ON ST. ERMENGOL, BISHOP OF URGELL IN SPAIN,
IN THE YEAR MXXXV.
PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY
Ermengol, bishop of Urgell in Spain. (S.)
BY C. D. S.
§ I. Of the family of St. Ermengol and his promotion to episcopal rule.
[1] Of St. Ermengol's name, The deeds of St. Ermengol, who presided over the church of Urgell before the middle of the eleventh century, were so set out by James Villanueva [Viage literario a las iglesias de España, vol. X (Valencia, 1821), p. 129 ff.; Append., p. 284 ff.] from documents either published earlier or brought forward by him for the first time, that for us in undertaking to treat of them it seems scarcely anything else needs doing than to follow in his footsteps and transfer into our collection, rendered into Latin, what he wrote in Spanish, and that in a work not so frequently met with in libraries. First of all, then, Villanueva notes that the name of our saint seems to many to be the same as the name Hermenegild, celebrated among the Spaniards, and this is confirmed from the subscriptions of counts of Urgell of the same name, which Ambrosio de Morales saw at Valladolid, composed in these words: S[ign] of Hermenegild, Count of Urgell. Yet far more frequently in ancient documents, where either one of those counts or our prelate is named, he is usually called in Latin Ermengaudus or Ermengodus, and thence came in the vulgar idiom Ermengol.
[2] parents and brother. Bishop Ermengol had as parents Bernard the viscount, whom Villanueva Ibid., p. 129; cf. pp. 268, 271. calls of Conflent, Baluze Marca Hispanica, p. 409. of Urgell, son of Isarn and Ranlana, and Guisla or Wisla (Wiscla, Wisila), daughter of Seniofred de Lucianum (Llusa): all of which is established from a public and contemporary instrument, to be cited a little below Below, num. 4, beginning and end.. Wrongly therefore Baluze Marca Hispanica, p. 409. makes that Guisla, wife of Bernard the viscount, the same as another Guisla, whom other instruments, which Villanueva testifies that he has seen Viage, vol. X, p. 130., indicate to have been the sister of St. Ermengol and therefore daughter of the former, and he suspects that Baluze was perhaps deceived by these. Another instrument of the same age also names Arnald the viscount as brother of Ermengol, namely the writing of a sale made to Guisla the viscountess and her sons Ermengol and Arnald, on the Nones of September in the seventh year of the reign of Robert, king of the Franks, or the year 1001 from Christ's birth, beginning thus: In the name of God. I Honorata, dedicated to God, and my sons Peter and Tedbert, sellers
are we to you, Wiscla the viscountess, and to your sons Ermengol the archdeacon and Arnald the viscount, buyers… Ibid., p. 284..
[3] as designated successor of Sallanus his paternal uncle, bishop of Urgell, From the words of the same charter just cited it is gathered that at that time Ermengol was archlevite or archdeacon, of Urgell at any rate, over which church his paternal uncle Salla held the pontificate Ibid., pp. 123 end, 124. Cf. p. 287 end.. The rest of his history before the episcopate, documents being wholly lacking, is wrapped in deep darkness. At what time he succeeded Salla or Sallanus, however, is readily determined, since he died in the month of September of the year 1010 Cf. ibid., p. 124 – 28., and Ermengol before his death had been designated as his successor or even ordained as coadjutor with right, as they say, of succession. This latter is established from an instrument which Villanueva brought forward from the archive of the church of Urgell Ibid., p. 285., namely the sworn promise of Ermengol I, count of Urgell, in these words:
[4] designated successor I swear, I Count Ermengol, son who was of Count Borrell and son who was of Letgardis his wife, that from this hour onward within … days, that when Bishop Sallanus, son who was of Isarn and son who was of Ranlana, shall have called upon me the above-written Ermengol by name concerning this oath, that the same bishopric of the county of Urgell of the see of Vic I shall cause to be given to Ermengol, son of Bernard the viscount and son of Wisila the viscountess; I Count Ermengol shall cause to be given to this Ermengol, son of Bernard, and shall do investiture to him. And from this hour onward I the above-written Count Ermengol will not deceive this Ermengol, son of the above-written Bernard the viscount, concerning the same bishopric of St. Mary of the see of Vic, which is in Urgell. And if Bishop Sallanus shall wish to ordain his above-written nephew Ermengol in his lifetime, I the above-written Count Ermengol will be his helper to ordain the same Ermengol, son of the above-written Bernard, without deceit on his part, concerning the same Ermengol, son of the above-written Bernard and son of Wisila; if Bishop Sallanus, or Bernard his brother, or anyone of the relatives or friends of this above-written Ermengol the cleric, shall cause to be given to me 100 pieces, or pieces' worth of goods of value, or a pledge * of value of 200 pieces for those 100 pieces, which they shall cause to be given to me within 60 days from when this Ermengol, son of the above-written Bernard, shall have been ordained, and shall have given me a pledge of value of 200 pieces for the other 150 pieces, which they shall give me after the death of the above-said Bishop Sallanus, within half a year the one half, and in the other half year the other half. And if Bishop Sallanus shall not have caused the same above-written Ermengol, his nephew, to be ordained in his lifetime by Bishop Sallanus, and I Count Ermengol shall be alive, and the same Ermengol, son of the above-written Bernard, shall be alive, I the above-written Count Ermengol shall cause him to be ordained, if I shall be able to do so, if the above-written Ermengol the cleric shall be willing to give to me, or any of his relatives or friends shall be willing to give to me and shall give the same pieces, or pieces' worth of goods, or the above-written pledge. And I the above-written Count Ermengol shall make no disturbance to the same above-written Ermengol the cleric concerning his ordination to the same bishopric of Urgell, nor any evil device, neither I, nor any men nor any women by my counsel, nor by any absence of mine. And I the above-written Count Ermengol will be a helper to this Ermengol, son of the above-written Wisila, to hold and to have the same bishopric of Urgell, as Sallanus holds it today, against all men or women who shall wish to take it from him or shall have taken it, without deceit on his part of the above-written Ermengol the cleric, after the death of the above-written Bishop Sallanus or in his days, if Bishop Sallanus shall have left it to him, or as much of the same bishopric as he shall have given him, if Ermengol, son of Bernard the viscount, brother of Sallanus, and son of Wisila the viscountess, daughter who was of Seniofred de Lucianum, shall be willing to make me guarantees and fealty upon a dedicated altar or upon relics, and shall have done it, whereby I Count Ermengol could firmly trust…
[5] at least ten years before his death, That instrument, although confirmed by no subscriptions and marked by no note of the date, Villanueva did not doubt to be genuine Ibid., p. 132., since both the manner of speech, swarming indeed with countless solecisms, and the script and ligatures show that it was made in the time of Sallanus. He asserts, moreover, that it is common to all documents of this kind of those times, in which is contained an oath of fealty or, as they said, of homage, both that subscriptions and notes of the time at which they were made are omitted, and that as often as those are named who wish to be mutually bound by them, so often are indicated the names of their parents, or at least of one or the other, and indeed those very persons whom they have had as parents. And so by the help of this one too, of which we are now speaking, we are informed not only of whom our Ermengol was born, but also of what parents both his father and mother were born. Moreover we gather that it was made at least almost ten years before the death of Salla from the fact that there is mentioned in it as still living Bernard, the father of Ermengol, who ended his life in the year 1001.
[6] but not by simony, The thought may readily occur, however, to one reading through the document, that Ermengol's promotion to the episcopate was not free from some suspicion of simony. Villanueva meets this objection by observing that Salla himself did not receive any money for granting the episcopal dignity to Ermengol, but only Count Ermengol, and that this money seems to have been given to him to buy off an unjust harassment or interference: the latter appears the more probable in that certainly no right of patronage over the bishopric of Urgell assigned to the count is signified by any word in the said document. There is no reason therefore why we should impute to either Ermengol or Salla so grave a transgression of the ecclesiastical canons, though one too common in those wretched times. Whatever is to be judged of this matter, moreover, Villanueva also rightly observes that this example proves how ancient is the discipline, not infrequently used in our times, that a bishop be designated with right of succession, while the one in whose place he is to be substituted is still living and presiding over the see.
[7] his consecration as bishop That Ermengol was adorned with the pontifical dignity in the year 1006 is inferred from the catalogue of the bishops of Urgell which was made in the twelfth century in the monastery of Gerri and was published by Villanueva Ibid., p. 215., took place in the year 1006, if only one may have enough confidence in the authority of this catalogue. In that catalogue Ermengol is indicated to have discharged the episcopal office for 29 years; he died, moreover, as will be shown below, on the 3rd of November of the year 1035. This is certain, that on the 6th of November of the year 1010 he was already placed over the church of Urgell, on which day he published the testament of Sallanus, his paternal uncle and predecessor Ibid., p. 124..
