frankish and Armorican writers: the latter asserting that the descendants of Conan and Rivallo both were called and could be called Kings, by the same right as the last of the Merovingian blood—in reality shadows of Kings rather than Kings; the former denying it, because S. Gregory of Tours, book 4, chapter 4, says that the Britons were always under the power of the Franks after the death of King Clovis, and were called Counts, not Kings.

Nor is the prejudice slight for this opinion, taken from the very Acts of S. Paul, which the author professes to have received from British writings, or Dukes they had. who would not have omitted mentioning Kings had he found any called by that name. Yet he does not call Indwalus a Count (as others are called, both here and in Gregory of Tours, holding the territory of one larger city under their rule) but "the most noble Duke of a great part of the Domnonean homeland." So that he seems to make some distinction between those who, by right of hereditary succession, ruled more broadly—whether in reality or only in name—and are sometimes read to have assumed for themselves the title of Kings; and others who held power in Armorica by the free appointment of the Frankish Kings or by violent usurpation.

[5] The Acts of S. Paul If Albert le Grand had simply translated the aforesaid Acts into the French language, he would find more credibility in the Lives of other Saints, which he says he received from similar Acts. But now, when he adds on his own that S. Paul, designated for the Episcopate, was not sent to King Childebert but to Indwalus, who happened then to be at Paris in the court of Childebert, with whom Indwalus, as a matter of honor, communicated the business commended to him by Withurus—he makes himself suspect to us, lest there be no Life among his writings that he has not similarly interpolated and fitted to his chronology and his preconceived opinions about the succession of British Kings, as well as to uncertain popular traditions. We have received these Latin Acts from two manuscripts, collated received from manuscripts, with a fragment of the same published by Boscius in the Floriacensis Library, and two other manuscripts that, by cutting back the prolixity of sentences here and there, narrate the same events in a more abridged form and in nearly the same words. Of the complete text, one copy was sent to us from a manuscript codex of the monastery of Vaux-de-Cernay in the diocese of Sens by the Reverend Father Petrus Franciscus Chifflet; the other from the parchments of a certain Senator of Rouen by the Reverend Father Frederick Flouet, both priests of our Society. Of the other two manuscripts, one we have from the manuscript collections of Nicolas Belfort, the other we received from Armorica from the Reverend Father Jacques Bernard, also of our Society—much more condensed than the former Belfort copy, and mutilated in nearly the latter half; which in the notes we shall sometimes call the third manuscript.

[6] The author being a Floriacene monk. The author of these Acts indicates in the very preface that he is a monk of that monastery which had been endowed with the precious gift of the saint's body when he wrote: and this monastery is read to have been the Floriacene in a fragment of the History of France, published by François du Chesne, in which it is said: "In the time of this man (namely Abbot Wulsad), Mabbo, a Bishop of the Bretons, from the town called Saint Paul's, brought the body of the same holy Bishop Paul to the monastery of Fleury, with many ornaments." Albert nevertheless, concluding the Life of S. Paul, says: "The precious treasure did not long lie hidden underground, God making it known by frequent miracles: moved by which, Golvenus, successor of Cetomerinus, Not to the monastery of S. Florentius, raised the sacred body from the tomb, and wished the venerable bones, enclosed in precious caskets, to be reverently placed among the other relics of Saints with which the Church of Léon is fortified and adorned: where they were preserved and honored by a great concourse both of Bretons and of pilgrims, until the year of grace 878; when, the Danes having invaded Armorican Brittany and ravaging everything sacred and profane with fire and sword, Liberalis, then Bishop of Léon, carried the relics of S. Paul to the monastery of S. Florentius; where they remained until in the year 1567 the Huguenots, having seized that monastery, converted the caskets, rich in gold and silver, into plunder, and either impiously scattered the relics or sacrilegiously consigned them to the fire."

[7] As Albert reports, contradicting himself, Thus Albert, with great confusion of persons and times, very much in apparent contradiction with what he himself writes, both before and after, in the same work on the Saints of Armorica. For in the Life of Felix the Abbot on 9 March, he narrates a votive pilgrimage of the same Saint to Fleury to the bodies of SS. Paul and Benedict; but here he writes that the journey was undertaken to the monastery of S. Florentius. Moreover, in his Catalogue of the Bishops of Léon, he says that Liberalis was deposed from the Episcopate in the year 855 at the Council of Rennes on account of the vice of simoniacal promotion, and, fearing worse, secretly returned to the city of Léon, and thence furtively took away the relics of S. Paul; but to Fleury, and having placed them in the monastery of Fleury, betook himself to Charles the Bald—without any mention of a Danish invasion, which from the year 843 to 862 of the same century is recorded as having been of no memorable significance. Then, when he comes to Bishop Mabbo, ordained in the year 940, he cites Claude Robert in his Gallia Christiana, asserting that this Bishop made the translation of the sacred body to Fleury—the very thing he had written in the aforementioned Life of S. Felix.

[8] Partly by Bishop Liberalis, In which Life, however, lest he seem to contradict what he had said about Liberalis, he notes that this passage is to be understood concerning the remaining part of the sacred body: and this explanation is supported by the Acts, number 47, where it says: "His body, remaining intact and incorrupt for many ages... preserved for a long time the appearance and integrity that it seemed to have when the soul was taken up: but for what reason it is now divided, is by no means to be inserted into this work." The writer here hints, therefore, at a division of the body, and by keeping silent about the cause of making it, he sufficiently suggests that the cause was not such as would be fitting for Vitalis, the apparent author of this division, to commit to writing. Concerning Mabbo, however, the matter stands differently: partly by Mabbo. for since the Normans in the year 912, through the cession of Charles the Simple, peacefully entered into possession of the regions they had occupied, claiming by the same cession that supreme power over the Bretons belonged to them, they began to harass them with continual incursions; and indeed in the year 944, Frodoard writes and Albert admits that the Bretons were slaughtered by the Normans and Dol was occupied—although Argentré greatly objects, wishing to argue that that disaster pertains to the year 1208; but that at this time and for many years afterward the Bretons were free, the barbarians having been expelled from the whole province.

[9] But just as nothing prevents the city from having been captured in both years, so the silence of the Breton writers or of Crantzius, on which Argentré relies, is not a sufficient argument for that victory to be regarded as fictitious: After the disasters inflicted by the Normans in the year 944. especially if five years before this, the Bretons had expelled the victorious Normans from all of Armorica, as he himself says. For who would believe that a people unaccustomed to being conquered did not bend their minds toward every opportunity of avenging themselves as soon as possible? And indeed Frodoard says that the Normans were defeated in battle by the Bretons in the year 939, and a certain Norman castle was captured: the joy of this victory was such that the Bretons thenceforth observed 1 August as a festival, according to Argentré, who perhaps exaggerates that victory beyond the truth. But the Bretons gave the Normans an occasion not to keep the treaties that followed, being divided among themselves by the discord of Berengar and Alan; "attacked therefore by the enemy" (says Frodoard, who died in the year 966—so that Argentré's evasion to the disaster of 1208 is ridiculous) "and worn down by great slaughter: their city, named Dol, was captured, and the Bishop of the same city was crushed and killed by the press of the crowds fleeing into the church. The Bretons then, having repaired their forces, entered into battle, in which the Normans seemed to have been superior. Finally, a third engagement being joined, a great multitude fell on both sides: the Normans, having gained the victory, slaughter the Bretons to destruction, and disperse them from their own land; and the Normans themselves, who had recently come from overseas regions, invade their territory."

[10] And so, after these disasters and the Norman invasion of Armorica that followed (for repelling which the Bretons had no forces remaining), Mabbo, looking about for safer places, betook himself to Fleury, to Wulfald, whom, after Arcambald had already then succeeded Odo, who was taken from this world in the year 937, we gather from this passage to have been already in office, although no certain beginnings of his rule are recorded. And this Mabbo, "a Bishop of the Bretons," as the author of the aforementioned fragment speaks, Albert le Grand asserts to have prolonged his life thereafter until the year 995 of that century, but without testimony he will have difficulty persuading anyone—especially because from Claude Robert (whom the Sammartan brothers follow) he wishes it to be believed that Paulinianus, a Bishop of Brittany, subscribed to a diploma for the restoration of the monastery of S. Peter of Vallée in the year 954, and Paulinianus having been ordained, was Bishop of Léon. For it is asserted entirely without foundation that Paulinianus and Mabbo are the same person: for even if it were established that Mabbo lived so long, it would nevertheless be much more probable that Mabbo, wearied by the tedium of hostile incursions and the desire for monastic quiet, abdicated the Episcopate and transferred it to Paulinianus. This, at least, is suggested by Chapter 11, book 3 of the Miracles of S. Benedict, authored by Aimoin of Fleury, where the translation of S. Paul is reported in these words:

[11] "S. Paul, in the place of Brittany called the Town, illustrious for many virtues in his life, there merited burial by divine designation: whose body, having become a monk, after long ages had passed since his death, was translated by Mabbo, the Bishop of that place, to this our monastery of Fleury. The sequence of this translation, because the occasion presented itself—although it was accomplished many ages ago—just as we learned it by hearing from our predecessors, we have thought worthy to relate. The aforementioned venerable Bishop Mabbo, inflamed with divine love for the contemplative life, was uncertain in his mind as to where he might best fulfill his purpose: and it was divinely inspired to him that nowhere could he accomplish this more suitably than in the presence of the Body of our most holy Father Benedict, who would be the leader and standard-bearer of that way of life and having died at Fleury. which he desired to follow. Having therefore taken the Gospels and a not inconsiderable collection of sacred vestments, together with the most sacred body of the excellent Bishop Paul, he arrived at the dwelling he desired. The Abbot of this sacred monastery, named Wulfald in the preceding book, and the entire congregation, receiving him with a most grateful display of affection, honorably kept him with them for as long as he lived: and having completed the course of a praiseworthy life, he obtained burial before the altar of S. John the Evangelist in the basilica of the holy Mother of God, Mary. The body, moreover, of the aforesaid Confessor Paul they placed in its own coffin behind the coffin of the most holy Father Benedict; enclosing both, however, in one larger shrine, which was also covered with silver."

