ON ST. SIGEBALD, CONFESSOR AND BISHOP, AT METZ IN GAUL,
IN THE YEAR DCCXLI.
PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.
Sigebald, confessor and bishop, at Metz in Gaul. (S.)
BY V. D. B.
In the liturgical calendars of Metz of the years 1829, St. Sigebald, bishop of Metz, is celebrated on the 26th day of October, 1838 and 1844, which I have before me, it is ordered that there be celebrated with semidouble rite, with a proper Mass and lessons which are to be found in the supplements of the Missal and Breviary, the feast of St. Sigebald, bishop of Metz; whose memory Chastelain also makes in the Universal Martyrology at the present day, and Cardinal de Noailles in the Paris Martyrology: in both places these few words are read: "At Metz, of St. Sigisbald, bishop." Under a corrupted name he became known to our predecessors, seeing that at the 1st day of April, among the Passed Over Acta SS., vol. I of April, p. 3., they discourse of him thus: "Sigillator, bishop of Metz, who flourished in the year of salvation DCCLI, or rather who died in the year DCCXLI, is celebrated in the manuscript Florarium of the Saints. He is Sigebrand for others, founder of many monasteries, and he is reported to have died on the day (on which he is again recorded in the Florarium) XXVI of October." But his name was neither Sigillator nor Sigebrand, but beyond controversy Sigisbald, Sigibald or Sigebald, as is established from all the monuments of Metz.
[2] Among these there comes in the first place the poetic Catalogue of the bishops of Metz, he has had many who praised him, both ancient and more recent. written about the year 770 in the Metz Missal [In Meurisse, Hist. des Êvèques de Metz, p. 685, and D. Calmet, Hist. de Lorraine, vol. I, Preuves, col. CXXVII and following.], about thirty years from the death of St. Sigebald. There follows after a short space Paul son of Warnefrid, whose book on the bishops of Metz has so many times been edited and celebrated with praises. The author, namely, a deacon of Aquileia, a man among the first of his age, while he was living in Francia, a survivor of his nation, in the year 784, at the request of Angilram, bishop of Metz and archchaplain of King Charles, wrote at Metz (as it seems) the little book on the deeds of the bishops of Metz Pertz, Monumenta Germaniæ, vol. III, p. 260.; so that his writing is scarcely forty years later than the death of St. Sigebald: and indeed it appears clearly enough that witnesses were heard by him who had seen the blessed man. After Paul comes the writer of the Life of St. Chrodegang, who, as he himself professes, thought to pursue not only the deeds of this saint, but also those of his predecessor St. Sigebald. For after he had said in the Prologue that he did not wish to celebrate the praises of the old bishops of Metz, "But Sigibald," he says, "surnamed the Little, and his successor Grodegang I take as the subject of my night labours." And certainly he is scarcely more sparing in praising him than in extolling St. Chrodegang. Wherefore we have not hesitated to take from there the Life which comes first at the end of this Commentary. Eckhart De rebus Franciæ orientalis, vol. I, p. 583., who first brought this writing to light in the appendix of the first volume of the Commentaries on the affairs of eastern Francia and of the bishopric of Würzburg, from a codex of Wolfenbüttel, then from one of Augsburg, but imperfect at the end, judges that it was composed in the IX century, since in the Prologue it is said of St. Arnulf: "The sons of whose stock even today most vigorously preside over the kingdom of the Franks"; but since the Carolingians held the monarchy of the Franks down to the year 987, it could also have been written in the X century. This is established, that it is later than the year 846, since in chapter V it is read that the bones of the blessed confessor Adelfus, bishop of the people of Metz, were buried with worthy honour at Neuwiller; to which Drogo, prelate of Metz, took care that they should be translated in that year Gallia Christiana, vol. XIII, col. 714.. What is probable is that of Pertz Monumenta Germaniæ, vol. X, p. 552., who, using that same codex, noticed that it had been corrected by the hand of Sigebert of Gembloux and who edited the Life with second care, and who judges that Bl. John, abbot of Gorze, who departed from among the living on the 27th day of February of the year 973, is the author; nor is there anything to show that this opinion is not true. Now on St. Sigebald the biographer relied above all on the Chronicle of Paul son of Warnefrid, and on the surviving fame of his holiness. Much later than these is the first part of the Chronicle of the bishops of Metz, written about the year 1180; which d'Achery edited entire with the remaining parts Spicilegium, vol. II, p. 227, Labarre edition. and recently Pertz Monumenta Germaniæ, vol. X, p. 531 and following.. Other catalogues of the bishops of Metz, moreover, have been edited by Calmet, Pertz and others; but not much light dawns from them. A Life of the blessed man was also written by a monk of St. Symphorian at the beginning of the XII century, on the occasion of the finding of the relics; which many miracles followed. Further, since the writer, where the truth lay hidden as to how a thing had been done, thought it better to pass it over than to weave anything frivolous into his work, and only a few things of the deeds of the blessed man were known, he was for the most part content with the common praises of a good bishop. The second part, which comprised the finding of the relics and the miracles that followed, was doubtless better; but in the apograph, taken from the codex of St. Symphorian, which our Franciscus Lahier once sent to Bolland, almost the whole of this part is lacking, which had already been detached from the codex of St. Symphorian by the middle of the XVII century; nor did Calmet Hist. de la Lorraine, vol. I, col. 471 and following., Francois and Tabouillot Hist. de Metz, vol. I, p. 439 and following., and also the Maurists Gallia Christiana, vol. XIII, col. 704. come upon an entire codex, although they seem to have seen another somewhat different one: indeed, when I had inquired through friends at Metz for some entire codex, none any longer, whether mutilated or entire, was found. It remains therefore, lest the most important and most ancient testimony of the ecclesiastical cult of St. Sigebald should perish (for this discourse was publicly read on his feast day), that we should bring it to light, such as it is, at the end.
Finally among more recent writers his deeds have been pursued with singular care by Meurisse Hist. de Metz, book II, p. 140., Calmet Hist. de Lorraine, vol. I, col. 471 and following., the writers of the History of Metz DD. François and Tabouillot, Hist. de Metz, vol. I, p. 439 and following. and of Gallia Christiana Vol. XIII, col. 704 and 705., more sparingly by Lecointe [Annales eccles. Francorum, at the year 716, n. 17; 734, nn. 8 and 9; 738, n. 34; 741, n. 55.] and Mabillon Annales Benedictini, at the year 709, n. 41; 727, n. 76; 734, n. 23., and more recently the venerable man Petin Dictionnaire hagiologique, under Sigisbaud.; others I pass over.
[3] the praises of Paul son of Warnefrid and of the Metz chronographer are reported; Now he who first celebrated the praises of St. Sigebald about the year 770,
. . . . At the time when, greatest in arms,
King Charles, comely in mind, in form and in spirit,
received by the gift of Christ the sceptre of Italy,
honoured him with this splendid encomium In D. Calmet, vol. I, Preuves, col. CXX.:
Excellent Sigibald shines forth by his rich deeds.
And those who came after agree in praising the venerable bishop; nor should I think that Calmet exceeds due measure, where he has written Hist. de Lorraine, vol. I, col. 471. that St. Sigebald was one of the greatest and most illustrious prelates who have ruled the church of Metz, although among the thirty-five who sat before him on the episcopal throne there, nineteen are numbered with the saints, and St. Chrodegang succeeded him immediately. And indeed Paul son of Warnefrid pursues very few with greater praises: "Then," he says In Pertz, Monumenta Germaniæ, vol. II, p. 267., "Sigebald, of noble
birth, was made bishop of the religious company, a man in all things devoted to the advantages of the church, also a most skilful restorer of sacred buildings. He, solicitous for the state of souls, founded two monasteries; of which one is called Eleriacum or also Novacella, and the other too is named Novum — quod — Villare. A dire pain of gout grievously afflicted him; but he, fixing his mind on eternal joys, bore the pains of the body most patiently."