[8] or certainly, as it seems, Ten days from this not yet having passed, and so not yet or scarcely two months after the death of Sallanus, Ermengol accomplished what Sisebut had already considered nearly ninety years earlier Ibid., p. 52., namely by instituting the canonical life among the clerics of the church of Urgell according to the form prescribed by the capitulary of Aachen of the year 816 (which Villanueva shows at length) Ibid., vol. IX, p. 169 – 79., and assigning fixed revenues to this end from the estates of the church. The diploma of this institution and donation you have published in Pierre de Marca or Baluze Marca Hispanica, Append., p. 974. together with the confirmation of Pope Sergius IV Ibid., p. 978. and the most ample bull of Benedict VIII soon following, given in the year 1013 on the same matter Ibid., p. 992.. This latter Villanueva thinks it not incredible was obtained by Ermengol on the occasion of a certain journey to Rome, which both the customs of those times and the piety and zeal of our prelate make probable that he undertook, and the things so particularly recorded of him in the said bull of Benedict.
[9] while Sallanus was still alive. But it is less possible to agree with the same writer when he judges that no argument of any weight can be drawn from that institution carried through so soon after the death of Sallanus, by which it might be proved that Ermengol had already before this death discharged the episcopal office in the church of Urgell. For although he concedes that no small span of time was necessary for thinking out, arranging and finally carrying into full execution a matter of such moment, he thinks it could readily have happened that it had long been intended by Sallanus himself, ordered and as it were brought to maturity when he departed from life. For my part I do not deny that it could altogether have happened, but I do not think it probable, even if you suppose that Ermengol was at the same time a sharer in Sallanus's counsels and a helper. For it scarcely seems credible that Ermengol in the diploma itself would not have announced or called back to the memory of all how great a part, or rather that all the merit of that excellent institution ought to be attributed to Sallanus himself, not to himself, who had merely carried his will into execution, or rather what he had prepared, and indeed, perfect already in all respects, but which, snatched by death, he had merely been unable to promulgate, he had publicly announced, which alone was wanting.
Annotations* i.e. a pledge
§ II. Of the primacy over the church of Roda claimed by St. Ermengol for his see of Urgell.
[10] From the instruments of the election confirmed There is difficulty, and that not the least, in the acts of St. Ermengol in the year 1017 concerning the confirmation of the election and the consecration of Borrell, bishop of Roda , of which a double instrument, already brought forward by Baluze Capitular. Reg. Franc. (Paris, 1677), vol. II, pp. 630, 632., was published again by Villanueva from the primary exemplar preserved in the archive of the church of Urgell Viage, vol. X, pp. 288, 291., and it will not be irksome to copy it again here. Thus then was the confirmation of the election announced: and of the consecration of the bishop of Roda In the year of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ one thousand and seventeen, the era one thousand and fifty-five, indiction XV, Ɔ. I, epact XX. The Author and Lord, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, of all creatures, under whose grace all governments of the whole monarchy, in their abiding together, are disposed. In which, with the most reverently to be named Lord William, the most illustrious count, with all the common people who dwell in the land of the county of Ribagorza, together with Lord Ermengol the bishop, who is in the bosom of the mother church of St. Mary of the see of Vic of Urgell, which is the head of all the churches of the said county, there came a certain Lord Borrell, son of the woman Rechildis, together with the consent and will of the above-said most excellent count, and of the leading men
or his chief men, and also of the religious clerics and abbots, that is … (there follow the names of eight abbots). We together in one with the canons of St. Vincent, martyr of Christ, whose see is situated in the city of Roda, that is … (there follow seven names). We add also of the faithful laymen, that is … (there follow thirteen names, with the words and his brothers added to each, except one). And he sought election and obedience and the pontifical blessing before the most holy altar of the kindly Mary of the aforesaid see, and before the Lord bishop named before, and with the service of many clerics struggling in Christ, that is … (there follow twenty-seven names, to which is added the title archlevite, priest, or levite) and of other venerable canons, whose names it would be long to write. With the help of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we have elected this aforesaid Borrell, that he may arrive at the election and honor of the episcopate, divine clemency having mercy. For he is prudent, teachable, temperate in conduct, chaste in life … Since we recognize the aforesaid Borrell as adorned with these so great and other virtues, we all choose him with one mind, and in one assembly we have decreed and confirmed that he pass over by reception to the order of his episcopate, and approach trusting in the Lord. Again and again I Ermengol, the aforesaid bishop, together with the company of the aforesaid clerics, call upon, acclaim and elect the said Borrell, that through the divine hand of the Savior protecting or giving he may approach the honor and blessing and ordination of his episcopate, and arrive at its reception, under the protection of the kindly Mary of the aforesaid see, and under the dominion of Lord Bishop Ermengol and his successors. This title of election to the episcopate was written on the 11th day before the Kalends of December, in the 21st year of the reign of King Robert. — Witard, priest, who wrote and subscribed this election by the will of Lord Count William, and by the order of Lord Bishop Ermengol, on the day and year aforesaid.
[11] The instrument of consecration, however, is composed in these words: (After a long prologue, where the prescriptions of the canons on the election and consecration of bishops are recalled) Wherefore I Ermengol, bishop of the church of the see of Urgell, together with the company of venerable clerics of the kindly Mary of the aforesaid see, knowing of the death of Aimeric of blessed memory, bishop, citizen of Roda, and of the see of the church of St. Vincent of that place, whose memory may it describe in the ethereal white roll, as the sacred authority of the canons orders, with the consent of Lord Count William, with his leading men and an assembly of the people, no small one, demanding it, shod with canonical privilege, Borrell, son of the woman Richellis, of the aforesaid city of Roda, together through the calling and acclamation of the archdeacons, monks and rural clerics, we call, acclaim and ask for, and we demand to be set forth as bishop to be put in the place, consecrated and enthroned, the aforesaid Borrell, in the bosom of the holy see of the church of Vincent, a citizen of Roda, and we establish him prince of the church of the saints, whose churches are situated in the aforesaid city… (There follows the praise of Borrell). This Borrell therefore I Ermengol the aforesaid bishop, together with the assembly of clerics of the kindly Mary of the said see, and with the consent of Lord William the illustrious count, acclaim and call under the protection or dominion of the aforesaid see of Urgell, or of Lord Bishop Ermengol or of all the bishops who shall come after him. I Ermengol the aforesaid bishop therefore ask Lord Adalbert, citizen of Carcassonne, bishop, that he be ordained through the several ecclesiastical grades, and be dedicated to the priestly ministry. Therefore in the name of God we ask the people, who acclaim this aforesaid Borrell: Do you wish to have him as bishop? — We do wish it. Up to the third time all the clergy and people answered… We do wish it. We indeed, humble bishops of Jesus Christ, Ermengol of the aforesaid see of Urgell, in which this ordination takes place, and Adalbert, bishop of Carcassonne, and Peter, bishop of Comminges, hearing and seeing the so great unanimity of those acclaiming, a profitable benefit to the church, receive into our episcopal number and college the proclaimed Borrell, and by canonical authority we ordain him by blessing, and exalt the bishop-elect as bishop in that see of St. Vincent, and in the name of the Holy Trinity we enthrone him and establish him as pastor for those churches, under the dominion of the kindly Mary of the see of Urgell, and of Lord Bishop Ermengol, or of his successors. The record of this inquiry was drawn up from the bodily incarnation of the divine Word in the year one thousand and seventeen, the era one thousand and fifty-five, indiction XV, Ɔ. I, epact XX, on the 8th day before the Kalends of December, in the 21st year of the reign of King Robert. — Witard, priest, who wrote this acclamation for Lord Bishop Borrell on the day and year written above, to the praise and honor and glory of the holy Mother of God Mary of the see of Vic of Urgell and of the bishops remaining there, happily. Amen
[12] it is gathered that this church was in some way subject to the church of Urgell, It does not at any rate appear strange that, both metropolitans being lacking, namely the bishop of Tarragona, which city then under the harsh yoke of the Moors lacked its bishops Cf. España sagrada, vol. XLIX, p. 117 ff., and the bishop of Narbonne, who filled the place of Tarragona, recently deceased, as is noted at the opening of the latter instrument just cited [Whence it is now possible to determine more certainly the year of death of Ermengol, twenty-fourth bishop of Narbonne. Cf. Gallia christiana, vol. VI, p. 31.], the election of Borrell was confirmed by the authority of the other bishops of the province, and he was consecrated bishop, and that Ermengol, prelate of the church of the see next to Roda, presided over them in this matter: for this was by no means forbidden by the ecclesiastical canons, but rather seems to agree with the mind of those which, on the death of some bishop, ordered the prelate of the nearer see to take care of that church until the election of a successor [Council of Riez (year 439) can. VI (Mansi, Conc., vol. V, p. 1194); Council of Valencia in Spain (year 524) can. II (Mansi, vol. VIII, p. 621); II Council of Orléans (year 533) can. V, VI (ibid., p. 836).]: which canons are also hinted at in the instrument of confirmation. But this strikes the mind more, that, although the see of Urgell never claimed for itself the metropolitan dignity, yet in the former document Borrell is indicated to be admitted to the honor and blessing and ordination of his episcopate under the protection of the kindly Mary of the aforesaid see (of Urgell), and under the dominion of Lord Bishop Ermengol and his successors; and likewise again in the other document: under the protection or dominion of the aforesaid see of Urgell, or of Lord Bishop Ermengol or of all the bishops who shall come after him, and finally a third time at the end of the same instrument: we establish (Borrell) as pastor under the dominion of the kindly Mary of the see of Urgell and of Lord Bishop Ermengol or of his successors. Indeed in the former writing too the church of Urgell is called the head of all the churches of the said county, namely of Ribagorza, in which was situated the city of Roda.