[12] What this account by Aimoin concerning Mabbo suggests is entirely confirmed by the history of the translation of S. Matthew the Apostle from Ethiopia to Brittany, his successor betakes himself to Calabria. and thence to Italy, and finally to Salerno in the year 954, described by Paulinus (whom we may believe to be the same as Paulinianus), Bishop of Léon, as the title has it in an ancient parchment of the Vallicellian library, and the miracles of the same, by the same author, in the time of Gisulf I, Prince of Salerno, who beyond 974

did not survive: a similar cause could have driven this Paulinus into Calabria, as had driven his predecessor Mabbo into France; to whom finally Eudo, as Albert would have it, was appointed as successor in the year 995. As for Liberalis, whether he deserted his Church as a deserter to the Franks or as a refugee from the Danes, there is no reason to believe that this treasure was translated to the Abbey of S. Florentius near Saumur, at the mouth of the Thouet flowing into the Loire, since that place is so near the borders of Brittany; whereas the monastery of Fleury, situated in the diocese of Orléans Do any relics of S. Paul survive? and nearly in the heart of France, would have offered a safe refuge on all sides. And so the monks of Fleury, who long boasted that the relics of S. Benedict had been translated to them, were enriched two centuries after Abbot S. Mummolus with this new pledge: whether it was rescued from the fury of the Huguenots with the same good fortune as the former, is unknown to us. The various miracles of S. Paul, performed in favor of S. Jaova miracles involving dragons—of what kind? and recorded in his Life on 2 March, we did not think should be repeated here; we are only moved to wonder how all the Saints of Ireland and Armorican Brittany are recorded as having extinguished one or more dragons of prodigious size and terrifying ferocity. As for the size, I generally think a great hyperbole underlies it, or a diabolical illusion of the evil spirit, which delights in being feared under such an appearance. As for the frequency, I very much fear that, as is customary with those peoples, a deed performed by one Saint was transferred to many: thus the miracle of the repression of birds by Paul is attributed in the less ancient Life of S. Iltutus to Samson, Paul's fellow-student.

§ II. S. Paul's Homeland, Age, Cult.

[13] Whether his homeland was Cornwall, The Acts call S. Paul's homeland Penhoen and interpret it as "Head of Oxen": whether I should assign this region to Wales or to Cornwall, I hesitate in uncertainty; for in both provinces, place-names beginning with Pen (which signifies "head" or "hill") are very common: and the extreme point of Wales is called Pembroke; the end of Cornwall is called Penwith. In favor of Cornwall is the fact that the Cornish people seem to have migrated along with the names of Dumnonia and Cornwall into the regions of the Osismii and the Corisopitenses: and thus Paul and his companions would have been transferred to their own kinsmen, God so disposing; or was it Wales? and Withurus, Count of Léon, could truly have been, as it says in the Acts, a cousin of S. Paul. Albert le Grand also seems to make S. Paul a Cornishman, when he pretends that the diocesan from whom he received Holy Orders was the Bishop of Winchester: for Winchester, a city of the West Saxons, is much nearer to Cornwall than to Wales. I say "pretends" because it is certain that neither Christians nor a Bishop existed in that place at that time, and indeed it is established that there was not even a city there then. On the contrary, a stronger argument for Wales is provided by the school of S. Iltutus, or rather a monastery, called Llanilltud by Camden, above the town of Neath on the river of the same name, on its eastern bank: which, just as it was very convenient for the Demetian nobility (from which Gildas the Wise and Samson of Dol, Paul's fellow-students, drew their lineage) on account of its proximity, to send their sons there for education, so it was farther removed from the Damnonii or Domnonii inhabiting Cornwall; nor could it be reached except by crossing the intervening arm of the Ocean or by a longer circuit by land.

[14] Who was King Marcus, instructed in the faith by Paul? From the resolution of this question, an answer must be sought to another no less difficult one: what was the royal seat of that King Marcus (at whose court our Paul either preached the Christian faith when it had been abolished, or raised it up when it lay prostrate)? For it is gathered that his homeland was more remote from the southern ocean than was the homeland of S. Paul, from the fact that, about to cross over to Armorica, he found it necessary to come to his sister, serving God on the paternal estate, as is more credible. S. Paul is said to have met the King at a place called Bannedos; but I find the name of this place surviving nowhere, nor any record of it left elsewhere in writings: one may only suspect that "ban" crept in through the fault of transcribers or those ignorant of the language, in place of "lan," a very common word among the Britons; and perhaps this place is Llanidloes, a town near the sources of the Severn River, known to Camden in the county of Montgomery, about forty English leagues distant from the monastery of S. Iltutus toward the north, and occupying nearly the middle position between Montgomery itself and three adjoining counties. If this were true, it would easily be understood how King Marcus is said in the Acts to have ruled over four peoples, even if the gloss, by which those peoples are said to have differed in language also, should be rejected as uninformed—the occasion for so speaking having been taken from the fact that at that time Picts, Scots, Saxons, and Britons, diverse in languages and customs, each held their own part of the British island.

[15] [The birth of S. Paul and his fellow-students around the end of the fifth century.] As regards the age of S. Paul, the Acts make it more than a hundred years; Albert defines it as two above a hundred, and considers him to have died in the year 594; and thus he nicely makes him a contemporary of his fellow-students—namely Gildas, whom we have demonstrated from his own writings to have been born in the year 493; and Samson, who (if he truly attended the Council of Paris, and is not mistakenly taken for some Bishop of the same name among the Franks) can be believed to have been sixty years old in the year 556 or 557, when that Council was held; but Paul is said to have lived a hundred and twenty years—which, although some contend it should seem by no means surprising among the Britons or Irish, we do not willingly believe on the sole authority of the Acts alone, because we find the writers of those peoples everywhere quite liberal in increasing beyond truth and credibility the age of the Saints. And so we also regard as suspect such a great age for S. Paul, was his age more than a hundred years? resting on no other foundation, and leaving him more than forty years of retirement from the pastoral office after the appointment of Jaova; or at least twenty-seven after the ordination of Cetomerus, which took place (as Albert would have it) in the year sixty-six of that century.

[16] Paul seems to have died in the year 573. This doubt of ours is strengthened by the manuscript Florarium, compiled largely from the very Acts of the Saints that the author read, where after these words: "On the same day, the deposition of Paul, Bishop of Léon, a man of great abstinence," the following eulogy is read from number 12: "For his food after long mortification consisted of bread weighed on an equal balance with dry salt; on solemn days, as a great display, he added a few small fish." As a conclusion, however, it is added: "He died in the year of salvation 572"—by which calculation he would have lived six years after abdicating the Episcopate for the last time, and would have died, according to us (who begin the years from January, which the Franks of that time, from whom these accounts are taken, reckoned from Easter) in the year 573 of the common era, in which precise year the twelfth day of March fell on a Sunday. 12 March on a Sunday: This was far removed from the year that Albert indicates to us, when 12 March was a Friday; but an Angel had predicted that Paul would die on a Sunday. If this reasoning of ours accords with the truth, nothing prevents S. Paul from being said to have departed this life between his eightieth and ninetieth year, and this is sufficient for him to be believed to have renounced the Episcopate as decrepit in age and exhausted in strength: for who would not admit this of one who had then spent seventy and more years living?

[17] He is renowned for miracles after death. What miracles he was renowned for after death, the Acts do not relate: one quite singular miracle performed at the monastery of Fleury at the beginning of the eleventh century in favor of Felix, afterward the restorer of the monastery of Rhuys, we have related among the miracles of S. Gildas on 29 January, and we shall not be reluctant to repeat it here: "When the same Felix was at the aforesaid monastery of Fleury in the time of Abbot Abbo, and was oppressed by a severe illness, and, given up by the physicians, was in no way believed likely to survive, Blessed Paul the Bishop appeared to him while he was awake and praying, standing before his bed with a great light, and said to him: 'How are you, brother, and where does this illness hold you?' And he replied: 'Who are you, Lord?' 'I,' he said, 'am Paul the Bishop, whom you were seeking.' 'Lord, behold,' he said, 'in this side the illness has long held me.' And he showed him the place. But that one, drawing near, lightly removed with his finger a putrefied rib from his side, and showed it to him by the light of the lamp, saying: 'This will harm you no more.' And saying this, he cast it away, and disappeared from the wondering man's eyes along with his light; but a most sweet fragrance remained throughout the whole night in that room. And so, when he had been made well, no one preceded him to the night vigils. All marveled that he whom they had expected to be already dead was alive; and they inquired how he had been healed. He told how he had been visited by Blessed Paul, and what he had said to him, and how he had also drawn out a broken and putrefied rib from his side. 'And behold it,' he said, and lifting it from the ground, he showed it to all. All marveled at the deed, and together rendered praises to the Lord with the sound of cymbals."

[18] To the Saints Gildas and Samson, a third fellow-student is added, David, He was not the fellow-student of S. David of Menevia. surnamed Aquarius, on account of the great abstinence of his body and the frequent drinking of water; that this was the celebrated Bishop of Menevia, whose Acts we gave on 1 March, I absolutely cannot agree with Colgan: for besides the fact that by the very surname each seems manifestly to be distinguished (for why would not the Episcopal dignity be named in David, as in Samson, if it belonged to him?), and the fact that it is established that the Menevian David was instructed not by Iltutus but by Paulinus (which names Colgan gratuitously takes for the same person), the reckoning of time entirely opposes the idea that David of Menevia learned letters together with the three already mentioned; for we have shown him to have been born in the year 446 and to have died in 544, and therefore to have been very advanced in age at a time when they were still boys.