What in the X century the biographer of St. Chrodegang, and in the XII the writer of the first part of the Chronicle of the bishops of Metz, partly explained and partly added to, the words of the latter are these In D'Achery, Spicilegium, vol. II, p. 227.: "Sigisbald, the XXXVI, presided over the church of Metz for XXV years, under the popes Stephen and Paul; under the rule of the aforesaid Constantine and of Leo IV. This blessed Sigisbald was of noble birth, enlarged the religion of the faithful, in all things devoted to the advantages of the holy church of God. He built two monasteries, Hilariacum and Novum Villare. A dire pain of gout afflicted him; but although the outer man suffered, yet the inner man advanced from virtue to virtue, restoring the ruins of the churches. And (what is greater than the powers of bodily miracles) he healed souls vexed by various vices with the medicine of preaching and example, and raised them up from spiritual death. And to him to whom such things are given, if the faith of those present had needed it, do you suppose that the healing of bodily diseases would have been lacking? He died on the seventh of the kalends of November. He is buried in the church of the blessed martyr Symphorian in the suburb of Metz."
[4] St. Sigebald was neither of royal race, nor the brother of St. Segolena: We have just heard that St. Sigebald sprang from noble birth or from a most noble race of the Franks: but, if many are to be believed, he drew his origin from the kings of the Franks Gallia Christiana, vol. XIII, col. 703.; which novel opinion, plainly supported by no documents, is rightly and deservedly disapproved and rejected by the writers of Gallia Christiana. The Acts of St. Segolena, the same writers add, written by a contemporary author and published by Mabillon Acta SS. Ord. S. Benedicti, sæc. III, part II, p. 542 and following., report that he was begotten of another race. According to these Acts, Segolena, daughter of Chramsicus, a man of illustrious birth in Aquitaine, born in the city of Albi towards the end of the seventh century, had a brother a bishop, Sigibald by name, whom Mabillon Annales Benedictini, vol. I, p. 607. and the writers of the history of Occitania D. Vaissette, Hist. du Languedoc, vol. I, p. 573. think to be the same as Sigibald, prelate of Metz. This pious woman, after ten years of marriage, bereft of her husband Gislulf, a man outstanding in race and riches, withdrew into a monastery which her father Chramsicus built for her sake in a most pleasant place, some leagues distant from Albi, which was called Troclaris. When she had fallen into an illness, her brother Sigibald the bishop came to her; from whom, as she was already almost breathing her last, she received the viaticum of the Lord's Body and Blood. Although the Maurists speak cautiously in this place, they nevertheless seem to agree in the same opinion; and indeed Calmet openly inclines to the same Hist. de Lorraine, vol. I, col. 474., and Francois and Tabouillot follow it Hist. de Metz., vol. I, p. 439.; but Vaissette and his colleagues, the writers of the History of Occitania, are plainly doubtful, and dispute on both sides Hist. du Languedoc, vol. I, p. 373 and following..
[5] [whose age is uncertain; then at that time there was no agreement between the Aquitanians and the Austrasians.] But Mabillon, who first brought it into the Benedictine Annals, had before embraced quite another in the Acts of the saints of the Order of St. Benedict Century III, part II, p. 542., remarking that Metz was too far distant from Albi for a bishop of Metz, above all one suffering from gout, to have been able to visit the abbess of Albi as often as is stated in the Life of St. Segolena: which reason our Cuper strongly approves Acta SS., vol. V of July, p. 629., where he illustrated the Acts of St. Segolena at the 24th day of July. And indeed, since St. Sigebald had already been created bishop in the year 708, he must have ascended the chair of Metz while Eudo was ruling Aquitaine and Pippin of Herstal Austrasia; and at that time foreigners were very rarely taken up to cathedral sees. But who would believe that Sigibald, brother of St. Segolena, of the nation of Albi, an Aquitanian by country, and he of noble race, was admitted to the see of Metz in Austrasia, when there were the greatest feuds between Pippin and Eudo, who from the year 688 had asserted the freedom of Aquitaine against Pippin himself Cf. D. Vaissette, Hist. du Languedoc, vol. I, p. 370 and following., and all the Aquitanians, especially the nobles, were wholly inclined to the party of the Neustrians, so that in the year 817 they even defended the rights of Chilperic II by arms against the Austrasians Ibid., p. 387 and following.? Then, that conjecture rests on no foundation; for it is altogether unknown at what time St. Segolena and Sigebald her brother lived, some remarking the VII century, others the VIII, others either of the two, others the IX, others finally that there is no name in the Life of St. Segolena that may be fixed to a certain age Cf. Acta SS., vol. V of July, p. 630.. For this reason Cuper would have it Ibid., p. 629. Cf. D. Rivet, Hist. litt. de France, vol. IV, p. 77 and 78. that Sigebald her brother was bishop of Narbonne or of Sées, or of another see neighbouring the Albigensians; Baillet however Vie des Saints, vol. V, p. 346. that he is either unknown, or a prelate of Cahors: in my judgment this one thing is probable, namely that St. Sigebald, bishop of Metz, was by no means the brother of St. Segolena.
[6] Since St. Chrodegang was made bishop not in the year 752, But in determining the time of the episcopate of St. Sigebald the difficulty is much greater than appears at first sight. If we go to the Catalogue or Episcopologium Pertz, Monumenta, vol. II, p. 269. Cf. Calmet, Preuves, vol. I, col. CXVII. which ends in Adalbero about the year 964, "Sigebald the bishop sat 25 years: he died on the VII of the kalends of November." But it will become clear that he sat much longer. The third continuator of the deeds of the abbots of St. Trond wrote at the year 743 Ibid., vol. X, p. 371.: "About the same time flourished (which in Chronicles is the same as died) Sigibald, bishop of Metz": which comes closer to the opinion of Henschen Acta SS., vol. I of March, p. 454, num. 7., who determined that his successor St. Chrodegang was installed as bishop by sacred benediction at the kalends of October of the year 742; which opinion was afterwards followed by Lecointe Annales Francorum at the year 742, n. 51 and at the year 766, n. 2., Francois and Tabouillot Hist. de Metz, vol. I, p. 454 and following., the writers of the new Gallia Christiana Vol. XIII, col. 703 and 704., and others. But in the manuscript Florarium which we brought forward at the beginning it is reported that St. Sigibald flourished, or died, in the year of salvation DCCLI; and, what is much more serious, a priest of Mainz, author of the Life of St. Boniface, bishop and martyr, which Henschen and Papebroch published in the first place in the Supplement to the Acts of St. Boniface Acta SS., vol. I of June, p. 475., relates that St. Boniface charged it as an offence against Pope Stephen III, when in the year 753 he sought aid from Pippin in Gaul, that he had ordained St. Chrodegang or Rutgang: "Then also it happened," he says, "that the lord Apostolic ordained Rutgang bishop of Metz. On which account the venerable bishop Boniface withstood him to his face, telling him that it was not lawful … without the consent of the bishop to whose diocese the place belongs, whatever it is, to ordain a bishop; which, however, Pope Stephen affirmed that he had done by apostolic authority." At which place Papebroch added Acta SS., p. c., note h. that St. Chrodegang was ordained by Stephen, but at Rome in the year 752 on the kalends of October, which then fell on a Sunday; so that St. Sigebald met his death on the 26th of October of the year 751, as is read in the Florarium. What then is to be followed in this variety of opinions? First of all no account is to be taken of that little Mainz writing: that whole passage is sprinkled with so many blemishes that Henschen wished it suppressed Ibid., note f., nor would Papebroch have kept it, except that he had not read number 7 of Henschen's Commentary on St. Chrodegang, but only number 13, where by a most manifest typographical slip the year DCCLII was printed in place of DCCXLII: read the place. And the origin of the error of the priest of Mainz is plain: he confused, namely, the ordination or episcopal consecration of St. Chrodegang with the conferral of the pallium and of the archiepiscopal dignity annexed to it; concerning which it is read in the other manuscript codex of De Thou and in the Ambrosian Anastasius Biblioth., edition of 1735, vol. IV, p. 233.: "While Pope Stephen III was staying in Francia, he granted the pallium to Rodigang, a most holy bishop, and ordained him archbishop"; whence in the Lorsch Chronicle Acta SS., vol. I of March, p. 454. he is called the venerable Rutgang, archbishop of the church of Metz. It may be that this did not please St. Boniface, although it was by no means new that bishops should be presented with the pallium, whereby they might become archchaplains and obtain the highest jurisdiction in Gaul Cf. Examen hist. et canon., p. 204 and following.; but this is of no concern to us at present, since we have only to lay open the cause of the error of the Mainz biographer. It is right therefore to set aside the years 751 and 752, in the former of which St. Sigebald would have died, and in the latter St. Chrodegang would have been made bishop.