[13] by ancient right Villanueva solves the knot by supposing that at the time when the church of Urgell was restored and its possessions confirmed in the year 819 by a diploma of the Emperor Louis the Pious Published in Pierre de Marca or Baluze, Marca Hispanica, Append. n. 1 (p. 761)., since the see of Roda did not yet exist, and indeed scarcely any Christians were living in those regions, all these with their churches were subject to the see of Urgell. When later, however, around the middle of the tenth century, the see of Roda was founded and accordingly whatever dominion was granted to it was taken from Urgell, by way of a kind of compensation for that diminution some primacy over Roda or quasi-metropolitan right was conferred on the church of Urgell. And although, the instrument of foundation of the church of Roda having long since been lost, no trace of this matter has hitherto been found elsewhere, yet on the occasion of the consecration of the bishop of Roda, the metropolitan of the province being lacking, the memory of that singular right belonging to the see of Urgell could easily have been recalled.
[14] expressly acknowledged a little after the death of Ermengol Further Villanueva thinks that what has been said on the right of the church of Urgell over the see of Roda is excellently confirmed Viage, vol. X, p. 165 – 71. by a diploma given in the year 1040 by King Ramiro, at the request of Eribald, successor of Ermengol, which Baluze brought to light from the authentic exemplar of the church of Urgell Marca Hispanica, Append. n. 219 (p. 1068)., composed in these words: Let it be known to all men how Eribald, bishop of Urgell, came before Lord King Ramiro to the place of the castle called Laquerz, and there the aforesaid bishop complained before the said king about the bishopric of Ribagorza, in that his father King Sancho had unjustly taken the aforesaid bishoprics of Ribagorza and of Iestabia from the right and dominion and diocese of the church of St. Mary of the see of Urgell. And it was shown to him by the said bishop through the writing of the endowment which was made under the Emperor Louis that the aforesaid bishopric of Ribagorza and Iestabia ought in all respects to belong to the aforesaid see of St. Mary. Wherefore in the name of the eternal God I King Ramiro, knowing the truth of this matter, and approving that all the things shown by the aforesaid bishop are true by such assertion and the authority of others, restore and recover the aforesaid bishopric of Ribagorza and Iestiabia to the right and power of the said see of St. Mary, and confirm in all ways that this is to be valid in perpetuity. Moreover I King Ramiro give and grant and hand over to the right and diocese of the aforesaid see of the church of Mary ever virgin that land which was long held by the pagans, and afterward with God's help was recovered by the Christians in the days of my father Lord King Sancho, namely that land that is called Roda, with all things pertaining to it that it now has and shall hereafter have; in short I hand it under the yoke to the aforesaid bishop and his successors … that they may fully order and dispose it, and with God's help that it be held and possessed by them and with the fear of God be dispensed and ruled without the disturbance or contradiction of anyone…
[15] where the see of Roda, suppressed for a time, For by what reasoning then would Eribald of Urgell have claimed for his see the restitution of the church of Ribagorza or Roda (for that church was usually designated indiscriminately by this double name) unless the prelates of Urgell had always kept some right over it? For Villanueva thinks that it cannot be supposed, what Baluze hints Marca Hispanica, p. 440., that the bishopric of Roda was suppressed at the time when, a little after the beginning of the eleventh century, the Saracens obtained the city of Roda, so that from that Eribald could claim for his church the ancient right over that city which had been assigned to it by the diploma of Louis the Pious. The reason why this hypothesis seems to Villanueva altogether to be rejected is this, that at that very time there presided over the see of Roda Arnulf, who succeeded Borrell around the year 1023, and who was invited by Eribald even in that very year 1040 to take part with him in the consecration of churches and other business Viage, vol. X, p. 167.. But this argument
Villanueva himself refutes quite effectively in another place, where, treating of the bishops of Roda and particularly of Arnulf Vol. XV, pp. 188, 189., he wonders that Arnulf in the year 1063 subscribed the Acts of the council of Jaca with this formula: Arnulf, bishop of the church of Roda, although afterward deprived of the order, I subscribe, and two years later a donation made to the monastery of Labaix: Arnulf, who by the will of God was bishop, I am a witness; and finally King Sancho II, son of Ramiro, in the year 1068, shortly after the death of Arnulf, restoring the city of Roda to Solomon, designated as bishop of Roda, testifies of that church: It retained only the name of the dignity, and altogether lacked the privilege of the pontifical eminence. From these things therefore the opinion of Baluze appears very probable, namely that Arnulf, although he no longer discharged the episcopal office in the church of Roda, nevertheless kept until his death the name and insignia of the episcopal dignity and, except for the administration of his see, the privileges, with the consent to this of the bishops of the province.
[16] was restored. However this may be, from the double document cited above there is in no way confirmed, but rather refuted, the opinion of those who judge either that the clergy of Roda came to Urgell to carry out the election of a new bishop because their city was at that time occupied by the Moors, or that Borrell was only a chorbishop or vicar of the bishop of Urgell; for it appears clear that the matter here concerns a proper bishop of Roda, and one already elected in that very city, and that only the confirmation of his election was sought by the clergy and the chief citizens of Roda who set out to Urgell for this purpose.
Annotations* Roda
* i. e. the concurrent
§ III. Of the other things done by St. Ermengol in his pontificate until his death.
[17] He protects the rights and possessions of monasteries Among the first episcopal acts of Ermengol I find this recorded in Baluze Marca Hispanica, p. 424.: Around the same time (the years 1012 – 1014), when there had met together somewhere, in the diocese, as I think, of Urgell, Raymond, count of Barcelona, and Bernard of Besalú with their leading men and judges, Ermengol, bishop of Urgell, and Atala, abbot of the monastery of Santa Grata, put forward their complaint before them against a certain man, named Belera, who was building a new church within the bounds of the monastery of Santa Grata without the consent of the bishop. They complained besides against Miro the judge, that he had sold a forest belonging to the monastery to Count Bernard, and they asked the same Bernard to restore that forest to the monastery. The bishop and the abbot won their point in both things.
[18] and increases them; Not so long afterward, in the year 1019, Ermengol procured and brought to effect the annexation of the monastery of St. Lawrence in the valley of Lord, after the death of Abbot Lobato, to the famous monastery of St. Saturninus in the county of Urgell, handing it over to Pontius, abbot of the latter, that he might establish there a priory subject to the monastery of St. Saturninus. The instrument of this handing over was published by Villanueva Viage, vol. XII, p. 221..
[19] and likewise the rights How solicitous the holy prelate was to preserve and protect the possessions and rights of his church is shown by certain judicial acts published by the writers of Spanish history. Namely, on the 1st day of November of the year 1024, a suit having been heard in the village of Ponts, before Ermengol, count of Urgell, and other judges, which Bishop Ermengol had brought against Durand, abbot of the monastery of St. Cecilia in the valley of Elins, concerning the church of Curticita and the tithes of the parish of Castellon, which that monastery had in good faith been claiming for itself for more than a hundred years, the judges recognized that the title to this possession, namely a donation of Count Borrell, was illegitimate, as violating rights conferred on the church of Urgell by authentic and older donations of the kings of the Franks, and therefore, sentence being given for Ermengol, those goods were restored to his church Baluze, Capitul. reg. Franc., Append. n. 145 (ed. Paris 1677, vol. II, p. 1545)..
[20] and the possessions On the day following this, or the 2nd of November of the same year 1024, through his procurators Miro de Pontibus, Bonfill and Guitard, in the old city of Guissona, Ermengol prosecuted in court a certain William of Lavancia, from whom he was claiming no small possessions around Guissona, which the bishop himself had wrested from the hands of the pagans, that is, the Moors, and acquired for his church. This case too Ermengol altogether won. The instrument of the whole trial, quite long, was published by Villanueva Viage, vol. X, p. 294., and he rightly notes that from it it is established that the city of Guissona was recovered by Ermengol, the Moors being defeated, not long before this year 1024.