[19] Cult in the Breviaries The Ecclesiastical cult of S. Paul is further proved by the ancient Breviaries of nine British Bishoprics, cited by Albert: one of which, of a very ancient printing, is in our possession, containing the Life of this holy Bishop, divided into nine lessons and composed word for word from the Acts to be presented. The same Albert adduces as testimony the manuscript Legendaries of the Churches of Léon, Tréguier, and Nantes: to which may be added Usuard augmented for the use of various Churches, such as the one that exists in manuscript among the Carmelites of Cologne, and Martyrologies and another that the Carthusians of Cologne brought to light in the year 1490. A new edition of 1521, following through Hermann Greven, added to these words (which Molanus of 1573, and Galesinius and Ferrarius also nearly use): "In Lesser Brittany, of S. Paul, Bishop and Confessor of Léon," the following: "whose faith was so great that, placing pebbles on the seashore, he forbade the sea to advance beyond those boundaries: and the sea is observed to obey his prohibition to this day."

of the sea, he forbade the sea from advancing beyond those boundaries: and the sea is observed to this day to obey his prohibition.

[20] And in the Hagiologies of the Benedictines: To these are now added all the writers on the Saints of the Benedictine Order (to which the monastery of Fleury, ennobled by the treasure of the sacred body, is known to belong)—Trithemius, Wion, Bucelinus, Yépez, Gonon, and others—putting forward Paul, Bishop of Léon, as an undoubted Saint of their Order; which indeed we do not believe he was, but neither do we greatly marvel that it is said. But that Bucelinus should also drag to this Order the holy Iltutus, to whom S. Iltutus is also ascribed who was an Abbot in Britain at a time when no Benedictine had yet set foot on that island, will perhaps seem less tolerable. S. Iltutus is venerated on 6 November; but as regards the day, Bucelinus followed André du Saussay, who, having put forward in the Gallican Martyrology an elegant eulogy of S. Paul, comprising the history of his life in summary, added in the supplement of that Martyrology on this day, to the Saints to be venerated at Léon in Armorica, Golvenus and Mabbo, bishops of that city after S. Paul; and in conclusion: "Likewise in Lesser Brittany," he says, "the memorial of S. Ydultus the Confessor, who instructed S. Paul, the aforementioned Bishop of Léon, from adolescence in the monastery, and indicated to him the entrance to eternity with pure footsteps, radiant with the beauty of all grace and virtue."

[21] Neither he nor S. Golvenus belongs to this day. The feast day of S. Golvenus, who rests at Rennes in the monastery of S. Melaine, the Bretons celebrate on the first of July with an Office of nine Lessons, says Albert, presenting his Life on that day; although the Breviary of Rennes has that Office on the eighth. If he had known that the memory of S. Ydultus or Iltutus was held in some veneration among them, I certainly do not believe he would have kept silent about it: nor do we sufficiently dare here to trust du Saussay or Ferrarius, who so confidently number Mabbo among the Armorican Saints—the latter citing the records of the Church of Léon, nor does Mabbo belong to the Catalogue of Saints. the former weaving a distinguished eulogy for him—whom Albert, after having examined the Archives of all the Breton churches, writing about the Armorican Saints among the Armoricans and composing a catalogue of the Bishops of Léon, does not deign to honor even with the title of Blessed, and adds not even the slightest word to indicate that he either lived or died with any praise of virtue.

LIFE

By a Monk of Fleury.

From the MS. of Vaux-de-Cernay collated with other MSS.

Paul, Bishop of Léon among the Armorican Bretons (S.)

BHL Number: 6586

BY A MONK OF FLEURY.

PREFACE

[1] The Life of S. Paul Those who diligently endeavor to commit to writing in an intelligible manner the deeds of the Saints strive to leave behind for their posterity an illustrious record of virtue: for the way of pilgrims journeying to the homeland of celestial glory is the life of the good. For in the sacred Scriptures we find the rule of living justly; in the examples of the Fathers who preceded us, we take on the form of doing good works. Indeed, what things are written are written for the benefit of others, so that through the consolation of Scripture we may hold fast to the hope of the promised homeland. Confusedly written by the Britons; Whence the life of Blessed Paul shines forth, full of examples, which presents to us a true simplicity tempered with the sharpness of prudence, and demonstrates the path of humility to the joys above. The deeds of this holy man I found indeed written down, but so confused with British garrulity that they became burdensome to readers. The illustrious marks of virtue were therefore neglected, through the fault of an unskilled writer. For the unsuitable composition of words and sentences secured for itself no reader through any delight of attention, docility, or goodwill. A strange arrangement of cases, an unheard-of manner of expression, kept away even the most studious from reading: therefore they were wholly neglected by all.

[2] For which reason, prompted by the benefit of many and drawn on by the bodily presence of Blessed Paul (for we rejoice that we have been gifted by God with the precious treasure of his body), we have taken care to abbreviate the length of the sentences and, here arranged more briefly and suitably, as best we could, to polish the order of words to perfection. In this work, let no one accuse us of having failed to please every taste; for if we had aimed at that, we would have written nothing at all. For just as voice and countenance differ in all, so understanding and taste differ in everyone. Omitting superfluous barbarian names. Nor let the reader's mind be disturbed by the discordant names of the Britons, which we have interspersed; for we could not entirely avoid them, since the material of the work consists in them. We have avoided very many, indeed: for the names of the man of God's brothers, because they seemed barbarous and unnecessary for our labor, we have passed over untouched; and the names of the Priests, who are read to have adhered to the same Saint everywhere, we have left out, because we believed they would be more of a burden than a benefit, even if they were noted in this little preface.

CHAPTERS OF THE FOLLOWING BOOK

I. On the beginning of his holy way of life.

II. That he was educated in letters under Iltutus.

III. What he merited to obtain together with his master.

IV. How he led birds to the pens like sheep.

V. Why he sought the desert.

VI. On King Marcus.

VII. How he left his homeland.

VIII. On the enlargement of his sister's possession.

IX. On his arrival at the district of Ach.

X. On the wild ox that was put to flight.

XI. On the springs bestowed through his prayers.

XII. On the discovery of the town.

XIII. On various sick persons restored to health.

XIV. On the discovery of the prince, and the bell wondrously brought.

XV. On the expulsion of the serpent from the same island.

XVI. How he was made Bishop.

XVII. On the ordination of Bishops made while he was still living.

XVIII. That he announced things to come by the spirit of prophecy.

XIX. On his death.

XX. On the dispute between the monks and the clerics.

CHAPTER I

The deeds of S. Paul under the teaching of S. Iltutus.

CHAPTER I

[3] The holy Paul, surnamed Aurelianus, the son of a most illustrious man of the Britons Born of noble stock, named Perphius, strove to lead a life worthy of God; who, born in the province that is called in their language Pennohen, but in Latin speech is interpreted "Head of Oxen," divinely chosen, like another David, from the noble progeny of his brothers, was in the days of his tender infancy suffused with the grace of the Holy Spirit: at which age the recesses of his little heart began to burn perfectly with the fire of divine service. He hastened to intimate the desire of his heart to his father. But the father, having heard his son's wish he is handed over to be instructed in sacred letters, and saddened at seeing his inclination toward the love and study of letters, at first refused to let his request be carried out; but, overcome by the perseverance of the holy boy, burning for the service of Christ, and by the prudent counsels of friends, he at length consented that the boy should be imbued with sacred letters, according to his wish. For he hoped to have him as the hereditary guardian of his goods after himself, because he loved above all others the one whom the Creator of all things, sanctifying him from his mother's womb, had chosen for Himself. And so, with many prayers, the father, offering his son to Almighty God, like another Abraham offering the holy Isaac, handed him over to be formed in the divine teachings: rejoicing to offer to Christ from his offspring one who could more closely beseech the Author of life for his own salvation and that of his family.

CHAPTER II

[4] He is therefore entrusted to the blessed man Iltutus, who, being nearly the most learned of his time, To Blessed Iltutus, master of SS. Daniel, David, and Samson, was forming very many in doctrine and morals in those days: for under his teaching, all the nobles commended their sons to be nurtured in the service of Christ. In which school of virtues, three particularly outstanding students then shone forth, burning with love of the Holy Trinity, who, as followers of their master, radiated with the brilliance of merits like lamps of immense light: namely David, who on account of the great abstinence of his body and the frequent drinking of water was called "Aquarius"; also Samson, who, afterward made Bishop, pursued the life of Angels on earth by his merits; and Gildas, whose keenness of mind and industry of spirit is reported to have been admirable. Among these, Paul, a fresh recruit in literary discipline, admitted to the school, nourished the tenderness of his age with the sweet nourishment of heavenly teaching. And makes excellent progress. He tasted with the tender palate of his heart the honeys of knowledge, and adorned the play of his sacred childhood with a pleasing maturity of character. The vigilance of his mind anticipated the days of approaching adolescence; and he rejoiced in gradually comparing his holy ingenuity worthily with that of his schoolmates. In short, he was wholly admirable to his master, delightful to his companions, and joyful in the schools. The envy of no one harmed him, because he charmed all with his simple life. And within a few days he was second to none of his fellow-students, inasmuch as the Holy Spirit, the teacher of hearts, illumined him.