[7] [but in the year 742, St. Sigebald must have died on the 26th of October of the year 741.] And indeed nothing is more certain than that St. Chrodegang ascended the chair of Metz on the 1st day of October of the year 742 and died on the 6th day of March of the year 766. Let us take our beginning from his death. Henschen has demonstrated Acta SS., vol. I of March, p. 455. from the Lorsch Chronicle and from the manuscript of Sigebert which is among the books of the queen of Sweden that the blessed man died in the year 766; and Eckhart shows the same De rebus Franciæ orientalis, vol. I, p. 584. from the Annals of Petau and of Moissac. Paul son of Warnefrid agrees, who reports that he died in the days of King Pippin, that is, before the year 768. Nor is the day doubtful, for from the feast and from contemporary writings it is established that he passed to the heavens on the 6th day of March. But now Paul is to be heard, whom I have just called upon; inasmuch as from his testimony it can be deduced on what day and in what year St. Chrodegang was consecrated bishop. He says then Pertz, Monumenta Germaniæ, vol. II, p. 267.: "He ruled the church of Metz for twenty-three years, V months, V days. He died on the day before the Nones of March in the days of King Pippin." Now if these numbers,
which agree with the Catalogue or Episcopologium of Metz, we deduct from the 6th day of March of the year 766, we come to the 1st day of October of the year 742, on which St. Chrodegang was ordained bishop; and indeed in his Life Chapter X, in Eckart, De rebus Franciæ orientalis, vol. I, p. 926. it is read: "The ordination of the blessed bishop was celebrated on the day of the kalends of October"; but the year too can be determined from this source. For when the see of Metz was vacant through the death of St. Sigebald, Pippin, then indeed duke, but afterwards glorious king of the Franks, "was most severely pressed both by the incursion of foreign peoples, I mean of Gascony and of the Spains, and by the hostility of his own citizens" Chapter V, ibid., p. 920.. Now it is beyond controversy that Pippin's Aquitanian expedition was not begun before the year 742, but was accomplished in that very year. It follows therefore that St. Chrodegang was placed in the chair of Metz in the place of St. Sigebald on the 1st day of October of that year. In actual fact that day was then not a Sunday, but a Monday. But in Germany, where many singular things were done in the elections and ordinations of bishops, the law about the time of ordaining bishops was not always observed: as may be seen in what I have disputed elsewhere about the bishops of Bremen and Hamburg Acta SS., vol. IX of October, p. 376 and following.. From this head, therefore, nothing prevents St. Chrodegang having been made bishop on the 1st day of October of the year 742. And since his predecessor died on the 26th day of October, as is established from Paul son of Warnefrid and from the chronological notes appended to the very ancient metrical Catalogue In D. Calmet, vol. I, Preuves, col. CXX., and since the episcopal see does not seem to have been vacant beyond due measure after his death, it is not to be doubted that St. Sigebald died in the preceding year, that is, on the 26th of October of the year 741. But if you subtract from that the twenty-five years inscribed in the Episcopologium, St. Sigebald would have been made bishop in the year 715; and indeed Lecointe attaches the beginnings of his episcopate to the year next after this Annales eccles. Francorum, at the year 716, n. 17.. But it has long since been remarked that an error lurks in the XXV years of the Episcopologium; since it is established that St. Sigebald bore the mitre of Metz on the twentieth day of the month of December, in the fourteenth year of the reign of the lord King Childebert, that is, of Christ 708: for then [Testament of Volfaudus concerning the estate of Marsupia, in Baluze, Miscellanea, vol. III, pp. 30 and 31, Mansi edition.] "it pleased the good of peace, as it was agreed between the apostolic man the lord Sigibaud, bishop of the church of Metz, and Count Wolfaud that they should exchange their small estates between themselves; which also they did. Sigibaud the bishop gave to Count Wolfaud the small estate called Marsupia, in the district of Verdun, which Godo and Hærevius for the salvation of their souls made over to the church of St. Stephen" or the cathedral… "In return, in like manner, Volfaud gave to Sigibaud the bishop, to the portion of St. Stephen, the small estate called Vineaico, in the boundary of the village of Ausiniaca in the district of Fugentense on the river Moselle, … whatever he had bought there from a man named Ægino at a price paid, or whatever he appeared to possess at present, the whole and entire he made over to the portion of St. Stephen; and whatever they might wish to do with them on either side, they had the free and most firm power of doing." To which exchange they added these conditions and penalties: "But if anyone, which we do not believe will happen, whether we ourselves or the heirs of Volfaud or of Adalvinda or of the lord Sigebaud, should wish to do anything against these exchanges, let him lose the portion that he has received, and in addition be compelled to pay two pounds of gold, five pounds of silver, and let him be unable to obtain what he claims, but let this present exchange remain firm and stable, with a stipulation supported." In the following year Volfaud gave the estate of Marsupia, that it might be the first seat of the most celebrated monastery of St. Michael; which was afterwards changed in location and grew into the town of Saint Mihiel Cf. Acta SS. vol. IX of October, p. 315.; by which it came about that that and other very ancient charters were preserved.
[8] The blessed man is renowned for episcopal and private virtues. But this exchange is a single act; Gallia Christiana celebrates these daily praises Vol. XIII, col. 704.: "Most versed in sacred letters, he applied himself with his whole mind to instructing his flock by examples as well as words. He rebuked offenders indulgently, and kindly spurred on those constant in the virtues to perseverance. He never left his house without having wherewith to relieve the misery of the needy." The writers of the History of Metz note that these things are taken from an old Life Hist. de Metz, vol. I, p. 439.; but they differ somewhat from the Life to be published below. The following too is read, transferred word for word from the same Life into Gallia Christiana Vol. XIII, col. 704. and also preserved in our apograph: "Who is so devoted to and entangled in earthly pleasures, to whom worldly delights would not seem vile, when he hears that this man (St. Sigebald), sprung from noble birth, abounding in riches, endowed and exalted with the pontifical honour, amid royal banquets did not serve the gullet, but studied the traffic of frugality, and held at nothing the vain nobility of the flesh without nobility of soul." Nor did the pious father seek himself, or his own advantages, or those of his family; but the things that are of Jesus Christ: wherefore by Paul son of Warnefrid he is called with an excellent encomium "a man in all things devoted to the advantages of the church." In the other Symphorian Life, as we learn from Calmet Hist. de Lorraine, vol. I, col. 473., it is reported that moreover he was renowned while alive for the glory of miracles in healing the diseases of others; but that he never wished to ask of God to be freed from the gout, from which it is established also from other sources that he greatly suffered. But neither Paul son of Warnefrid, nor the biographer of St. Chrodegang, nor the author of the Chronicle of the bishops of Metz seem to have known anything of miraculous healings of bodies which St. Sigebald performed while alive; indeed the later writer even hints that bodily miracles were not done by him, but only spiritual ones; and certainly this same writer adds that he was of very great power by preaching and example.