[21] of his Against Ermengol II himself, count of Urgell, Bishop Ermengol claimed for his church the estates of Tuxent, which the count had tried to assert for himself, and again before lawful judges he so demonstrated the rights of his church that their possession was adjudged to it by unanimous sentence of those hearing the case. The instrument of that sentence, published by Baluze Marca Hisp., Append. n. 205 (p. 1046)., has as its note of time the 3rd day before the Ides of March, and the 33rd year of Robert, king of the Franks, or the year of Christ's birth 1028 or 1029.
[22] church. Finally Villanueva cites another little charter Viage, vol. X, p. 145., by which Ermengol received, on the 29th day of November of the year 1032, a donation, which Trasver and Raymond his son conferred on him, of a castle near Fontaned.
[23] He confers many gifts by his testament on the chapter of his cathedral church But the holy prelate showed his liberality and piety above all in instituting common life among the clerics of his cathedral church Cf. above, num. 8., and by conferring ample estates for this purpose from the very beginning of his episcopate after the death of Sallanus his predecessor, which he also greatly increased by his fideicommissary testament, which, happily discovered and published by Villanueva Viage, vol. X, p. 300., we shall lay before the eyes of readers below among the acts of St. Ermengol. How much it was at heart to him that this institution, which he rightly judged so profitable to his clergy and church, should persevere entire, appears clearly from the same testament. After listing the very ample possessions that he wished assigned to his canons, the fideicommissaries go on to make known his mind on this matter, in these words: On such a pact, moreover, he ordered that those canons of St. Mary serving God there daily should hold those allods of theirs named above whole and undisturbed, and without yoke from any person small or great, and that they should live daily in common in the service of the holy Mother of God, with the other land which is now there, or which they shall hereafter acquire with God's help… And he ordered that those provosts, who shall hold the above-named canonries in the service of St. Mary of the see, be elected in the chapter of St. Mary by those canons with their will. For that reason the aforesaid Bishop Ermengol ordered that the said canons, his dear sons, who are there today, or who shall come hereafter, he asked and admonished, and at the same time excommunicated by God the Father almighty, and Jesus Christ our Lord, and by his blessed Mother, and all the saints, that after his death they should not elect or acclaim a bishop, nor have fellowship with him within the doors of the kindly Mary of the see, until he swear with his hands upon the holy altar of the kindly Mary of the see, that he will faithfully keep to them that canonry as is written above.
[24] and to the church of St. Michael founded by him, From the same testament we are taught that a collegiate church was built by Ermengol in honor of St. Michael the archangel. For concerning no few other possessions of his he ordered that they remain to St. Michael the archangel, which he built in the see of Vic, for the remedy of the soul of Lord Bishop Sallanus and of his own. Villanueva notes, however Ibid., p. 148., that this see of Vic, which is here indicated, is not to be understood as the see of Vic in the city which today is called by that name, but that of Urgell itself, which he shows to have been called by that name at least until the middle of the eleventh century by a charter of donation handed over in the year 1048 by Count Ermengol III to Bishop William, in which is read: in the see of most blessed Mary of Urgell, which is called Vicho by the inhabitants of this place Ibid., vol. IX, p. 166.. The chapel of St. Michael in the city of Vic, moreover, had already been founded a whole year before the death of Ermengol Ibid., vol. VI, pp. 146, 180..
[25] and with diligent effort comes to the aid of the monastery of Portella. Finally also a little before his death St. Ermengol gave his work to the institution of a certain pious confraternity, whose chief purpose was to provide for the needs of the monastery of St. Peter of Frontanyà, afterward called of Portella, which then belonged to the diocese of Urgell. Ermengol had met here on the 21st day of September of the year 1035 with Wifred, archbishop of Narbonne, and Wifred, bishop of Carcassonne, for the consecration of the new bishop of Barcelona Guislabert and the dedication of the church of the recently built monastery. On that occasion, then, Ermengol advised that that confraternity be confirmed by the two prelates, and shortly afterward he obtained a fuller confirmation in a certain council of Narbonne. The instrument of both confirmations was published by Villanueva from the autograph preserved in the archive of the monastery of St. Peter of Portella Ibid., vol. VIII, p. 258..
[26] A little after the council of Narbonne, in which he seems to have taken part, The same Villanueva denies Ibid., p. 115 and vol. X, p. 147. that Ermengol took part in that synod of Narbonne, led by this reason alone, that he died on the forty-third day after the meeting with the two Wifreds of Narbonne and Carcassonne in the monastery of Portella, which span of time namely did not seem to him to have sufficed for that council to be convoked and assembled. And since in the decree of the same synod, in the apograph of Portella, the name of Ermengol is read subscribed in first place, the same Villanueva judges that Wifred, founder of the monastery, was charged to carry the diploma of confirmation, already strengthened with the subscriptions of the bishops of Urgell and Narbonne, to the council of Narbonne, that the approval too of the Fathers of this council might be added, who gladly added their subscriptions after the names of those two prelates in a space purposely left empty by Wifred the donor in the charter brought (to which were then added many others of those who afterward approved that confraternity to be propagated in their dioceses). All these things, however, seem constructed by a conjecture not sufficiently necessary. For what stands in the way of Ermengol's having come to Narbonne within the said span of more than forty days and taken part in a synod perhaps already convoked before the meeting at Portella? That he did take part, moreover, is proved by his subscription placed first on the synodal decree, and since seventeen bishops are read to have celebrated the synod, unless Ermengol is reckoned among them, that number is not found complete: for the eighteenth among the subscriptions in the apograph of Portella is Berengar, bishop of Tarragona, who sat from the year 1174 to 1194. Moreover the conjecture of Villanueva seems refuted even by this,
that the name of Wifred of Carcassonne, who together with Ermengol and the archbishop of Narbonne had first approved the confraternity at the meeting of Portella itself, is not marked among the subscriptions immediately after the name of the two of them, but only afterward in eighth place. It seems more probable therefore that Ermengol did in reality sit among the Fathers of the synod of Narbonne.
[27] he died on the 3rd of November of the year 1035. Further from the said document it is clear that those writers of Spanish history erred who reported that Ermengol ended his life in the year 1033, deceived perhaps (as Villanueva conjectures) by the testament of the saint published by Baluze Marca Hisp., Append. n. 210 (p. 1054)., which is noted as made in the third year of King Henry or of Christ 1033. But they ought to have observed that the day on which it was written is indicated as the fourteenth of December. Whence, since they too agree that Ermengol died on the third day of November, it would have to be concluded that he was alive at least until the year 1034. For the rest it is now certainly established from the authentic document cited above, namely the judicial announcement of the fideicommissary testament of Ermengol, that he went to his last day on the third day of November of the year 1035. For that announcement is recorded as made on the third day before the Nones of December in the 5th year of the reign of King Henry, that is, on the third day of December of the year 1035, and that within six months of the death of the testator, as is established by law. A little above, moreover, the mandataries testify: he departed from this world (Ermengol) on the third day before the Nones of November.
§ IV. Of the book of the Life of St. Ermengol and of his posthumous glory.
[28] The Life of St. Ermengol altogether worthy of belief. What has been said thus far is gathered from contemporary documents of undoubted credit. We have besides a Life of Ermengol and some things about his cult and miracles after his death, which, brought forward from the Sanctoral of the church of Barcelona and the Breviary of Urgell by Villanueva Viage, vol. X, p. 306 ff., we here publish again in place of Acts. By whom or at what time that Life was written is made manifest by no indication. The language is rather barbarous and now and then very obscure. For the rest it contains nothing that contradicts the documents cited up to now, nay rather nothing that does not especially agree. This at any rate holds where the writer of the Life praises the strong no less than solicitous spirit of the bishop in protecting the rights of his church; he adds, moreover, what was not known from those documents, that in prosecuting those rights he suffered many things from those whose avarice and injuries he repressed so fearlessly, so much so that he was even once caught in an ambush and held for a long time in prison Nums. 1, 2.. But, as too frequently usually happens in this kind of writing, we grieve that this Life is very meager in narrating particular deeds. It reports one miracle worked by Ermengol while he was alive, namely that by his prayers an inundation of waters threatening many losses to the possessions of the church of Urgell was turned aside Num. 3.. That the passing of the holy prelate to those above took place on the third day of November, and that he was killed by an unlucky accident, while he was seeing to the building of a certain bridge, and rousing the workmen by his example to labor diligently, is narrated by the Barcelona Acts Num. 4.. And indeed that Ermengol met a sudden death is also quite clearly signified in the announcement of his fideicommissary testament more than once cited above, where at the end is read: And he ordered, if anything should happen to him or sudden death should come upon him, as also occurred, that his testament should persevere firm, as is written above.