CHAPTER III

[5] Now the site of the island, which to this day they call the monastery of Iltutus, in which great lamps of Christ the Lord lay hidden, as it were under a bushel, Iltutus, at the students' request, was badly constricted by the incursion of sea waves. Whereupon, having taken counsel, the aforementioned students—David, Samson, and Gildas, and the venerable Paul—humbly approached their master, and wisely urged him to pour forth a prayer to God for some small enlargement of the place. Hearing this, and being conscious of their virtuous lives, he bade them pray together with him and ask for the same thing. And after prayer was drawn out at length, Father Iltutus began to speak thus: restrains the troublesome inrush of the sea, "Father of all, God, who by Your Word divided the masses of waters from the lands, and by eternal law restrained the sea from transgressing the boundaries You had set: grant to us, Your servants, that this harmful incursion of the sea may be pressed back into the depths of the abyss, flowing back into its own channel, and may never henceforth dare to approach our borders; by the assent of Your Son with the Holy Spirit." When the students responded "Amen," the sea at once began to recede from the place, and immediately, with the same students accompanying him, the master arrived with his staff at the edge of the river bank, where, making a sign on the margin of the sea, lest it should again cross the boundary of the sign that was made, the holy man imposed a law upon the sea; which, by the sustaining virtue of the Holy Trinity, it keeps to this day.

CHAPTER IV

[6] When the students ascribed this virtue to their venerable master, and the master to the same students, such a friendly rivalry arose among them as is read to have existed once between Benedict, the lawgiver of monks, and his disciple Maurus, in the rescue of the boy borne along by the river. The land, moreover, emptied of the sea waves, served the needs of the holy man Iltutus. In its broad plain he set about sowing wheat, and entrusts the harvest to them for guarding: which sea-birds began to ravage insatiably. Unable to drive them away by any means, he imposed on the four students the care of defending the harvest, and so distributed the burden of labor that the fatherly command would not weigh upon any of the sons. When the ripeness of the ears was already approaching, one night the army of birds so devastated the field that no hope of gathering the crop remained; and that was the night assigned to Blessed Paul. Rising before dawn, he went to the field and immediately recognized the destruction of the crop; and accusing himself as a negligent guardian, he stayed away from his master's presence for two days, out of youthful shame.

[7] Paul drives the troublesome birds to his master: But on the third day, meeting his fellow-students, he said: "Let the grief of the humble Paul, over the loss of our common master, touch your hearts, I pray. Let us take vengeance unanimously, if the damage to our teacher pains you equally. The enemy is at hand, who devastated the fruits of the crop entrusted to me, and the wheaten hope of our master. See, as if mocking us, he has returned to the field, to destroy what he left behind. I will make satisfaction to our master for this, if I have you as helpers. Let him suffer the penalties he deserves, who devastated the ears of corn of our master."

His most kindly companions, obedient to his counsels, immediately surrounded the field together with him, and led the immense multitude of troublesome birds, like a flock of sheep, to the enclosure of the monastery, as if they were culprits. The winged creatures were directed to the pens like some sluggish cattle. But when they came to the threshold of their prison, like captives they filled the sky with a pitiful clamor. The master, immediately summoned to this spectacle, inquired where such a prize was being led; to whom Paul said: "These are the enemies who devastated your crop, whom we have brought before you so that, at your command, they may suffer the penalties they deserve for the crimes of their great presumption." Stunned by his words, the father stood amazed, and marveling at a faith comparable to a mustard seed in his dear son, he was astonished at such a miracle.

[8] And turning to the praise of the Lord Jesus Christ, who, blessing God, who promised his faithful: "Whatever you ask the Father in my name shall be done," and through whom Blessed Paul was able to do what he did, he honored him with a sacred song, addressing no longer a disciple but a father in Christ: for he did not think that one should be regarded as a disciple whom he saw adorned by the Lord with wondrous signs on earth.

"Almighty One, who by Your power govern all things, what the earth confers, and what the sky contains; with exalted voices we humble ones all praise You; sense and lowliest mind have blessed You with rejoicing. You who, illumining the great Paul through the ages in piety, adorn him with holy merits. For by Your gift he tamed in the cave of the prison the untamed birds, making them peaceful as sheep. What he was able to do through You, O benign Christ, King of Kings, may He likewise be able to join us to Yourself: that by his merits we may be worthy to be linked to those above, by the gift of God most high, everywhere gracious. Amen."

[9] And when, the song of praise being finished, the man of God wished to decline the favor of the brothers S. Paul offers him a place, but could not, bathed in tears he began to ascribe the miracle of the deed to their merits, not his own, and humbly begged the master to let the birds go free. Father Iltutus, considering his innate generosity, said: "Cease weeping, my son: for the devout Creator of all, God, has arranged to make known to men the devotion of your heart toward His love through the sign of this wonder, lest the talent of heavenly doctrine entrusted to you should lie hidden in obscurity, like a lamp under a bushel. By the steps of good works may your blessedness increase daily from virtue to virtue, for heavenly clemency will never be absent from you. As a child you sought this place of our school, where, by the provision of God who chose you, you have surpassed in understanding the measure of your years. I rejoice, moreover, that the Almighty has specially called your Brotherhood to Himself from our flock: for you will appease Him on our behalf by your prayers—Him whom we greatly dread on account of our offenses. Moreover, the gift of divine wisdom, which the heavenly judge has bestowed upon your soul, strive diligently to impart to your neighbors, wherever you can. For the kindness of nature has so raised you from the cradle of blessed infancy that you may be able to win very many for Christ, who redeemed you, by the word of holy exhortation. This place, the nursery of your childhood, I willingly yield to your holiness, where as a Prelate you may seek the fruit of souls. But the heavenly King will provide for me a place where I may end what remains of my old age."

"The birds also, as you beseech, I permit to return to their own places, on the condition that they cause us no further damage."

[10] But Paul modestly declines the offer. To these words, the most blessed Paul, with the reverence of subjection, gave an answer of the utmost humility: "May Almighty God, most loving Father, recompense the gift of perpetual happiness to your goodness, who nourished the tenderness of my infancy with fatherly affection, and gently raised me up to this day with the nourishment of saving doctrine: you have kindly poured out upon me the depths of fatherly love, which have sweetly instructed me to seek the benefits of eternal life—which, had it not been for your grace, O Father, perhaps I would not yet have been able to recognize today. Wherefore, that reward without doubt awaits you in heaven which has been promised to those who instruct many unto justice: in whose order you will sit in a singular place, by the quality of your merits. And so, according to the measure of my understanding, I give you thanks for the monastery offered to me, which, happily possessing, you will happily govern forever. For the possession of my youth is the heavenly kingdom, to which I stretch with all my hope, and which I long for with all my mind. For its sake I have both left and utterly leave behind my paternal wealth." With these words spoken, and at the master's command, the birds with a joyful harmony sought the air with their recovered wings, and were not afterward seen in that place; and those who had gathered returned to their own homes, praising God in all things, who works wonders through His servant Paul.

CHAPTER II

Deeds in Britain and departure to Armorica.

CHAPTER V

[11] After this, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, with the utmost desire, as a soldier perfected in the fear of Christ the Lord, he wished to seek the vastness of the desert alone: S. Paul withdraws to the desert, for the more remotely he could place himself from the society of this world, the more intimately he desired to devote himself to Almighty God. Concerning this matter he met with his Teacher, and made known to him the desire of his heart, and asked permission, so that his devotion to the Creator of all might be more pleasing, supported by the counsel of his spiritual Father. From whom, fully receiving a word of exhortation and being perfectly instructed—because it is not the one who begins, but the one who perseveres in the good contest who is crowned—having received permission with Christ as his guide, and having given the kiss of peace to the Father and all the Brothers, in the sixteenth year of his age, separated from his master, full of the Holy Spirit, he sought the seclusion of a certain desert adjacent to his paternal borders. In which place he constructed dwellings suitable to the place and the time. He also built there an oratory, which is said to flourish still under his successors, adorned with fitting buildings.

[12] And there leads a holy and austere life: There also, most worthy by his merits, he received the rank of the Priesthood, and with twelve Priests most devoutly serving God under his authority, he remained there for some time. He gave himself constantly to sacred reading, and was formed by the heavenly examples of the holy Fathers; also watchful in meditation, he called back before the eyes of his mind the commandments of the Lord, which he embraced with his whole will. Moreover, he was untiring in his devotion to prayer, lest any fraud of the most cunning enemy should in any way violate the fortress of his soul, which was fortified on every side. Often he afflicted his body with a two-day or even three-day fast, so that he might offer the pure sacrifice of a contrite heart to Almighty God all the more worthily, the more diligently the pleasure of the flesh was subdued: for his food, after long mortification of the body, was bread weighed on an equal balance with dry salt; and on solemn days he added to such fare only a few small fish as a great display. The flesh of biped or quadruped, throughout his whole life, he is not recorded to have tasted; wine also, and everything that could disturb the state of the mind—except at the solemnities of the Mass—he never tasted at all: indeed, he did not even take water as much as the necessity of nature demanded.

CHAPTER VI

[13] A certain King named Marcus ^a flourished in the vicinity at the same time, whose imperial rule gave laws to four peoples, King Marcus deliberates about summoning him: differing in their speech. Therefore the celebrated fame of the most blessed Paul by no means escaped his notice, and having summoned the nobles of his realm, he addressed them thus: "The intent of my soul, examining the various sects of faith within itself, has chosen from all of them to follow only the Catholic unity, which is able both to guard our kingdoms in peace and to bestow upon us a happy life. Wherefore, if you agree with my devotion, O faithful ones, and fully support it, choose for yourselves Blessed Paul as the master of this holy institution, whom the happy reputation of his merits celebrates as venerable to all. And just as you have me as your earthly prince in earthly affairs by the will of God, so choose to have him perpetually as your guide and teacher in heavenly commandments." When all the princes favored his opinion, the King continued: "Let vigorous men therefore be sent, who may prudently reveal our will to the same blessed man, and humbly make known the devotion and affection of our entire realm toward the faith of the Holy Trinity, and tell him that the salvation of our souls rests in his hand, that we all pray for the coming of his presence, and suppliantly beseech him to hasten to come."