[9] [He takes care of the repair of churches; he restores Hilariacum or the monastery of St. Nabor, once founded by St. Fridolin.] Now the most holy prelate understood how much moment lies first of all in the material ecclesiastical buildings. Wherefore he is called by Paul son of Warnefrid "also a most skilful restorer of sacred buildings", that is (as the chronographer of the bishops of Metz explains), "by restoring the ruins of churches": which care was the more necessary, in that most sacred buildings, above all rural ones, were of timber or wood. And since he considered it the more important part of his duty to take care of those who, having cast off the delights of the world, have devoted themselves wholly to the service of God, for their sake he left behind him two more notable monuments of his piety and munificence, namely the monasteries of Hilariacum and Novumvillare; of which the former, although it existed before, he increased with such great benefits that he is said even to have founded it by Paul and by the writer of the Life of St. Chrodegang; to have built it by the chronographer of Metz. Now it is a pleasure to say a little more about it, because the blessed man died there and was first buried there. Several leagues to the east of Metz, on the little river Rosselle, in the place where the town of Saint Avold now stands, the beginnings of this hermitage were laid about the opening of the VI century by Bl. Fridolin, a Scot or Irishman by nation; who, since he had lived for some time in the monastery of St. Hilary at Poitiers, gave to the new monasteries which he afterwards founded in Austrasia the name of Hilariacum, from his former patron. But because the hermitage on the Rosselle was very small, as Lecointe understood Annales eccles. Francorum, at the year 734, n. 8., or rather consisted of scattered cells, huts and caves, as those times bore Cf. Lenoir, Architecture monastique, vol. I, p. 7., new foundations having been laid, it was finished with the highest beauty by Sigebald; who on account of his munificence, says the same Lecointe Annales, loc. cit., is held down to this day as the founder of that place. And indeed Pulchronius Lavignon, abbot of that monastery, having inspected the archives, wrote to Meurisse, who was preparing the history of the bishops of Metz Ibid. at the year 716, n. 17 and in Meurisse.: "Sigibald, XXXVIII bishop of the metropolis of Mediomatrica, besides innumerable monuments of a more frugal life, founded from its foundations with skilful zeal this monastery, which is called Novacella or Hilariacum, and most happily dedicated it in honour of the divine Paul, teacher of the Gentiles, and diligently heaped it with revenues, privileges and other things necessary for the use of the monks serving God there, in the year of the Incarnate Word seven hundred and thirty-four, [Gregory, the III of that name, and Zachary governing the helm of the fisherman's bark at the city of Rome, under the emperor Leo, the III of that name. Buried in this monastery on the left of the high altar]." This passage also our Alexander Wiltheim found in a little writing, the title of which is: On the foundation and construction of this praiseworthy monastery of St. Nabor; whence we have excerpted the things enclosed in brackets: a catalogue of the abbots followed after. Where if it be determined that St. Zachary lent his services to St. Gregory III, the notes of time agree; since Leo the Isaurian reigned from the 25th day of March 717 to the 18th of June 741, and Gregory presided over the Roman church from the 18th day of March of the year 731 to the 27th or 28th of November of the year 741, and St. Zachary succeeded three days later. (I cannot say whether in the XVII century the diploma of foundation still survived, or at least an apograph in the Cartulary which Abbot Didericus had copied about the year 1434 Gallia Christiana, vol. XIII, col. 840..) It seemed to the historians of Metz that Hilariacum then took the name of Novacella DD. François and Tabouillot, Histoire de Metz, vol. I, p. 440.; not badly. But when in the year 765, by the benevolence and largess of St. Chrodegang, the relics of St. Nabor had been brought there, it began gradually to put on the name of St. Nabor [Cf. the aforesaid books and the Retractatio on the monastery of Helera or Hilariacum, otherwise of St. Nabor, of the diocese of Metz, Mabillon, Annal. Benedictini, vol. II, at the end of the appendix, p. 705.]; which the common people perverted into San-Nabor, San-Abor, San-Avol and finally into San-Avolt or Saint-Avolt. But the impiety of the close of the last century swept away this religious institution.
[10] [He founds Novumvillare in the diocese of Strasbourg for the sake of St. Pirmin: the rights of the bishops of Metz and the fortunes of the place.] Novavilla or Novumvillare, commonly Neuweiler, the other monastery which St. Sigebald founded or built, was situated at the entrance of the Vosges mountains, at the foot of Mount Scaurus, in the diocese of Strasbourg, in such a way however that, since the bishops were lords of the fiefs of Bouxwiller, Ingwiller etc., and on that title received three thousand pounds yearly from the towns of Neuweiler and Maursmünster and from St. Quirin
village, it depended on the bishops of Metz Mém. mss. de D. Isidore Fach, in Francois and Tabouillot, vol. I, p. 441.: which thing I consider to be a remnant of a more ancient discipline. For whether these places were once a part of the diocese of Metz or not (for they are not far distant from the boundaries of the dioceses of Metz and Strasbourg), the monastery of St. Maurus came in the year 828 into the hands of the bishops of Metz by the commendation of Louis the Pious Gallia Christ., vol. V, col. 867.; which a century and a half later was followed by the cell of St. Quirin, founded in the year 966 and handed over to the abbot of Maursmünster Schöpflin, Alsatia illust. germ. gal. vol. II, p. 479.. Novumvillare, however, depended on the chair of Metz, because St. Sigebald had made the endowment and borne the expense [Cf. Mabillon, Annal. Bened. book XX, num. 76, vol. II, p. 73, and Gallia Christ. vol. V, col. 833.] for the sake of St. Pirmin [Cf. the anonymous fragment in Urstisius, Duchesne and Mabillon, Sæculum Bened. III, part II, p. 138.], founder of many other monasteries in those parts; and if the blessed man consecrated the church (as the biographer of St. Chrodegang states), according to the African discipline, received also in Gaul and Germany [Cf. Examen hist. et canonicum, p. 163 and following, and Acta SS., Auctarium to vol. VI of October, pp. 46 and 47.], Novumvillare was subject to the spiritual authority of the prelates of Metz; although this also frequently followed temporal jurisdiction, if that was in the hands of churchmen. According to the usual custom of the VIII century SS. Peter and Paul were summoned as heavenly patrons; to whom was afterwards added St. Adelphus or Adolphus, bishop of Metz, after Drogo, bishop of the same see, had translated the body of that saint into the church in the year 846. In the year 1495 or 1497, with the consent of Pope Alexander VI, it was changed into a college of canons Gallia Christiana, vol. XIII, col. 834.. In the year 1563 the nave of the church of St. Adelphus was left by a settlement to citizens of the Augsburg Confession: the choir, which a wall separates from the nave, remaining in the hands of the canons Schöpflin, Alsatia illust. vol. II, p. 224.. The townsfolk, once few in number (for in the middle of the last century the citizens were only a hundred and fifty), are now reckoned at above one thousand seven hundred.
[11] St. Sigebald by no means founded the monastery of Claustriacum, Meurisse has reported Hist. des évêques de Metz, p. 151. that the monastery of Claustriacum also, commonly Croffthal or Crauffthal, was founded by St. Sigebald, not far from the road by which one goes from Metz to Strasbourg, between Parvapetra and Salisburgum; but the same writer elsewhere mentions that this monastery was raised by the parents of Folcmar, count of Metz, who flourished at the beginning of the XII century. This latter opinion is approved by Calmet Hist. de Lorraine, vol. I, col. 473., Francois and Tabouillot Hist. de Metz, vol. I, pp. 441 and 442., Schöpflin Alsatia illustrata, vol. II, p. 451. and the writers of Gallia Christiana Vol. XIII, col. 835., since before that age no mention of this hermitage anywhere occurs; afterwards, however, it appears as a Cistercian house of nuns; then it is read that Folcmar granted this house to his brother Theotger, formerly abbot of St. George's in the Black Forest, afterwards bishop of Metz from the year 1118 to 1120: so that it must be judged in truth to have been established on the ancestral estate. Finally, not only does Paul son of Warnefrid mention that two monasteries were founded by St. Sigebald; but the biographer of St. Chrodegang so affirms that only two were built by him that on this count he makes him inferior to St. Chrodegang, who built three. "For," he says in the Prologue In Eckhart, vol. I, p. 912; in Pertz, vol. X, p. 553., "to be silent for the moment on the other deeds of such great men, I shall say this one thing, that man of the Lord (Sigebald), prematurely ripe in the vigilance of good things, renowned for zeal in ecclesiastical works, most vitally expanding his holy mind toward the abiding *, and instructing his subjects to do likewise, labouring with all his endeavours, built two dwellings of the servants of God, namely of those who, inhabiting the earth by the common mass of bodies, took the greatest care by the blessed conversation of their souls always to be present to heaven and heavenly things… But that what I say may become clear, blessed Sigibald built two, and Chrodegang of eternal memory three noble monasteries of monks, most nobly." From the deeds of St. Sigebald, therefore, the foundation of Claustriacum, unknown to all the ancients, is to be eliminated.