[29] His sacred remains twice elevated within the span of seven years from his death. From contemporary documents there is confirmed also what the anonymous writer says of the time of the translation of the body of Ermengol, which public veneration and the cult usually paid to the saints followed. First, a certain elevation is reported to have been made six months after the saint's death, at which his body was found incorrupt, as if still breathing it had suffered no injury, and at once, that elevation being carried out, an abundance of rains was obtained which, compelled by a long and deadly drought, they were seeking through his intercession by honoring the holy prelate Num. 6.. But more illustrious seems to have been the second translation celebrated seven years later Num. 7., at which the holy body was laid in a more honorable place, and which according to the practices of those times was the equivalent of solemn, as they now say, canonization.
[30] Thereafter he was honored with public cult, And in truth around that time, namely the year 1042, Ermengol is first found adorned with the title of saint in public documents. That he was not yet so honored in the year 1040 is indicated by the words of Eriballus his successor, speaking of him thus: Which things the most religious Bishop Ermengol of reverend memory gave for the work of the aforesaid see or its canonry, on account of which meritorious cause may God repay him with rest and life, and may the Virgin Mother of Christ gain for his sins pardon in the heavens, because he built for her on earth that church, the said see of Blessed Mary Cited in Villanueva, Viage, vol. X, p. 153.. But already from the year 1043 there is an instrument distinguished by this note of time: the writing of the donation made in the 12th year of Henry, king of the Franks, on the Saturday, on the festival of St. Ermengol, in the month of November Ibid.. And likewise another made on the 20th day of May 1046, in which St. Ermengol is often named by Bishop William Ibid., p. 154.. From that time on, moreover, there occur many donations made to the canons of the cathedral church of St. Mary on the feast day of St. Ermengol, that is, the 3rd day of November Ibid..
[31] even outside his diocese. Nor did the cult of St. Ermengol keep itself within the bounds of the diocese of Urgell, but it was propagated also into the other parts of the principality of Catalonia, and that not so long after his death. For from a certain charter of donation of the year 1070 it is established that in that year there already existed in the diocese of Vic a collegiate church under the title of St. Ermengol, and in another similar charter written in the year 1071, a certain church in the estate of Aquatebeda is called the church of St. Felix and St. Ermengol. Aquatebeda, moreover, was the chief seat of that house from which Ermengol sprang, in the county of Conflent, whose dominion that house held. The commemoration of St. Ermengol was also marked in the breviaries of Lleida, Barcelona, St. Cucuphas of the Vallès and some others Tamayo de Salazar, Martyrol. Hisp., vol. VI, p. 61.. His name was inserted at the 1st of November in the martyrology of Usuard in the first edition of Molanus in smaller type (In the Spains, St. Ermengol, bishop of Urgell) and at the same day in the martyrologies of Galesini, of Canisius or Walasser and of Châtelain, but at the 3rd of the same month in the Roman Martyrology: At Urgell in Spain, St. Ermengol, bishop.
[32] His festival formerly celebrated with an octave and a proper office, In the diocese of Urgell itself the feast of St. Ermengol was celebrated on the 3rd of November with an octave, with a proper office, which Villanueva published from the breviary of Urgell, printed at Venice in the year 1487 Viage, vol. X, p. 312 – 21.. That office, in which especially to be noted is the series of miracles after death, reported in the matins lessons to be recited through the several days of the octave, we have thought fit to append below to the Life of Ermengol. It was wholly suppressed, however, when the use of the Roman breviary was enjoined on all churches by St. Pius V, and there was substituted for it the office from the common, although the canons of Urgell frequently begged for the grant of a proper office, especially around the year 1730 Ibid., p. 155..
[33] and prayers for invoking his patronage against drought inserted in the Ritual. St. Ermengol is usually invoked as chief patron against dryness of the air. In the Ritual committed to print in the year 1536 proper prayers and litanies were inserted, intended to obtain through his intercession a remedy against that calamity Ibid., p. 156..
[34] The relics of St. Ermengol were laid in the chapel dedicated to his name, Solemn translation of his relics in the year 1618. shut up in a huge silver chest, and on his feast day they are usually exposed in public. The translation of that chest took place in the year 1618, as is established from a letter of invitation directed for this purpose to the consuls of the town of Puigcerdà, which Villanueva inspected, and among the capitular acts of St. Mary of Urgell is read a decree in which for celebrating that translation there are indicated the days of the feast of Pentecost of that same year Ibid..
LIFE OF ST. ERMENGOL
Published by James Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España, vol. X, p. 306 – 12, from Sanctoral II of the church of Barcelona, fol. 334. Cf. above, Prelim. Comm., num. 28.
Ermengol, bishop of Urgell in Spain. (S.)
BHL Number: 2609
[1] [St. Ermengol, while he strenuously represses the audacity of those invading ecclesiastical possessions,] Blessed Ermengol was the athlete and standard-bearer of the eternal king, the groomsman of the Church of God and a good shepherd, father of his country and patron; noble in birth, beautiful in body, more beautiful in faith, he was reckoned among the sons of God. How happy the place of the country of Urgell, where purer than electrum, dearer than gold, such and so great a treasure is believed to dwell. Let Urgell rejoice, let the people of Urgell rejoice, let the clergy be glad, that they have deserved to have entrusted to them a talent of so great weight. Let Urgell exult, I say, which is lit up by the patronage of so great a confessor and bishop with his virtues. He, directing his battle line against the sacrilegious, for preserving the honor of the church whose pontifical chair he had taken up, often did not delay to avenge an injury; but yet trusting rather in spiritual arms, restraining from their enticements those greedy for the excesses of earthly things, persuading them with the reins of justice, he turned aright the approach * of certain plunderers of the church, and those he could not he reckoned, after a threefold warning, by the authority of the orthodox law, among the cruel and untamed and teachers of public crime.
[2] is afflicted with many injuries by the same. This man of God bore adversities in a certain way; for under the a dominion of a certain prince of his he suffered many things in his episcopate. For sometimes he was hastily removed from the church of which he was bishop by the same prince, sometimes deprived of the ecclesiastical storehouses, sometimes made a stranger to them. With so great a love did the holy prelate Ermengol love the church entrusted to him, that by defending it, by honoring it, he held his soul in hatred, that he might find it better, as the Truth witnesses, in heaven. For frequently bearing bodily losses, he was held for a long time among certain prisons, caught unexpectedly by an ambush, on behalf of the church. How happy the armor-bearer of the heavenly king, whose victory was ever in Christ. Whence, enrolled in the heavenly hollow among the caelibes* b of the heroes, fighting, he possesses the palm of glory and the laurel of everlasting life.
[3] He restrains by prayer the inundation of a river. To him as to a living fountain the company of the people of Urgell, thirsting for counsels of salvation, ran together with one mind, and what they came together for and desired, they deserved to obtain. For very many things are available concerning the worthy conduct of Blessed Bishop Ermengol, which if we were to set forth, and all should be written, they would perhaps be believed incredible. Of which one
stupendous miracle, worthy of admiration, is not doubted to have been done in the presence of suitable men, by whose report it became known. A certain river, whose name is the Sicoris c, which flows down from the Pyrenean ridges not far from the basilica of the glorious Virgin Mother, and wandering from its bed with a meandering course, was at that time spreading into the estates of the church. Seeing this, the confessor of God and pious bishop Ermengol was disturbed with a sad languor; and since by no other labor could he divert the water, at once, summoning certain of the clergy, he gave himself to prayer prostrate on the ground, beseeching Christ to turn away the river's force from the estates of the Virgin Mother. Nor does the holy prelate cease, his limbs stretched out on the earth, resting with his face prostrate in public obeisance, to stay himself with prayers, and to beat his holy breast, and to be wet with tears watering his cheeks, that the Lord might dry the estates of the church from the waves. Why, said the holy bishop, O water, do you dare to do this sacrilege, that in keeping up the tedium of your course you wash away the estate of the church? Cease, ah, from this crime, you violator, I adjure you by the divine name, I entreat you by my admonitions. From this on the morrow it was made of such great obedience, the Lord hearing his servant , as if it were thought to have hearing, and thus it was ordered to turn itself wholly into its bed, as if it had never at any time passed that way. Wonderful to see, wonderful to hear! Who in so new a time has seen one doing such things , or heard that one of this sort had done them? A certain bishop is read to have done so in ancient times, as the dialogue of Saints Peter and Gregory recalls d. How most blessed Ermengol shines forth in miracles, in what order he flashes with signs of powers, the merit of his life brings about this work after death. Let the manifold host of the people of Urgell exult, then, that the one they used to have as bishop and pastor, they deserve to keep as intercessor for themselves.