[14] With all rejoicing and acclaiming that this holy purpose had been infused from heaven into the mind of the King, Paul instructs him and his people in the faith; according to what had been commanded, the most holy Paul was summoned with humble words. Although what was being ordered seemed burdensome to him, that precept of the Apostle came to his mind: "For he who resists the power resists the ordinance of God" Rom. 13:2; and assenting to the holy command of the King, accompanied by the twelve Priests who lived with him, he came to the place called ^b Vannedos, to seek the King. By whom he was received most graciously, and was treated as befitted the sanctity of his life. Imparting to all the doctrine of holy religion, in a short time he fully instructed both the King and all the surrounding inhabitants in the teaching of the Catholic faith and in the discipline and example of good works: ^c for he commended by the merits of his life whatever he announced by word. Nor were those able to withhold the faith of their hearts from him who marveled at the miracles of virtues that were performed daily. And when he had for a long time instructed the minds of the faithful there by word and life with great zeal, King Marcus, made glorious by so great a teacher, began through himself as well as through his princes to beg the ears of the same most blessed Paul, asking that he would take upon himself the pastoral office over them. This request, repeated to him many times, became more a cause for departing than for remaining there: for it is reported that he often said he would rather seek the vastness of any remote desert by sailing across many stretches of sea than assume the care of the Pontifical burden.

CHAPTER VII

[15] For the devotion of the Saints is accustomed to fix the eyes of the mind upon divine contemplation all the more purely, fearing the Episcopate about to be imposed upon him, the more diligently it withdraws its foot from the snare of worldly association: for the soul cannot remain quiet within itself while it is swept away to the diverse pursuits of worldly affairs. Whence holy men strive to flee the bustle of the world, so that they may more purely offer to their Creator the worship of justice in silence together with the mortification of the flesh. Among whom, the most holy Paul, singularly radiant and glorious in the merits of his life, while he was being somewhat called back from his purpose of holy living by various affairs arising from the company of the aforementioned King, desired with all his vows to seek the remote desert.

[16] He was therefore earnestly thinking of going forth, like another Abraham, from the land of his birth; but the place he is admonished by an Angel to migrate elsewhere. in which he might more secretly devote himself to God, he revolved in his whole mind: for he had so committed himself and his will to the Maker of all, that, after the manner of the Israelite people, he waited for his remaining or his departing from a place to be done at His command. While he was seeking this with long persistence of prayers and vigils, one night, giving his limbs to slumber, behold, he beheld a youth of angelic beauty standing beside him; who, recounting the desire of his mind, said: "Go, and according to your will do not hesitate to change this place: for the Lord is with you, from whom your purpose never differs. But if you hesitate about the place you ought to seek, know that you have me as guide and leader everywhere by the command of the supreme Emperor, and I shall lead you to the place where the Almighty commands you to go." Shaking off sleep and exulting at so clear a vision, he gave thanks to Christ the Lord, who is ever accustomed to be present to His faithful.

[17] He obtains permission from the King. When morning came, he communicated the vision to King Marcus through his closest friends, and humbly begged that he would kindly grant him permission to carry out the command of the Lord. But the King, charmed by the agreeable intimacy of the holy man, both feared the vision and for the present denied what was requested. When this was reported to the venerable man of God, he went to the King in person and declared that he could in no way delay the divine oracle. "I obeyed your command, O most serene King," he said, "when I hastened to come here in the service of your will; and if I obeyed you, how much more must I obey the commands of the King of heaven, who orders me to change my place—whom I must in no way oppose. But departing from you in body, not in mind, I seek your kind permission, whose perpetual friendship I embrace. For I know that you wish in nothing to dissent from the Lord's will."

[18] With these words the King, though unwilling, granted him permission to depart. Having received it, yet not the coveted bell: the blessed man asked the King for one bell as a blessing. For it was the custom that seven bells be rung for the servants reclining at the King's table; which the King by no means granted, hoping that the man whose departure he bore with difficulty would return to him on account of such a matter. But how the King of kings and the Lord of hosts bestowed upon His servant one more excellent and resonant of those very bells, the subsequent order of the narrative will relate. The venerable friend of God, however, committing himself and his journey to the Governor of all, set out on his way and with a prosperous course joyfully arrived at the house of his sister, situated on the shore of the British sea. ^d Now this same sister of his had been devoted to Christ from her infancy, persisting in the divine commandments with a devout mind; with whom her glorious brother lodged for as long as was needed to prepare all things suitable for the journey.

CHAPTER VIII

[19] When all was prepared and the ship was already ready on the seashore, Blessed Paul, amid salutary conversations about the heavenly life, amid the sweet affections of brotherly love, he sails to his sister, told his sister that he wished to depart on the morrow. Troubled by this word, the handmaid of God, full of fraternal longing, replied: "If you have resolved to leave me such that in this present life I can no longer behold the angelic face of your countenance, I beseech you, grant me your presence for at least the space of one week, that you may more fully form my soul in the heavenly commandments." To whom her brother said: "You see, most holy sister, how all things await me alone—the equipment of the ship, the company of my companions, and the favorable breath of the inviting breeze. But lest I offend your love, I shall spend three days with you." When the third day dawned, the handmaid of God, foreknowing that her brother was about to depart shortly, with tears welling up, amid other words of fraternal affection, began humbly to entreat him thus: "Since it is difficult, dearest brother, to change your resolve, by which you have once determined for love of Almighty God to flee utterly from homeland and kinsmen, grant me, I beseech you, your beloved sister, a small boon of virtue, which may attest your long love toward me and your fraternal affection. For I trust in the Lord that whatever you ask of Him, you will obtain."

[20] To whom her brother replied: "Whatever it is you beseech, and being asked by her if my weakness is able to provide it, I willingly agree; but if it should be beyond our powers, we shall implore the grace and help of our Lord, that He Himself may accomplish that in which we are insufficient: only speak what you wish." Gladdened by this promise, the sister sought a gift useful not for herself alone but for all the inhabitants of the same island, saying: "This island which I inhabit, removed from the world and how delightful it appears to those serving Christ! But it is narrowed on one side by wicked co-heirs, on the other by the immense inundations of sea waves, covering our boundaries more than usual. But with you invoking the Almighty, to push back the sea and widen the extent of land, I believe without hesitation that this small place can be enlarged by your prayers. For you will easily obtain what I desire, if you turn your prayers to God on this matter, as I beseech, that the waves of the sea may be restrained in their appointed channel, and the desired land may be enlarged for us by some extent." To whom the venerable brother said: "Since your request is great and unequal to the merits of our life, join your prayers, and let us invoke our Lord with common prayer, that by His grace He may deign to grant what you ask."

[21] When they prostrated themselves in prayer and were still praying, suddenly, through the mercy of God, which is always accustomed to be present to His servants, he satisfies her request: the sea began to draw back its waves, and dry land began to appear in a wonderful order. When this was heard and truly recognized through the disciples, they rose from prayer and, praising with devout spirit the wonders of divine power, they gave thanks to the heavenly majesty; and thence, his sister accompanying them with the disciples, the most blessed Paul set out to follow the fleeing waves to the shore. Drawing near to the bank, the venerable brother commanded his beloved sister the waters driven back a thousand paces, to carry pebbles from the new land in her hands all the way to the highest edge of the sea. When they had arrived there, he ordered them to be placed along the breadth of the spacious shore. For the land, drained of waters for a thousand paces or a little more, was expanded for the use of the holy woman through the prayer of Blessed Paul.

[22] These things accomplished, they knelt before God in prayer on the shore of the sea. When prayer was finished, Paul, turning toward the sea, said: "Let the pebbles which I have placed on your borders be a sign between me and you, that you may never again transgress them, nor dare to enter these our territories." The command of his words, the dreadful element of the sea keeps inviolate to this day. Miraculously born rocks restrain it. And when they were returning home, suddenly—wonderful to tell!—they beheld in prospect the pebbles that the blessed sister had carried, transformed by divine power, which created all things from nothing, into stone columns of wondrous size. By a marvelous working of divine clemency, so that a simple thing requested was returned doubled, and a second virtue might be perceived in perpetuity, if the first were abolished by the torpor of negligence. The path also that they took that day, proceeding through the midst of those columns, is still called by the transmarine Britons the "Path of Paul." When they had arrived home, blessing the Lord, they took food with joy; and they spent nearly that entire night wakeful in the praises of God.

[23] And sailing toward Armorica with his companions, When the morning sun had risen, bidding each other farewell, his sister persevering in her purpose, the most blessed Paul made for the sea, promptly boarded the ship, and eagerly left the harbor; and with God directing his course, they joyfully landed at a certain island named Ossa, distant from the region of Armorica sixteen miles or a little more. There were with him twelve Priests of Christ, fellow-soldiers of his faith, and many others adhering to the same holy man more by the bond of kinship than by the affection of charity, with a sufficient retinue. When all had been disembarked at the place called the Port of Oxen, the holy man immediately ordered the island and its inhabitants to be carefully explored, he chooses a solitary place for himself on the island. and to learn by what rule of life and what worship they lived. He himself, however, with a few companions, endeavored to explore a suitable and solitary place for himself. And having traversed nearly the whole island, he finally found a property on which a spring triumphed, bubbling up with the clearest water and gracefully irrigating the pleasant surface of the fertile fields; in which place, drawn both by the beauty of the location and by the weariness of the journey, having built a small oratory with modest annexes, the most blessed man remained for some time.

CHAPTER III

The first seats of S. Paul in Armorica, and miracles.

CHAPTER IX

[24] He was anxiously considering whether this was the place that the Lord had promised him through His Angel. Concerning this matter, in order to become more certain and to build there more securely, he offered suppliant prayers to God every day and night. And so one night, when he had composed his limbs, weary from frequent fasting and vigils, in brief rest, an Angel of the Lord standing beside him related

the following to him: "You have taken salutary counsel in consulting Almighty God commanded to migrate onward from the island, concerning the matter about which your heart was hesitating: for this is not the place designated for you. Another awaits you, in which a manifold people of diverse kind will be gained for Christ through your teaching. Do not, therefore, fear to depart from here: for heavenly power will lead you by an easy way to the place prepared for you, in which you may be able to put an end to such great cares. In that place, indeed, the Almighty has assigned you a fixed seat on earth, for whose love you have equally cast off parents and homeland. In heaven, too, with a worthy reward, He will refresh your labors, recompensing the rewards of eternal blessedness among the blessed Senators of the heavenly court." When these words had been spoken, the vision of the one conversing was taken away. But the man of the Lord, soon shaking off sleep, summoned his companions and openly narrated what he had seen and heard.