[12] but he fostered the flourishing schools of Metz. A letter to St. Boniface. That St. Sigebald signally fostered the study of letters, the same biographer is a witness. For in narrating how St. Chrodegang was instructed and educated partly at Metz and gradually excelled the others in divine and human learning: "But the city," he says Ibid., pp. 917 and 557., "in which the blessed man was reared was up to that time so filled and adorned with an abundance of wise men, that all truly acclaimed it a school of the liberal arts. Nor certainly did the men inhabiting that same city give less attention to holiness and the virtues, so that Bishop Sigibald, for the merit of his piety and devotion, was venerated and loved by the whole country. And how many renowned pastors from you, most precious and most happy of cities, how many venerable pastors, how many leaders and rulers acceptable to the churches spread throughout the whole world have been granted! In this so great and such a gymnasium of heavenly athletes, in this most noble city, advancing to the strength of manly age by the increase of times and of virtues, the most holy Chrodegang, himself now taught to teach others, who had been instructed with diligent care, persevered." Which praises indeed, if understood according to the times, are by no means excessive: for the schools of Metz were already most celebrated from the middle of the VII century, when St. Clodulf sat at Metz [Mabillon, Sæc. Bened. II, pp. 491, 1075 and 1081; Annales, book XV, n. 21; Gallia Christ., vol. XIII, col. 701; D. Rivet, Hist. litt. de Fr., vol. III, p. 434.], and they still kept their former fame in the IX century, when Aldric, before that a pupil of the palace school and afterwards bishop of Le Mans, ruled them [D. Calmet, Hist. de Lorraine, vol. I, col. 627; D. Rivet, Hist. litt., vol. IV, p. 228.]. But, although such was then the barbarism with which Latinity had to fight that it may be conceded to the Magdeburg Centuriators, without disgrace to St. Sigebald, that a letter of indifferent Latin was written by him, yet we must plainly depart from them in this matter, where they say Century VIII, chapter 10, col. 767.: "Sigebald was a priest, an intimate of Boniface: and afterwards, if he is the same, he was made bishop of the people of Metz, in the time of Pippin. A certain manuscript letter of his has seemed to us rather barbarous; in which he indicates that he has inscribed the name of Boniface in the catalogue of Masses and that he will pray for him when dead…" The Protestant taunts which they have added, because St. Sigebald was a Catholic, and other things that they have taken from Paul son of Warnefrid, I willingly omit; but this very letter of Sigebald, which Baronius published Annales eccles. at the year 724, num. 13. and the editors of the works of St. Boniface who came after him, is by no means that of St. Sigebald, bishop of Metz, but of another Sigebald, who (as Pagi shows Critice ibid., num. 3.) seems to have been a monk and indeed of Winchester in England. For that it is not of St. Sigebald, bishop of Metz, follows even from this one head alone, that when it was sent to St. Boniface, the writer was a priest (for he speaks of his Masses and of Daniel, doubtless of Winchester, his bishop); and yet it is later than the year 723, in which the apostle of the Germans, returned from Rome, began to preach the word of God in Thuringia: at which time St. Sigebald had long since been a bishop. The Centuriators finally add, relying on the Life of St. Chrodegang: "Pippin esteemed him greatly, and in many things used his counsel." But Pippin the Short could have sought his counsels only a short time before his death, since he was brought into the light only in the year 714 and baptized by St. Willibrord, and only in the year 741 did he with his brother Carloman succeed his father Charles Martel, mayor of the palace: for Pippin of Herstal, who died in the year 714, cannot be understood; and so Pippin the Short is most certainly indicated.
[13] How useful the dealings of St. Sigebald to Pippin the Short. For when in the autumn of the year 742 Pippin the Short had returned from the war of Gascony or rather of Bourges (for he did not advance much farther) and was meditating the restoration of the two states, it happened, on the testimony of the biographer of St. Chrodegang Chapter V, in Eckhart, vol. I, p. 921; in Pertz, vol. X, p. 360., that "messengers from the city of Mediomatrica were present, and announced a common loss to the whole realm, namely the death of their bishop Sigibald. Whose death, most precious in the sight of the Lord, how much grief and detriment it brought both to the whole country and above all to his own city, both the tears of the peoples and the words of Prince Pippin attested. He at length, on hearing of the death of the man by whose nod and counsel the state was accustomed to be ordered, whose most holy life had been held out to holy church for imitation as long as he lived, drawing deep sighs from the bottom of his breast, while he strove to call others back from tears, was himself unable to restrain himself from letting the grief conceived in his mind break forth on his princely face; and scarcely able to speak, with what effort he could he consoled the messengers of the people who had come, saying: 'Do not, dearest ones, do not be affected with so great a grief of soul, but remembering the hope of the great resurrection and the glory with which the blessed bishop now and for ever will abound, reigning with Christ, congratulate him and rejoice with him; and labour by the good remedies of your actions, that as most beloved sons and offspring of paternal glory you may some day be able to be joined with the holy father in the blessed life. I confess, if anyone ever duly paid tears to this most holy prelate, none in any way was more bound than I; for me there is weeping and mourning, for me nights and days are to be spent lamenting him, who have lost such a support and governor of the state; who fear also lest, so great a father having been received at the gate of heaven, the condition of the realm may be altogether imperilled. And indeed we most truly know him to be of those in whose praise it is said: Of whom the world was not worthy, who in Christ Jesus were found approved by the testimony of faith. By whose nod and counsel I had once resolved to do all things, had arranged to handle the affairs of the realm, sad at his absence, at his presence always cheerful and merry, he assuredly has received the heavenly things long desired and well deserved, as the faith of the faithful holds. Being deprived of him, alas! choose now, dearest ones, one from among you of good testimony, of excellent character, to be substituted without delay in his place.'" Which, although they are set forth rhetorically rather than historically, it can at least be gathered from them
that Pippin grieved over the loss of St. Sigebald, and that he dealt with the blessed man in a friendly and familiar manner, even before he took up the reins of Austrasia with his brother Carloman.
[14] [He dies on the 26th of October 741 at Hilariacum, where he is buried and venerated.] St. Sigebald by his death made room for those praises, after he had most vigilantly exercised the sacred ministry for more than thirty-two years. In the monastery of Hilariacum, afterwards of St. Nabor, he completed his life by the testimony of all. When he perceived that the last hour of death was at hand, he called the brethren to him and exhorted them to the observance of regular discipline and of the ancient traditions. These words Gallia Christiana Vol. XIII, col. 704. borrowed from the manuscript codex of St. Symphorian in which his Life was contained, as François and Tabouillot are witnesses Hist. de Metz, vol. I, p. 448.; who add from the same source that not only the brethren of the monastery, but also those of the clergy were summoned by him and admonished in a brief and tender discourse. Then, having received Viaticum, he gave back his spirit to God on the 26th of October; in which all agree; and, as is read in the Life in the codex of St. Symphorian, he was buried with the greatest solemnity in the church of the monastery, where many masses were celebrated and great oblations were made Ibid., loc. cit.. He was preserved there still when the Life of St. Chrodegang was written; in which indeed it is read In Eckhart, De rebus Franciæ Orientalis, vol. I, p. 919.: "The blessed man is buried in the monastery of Hilariacum; … where to this day indeed lies his body, but his soul in heaven with the blessed spirits, joyful, triumphs now and for ever"; and which we noted at the beginning was probably written after the middle of the X century by Bl. John, abbot of Gorze. And already at that time he was held a saint and honoured with public cult; since the biographer calls him the blessed man, blessed Sigibald, holy Sigibald, the blessed bishop, and by other titles with which he adorns only those who enjoyed ecclesiastical honours.
[15] Thence he is afterwards translated to the monastery of St. Symphorian at Metz. Yet the bones of the most holy man did not remain there, but were translated to the suburban monastery of St. Symphorian, somewhat before the year 1107; but when is not clearly established. If, however, I see anything, this was done about the year 991, in which Adalbero II, bishop of Metz, undertook to restore the monastery of St. Symphorian, formerly of the Holy Innocents, from its rubble and ruins, with the help of Bl. Figenius, a Scottish or Irish abbot Gallia Christiana, vol. XIII, col. 727 and 845.. They certainly did not come there earlier, since from the year 882 the Normans, besieging Metz, had left nothing there but ruined walls Gal. Chr. vol. XIII, col. 844.. They were placed there in a marble coffin; why or when this was hidden in the ground is not clear. Certainly all memory of the relics of the holy man had perished by the year 1107, when they were uncovered by chance. For in this year, when Abbot Garcirius or Herbert and his monks were building a new choir, overturning the wall on which rested a column bearing a great stone image of Christ fixed to the cross, they came upon that coffin, which lay beneath the foundations. The sacred remains were at once brought out and set forth in a new coffin for popular piety. Afterwards they were honourably laid up partly in a silver case, placed under the principal altar, partly in a bust [Ibid., col. 704; Hist. de Lorraine, vol. I, col. 473 and 474; Hist. de Metz, vol. I, p. 448.], which still survives and is exposed yearly. His office was solemnly celebrated there as long as the abbey stood; afterwards it was discontinued; but for a long while now it has been celebrated, as we noted at the beginning, in the whole diocese of Metz.
Annotations* city
LIFE OF ST. SIGEBALD, BISHOP OF METZ,
Excerpted from the Life of St. Chrodegang, by (as it seems) Bl. John, abbot of Gorze, according to the editions of Eckhart and Pertz, from the sole Wolfenbüttel Codex, and then the Augsburg one.
Sigebald, confessor and bishop, at Metz in Gaul. (S.)