[4] [While he labors with his own hands at building a bridge, he is crushed by a sudden accident.] The patron of the whole people of Urgell in word and deed took care to be of benefit not only to the townsmen but also to the country people. As the solemnity of All Saints was at hand on the Kalends of November, the venerable prelate Ermengol in his usual way took care to celebrate solemn Mass. And because on the third day the end of his bodily life was to come for him, God conferred on him so great a grace that he should receive the sacrifice from his hand on the festival of those with whom he was to be crowned. Not undeservedly therefore did the worshiper of God bear the name of pontiff, for if he prepared a bridge for the salvation of souls, by which the road might be directed to heaven, submitting himself also to the substance of bodies, he strove to put together a bridge for those making a journey. There is in the borders of the parishes of Urgell and Cerdanya a certain place, called Bar e, very narrow between the sides of mountains, through which at that time there was * no way for men except through crags and precipices, while for cattle there was found no passage at all. Coming to this place, then, the said athlete, having sent workmen ahead, himself began to build the bridge by working with his own hands, and with his revered intelligence to dispose what the others ought to do. And the Creator of the human race, seeing his good shepherd doing work, with his mouth preparing a bridge to the ether, with his work on earth, for the sheep entrusted to him, not wishing him to be worn down longer by worldly labor, but to recover the glory of the unfading crown, that he might enjoy in the heavens the college of the martyrs, allowed his body on earth to be adorned with this martyrdom. For the man of God, sitting on a beam placed on top of the pile of stones, while he worked with his own hands, fell down to the ground. Soon, his brain being broken among the flints, he breathed out and consecrated his innocent spirit to the Lord.
[5] His funeral, The clergy of the see of Urgell then, hearing that their patron had so departed, with an immense brilliance of lights and the sweet-flowing odor of incense and thymiama, the body of the sacred prelate was placed on a bier, and they brought it with distinction to the said see; and there, within the doors of the church of the sacred Mother of God, on the left side, by divine diligence, with very great pomp, they buried it. Indeed the works of power declared by the Lord through his merits testify that he so lives and reigns in Christ.
[6] the first elevation of the body in the sixth month after his death Ermengol the athlete of God therefore, buried on the left side of the church, lay for six months: and at that time how great the merits in which he was powerful became known only rarely to the people. The Lord therefore, wishing to reveal his sacred treasure to the peoples, thinking that it would be a disgrace to the Church if so precious a gem of bishops were hidden in concealment, spoke to many through a vision, that he should be dug up from his former tomb and translated to the right bosom of the church. At length, by the inspiration of divine grace, an extreme drought came on, to such a degree that the cattle found no green grass in the pastures, and the crops did not spring up, but as many as there had been died, dried out. At once by a divine showing it was learned that unless the reverend bishop were transferred to the aforesaid place, the abundance of rains would by no means be granted. The peoples, knowing this, assembled in the see together with the clergy, and with the holy body they placed it in the right bosom of the church. Then at once, the most sacred body being brought out of the mausoleum, his flesh was found so fresh, as if still breathing it suffered no injury. And so on the morrow the very greatest abundance of rains was given to the peoples.
[7] and a second after seven years. Seven years being completed, it seemed good by the will of the bishop that he should be placed next to the altar of the holy Mother of God: which indeed they did not wish to do except when first compelled by dryness of the air. When this at last was known, on a certain Rogation day, all having gone out from the church, the honorable sacristan of the same basilica, with three venerable clerics, with a mason, hid himself inside; and the doors being shut on the inside, they came as quickly as possible to open the tomb of the kindly patron. Moreover when the same sacristan was taking the incense in the tabernacle, and the tomb being now opened, the whole church was at once filled with an ambrosial odor; and it not only filled the basilica or the cloisters, but also outside the estate and the people it occupied ineffably. As all inquired whence so great an odor came forth, running together they all came to the church. Why say more? Then the sky was seen most serene, but before the sacred body left the tomb, the sky became so cloudy that a companion could scarcely see his companion. Then, the body of the kindly prelate being uncovered, from the severed head fresh blood soon began to flow, as if on that very day the wounds of the one striking him were redoubled. Of his hair, indeed, and of the blood that flowed on the ground, some men of Toulouse who were present tried secretly to carry off to their country, but at length, seized by frequent blows, they brought back what they had taken to the place from which they had taken it. So placed on a bier, near the altar of the glorious Mother of God he is watched for three days. Now on the third day coming on, after very many wonders of powers, he was laid with glory next to the altar of Mary the Mother of God, by the propitious grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be honor, power and glory through immense ages of ages. Amen.
ANNOTATIONS.
* sic
* the edition eo
* the edition meadroso
* the edition tenens
* the edition fundens
* sic
* sic
* sic
* the edition aberat
* the edition occultaretur
* the edition ecclesiae
* the edition nubulosum
* the edition correptum
JUDICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE TESTAMENT
OF ST. ERMENGOL
Published in J. Villanueva, Viage literario, vol. X, p. 300, from the autograph in the archive of the secular court of Urgell.
Ermengol, bishop of Urgell in Spain. (S.)
By the condition of the sacraments, and by order of Lord Miro the priest, and of William the judge, and in the presence of Radulf the archpriest, and Geirald the archlevite, and William son of Bernard the archlevite, and another William the archlevite, and Seniofred Dela, and Wisad the levite, and Wifred the levite, and Gundebert the priest, and Isarn the priest, and Miro son of Chalvucius the priest, and William the priest, and Seniofred Tiufad, and Arnald Esclua, and Wittard Borrell, and of other good men who were there present; in their presence there testify the witnesses brought forward, whom the men named Seniofred the sacristan, and William Ardman, and Eriman Miro, and Raymond Geirucius and Geirald Miro bring forward, to prove the alms and the will of Bishop Ermengol, who is deceased. And these are the names of the witnesses who testify to this, as they also swear, that is, Raymond William, and Wadald the priest, and Ratfred the priest, and Peter the levite and Miro the priest.
Sworn, then, we say by God the Father almighty, and by Jesus Christ his Son, and the Holy Spirit, who in Trinity is one and true God, and by this place of veneration of St. Paul the apostle, whose altar is situated in the atrium of St. Peter the apostle, within the see of Vic, upon whose most holy altar and placed altar-stone, where we hold our hands on these conditions, and in swearing we touch them, that we the above-written are witnesses, and well know in truth, and have seen with our eyes, and heard with our ears, and were present at the same hour, when the aforesaid Ermengol wished to go to the thresholds of Blessed James the apostle, of sound mind and whole memory. And then, we seeing and hearing, he commended or enjoined all his alms to these his above-named almoners, that if anything should happen to him, as also occurred, before he had made another testament, these his almoners should have full power to take all his goods, and to give them for his soul.
First of all he ordered to be given to his lady St. Mary of the see of Vic of Urgell those his allods which he had in the county of Osona, both from his parents and by purchase or by whatever claims, that they remain to the same works; together with his allods which he had within the bounds of Castell Edral in the power of his said executors, together with those allods which he had within the bounds of Solsona, and with that allod which they call Alterag, together with the same Edra and the allod which he had at Gaveto, together with that which he had at Petra; likewise let them remain to the said works of St. Mary of the see. And he ordered that his above-written almoners sell them without fraud, and put the price in the power of Seniofred Dela, and Mir Calvucius, and Seniofred the sacristan, and Gundebert the priest.
And he directed that his allod of Garamos after the death of Seniofred, together with his allod which he had in the valley of An, and that allod which they call Vilva, together with that allod which
he had in Sardina, and all his allods which he had in the valleys that they call Ripoll, together with the manse which he had in Pedreria, and his manses which he had in Duaria, with his vineyards of Nevano, he ordered that they remain to St. Michael the Archangel, which he built in the see of Vic, for the remedy of the soul of Lord Bishop Sallanus and of his own.
And to the canonry of holy kindly Mary of the see, or to the canons serving God there, he ordered to remain the city that they call Guissona, with its bounds and limits and all things pertaining to it, and his castle that they call Bordell, together with the allod of Rete, and his castle of Pedra Rua, with the allod of Abrull, after the death of Arnald, and his castle of Fontaned with all things pertaining to it, and his castle of Corneliano with its bounds and limits, and his allod of Pino, together with that of Cirinna, or of Vilavredre, and the half of Aquatebeda with its bounds and limits and all things pertaining to it; he ordered that these above-named allods remain to that canonry in all entirety. And his allod which he had in the valley of Conflent, or in the valley of Astover, or in the valley of Lintiliano, he ordered to remain to St. Mary of the see for the soul of Lord Bishop Sallanus and his own and his parents'; on this condition namely, that the custodian of the kindly Virgin Mary hold the aforesaid allods, and give each year oil for preparing the chrism, and oil for lighting the holy altars, which are or shall be within the house of St. Mary, and of St. Michael the archangel, and of St. Peter the apostle. And he ordered it at the altar of St. Mary day and night, and he ordered oil to be given to the canonry in holy Lent, or in the days of the Lord's Advent. And the allod which he had in Roussillon, which is in Pontellano, let it remain to the above-written canonry for fish. And his bed built of wood he ordered to remain to the Lord bishop of the said see. He asked, and supplicated, and by Christ the Son of God admonished him, that he absolve him, and intercede to the Lord our God.