[25] He therefore commanded the ship to be prepared and the journey to be hastened, so that, seizing the promised seat as quickly as possible, a new seat they might be able to put an end to such great labors. "This," he said, "will be our last voyage by sea, God helping." Having said this, he boarded the vessel with his companions, departed from land, and began to sing hymns and praises to the Helmsman over the deep seas. At length, with a prosperous course, he arrived at a certain rock called ^a Admachen, near an island which is itself called ^b Medonia. Having found a pleasing harbor there, he ordered the prow to approach the shore, and soon disembarked all his companions with him on the bank. He fixes his seat in Armorica: Then, surveying the land he had entered, he came to a certain parish of the Ach district, anciently called Telmedonia. This district itself is a considerable part of the ^c Domnonean homeland, situated toward the West: in which district he found a property having a very clear and sweet spring. The place itself where the spring flows is now called Villa Petri, which, as it is reported, was the property of a kinsman of the blessed man himself. There at last, giving thanks to God, he built a small oratory and remained for a few days.

CHAPTER X

[26] Some of his companions also built various dwellings in different places. And the cell of his disciple Vinehinus. One of them, seeking a very remote place, named ^d Vinehinus, who on account of his most strict life and solitary habit was called a monk by all, found a certain very clear spring, shaded by woods: drawn by the beauty of the place and the delightfulness of the spring, he began to dwell there, having constructed a small hut. But the ancient enemy, always envious of good things, soon prepared trouble for the kindly brother. For a certain wild ox, frequenting those same glades and accustomed to come to the spring, appeared one day, furiously cast down the hut of the servant of God, tore it apart, and tossed it this way and that with its horns: and so great was the terror it inspired in the surrounding inhabitants that no one dared to face its presence. But the servant of God, returning from manual labor and seeing the damage, understood the tricks of the adversary and patiently began to repair his dwelling. The savage beast, however, returning to the same place again, understanding that it had been repeatedly demolished by a fierce wild ox, as if mocking him, completely destroyed everything that had been restored while the Brother was absent, and departed.

[27] This battle, this contest between the man of God and the wild ox, continued up to four times: the man built, the beast demolished; the man restored, the beast destroyed. The aforementioned Vinehinus, therefore, seeing that the enemy prevailed, went to his master, revealed the matter of so great a contest, and humbly begged that he would deign to go to that place himself. Seeing the brother's distress, he resolved to go to the place of battle, as though armed. When he had arrived and surveyed the grace of the delightful beauty and the grassy fields, he requests the place itself for himself, he said: "Brother Vinehinus, unless it displeases you, let us exchange our dwellings. Let mine be yours, and I shall remain in this seat, with your peace." To which the other said: "Master, do as seems worthy to your blessedness. For I judge that your will must be obeyed in all things." To whom the man of God replied: "Nay, it is not my will but God's that must be obeyed." And the brother said: "Therefore yours also, which in no way is proved to differ from God's."

[28] While they were still conversing, that fearsome beast was seen coming; and drives away the beast. which, when it caught sight of Blessed Paul standing at a distance before the doors of the hut, now nearly restored, fell to the ground in fear and trembling; and finally, approaching most gently and bending its knees three times, with bowed head, it prostrated itself at his feet on the ground, as if begging pardon for the offense committed. The holy man, without delay, pardoned the fault of the one making satisfaction, saying: "I forgive you this offense: go in peace; only take care that you appear in these places no more." And the wild ox, bowing its head as if saying farewell, departed and withdrew entirely, so that it was never afterward seen there by anyone. The enemy having been put to flight and the brother sent to another place, the victor dwelt there for some time, blessed the place and the spring, and there built an oratory according to his custom. Which place to this day is called the monastery, or what is better known in the language of the Britons, Lanna-Pauli; where Almighty God bestows many benefits, if the faith of those who ask is complete.

CHAPTER XI

[29] Not long after, admonished again by an Angel, his disciples being pressed by thirst, he hastened to approach the Prince of the region to which he had come. He had also long desired to seek a place in which he might more secretly devote himself to devout prayers. Continuing his journey, therefore, with all his companions, they arrived at a certain parish which the surrounding inhabitants call Lapidos, in the farthest part of the district of Léon, situated on the shore of the British sea. Within the bounds of this parish, the blessed man Paul, wearied by the long road, sat down. His disciples, however, though severely tired and driven by thirst, wandered through the woods in every direction, seeking water if perchance they might find it; and finding it nowhere, they returned in sorrow to the man of God, and proclaimed that their life was laboring at the very point of death from the necessity of thirst, which the heat of the sun increased with excessive fervor. They protested that they would never return from such solitude unless some means of drinking were soon at hand, by which they could quench their burning thirst, which had lasted too long.

[30] The wondrous man, mercifully moved by their lamentations, prostrated in prayer, draws water from the earth, began to implore the Lord's clemency more earnestly: "Almighty Creator of all things," he said, "who brought forth water from the vein of rock for the people of Israel in the desert by the hand of Moses, and who in the waters of Baptism prepared the salvation of our souls, have mercy on this flock, and give us from the bowels of the present earth a spring of modest water, by which it may be refreshed, so that it may always rejoice in Your blessing." Having said this, rising from prayer, he confidently struck the earth with his staff in three places, and ordered three clods to be dug up, one from each: which, when they had been pulled out, were immediately followed by such an abundance of water that it not only refreshed and entirely quenched the thirst of the gathered company, but also adorned the whole country with a copious stream. All who were present, marveling at this, gave manifold thanks to God, who always works wonders through the hands of His servants.

CHAPTER XII

[31] And while he was resting his limbs in the same place and the disciples were spreading through their limbs the draught of water eagerly consumed, and seeking the opportunity of a more secluded place, by God's arrangement a certain little man familiar with the region appeared, who, when asked whose family he belonged to, by what prince the land itself was governed, and finally when much entreated about showing a very secluded place, humbly bowing his head, and looking at the holy Paul, whose face and speech marked him as a lord, began to speak thus: "I, O man most dear to God, follow the pigs of a certain most Christian man named Withurus, to whose lordship this whole region is also subject, by the grant of the ^e Emperor Childebert, whose warlike power France then obeyed. If you seek to see his face, you will have me as your guide, if you please. I will likewise show you a most pleasant and most remote place, as you ask. And lest I seem a deceiver and a vain talker, behold, follow me, and I shall willingly fulfill my promises." With him leading the way, S. Paul with his companions took the public road tending ^f westward, he blesses the spring of the city of Léon: and arrived at the town now called by his name. Entering its gate, which on the western side is now built with a nobler structure, he immediately beheld a very clear spring, which he forthwith consecrated with the sign of the cross in the name of the Holy Trinity: from whose sacred infusion the weak and sick are frequently healed of various infirmities.

[32] This town, at that time surrounded by earthen walls, is now seen to be honorably fortified with stone strength in the necessary places. For it is situated on a certain island, whose approach is open only on the southern side. On the other sides it is washed by the British sea, with a curving inlet in the shape of a well-strung bow; and the wild animals found in the place most beautiful in situation, full of pastures, pleasant for crops, and conspicuous with every mark of distinction. We have also thought it worthy to designate briefly what inhabitants S. Paul found there when he came, for when he was carefully examining the interior of that stronghold of ancient construction, a wild sow was seen lying, at whose teats suckling piglets hung. Although at such a time she is most ferocious, gently stroked by the blessed man's hand, as if she had been tamed in years past, she thereafter remained domesticated, so that for many years her offspring lasted there among the other pigs of the region, as if royal and preeminent. He also found in the hollow of a certain tree a beehive, he makes them tame. filled with a generous gift of honey and bees: which, when divided without violence, is reported to have filled innumerable vessels. The beasts of fiercer nature that he found, he drove far away by command alone. For a huge bear in those regions, fleeing the presence of the holy man, fell headlong into a ready-made pit and broke its neck. For he also expelled with a prohibition the wild ox already driven from another place. When the pestiferous monsters had been cast out, he sprinkled the place with holy water inside and out, and blessed it, and consecrated it as his own in perpetuity.

S. Paul would have had to head toward the north to arrive at his destination.

CHAPTER IV

Other miracles of S. Paul in the presence of Count Withurus.

CHAPTER XIII

[33] After this, he hastened to seek the prince, who, dwelling on a certain island four miles distant from the aforementioned fortress, named Batha, with a few companions, Setting out to Count Withurus, was devoted to the study of the Scriptures: for he is reported to have flourished honorably both in liberal and in spiritual disciplines; whence he also fled the tumults of men and the quarrels of secular affairs. When the man of God, preceded by the swineherd, was already approaching him, it happened that blind men came to meet him, whom a certain boy was playfully dragging together through byways; who, when they heard the noise of the passers-by, cried out as if with one voice: "If gifts are ready at hand for the prince and his companions to be distributed, we beseech you to have mercy on us." Hearing this, the most kind Paul, moved with compassion, knelt and prayed for a considerable time; then rising, he said to them: "The gifts you seek are not at hand: but what is more useful, may Almighty God bestow upon you." And approaching them, he said: "He who opened the eyes of the blind who cried out, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us,' he illuminates two blind men, may He Himself deign to restore to you the light you have lost." And immediately, placing under their eyes the staff he carried, their opened eyes marveled at the unfamiliar sun, and they devoutly praised their Creator.