BHL Number: 1781
a[St. Sigebald, illustrious for holiness, founds the monasteries of Hilariacum and Novumvillare;] While … in the exercises of the virtues the recruit of the holy heavenly church, namely blessed Chrodegang, was being instructed, imbued and proved, St. Sigibald, a man of notable life and most wise understanding, also of a keen spirit in increasing holy church (so far as lay in him), presided over the pontifical chair in the city of the people of Metz, adorning it both with the magnificence of the virtues and with the most perfect glory of a most upright life. For … in all things devoted to the advantage of the church, also a most skilful restorer of sacred buildings, he founded two monasteries of monks, of which one is called Hylariacum, where St. Nabor, brought from Rome by St. Chrodegang…, rests; which he dedicated in honour of St. Paul the teacher of the Gentiles b. The other monastery the man of the Lord built, which today is named Novumvillare, likewise consecrating it to God and to St. Peter; where also the bones of the blessed confessor Adelfus, bishop of the people of Metz, were buried with worthy honour; which also through the merits of the holy prelate is gloriously made famous by miracles throughout the whole region c.
[2] he suffers from gout and becomes as it were another Job; He, especially given to the proclamations of virtues of this kind, was altogether afflicted by the distress of the infirmity which they call gout. And when he was being refined in this furnace of illness like purified gold, one day, as that same distress of infirmity grew more severely heavy, he was brought to extremity. But when (as we have said) he was grievously afflicted by pains of this kind, the blessed spirit, fixing his mind on eternal things, bore those same pains of the body most patiently. Nor is it unbelievable but that he was happy as a sharer in the double recompense of blessed Job, who indeed persisted, precious, as a sharer in the labour and patience of that same most devout man; nor (as we hope) by occasion of present death have they been separated, who in the holy equality of trial and ardour have been in no way disjoined.
[3] He dies most piously, to the supreme grief of the people, When therefore, as I had begun to say, thoroughly tempered by good works and the furnace of infirmity, he foretold that he would speedily leave the mass of his frail body, he himself indeed, knowing that he would fly up on the two wings of charity which he had acquired in the days that he lived, was flooded with joy and gladness, as happens when someone is invited to the feast and banquet of a king. But the people was filled with so great a grief at the departure of its own pastor, that, with what love it had loved him as long as the saint had lived in health, whom with so great and so grievous a sorrow it was losing, or rather was sending on before to the heavens as victor over the world, you would easily recognize if you were present. But the blessed bishop consoled it mildly and kindly enough, and, foreknowing the things to come, he protested that not only would a bishop follow him of no less grace and merit, but also one such as would by God's help and his own industry extend the bishopric more than ever. Filled with holy consolation in these and similar incitements of words, St. Sigebald, persevering in the days of his infirmity, at length, God who had given it calling forth his spirit, having received the Viaticum by which we are all saved, on the VII of the kalends of November was led by angels into heaven d. The blessed man is buried in the monastery of Hylariacum, which he himself built from the foundations with happy and immense zeal; where to this day indeed lies his body, but his soul in heaven with the blessed spirits, joyful, triumphs now and for ever.
[4] greatly anxious about electing a successor. And the widowed people, their pastor, who was to be preferred to all of his time, being, alas! taken away, was so afflicted with the anxiety of grief and the redoubling of tears, so pressed down by sorrow, that it could in no way be consoled by anyone. There was present before their eyes the memory of former blessings, the recollection of most perfect deeds, by which the faithful people was strengthened and confirmed, that it might persist freely in the end of the Lord and in holy works; but it was also shaken by a most grievous fear, lest, its bishop having been received at the gate of heaven, since the whole world was set in wickedness, they should be subjected to some hireling, who would seek by chance his own and not the Lord's gains, so long as he was presented with prosperity; but when the world and blind fortune were adverse, having left the flock committed to him, and having evilly taken the safeguard of flight, he would conceal himself. For they were so dissolved with dread that they even prayed for this, that if the sword of the Lord's chastisement, drawn to strike severely, could by no means be drawn back before it struck, they should be handed over to a visible and perishable enemy to be consumed in a short time.
ANNOTATIONS.
On the translation of St. Nabor a few things have been said in our Acts at the 12th day of June Acta SS. vol. II of June, pp. 514 and 515.; the entire narrative, inserted in the history of the translation of St. Gorgonius, is contained in the Acts of the Saints of the Order of St. Benedict Century III, part II, p. 204 and following., and partly also in the Lives of St. Chrodegang, so many times cited by us.
LIFE OF ST. SIGIBALD, BISHOP OF METZ,
By a monk of St. Symphorian of Metz, from an apograph of the codex of that monastery.
Sigebald, confessor and bishop, at Metz in Gaul. (S.)
BHL Number: 7709
FROM MANUSCRIPTS.
HERE BEGINS THE PROLOGUE OF THE LIFE OF ST. SIGIBALD, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR OF METZ.
A profession of modesty. Long since I have heard your petition, brethren and my lords, who under the protection of St. Symphorian the martyr have vowed in holy conversation to bear the sweet yoke of the Lord: I have heard, I say, and I recall that you have rather often admonished me that I should gather in a brief volume a few things of the life of blessed Sigibald, bishop of Metz, and certain things of his powers, lately shown to us by God; but at first I hesitated, fearing to lay a heavy burden on my shoulders. At length, overcome by a salutary and charitable importunity, or rather supported by the help of the confessor himself, I undertook the work, arduous and difficult though it be, trusting that what our strength does not have in itself, this your pious prayers will be able to fulfil. But I beg your charity that, before this little work bursts out into the open, your judgment should search and examine it; so that, if anything is obscure or imperfect, it may be returned to the anvil and polished, until it shines.
HERE BEGINS THE LIFE OF ST. SIGIBALD, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR.
[2] God, the author of holiness, The almighty Lord has made all things in wisdom, filling the earth with his possession, whose kingdom is of all ages and his dominion in generation and generation. By his great and ineffable clemency indeed, by which he reigns in his saints and elect, the same faithful leader directs those walking to him by the narrow and strait way: for it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy; those whom he has predestined from the beginning, he calls, justifies and magnifies,
granting them, after laying down the burden of the flesh, to become most illustrious here by signs and powers, and clothing them with the robe of immortality in the heavenly choirs. He does these things by his inestimable dispensation for the repair and renewal of the heavenly Jerusalem; which, built of living and chosen stones, now shines in the sight of the eternal King. For of old the enemy had burst into its gates through pride and exaltation, and had thrown down its walls and towers, the proud angel saying: "I will set my seat in the north, and I will be like the most High."
[3] [raised up St. Sigebald, who was to be an example to all by the severity of his life] The damages of this destruction the merciful and compassionate Lord has not ceased to repair, from the first man fashioned down to these our ages. Whence it is a pleasure to cry out: "How incomprehensible are your judgments, O Lord, and unsearchable your ways!" and with the Psalmist: "The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves, to be desired above gold and precious stone, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb." For your servant, that excellent bishop Sigibald, for whose sake we have undertaken these things, kept them; and in keeping them attained a reward manifold and great; which, as Paul attests, neither eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has it ascended into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love him. If therefore, concerning this man of wonderful sanctity, fittingly crowned with glory and honour beyond the hosts of the heavenly spirits, we presume to commit anything to memory in a humble style, it is to be believed that this is drawn not so much from the rivulet of our poor wit as from charity and brotherly love; in order that those who have heard good things of the good may render thanks and praises to the author of all good things and, by the example of the same vigorous confessor, walking from virtue to virtue, may have the means of advancing to better things. For whose breast of iron (we speak especially of those who profess to discharge the pastoral care) would not be softened, or would not be stirred to virtue, on hearing of the vigilance and solicitude of our so great patron, with which he dealt so prudently with the Lord's flock, that he both preserved severity in gentleness, and in severity did not abandon gentleness? Or who is so devoted to and entangled in earthly pleasures, to whom worldly delights would not seem vile, when he hears that this man, sprung from noble parents, abounding in riches, endowed and exalted with the pontifical honour, amid royal banquets did not serve the gullet, but studied the traffic of frugality, and held at nothing the vain nobility of his flesh * nobility of soul.