All these things written above he handed over, and confirmed in the power of almighty God and of his lady St. Mary of the see and to the canonry, as has been inserted above, for the remedy of the soul of Lord Bishop Sallanus of good memory and his own or his parents'. On such a pact, moreover, he ordered that those canons of St. Mary serving God there daily should hold those allods of theirs named above whole and undisturbed, and without yoke from any person small or great, and that they should live daily in common in the service of the holy Mother of God, with the other land which is now there or which they shall hereafter acquire with God's help. And he directed and at the same time asked that every day the priest who shall sing Mass solemnly upon the most holy altar of the see should say a Mass for the soul of Lord Bishop Sallanus and his own, Deus qui inter apostolicos, in a loud voice, like the Mass, except on Sundays and the Lord's Nativity. But if they will not do this, let God be between the aforesaid bishop and them, and judge them with a just judgment.
And he ordered that those provosts, who shall hold the above-named canonries in the service of St. Mary of the see, be elected in the chapter of St. Mary by those canons with their will. For that reason the aforesaid Bishop Ermengol ordered that the said canons, his dear sons, who are there today, or who shall come hereafter, he asked and admonished, and at the same time excommunicated by God the Father almighty, and Jesus Christ our Lord, and by his blessed Mother and all the saints, that after his death they should not elect or acclaim a bishop, nor have fellowship with him within the doors of the kindly Mary of the see, until he swear with his hands upon the holy altar of the kindly Mary of the see, that he will faithfully keep to them that canonry as is written above.
And he ordered that they sell the allod of Angustrina, and of Torba, for the same works, in the hearing of Eriman and Raymond, together with that of Cereia. And his movable goods, wherever the aforesaid executors could find them in whatever place, together also with bread and wine, he directed them to give to the priests of St. Mary of the see, that they might offer sacrifice to God for the above-written bishop; and he acknowledged that he was unworthy, and a frail sinner. And what remained, he ordered to be given to the poor. He asked his said almoners for the love of almighty God, and brotherly affection, that they cause to be divided, and divide, all his substance as has been inserted above. And if any man, great or small person, should wish to rupture or break his testament, unless he repent, by the authority of God and of the blessed kindly Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and of St. Michael the archangel, and of St. Peter the prince of the apostles, with the other eleven, and all the saints and elect of God, the said Bishop Ermengol excommunicated and anathematized him and made him a stranger to the thresholds of the holy Church of God, and separated him from the fellowship of Christians and condemned him with Judas the traitor in perpetual damnation. And he prayed to the Lord that he who should be the guardian and observer of what has been inserted above should receive blessing and grace from the just judge our Lord Jesus Christ, and possess eternal life.
And he ordered, if anything should happen to him, or sudden death should come upon him, as also occurred, before he should have made another testament, that his testament should persevere firm, as is written above. And when he had ordered and commanded all these things, afterward his good will was not changed, as we know; but together with his good will he so departed from this world on the third day before the Nones of November. And we the aforesaid guardians so swear in all things and in everything, that as much as these witnesses have testified in this trial, is true, and no fraud nor evil device has been put in it, but it has been made and published according to the will of that founder. And what we know, we rightly and truly testify and swear by the above-attached oath in the Lord.
This condition was brought in on the third day before the Nones of December, in the 5th year of the reign of King Henry.
Ratfred the priest +. = Peter the levite. = Raymond the levite, I subscribe. = Guedald the priest. = Isarn the priest, I subscribe. = Paucius the priest, I subscribe: who are witnesses and swear to this testament +. = Seniofred the priest, sacristan +. = William the archlevite, I subscribe. = Raymond +. = Sig + n of Eriman Miro. = Sig + n of Seniofred the priest: these were hearers and in their presence this was done.
We are executors and likewise swear, and have taken care to set it forth within six months, as is established in law. = + Sendred the judge. = Sig + n of William the judge. = Gerall the archlevite, I subscribe. = Miro the priest, I subscribe. = Orial the levite, I subscribe. = Wifred the levite, I subscribe. = Witard the levite +. = Suniarius the priest, I subscribe. = Seniofred the priest, who being asked wrote and subscribed these conditions on the day and year as above.
OFFICE OF ST. ERMENGOL
Published in Villanueva, Viage literario, vol. X, p. 312 ff., from the breviary of the church of Urgell, published at Venice, 1487.
Ermengol, bishop of Urgell in Spain. (S.)
AT VESPERS.
Ant. Astutus, etc., as at Lauds. — Ps. of the feria. — Chap. Behold the priest. — ℞. Although he took care that the practice of the soldier was shut out, And his mind remained full of the fear of God. — ℣ In the manner of the noble he was powerful with great honor. And his mind.
Hymn.
The everlasting glory of heaven Glorifies Ermengol, The distinctions of whose life Our choir magnifies.
His groanings now ended, And the wearinesses of this life, Joyful he passes over with praises, Enjoying the joys of the saints.
As the evening of the world declined, Ermengol shone forth; Him Christ, the sun risen in the star, Placed in the light.
Drive the enemy farther off, Renowned confessor of Christ, And give the more graciously the gift of peace On this pathway of the world.
Quench the flames of strife, Strong protector of the homeland, And make propitious to us The King of heavenly glory.
Praise be to the Father and the Son, Honor be to the Holy Spirit, Through whom there lives in joy This confessor of the Lord. Amen.
℣. Priest of God. — At the Magn. ant. Let us all forestall the most holy Ermengol, festively rejoicing, that he by praying for us may forestall Christ.
Prayer. O God, who on this day have deigned to join Blessed Bishop Ermengol to the angelic choirs: grant, we beseech you, that as you have adorned him with sacred virtues, so by his suffrage you may strip us of the filth of our sins. Through the Lord.
FOR THE DAY.
Invitatory. Let Christ be adored, in that Ermengol is held to be An athlete from heaven: let this song sound in praise. — Hymn as above.
In the 1st Noct. ant. Noble in race, but more noble in faith Ermengol shone forth. — Ps. of the common of a confessor. — Ant. Although the glorious man was powerful in worldly honor, yet he was humble. — Ant. Under a secular habit Father Ermengol remained spiritual.
Lesson 1. Here begins the life of St. Ermengol, confessor of Christ. The Sun of justice, the King of kings, Christ God, after, the prince of the world being vanquished, he ascended to heaven, as vicars of his light taught twice six rays, and by divinely prudent counsel, according to the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit, to establish seven ministers in the house of the Lord.
℞. 1. Let this splendid day shine with the eternal: On which the whole passing of the saint is celebrated. ℣. Let it be solemn, let this light be everlasting. On which.
Lesson 2. We indeed at present among all the bishops of the age a man triumphant in laudable memory, namely Blessed Ermengol, shining in our time with the lamp of virtues.
℞. 2. Rejoice that the patron has passed to the heavenly throne, Whoever, O man, seek this temple after the example of God. ℣. Believe that Ermengol lives, in that he died. Whoever.
Lesson 3. O what a splendid man was Ermengol! O what an excellent minister of God, approved by heaven, placed on earth! whom the Lord, by indwelling, had sanctified as a temple truly worthy of himself, that he might be made an example to all.
℞. 3. He presided over the people of Urgell, with none rebellious: He held the laws of the priest equally in order with his vows. ℣. The nourisher of the clergy is silent and the defender of truth. He held.
In the 2nd Noct. Ant. St. Ermengol under the soldier's belt was bound by the bond of charity. — Ant. Therefore because he is proved good, he is ordained bishop of the church of Urgell. — Ant. For so great a light could not lie hidden, and therefore God willed him so to be.
Lesson 4. How happy the place of the country of Urgell, where purer than electrum, dearer than gold, such and so great a treasure is believed to dwell.
℞. 4. Taking up both the name of pastor and the omen of the name: What he could be called, he wished to be pious. ℣. Persisting as the norm of the clergy, the form too of the people. What.
Lesson 5. Blessed Ermengol, the athlete and standard-bearer of the eternal king, directing his battle line against the sacrilegious, for preserving the honor of the church whose pontifical chair he had taken up, often did not delay to avenge an injury.
℞. 5. Although, as above at Vespers.
Lesson 6. Let no one doubt of him, that the God of hosts,
the Lord strong and mighty in battle, willed that for the defense of the Church it be done with so famous a trophy.