[34] Having traversed a small stretch of the road, he again encountered two men who lacked the faculty of speech he gives speech to as many mute persons, and used the sign of their hands in place of a tongue. Having equally pitied them, by the grace of the Lord he restored to them also the gift of speech, and admonished them to give thanks to their own Maker. Proceeding thence, he beheld four more paralytics being carried on their beds; who, when they sought alms, merited to hear that response of the Apostle Peter: he heals four paralytics. "Silver and gold I do not possess, but what I am able to do through the clemency of God, this I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, arise and walk." And immediately, rising up, they walked, both with the steps of their feet and with the improvement of their conduct. All of the aforesaid were admonished by him not to spread his name abroad: but departing, they found it impossible not to proclaim the power shown in themselves.

CHAPTER XIV

[35] The man of the Lord, passing with his companions through a certain ford called Globa, arrived at a place properly called Secretum, and is kindly received by the Count, in which he found the long-sought Count Withurus, diligently copying the books of the four Evangelists. ^a The man of the Lord greeted him with humble speech, and immediately, being recognized by him, was greeted in return with fitting words; and having shed tears of joy, clinging long to each other in the kiss of charity, they at length sat down by mutual invitation. For they were bound by a double bond of affection: since noble birth of the flesh had made them cousins, and mutual love in Christ had joined them as brothers. When the gentlest of men, narrating to the inquiring Prince his own labors and those of his companions and the courses of their journeys, had come to that point in his account where, departing from Prince Marcus, he had asked for a bell and had not obtained it, suddenly the man he receives a bell to whom the care of the fish-pond had been entrusted entered, laden in both hands. For in one he carried a large salmon, and in the other a wondrous bell.

[36] The Count, seeing this and giving thanks to God, began to testify that such great gifts, sent by divine power through the merits of Paul, although he turned away from them, saying: "Brother Paul, since you came here, neither so valuable a fish nor any bell has this sea or fisherman presented to me." When, at the Prince's command, a friend had received it to be struck, and heard its sound, cheered a little more than usual, he began to laugh with an honest countenance. Asked why he was laughing, he replied: "This bell has cheered my spirit, for this is truly that which I said I had long ago asked from the King and by no means obtained. I give thanks to the Ruler of all, who bestows His gifts on whom He wills and when He wills. For all things are ordered at His bidding: whence from man something is sought in vain which he had asked from King Marcus, which, when He is unwilling, one by no means deserves to obtain. Let us therefore, turning our prayers to God, humbly seek what we piously desire; because with His favor we shall easily obtain it. But if our prayers are sometimes delayed, we must not despair, but trust more devoutly in His mercy: for this indeed happens so that things may be granted more wonderfully, when Almighty God has approved our patience—which is also clearly manifested in the present sign. For it was wondrously brought to you, so that it might be received all the more dearly, the more faithfully it is both believed and seen to have been sent to us by Him, and not by another."

[37] And gives thanks to God: The Count, hearing this gladly, said to him: "Paul, friend of Almighty God, what man is more foolish than he who wishes to oppose God? For no prudence, no counsel avails against God. Do you therefore willingly accept the gift which, although it is bestowed through us, is known to have been sent to you by divine power." And he, rendering due thanks to God, blessed the Count for such a gift. This bell, moreover, received its name ^c Hyrglas from the people of the Letavians, from the color of its metal and from the form of its composition: for it is seen to be green and oblong. By its sound, through the prevailing merits of S. Paul, not only are diseases still put to flight; but those who saw it also attest that a certain dead man was brought back to life by its touch.

CHAPTER XV

[38] After this, amid the pleasant conversations of friendly intimacy, the Count mentioned an unheard-of serpent: a horrible serpent in that place, whose ferocity had claimed for itself by force a great part of the eastern side of that same island. Its cruelty and voracity were so great that it could scarcely be appeased by the bodies of two men and as many oxen. "To fight against it," the Count said, "both I and my men have often gone forth armed, and not only were we unable to wound it in any way, but with many slain, only a few of us escaped. For its nature is such that, although it lacks feet, it relies on its scales, which extend nearly to its lower belly, as if they were claws, and on its ribs as if they were legs. Nor does it move in the manner of other serpents, gradually extending and contracting the parts of its body, but swiftly wheels itself about with alternating efforts. So that through the curvature of its spine it seems to direct the edge of its ribs, and thus with its ribs raised upward, it drives its scales like claws into the earth.

[39] "By doing this rapidly, it not only glides over level ground but also climbs convex surfaces, marking its path with as many tracks as it has ribs. And therefore from behind, javelins rebound as from a rock that has been thrown, and all weapons bounce off uselessly; and then, with its rage burning, it is accustomed to crush and trample with its bite, and to destroy whatever is in its path with its pestilential breath. As soon as it has heard any sound, and very harmful, it places its swollen neck upon a millstone, if it happens to find one, with its hinder parts extended far behind; for it is of immense size, so that from head to the tip of its tail it is reported to have one hundred and twenty feet or more. This might justly be thought incredible by those hearing it, were it not that those who have seen it attest to it. For to inspire belief, the place of its habitation is said by the colonists, swearing to it, to be capable of holding a bushel and a half of ^e barley seed, which is said to abound on that same island." But when Blessed Paul heard this, he immediately rose and said that he wished to see such a beast. "The seeds of such a monster," he said, "must be rooted out as quickly as possible: for its head will soon be struck down, with God as the author; only let there be someone to guide me on the way."

[40] He attacks it: Though the Prince objected, the man of God protested with the assertion of an oath that he would taste neither bread nor water until he beheld the wicked devastator of the Christian people, and either he himself was conquered or he conquered, liberating all the people from the dominion of such a dire depopulation. Having spoken these things, with many accompanying him who wished to see what he would do, he finally arrived at the place where the serpent had gone out to exercise its rapine beyond its usual boundaries. But when it heard the tumult of those approaching, it raised its head according to its custom and immediately prepared itself for battle. But beholding the blessed man, armed with the standard of the cross, coming to meet it as one more valiant, it trembled with downcast eyes, and immediately became like one seeking the refuge of flight. But the holy Paul, mindful of the Lord's promise by which Christ the Lord strengthens His own soldiers—"You shall tread upon serpents and scorpions, and they shall not harm you"—standing close to it without hesitation, said: "What are you contriving here, malicious enemy? Why have you invaded these abodes of men? How have you presumed to approach, to inhabit, and finally to devastate these territories that are ours by right? Behold, recognize, wretch, the power of my God, and laying aside the pride with which you have swelled until now, immediately obey the voice of His humble servant."

[41] Having said this, binding the serpent's neck with the stole he was wearing and seizing his staff, and having bound it, leads it to the sea, by the road that faces the northern side, like a furious dog, often striking it, the venerable man led the serpent, as though unwilling to follow, all the way to the sea. The Saint, looking at it on the boundary of land and sea, said: "Before you are plunged into the whirlpools of the sea, stretch out your dark neck, and I shall take back my garments." When these had been recovered, he commanded it to go into the precipice of the sea, ordering with a prohibition that it never again approach any regions of Christians, nor harm any person in any way whatsoever. With this said, it disappeared more swiftly. When it had been cast down, those who had come to so wondrous a spectacle gave thanks to Christ the Savior of all, exulting that they had been freed from the very brink of death. The aforementioned Count, seeing the island wondrously rescued from the deadly enemy through the intercession of Blessed Paul, most willingly bestowed upon the same blessed man by perpetual gift both the same island and the aforementioned town, and the text of the Gospels that he himself had written, and likewise assigned the tribute owed there.

it was preserved, and in the year 1352 was covered with gilded silver plates, by the liberality of William de Rochefort, Bishop of Léon.

CHAPTER V

S. Paul's Episcopate of Léon, and his Vicars therein.

CHAPTER XVI

[42] In which places the venerable man, persevering in the service of Almighty God day and night, remained until the end of his life. S. Paul is to be consecrated Bishop: Withurus himself, with the blessing of the same Saint, migrated to other places to dwell. On that island Paul both built a church in fitting manner, with other buildings added, and honored the aforementioned town, which was dear to him, with a basilica, and adorned it with many inhabitants. And since he continued in prayers day and night, and illuminated the whole country with the rays of his virtues (for he was truly a burning and shining lamp), the multitude of all the people conceived a plan to establish him as their Bishop and the master of their salvation and faith. But they were forestalled by the wiser counsel of their Prince, Withurus. For he had often prayed about this matter; but what he could not obtain by prayers, he used a stratagem to ensure that he would somehow, in accordance with the people's desire, be made Bishop.

[43] He is directed to King Childebert. For by inventing plausible pretexts, he came to the holy man and humbly poured out his prayers before him, saying: "Since you, Brother Paul, dearer to me than life, since Childebert, King of the Franks, committed this region to my care to govern, I have had no conversation with him, neither through myself nor through any faithful envoy; wherefore various difficulties press upon my mind, concerning which it is most useful for me to consult the same Lord. And I find no one more useful than you to send to him, if I have found grace in your sight, since you are my intimate friend and can accomplish this business alone more effectively. Everything necessary for your journey will be provided by me. When you have approached the said King, you will immediately present him with the letters sealed with his own ring, which he gave me when I departed from him, and which you will carry with you; and he will at once recognize his own token. When the letters have been read through, whatever he commands my humble self by word or by return letters, you will report to us with a keen mind."