[4] and by episcopal virtues. He founded two monasteries, Hilariacum and Villare, Blessed Sigibald therefore, thoroughly learned in the knowledge of both testaments, had shown himself a most constant executor of the precepts of God; he rebuked offenders in the spirit of gentleness; he exhorted those who did well by examples, forming them with assiduous admonitions; to the humble he showed himself humble; the proud he did not refuse to resist in every way; showing himself a mediator between those at discord, he brought about pacts of peace; he never deviated from the path of justice either for favour or for fear; ever intent on meditation of the holy scriptures, not sparing to afflict his body in vigils, for compassion toward the poor never going forth with an empty hand. He seemed to himself a transgressor of all the commandments of God, if in one he showed himself to labour less. Whence two monasteries, of which one is called Hilariacum or Nova-cella, where the body of St. Nabor rests, which St. Grodegang dedicated in honour of blessed Paul; and the other, by name Villare, consecrated in honour of St. Peter, prince of the apostles, he founded at his own expense, where with happy foresight he placed religious monks to serve God there a. But why do we endeavour to enumerate more things of the abundance of his sanctity? Because he faithfully dispensed the provisions of his Lord's household, and because he did not hide in the earth the talents entrusted to him, but put them out at interest, and faithfully brought back the profit to his Lord, therefore he deserved to hear: "Good and faithful servant, because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many; enter into the joy of your Lord."
[5] [Metz has excellent patrons, Bl. Mary, St. Stephen, St. Glodesind, St. Serena and St. Clement.] O city of the Mediomatrici, most renowned among all cities for the richness of your soil, and most famous for the wealth of your goods! With how many and how great pledges of patrons you are strong and happily distinguished! By whatever necessity your citizens are constrained and resolve to implore the divine help, in you they find the pious suffrages of intercessors, who faithfully carry to the altars of the supreme Judge the libations of their prayers: whether bodies are dissolved by some illness, or the land needs to be held back by a breath of drought, or longs to be released from the flooding of rains. For through the merits and intercession of the glorious Virgin Mary, in the part next to the church of the protomartyr Stephen b, either by the recovery of desired health or by the speedy intervention of death all illness departs. The veil too of Blessed Clodesind [c], as often as it is brought forth, the earth, watered with health-giving waters, is opened to fruitfulness; on the other hand, when the body of St. Serena d goes before, we have often experienced that a harmful flooding of rains is calmed. St. Clement too, sent by Blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, to preach the word of God to the peoples of Gaul, above all to those who dwell within the walls of the city of Metz, how he ruled the people committed to him and freed them for ever from the attack of a dragon that killed as many men or birds as it could reach, and how by his intercession many keeping watch at his sacred tomb have deserved to obtain what they asked, whoever wishes to know, let him diligently consult the little book which has been written about his life e.
[6] [Many other excellent bishops succeeded him; among whom St. Sigebald shone, a very great friend of monks,] After many successors, finally, of Blessed Clement, men of august religion, of whose good deeds it would be laborious to tell, if we wished to run through them one by one, there came into the bishopric of Metz the above-named and often-to-be-named venerable Sigibald, adorning by his merits the summit of the episcopal dignity more than he was honoured by the dignity itself. For amid the cares and solicitudes of pastoral administration he was making for himself the twin wings of charity, by whose oarage he might fly away to the palaces of the starry kingdom. Wherefore the clergy venerated him as a lordly patron, honoured him as a most sweet father; and not undeservedly: for indeed he so provided for them, and met all their necessities, that no hindrance from lack of necessary things made them more sluggish in the service of God. The people none the less feared and revered him, because he oppressed them by no force or on any light pretext, but protected them against the violence of all their persecutors, as sons, and defended them. The life and habit of monks were so exceptional and pleasing in his eyes, that as often as anyone of that order came to him for the sake of conversing with him, he would rise up to him and be suppliant to him as to his lord, as to a familiar of God, as to an angel of the Lord, not thinking of earthly things, but already placed on the step of the contemplative life.
[7] counsellor of King Pippin, and to Job. In those same times in which such and so great a prelate was conducting himself so skilfully and vigorously with regard to the Lord's sheepfold, the judgment of the kingdom of the Franks was hanging on the hand of King Pippin f; into whose favour, on hearing the report of the most holy father, he had so far come, that he would do nothing concerning the state of the kingdom without his counsel, nor arrange anything concerning the advantages of the church except with his aid. Nor is it to be wondered at if he was dear and lovable to men, who preferred the Lord in all his works. Thus far we have touched on the vigilance of this good pastor with regard to Christ's sheepfold; we have told how fervent he was in the restoration of the churches of God; we have written how in the disposition of his kingdom the king obeyed his counsels; but now it will be imputed to sloth, if it is not added how great was his tranquillity and patience; since indeed as no prosperity lifted him up, so also no adversity cast down his spirit. For the distress of the gout, from which he frequently suffered, he bore with a patient and cheerful spirit; indeed, his desire being fixed on heavenly things, he said with Blessed Job in security: "If we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, why should we not receive evil?" And well have we likened this saint to Blessed Job in patience and the fear of the Lord, because, even if he did not suffer so many and such great losses in the plundering of camels and sheep, or in the slaughter of so many sons and daughters, yet he had the same spirit, and did not open his lips to vain and empty things; and, setting aside his illness, he persevered always in the praises of God.
[8] and comparable to other saints. For because his spirit had raised itself wholly to the grasping of heavenly things, he altogether did not know how to stoop to the pain of the flesh by groaning or complaining. Let me not doubt, then, to make him comparable to Blessed Job or Tobias in patience and humility, to David in piety, to Solomon in prudence and equity, to John the Baptist in frugality; because, even if he did not exercise his body equally in all these things, yet he had a strong and manly spirit for accomplishing all of them; in constancy and fortitude to Vincent the martyr, because, as is read of Blessed Remigius, though the sword of the persecutor did not touch him, yet he did not lose the dignity of martyrdom g. Let these suffice us, brethren: what we have heard of the life of our good pastor we have treated briefly and concisely, that we may be free to linger the more on those things which the merciful Lord has deigned to work through him in our own times, in the sight of all of us who were present: for the report of things which we behold with our eyes creates faith in what is said more easily than that of things which the struck air conveys to the hollow of the ears. Yet by these things, which have been noted of him in whatever way according to the quality of our understanding, I can admonish you, fathers and lords, who rejoice to preside, that you study also to be of profit. Learn from him to be watchmen among the people, learn to go up on the wall against the enemy, learn to direct your arms against the torrent: remember that the more has been entrusted to you, of the more you are to render an account; and, as is written, "the mighty shall suffer torments mightily." Stand therefore manfully against the rage of wolves raving against the Lord's flock, thirsting for the blood of Christ's sheep. That you may not fear to suffer, if not death, then quarrels or reproaches for them, keep before the eyes of your heart that highest and true Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep.
[9] An exhortation to bishops that they should imitate the holy man. Examples are to be taken from the good: we less learned speak to the wiser: but because these words proceed not from exultation or arrogance, but from charity, therefore let us say confidently: "The servant who knows the will of his Lord and does not do it shall be beaten with many stripes": and as faith without works is dead, so knowledge without the execution of good works is useless. You have read Paul, you have read Gregory and Augustine, you have the Life of the earlier Fathers: fulfil yourselves what you admire in others; wake from heavy sleep, lest the bridegroom coming suddenly should find you sleeping. Go around the sheepfolds of Christ throughout your diocese: if any sheep have perished or strayed, seek them out, lead them back, carry them back to the fold on your shoulders,
your shoulders; if you find anything broken or infirm, bind it up and strengthen it: if anything is strong and fat, guard it, preserve it, cherish it. But if you are more attentive to your own advantage than to the gain of souls, let the sentence of the Truth reproaching you terrify you and make you blush: "Woe to you shepherds, who feed yourselves, and not my flock, who ambitiously seek to be fed with the milk of my sheep and clothed with their wool, and take no pains to care for their salvation"; and many other things in this manner. Moreover among the craftsmen of this world there is no one who presumes to ascribe praise to himself for an art which he has not learned. For a painter does not dare to set his hand to a cobbler's work: nor does a cobbler handle a smith's task: a tall camp-servant does not delight to take up a sambuca for you; the booted h ploughman, ignorant of the stars, never seeks to hold the oar of a ship. But you, who have taken up the ship of the church to steer it amid such great perils of the sea, do you know the force of the winds, and the stars, which are or are not fit for navigating? Cynosura, Boötes, and the Hyades * i? Do you know and are you able to rely with all your strength on the tackle of the ship? Take heed to these things; and let not the stormy waves swallow you, from which you may no longer be able to emerge. This saint indeed, on whose solemnity our choir today sings out to the praise of God, taught to hold the rudder, and wary and excellently on his guard against the force of the winds, tirelessly steered the raft shaken by the waves and happily brought it, God protecting him, all the way to port. Finally, brethren, you who have resolved to live under a rule, if you wish to be citizens and of the household of God, not guests and strangers, be subject and obedient to your prelates and pastors in all humility; because this same patron of ours, of whom we speak, first learned in subjection what he afterwards exercised in prelacy. For it is written: "He who knows not how to rule his own house, how shall he rule the house of another?"