℞. 6. Whom the work he was carrying on of the bridge of Bar employed, And suddenly, fallen from the top of the bridge, he died: Whom God willed to be taken up by such a consummation. ℣. He is stripped of his members on the third day of November. Whom.
In the 3rd Noct. ant. Therefore the holy bishop began to be the assiduous minister of the church of Urgell. — Ant. For Ermengol was to all both father and mother and companion. — Ant. A father in teaching, a mother in nourishing, and a companion in suffering with them.
Lesson 7. According to Matthew. At that time, Jesus told his disciples this parable: A certain man going abroad called his servants and handed over to them his goods. And the rest. — Homily of Blessed Pope Gregory on the same reading. The reading of the holy Gospel, dearest brothers, admonishes us to consider anxiously, lest we, in that we are seen to have received something more than others in this world, be more gravely judged for it by the Author.
℞. 7. This apostolic man, a man friend of peace, So died, exceedingly rich in good conduct, rich in honors. ℣. Simple, shrewd, following the precepts of the Lord. So.
Lesson 8. As the solemnity of All Saints was thus at hand on the Kalends of November, the venerable prelate Ermengol in his usual way took care to celebrate the solemnities of Mass. And because on the third day the end of his bodily life was to come for him, the Lord conferred on him so great a grace that he should receive the sacrifice from his hand on the festival of those with whom he was to be crowned.
℞. 8. If a stone conceals him, the fame of his merits reveals him: Through whom the weak guest running to him may be sound. ℣. The just man does not truly die, if he is overtaken by death. Through whom.
Lesson 9. There is in the borders of the country of Urgell and Cerdanya a certain place, Bar, very narrow between the sides of mountains, through which at that time there was no way for men except through crags and broken places, and for cattle there was found no passage at all. Coming to this place the said athlete, having sent workmen ahead, himself began to build the bridge by working with his own hands.
℞. 9. O patron to be praised by every speech of the people, Pious Ermengol, make us companions of Mary. ℣. Whose prelate you were, or whose commands you had fulfilled. Ermengol.
Verse. The Church, Mother of the faithful, celebrates, — Ermengol, the rites of your funeral. — If envy gave death to the devil, — The splendid victory of the martyrs took you up. — For although the sword did not pierce your bowels, — Yet your soul did not lose the palm of a martyr. — That you may therefore make us enjoy the country of heaven, — May these courts of the Virgin resound with your praise.
Ps. Te Deum.
AT LAUDS.
Ant. Shrewd, according to the Lord's word, as a serpent, Ermengol did not lose the simplicity of the dove. — Ant. According to the apostle, moreover, he was as having nothing and possessing all things. — Ant. For all that the good pastor had, he gladly gave out into the hands of the poor. — Ant. Ermengol increased the church with very much benefit, the people with divine discipline. — Ant. In all things and through all he showed himself a servant of God and of the kindly Virgin Mary.
Chap. Behold a great priest.
Hymn.
The great athlete dies
On earth, who is joined
To the highest citizens of heaven:
Let heaven exult with praises.
Hence Ermengol passed over,
He entered the cloisters of heaven,
Now he possesses in the ether
The eternal gifts of Christ.
While the pastor builds a bridge,
He fell, slipping from the bridge;
So he prepares in the fatherland
Blessed joys for us.
By his petition correct
The conduct and direct the acts
Of those piously crying to you,
Christ, Redeemer of all.
To you alone we flee,
Whom we have offended by our sins;
Be present to us from heaven with pardon
Now, O Holy Spirit.
Praise be to the Father and to his own
Eternal Son,
Together with the Holy Breath,
Glory to you, O Lord. Amen.
At the Gospel ant. O region of Urgell, rejoice to have so great a patron, for the pious pastor Ermengol has departed today to Christ to make supplication for you.
If this festival fall on a Sunday, let it be solemnly celebrated as is done for the feast of All Saints.
AT ALL THE HOURS.
Ants. from Lauds, the rest from the common of a confessor. — ℣. You who bedew the heavens, and adorn Ermengol. ℣. Priest.
AT VESPERS.
Ants. from Lauds. — Ps. of a confessor. — ℞ 9. By every speech. — Hymn as at first Vespers. — At the Magn. ant. We pray you, distinguished prelate, holy, holy Ermengol, that we who are pressed by assiduous sins may be relieved also by your assiduous prayer.
WITHIN THE OCTAVE.
Invitatory. Let us adore the King of the ages, in whom Ermengol lives, the honor of priests. — Let a commemoration of St. Odo be made daily at Lauds through the ant. Iussa Dei, and at Vespers through the ant. Virginitas.
First day of the octave.
Lesson 1. The clergy of the see of Urgell then, hearing that their patron had so departed, with an immense brilliance of lights and the sweet-flowing odor of incense and thymiama, the body of the sacred prelate being placed on a bier, they brought it with distinction to the said see.
Lesson 2. And there within the doors of the church of the God-Mother, on the left side, by divine diligence, with very great pomp, they buried it. Indeed the works of power declared by the Lord through his merits testify that he so lives in life and reigns with Christ.
Lesson 3. Ermengol the athlete of God therefore, buried on the left side of the church, by divine dispensation lay for six months, because how great the merits in which he was powerful became known at that time only rarely to the people.
Second day.
Lesson 1. The Lord therefore, wishing to reveal his sacred treasure to the peoples, reckoning that it would be a disgrace to the Church if so precious a gem of bishops were hidden in darkness, spoke to many through a vision.
Lesson 2. There was a certain man of Pallars, named Elemaus, serving as a recruit from his earliest years, who had been brought up in the hall of the sacred bishop Ermengol.
Lesson 3. So he began to knock at him with prayers, by knocking to frequent him, by frequenting to apply himself to prayer, that he might restore his eye to him.
Third day.
Lesson 1. Now it came about that, on a certain night, as the dark twilight deepened, and after compline as he revisited the altars in prayer, at the altar of the holy bishop the sacred Ermengol of Christ appeared to that one-eyed man.
Lesson 2. A boy of Bigorre also, born blind from his mother's womb, when he was already ten years old, was led by divine revelation to the tomb of this sacred prelate.
Lesson 3. He offered himself there with all devotion, received an unwonted light, and in astonishment beheld things of which he had before had no use.
Fourth day.
Lesson 1. A girl too of Toulouse, famous for noble blood, seized by the disease of paralysis, to such a degree that she could not separate her feet and legs from her buttocks nor use her right hand; but when, brought to his funeral rites, she began to knock at him with prayers, she enjoyed entire health.
Lesson 2. A certain countryman, the keenness of whose eyes a tawny mist had covered over, coming to the mercy of this saint, was bringing a heifer which he had presented to him.
Lesson 3. So he neglected to give him thanks for the benefit bestowed ; and going back to the place in which he had received his sight, he was joined to a heavy sleep *, from which, being awakened, he could see nothing at all.
Fifth day.
Lesson 1. There was a certain German man, named Gaufrid, of noble lineage, a native of the city of Speyer, of which namely Mainz is the metropolis, given from boyhood to arms and soldiering.
Lesson 2. Who, when he had lacked food, at length partook of a meal of cow's flesh and rye bread, and at once the disease of paralysis attacked him, and, his substance being spent on physicians, he by no means recovered his increase of health. At length he was brought to the tomb of this sacred prelate. — Lesson 3 is lacking.
On the eighth day.
9 lessons.
Lesson 1. The excellent conduct of a praiseworthy life, by which the glorious prelate Ermengol shone with tokens of true sanctity, we believe should be in high memory, to be proclaimed to future ages with a splendid proclamation.
Lesson 2. For the manifest miracles of so great a pontiff compel us to testify in words what has been shown in deeds, to make public what we know of the life of the same holy prelate, since his blessed death also renders testimony.
Lesson 3. But here it pleases us to pluck certain flowers of virtues, which, as sprung from the meadows of the dewy earth, it will be our pleasure to transfer still more widely in the space of a volume, that the things which have been succinctly interwoven, and cannot be fully taken in.
Lesson 4. O what a splendid patron for the people in Urgell! O what a good pastor among the clergy entrusted to him! For he was a lover of divine peace and a cultivator of saving justice, not unmindful of the love of God and of neighbor.
Lesson 5. For he was a temple of the Holy Spirit, and gave an example of all good works to all; he was made, moreover, beloved, a member of Christ, and a disciple of so great a master.
Lesson 6. The members of the excellent prelate Ermengol are a great treasure of the country of Urgell, dearer than every gift of the world; very happy is that place which stands adorned with the relics of the confessor of Christ and the groomsman of so great a church. — The other lessons from the Gospel.
Annotations* the edition Perrexit
* the edition impendere
* the edition grani iung. sopor