[44] The letters, moreover, were written in these words: "When you receive, Having set out to him, my Lord King, this letter, know that I, your servant Withurus, have sent to you this man of God, named Paul, so that, although unwilling, at our prayer, you may ordain him Bishop before your presence. For this office, though he is worthy and capable, he has refused to accept, though admonished many times: for above all men of our age or country, we attest that he is most worthy of this ministry, both by doctrine of wisdom and by merit of life." Paul, therefore, assenting to his commands, took twelve Priests and several servants, and, relying on God's help, set out on his way. O blessed simplicity, which believes all things and deceives no one! Behold, the venerable servant of God becomes the instrument of a scheme by which he receives what he does not want: and like a child of true innocence, he carries, as it were, the chain by which he is to be bound, so that he may loose others. For he is about to receive on earth the role of Blessed Peter, the prince of the Apostles, so that what he binds may be bound, and what he looses may be loosed in heaven. Continuing his journey, therefore, he finally arrived at Paris, where he humbly approached the King and handed over what he was carrying.

[45] The King immediately broke the seal, and having read the letters, he is compelled to accept the Episcopate: turning to Paul, he said: "Paul, friend of Christ, why have you delayed to bestow upon your brothers the talent of the divine gift committed to you from heaven? Why have you hitherto refused to bear the sweet yoke of the Lord and His light burden? What room for excuse will you have on that day of the strict examination, when you have the power to benefit very many—why is the will lacking in you? Look and know that our God promises rewards to those who distribute His gifts, but threatens punishments to the avaricious who give nothing to their least brothers. Therefore, so that you may be worthy to hear: 'Well done, good and faithful servant, set over many things,' strive to impart to your brothers the few things that have been committed to you, having accepted through me the care and solicitude for them." But the holy Paul, stunned at the fault with which he was charged and of which he was unaware, prostrated himself on the ground, begging pardon and promising that he would carry out everything, if what was being said were made clearer to him.

CHAPTER XVII

[46] And consecrated. King Childebert, raising him from the ground and taking the staff of a certain Bishop, said: "Receive the pastoral rank, by which office you may be able to benefit the salvation of many." And having summoned three Bishops who would bless him, the man of God, bathed in tears, willing or unwilling, received what he had long deferred. When he had been blessed, the glorious King immediately handed over the ^a Ach and Léon districts, with the revenue owed to him, by the command of royal authority. He ordered that he be received honorably every day through the royal residences, until he should enter his diocese. And so, having received permission to return, he thanked the King and bade farewell. Entering the diocese of his Episcopate, received with great rejoicing by all the people and placed in his see, he returns; he served the office of pastoral care for many years and performed so many and such great miracles that, if we wished to write them, neither tongue would suffice for speaking nor hand for writing. ^b The temples of idols were therefore destroyed, because through all Brittany, with Paul as teacher, the brightness of good works shone forth. For all the notable men strove with devout minds to build churches for God the Creator, to construct monasteries in which they might consecrate themselves and their families to the divine service. Anyone found to be a pagan was confounded He enriches the diocese of Léon: by the admirable signs and astonishing virtues of the most holy Paul: holy preaching softened the hearts of unbelievers, and the life of the preacher was in harmony with it. For it delights the mind of man to see in the preacher what he hears.

[47] When now throughout the whole region the Church flourished in the grace of one faith, Johaevius, and resounded with the eternal harmony of one song, the most blessed Paul, wearied by old age, in the presence of all the people established one of his disciples, Johaevius by name, to perform his office. When this man had served for one year and fallen asleep in Christ, he honorably appointed another of his own, called Tiernomailum, Tirnomailum, in his place; who, having performed the office entrusted to him for one year and one day, rested in the Lord. When he had died, the venerable man for a short time again served in his own office. But with his strength failing, he again ordained a certain one of his own, Cetomerinus by name, to minister in his place. And he establishes Cetomerinus in his place: What happened on the day of his ordination, I have thought worthy to relate. Indwalus, ^c surnamed Candidus, a most noble Duke of the greater part of the Domnonean homeland and a kinsman of Saint Samson, had chanced to come at that time to commend himself to Paul's prayers: in whose presence, when a certain blind man cried out, "Have mercy on me, Paul, servant of God," touched by the hand of the Saint, he immediately received his sight. The Duke, seeing this miracle, immediately handed over to the same venerable man, for the redemption of his soul, the territory now called by the name of Paul. Commended by his prayers and having received his blessing, he returned to his own lands.

[48] And he migrates to the island of Batha: The blessed servant of God, leaving his see to the aforesaid Cetomerinus, migrated to the island of Batha, where, with a very large flock of monks living rightly under his governance, he spent a great deal of time, so that, because of the weight of old age, with his flesh nearly consumed, his dry skin seemed to cling to his bones, and as through translucent glass, so through his palm you could discern the ray of the sun shining: that this was so, his most sacred body, remaining intact and incorrupt for many ages, provided proof to many. For the appearance and integrity that it seemed to have when the soul was taken up, it preserved for a long time. For what reason it is now divided, it is by no means to be inserted into this work.

[49] Among other gifts of the Holy Spirit also, when the end of life was approaching the same most blessed man, illuminated by the Spirit of prophecy. by continual prayers he merited to attain the grace of prophecy. For he foretold what was about to come soon to the surrounding peoples. He urged them to guard against the sword, barrenness of the land, and various plagues by prayers and alms. He also predicted many things about what would happen after his death, long before: for he forewarned of the future dispute between the monks of his island and the clerics of the town with their Bishop concerning his body, and he indicated by what peace their quarrel would be settled. He also declared that the Normans would come to the same island and would destroy, burn, and raze to the ground all its buildings. That this happened just as the man of God had prophesied is known to all: for after his passing, in a brief span of time, ^d they do not cease to devastate, plunder, and grievously afflict that same island with frequent incursions.

CHAPTER VI

The blessed death and burial of S. Paul.

[50] He is admonished by an Angel of his approaching death: There was a certain cell built next to the monastery,

in which the blessed old man was accustomed to refresh the weary limbs of his now nearly broken body after long vigils. There, one night, when after prolonged vigils he desired to take a little sleep, God, wishing to transfer him from such great labors to true rest, designated through an Angel the last day of his death. Appearing to him in his sleep, he filled that dwelling with so brilliant a light that he banished the darkness of the entire night and represented the most luminous day; and looking at him, he said: "You have fought the good fight, O Saint of God, and have completed a happy course of life: now it is time for you to receive the reward of your labor with the choirs of the Saints. The next day is at hand for you, on which the long-awaited recompense of eternal blessedness will be repaid to your soul. Therefore, joyful, await the joyful day of the Lord, on which your spirit, freed from the prison of the body, will happily enter the long-desired joy of eternal life."

[51] And he admonishes his disciples of this. When these things had been said, the angelic vision disappeared; but the light that was taken away remained with the holy man. When the sun had flooded the earth, having gathered his disciples together, he predicted the last day of his departure from the body. He commanded that, when he breathed his last, his body should be carried to the monastery situated in the open country, and there committed to burial: which monastery is called to this day ^a Paul's Town. The reason for this translation was that the people coming to his relics might not suffer the violence of the sea. He also knew, as he had also predicted, that both monks and clerics would dispute over his body. Then, up to his last hour, he did not cease to instruct them in divine reading and to teach the sentences of mystical understanding; and at night he devoted himself to prayer.

[52] When the hour of his departure arrived, he said to the Brothers standing by: "My little children, the last hour of my departure draws near. For behold, what I have loved, I now see; what I have sought, I now behold; Christ the Lord and King, to whom I owe what I am, I now contemplate." And gives them his last instructions, And when all were weeping and saying, "What shall we do, Father? To whom do you leave us?" he replied: "Do not, my children, commend my spirit with mourning. Let not my visible absence trouble you, for I shall be present to you everywhere in spirit. You have, moreover, a chosen pastor with you, one most proven in the faith and love of the Lord, and other men learned in all spiritual doctrine. You know what examples of life I have shown you, and what teachings of heavenly discipline I have handed down. Do these things, practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you." When he had said this, having received the divine Sacraments, he raised his hand to bless them, and blesses them. saying: "May the blessing of God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit descend upon you." And when all had responded "Amen," in the sight of all who were present, without any pain of limb, he returned his holy soul to Christ. And so on the fourth day before the Ides of March, the Blessed one, resting in peace, a Confessor and a Virgin, merited to enter heaven. He lived, as we have learned, a hundred years and more.

CHAPTER XX

[53] When he had fallen asleep in the Lord, a great quarrel arose between the monks of the island and the clerics of the town concerning his body. The argument of the townspeople was as follows: "He is owed to us by right, because he was our Bishop. He illuminated the blind for us and enriched the lame with their proper functions. That he lived among you toward the end, Between the monks and the clerics you ought to be grateful, because it was our benefaction. He himself, moreover, at the last commended that his body be placed with us. Setting aside hostility, therefore, let us carry out what he himself commanded." To whom the islanders replied with this argument: "If you desire to claim him for his virtues, he performed more for us. For what is more wonderful than what he did among us, when he hurled the serpent into the sea like a dog and liberated the whole country from the danger of death? A controversy arises over the body. We know that he was appointed Bishop for you; but toward the end he left you, came to us, died among us, and is more justly owed to us: unless he had resolved to lie among us, he would never have left you. Divide the possessions he left you; let us, dead to the world with Christ, at least have him dead, and depart."

[54] The venerable Bishop Cetomerinus, recalling what the man of God, while still living, had been eager to commend to him concerning this matter, ordered two vehicles to be prepared, and yoked the same number of oxen to each: It is settled by a miracle: these were so arranged that one faced toward the island and the other toward the town. Having placed the bier with the holy body on both in equal balance, they left it to the choice of the Saint himself, to which place he would command himself to be carried for burial. By the wondrous power of God, the bier with the body suddenly vanished in such a way that no one could perceive on which vehicle it had been placed. And so each party, following its own vehicle, hoped to have the body deposited, for which it had previously waged war. But the islanders, frustrated in their hope, coming home, found their vehicle empty. ^b The townspeople, however, brought the treasure of the holy body with praises to the town, and the body is conveyed to the city. where it was buried with the highest honor: by whose merits many benefits are bestowed upon the faithful, both there and in other places sacred to his holy memory, to the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns forever and ever, amen.