[10] Suffering from gout, St. Sigibald dies piously and is buried at Hilariacum. But let us return more quickly to the point from which we have digressed. May you rejoice at their success, and may they be gladdened by your progress, by the gift of him who, though he was Lord of all, deigned to become a servant, our Lord Jesus Christ. The sickness of the gout, by which (as we have said) the holy man of God was troubled, growing heavier, and when, the happy course in the stadium now being finished, he was about to lay hold of the prize of the eternal reward, having called together the brethren, clerics as well as monks, he held with them a brief [and] luminous discourse on the state of monastic religion and regular discipline, teaching that one must never turn aside from the paths of the ancient Fathers on account of new traditions. And while all who were present were weeping and mourning, his happy and blessed soul, thronged about on every side by companies of angels,
Passed to the hall of the longed-for heavenly country
on the VII day of the kalends of November. How great therefore were the joys in heaven for the holy souls, exulting over such a companion, no human tongue can set forth. Finally, the funeral rites having been most devoutly celebrated with tapers and lamps, and the sacraments of Masses having been performed with many oblations, the most holy body was honourably buried in the church which he himself had founded at Hilariacum, as we have mentioned above; to the praise and honour of God, to whom be glory through infinite ages of ages k.
[11] [His body is secretly carried to St. Symphorian's; where, after many visions and heavenly warnings,] At length, the rounds of many days having rolled by, it came about that that precious treasure was transferred from the place where it had been laid, secretly, but not without the will of God, by faithful men into the basilica of St. Symphorian the martyr, in the district of the Moselle, before the gate of the city of Metz l. But since the truth lies hidden as to how this was done, we think it better to pass it over than to weave anything frivolous into our work; for we prefer to turn our pen to the things which we have seen with our eyes and know, namely how the sacrosanct pledges were found in the same place where they now are, and what signs the Lord has shown there for the sake of his servant. O immense clemency of our Maker! O admirable goodness of our merciful Redeemer! In manifold ways through a vision * there appeared to a very bold [and] faithful man, a keeper of the house of God, a certain man with a swan-white head, a most serene countenance, clothed in snowy garments, saying:
"When Lucifer shall have driven the dark shadows from the globe,
And the first hour of the rosy day shall have arisen,
Remember thus to address the abbot's ears, the monks however being first called,
And fear having been put away."
"I bring you a message, father and lord, not from man, but from him for whom all things live and die, that you should open the sarcophagus which, long closed among you, is thought to contain the bones of Sigibald the bishop: and when you find it empty, inquire of God by prayers and fasts how they were taken from there, and in what place they are preserved laid up. But if you neglect this, and do not give assent to my warnings, without doubt by divine vengeance you will fall from the state of your dignity, to the scorn and derision and reproach of all." The event followed a prophecy of this sort after a short interval: for when the same abbot would not obey such an admonition, twice sent to him from heaven, his faults so requiring, a little afterwards he was summoned to a synodal judgment; where, fearing to entrust his case to the judges, leaving his companions and the horses which he had brought, fleeing secretly alone from the city, he returned to the monastery from which he had come m. There indeed he afterwards lived as a guest with the brethren and as a stranger with the sons of mother church. Moreover in the aforesaid basilica of St. Symphorian, long before the finding of the relics, many of the religious monks saw in a vision as it were a very great tree standing in the middle of the church, whose branches stretched out all around this way and that, and under its shade many were protected from the heat and the rain. To others, indeed, it often appeared that an assembly of clerics took place, a great throng of the people accompanying, and that they proceeded two by two through the fitting places with tapers and crosses, and that all the courts were filled with the hymns and praises of the singers. All of which prefigured the revelation of this most holy tree, namely of the venerable confessor, under the shelter of whose protection many, being protected, would be guarded from the harmful heat of their sickness, and all alike, in the wonders which God would work through him, would render thanks and odes to the Almighty.
[12] [the inner part of the church having been demolished and many solemnities employed,] When therefore, as we have touched on before, the masons were pressing on to demolish the wall, behold there appeared a stone of porphyry, part of which was attached to the altar, and part supported the base of a marble column; and when this was taken away, at once there shone forth the most sacred ash, laid up in a modest urn; and that whole place was filled with such a fragrance of odour as to surpass all sweet-smelling herbs or all kinds of spices. And those who were present were astonished, and did not dare to approach nearer or to try what it was. At length the brethren, having been called together, consulted their abbot n, whether the bones should be moved from there, being laid up in such a place and yet honourably. Then, stirred by the recollection of the visions which they had often heard related by their predecessors, they began to confer among themselves, that this was that tree whose branches had seemed to extend themselves to protect those dwelling beneath, and that in this were to be fulfilled the praises and hymns which the clerics going before had seemed in sleep to sing. This counsel of the breast having been confirmed, one of the brethren, trusting in the mercy of God, having put on priestly vesture, with lighted lamps and the smoke of spices, approached the coffin with fear and reverence, and began diligently to inquire whether he could trace any memorials by which it might become known who he was whose small body lay there, or of what dignity he had been: but when he had searched each single thing in vain, yet hesitating not at all, but persevering in faith and good hope, he burst out in tears and groaning, and poured forth this most devout prayer to the Lord: "O God, who have deigned to commend the earnestness of assiduous entreaty, saying: 'Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you,' open, I beseech you, your secret to those who trust not in themselves but in your generous goodness, that they may deserve to know the name, without which the knowledge of all things perishes; and if he be of any weight or moment with you, that in him your holy name may be glorified and magnified and exalted, which is blessed for ever." To these things, although offended by the faults of men, yet to us who are in peril from the death of the soul he often mercifully and with fatherly affection offers a life-giving antidote: for when a prophet, or an apostle, or any proclamation of the divine law remains in vain in our ears as something old and unwonted, very often he reveals to us the memorials of some new saint, and shows through him his signs and wonders, that by those things which we see at present we may at least be pricked at heart and drawn from the error of our way to the fear and love of the heavenly Physician: for the saints do not need to be honoured on earth, nor is it worth the labour that we should keep attentive watch in their veneration, except that by our humble devotion we may deserve to attain the affection of divine grace; but this too must undoubtedly be believed by us, that as we see through the merits of the saints bodies healed of any disease, so also, if faithful supplication is not lacking, souls can be cured of their festering wounds. For by this same grace of our salvation the well-watered fountain of heavenly munificence, distilling * upon us the dew of its mercy in the revelation of the relics of the precious confessor Sigibald, whom it willed to become our intercessor amid the pressures and tribulations which we were suffering, namely of the corruption of the air, and of mortality, and of the burning of the limbs. But that each thing may be set out in its place, let us first take care to record in writing how the most dear deposit was found there, where it was not thought to be.
[13] in the year 1107 it is found by chance. In the year from the incarnation of the Lord one thousand one hundred and seven, in the reign of H. the third, king of the Romans, Bishop A. presiding in the city of Metz o, when the brethren of St. Symphorian, and those of whom we have made mention above, were actively busying themselves with renewing those things in their church which seemed either to threaten ruin or to be less fitting, they resolved with wholesome counsel and with the consent of their abbot to pull down the wall which was joined to the altar of St. John in the middle of the church, where also the cross of Jesus Christ, set upon a marble column, stood out, in order that from the stones and columns artfully polished there might be built in that place a pulpit better and more becoming than there had been before, as is still today plain to the eyes of all. At about the same time, in the monastery of St. Nabor at Hilariacum. The rest is lacking in the very ancient manuscript of the monastery of St. Symphorian of the Order of St. Benedict.
ANNOTATIONS.
c. In
the precinct of the city of Metz there rises the abbey of St. Glodesind, begun about the year 604, with the aid of Wintrio, parent of St. Glodesind; who as first abbess died on the VIII of the kalends of August about the year 610.
* supply "without"
* wrongly Fadas
* "and" is redundant or has been moved from its place.
* distillat