Foillan
Encyclopedia
Saint Foillan is an Irish
saint of the seventh century.
and Fursey. He is described as the 'uterine brother' of Fursey, meaning that they had the same mother but not the same father. Certain Latin Lives of Foillan therefore incorporate the Fursey ancestry into Foillan's origins: his mother is stated to have been Gelges, the Christian daughter of 'Aed-Finn' (possibly meaning Áed mac Echach
), King of Connacht
. Fursey's father is stated to be Fintan son of Finlog (though whether of Momonia or of Magmurthemne, the Bollandist
editor finds the sources not in agreement).
, who gave Fursey the site of a Roman shore-fort at a place called Cnobheresburg, to build a monastery. The monastery was built at the site usually identified as Burgh Castle
or Gariannonum
(formerly in Suffolk
, now Norfolk
), and it flourished between c. 634 and c. 650. The earliest source for Fursey and Foillan in East Anglia is the Vita Sancti Fursei: this was the primary source quoted by the Venerable Bede in his Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum
of 731.
The Catholic Encyclopedia states that Fursey made a return visit to the brethren in East Anglia c. 650. This is derived from the Virtutes Fursei, which states that Fursey decided that he would return to visit his brothers, and set out to do so, but then adds that he died on the journey at his estate at Macerias (Mézerolles
in Ponthieu
), so in fact did not reach them. Neither the early Transitus Fursei nor Bede have the story.
Around 651 there was (as Fursey had foreseen) a disastrous assault on East Anglia by Penda, the Mercian king. King Anna of East Anglia
was put to flight, and the monastery of Cnobheresburg fell into the hands of the enemies. It was pillaged, and its superior, Foillan, barely escaped death. He hastened to ransom the captive monks, recovered the relics, put the holy books and objects of veneration on board ship, and departed for Péronne
in Frankish Neustria
, where his brother Fursey was buried.
by Erchinoald
, Mayor of the Palace, who with King Clovis II
had previously befriended Fursey. But soon, turning against these visitors, that nobleman expelled Foillan and his companions from Péronne, and they went to Nivelles
, where they were made welcome by (Saint) Itta
(also called Iduberg) and her daughter (Saint) Gertrude
, and their protector (Gertrude's brother) Grimoald I. Itta and Gertrude, wife and daughter of Duke Pepin I respectively, were the foundresses of the Nivelles monastery in the Sonian Forest
, an outlier of the great Silva Carbonaria
.
Foillan, like many other Irish monks who went to the Continent
in the seventh century, was invested with episcopal
dignity,, having possibly been a monastic bishop at Cnobheresburg. He was therefore of great assistance in the organization of worship, and the holy books and relics which he brought were great treasures for St. Itta and St. Gertrude. As the monastery of Nivelles was under Irish discipline, the companions of Foillan were well received and lived side by side with the holy women, occupying themselves with the details of worship under the general direction of the abbess.
, not far from Nivelles, in the province of Namur
. After the death of Itta in 652, Foillan came one day to Nivelles and sang Mass
, on the eve of the feast of Saint Quentin
. The ceremony being finished, he resumed his journey, doubtless undertaken in the interests of his monastery. In the Sonian Forest
the saint and his companions fell into a trap set by bandits who inhabited the dense forest. They were slain, stripped, and their bodies concealed. Foillan's head, still speaking prayers, was thrown into a nearby pigsty. The bodies were recovered by St. Gertrude, and when she had taken some relics of the saint, his body was borne to the monastery of Fosses-la-Ville, where it was buried about 655.
s who, in the course of the seventh century, evangelized in Neustria
, bringing thither the liturgy
and sacred vessels, founding prosperous monasteries, and sharing considerably in the propagation of the faith in these countries. Owing to the friendship which united him with Erchinoald, Mayor of the Palace (who, however, expelled him from Lagny
), and with the members of Pepin's family, Foillan played a significant part in Frankish ecclesiastical history, as shown by his share in the direction of Nivelles and by the foundation of the monastery of Fosses-la-Ville.
It is not surprising, therefore, that he should be honoured and venerated both at Nivelles and Fosses-la-Ville and to find at Le Roeulx
(Belgium) a monastery bearing his name. As late as the twelfth century the veneration in which he was held inspired Philippe de Harvengt, Abbot of Bonne-Esperance, to compose a lengthy biography of the saint. He is the patron of Fosses, near Charleroi
. In the Diocese of Namur his feast is celebrated on 31 October, in the Diocese of Mechlin and Diocese of Tournai on 5 November.
There are several Latin Lives of Foillan of varying authority, reproduced by the Society of Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum
. Around 1100 Hillinus, a deacon and cantor of the church of Fosses, wrote a metrical life of Foillan for his master Sigebert, the patron of Fosses. Soon afterwards, between 1102 and 1112, Hillinus also wrote a prose In Miraculis Sancti Foyllani Martyris, a book of the miracles associated with St Foillan at Fosse.
, brothers of our celebrated St. Fursey (Patron of Perrone), to teach psalmody to her nuns. These two Irish monks complied with her request, and built an adjoining monastery at Fosse, in the diocese of Liege." (* A History of Irish Music, p. 12, William H. Gratten Flood, Dublin, 1906.)
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
saint of the seventh century.
Family
Foillan was the brother of Saints UltanUltan
Ultan was an Irish monk who later became an abbot. He was the brother of Saint Fursey and Foillan. He was a member of Fursey's mission from Ireland to East Anglia in c. 633, and lived there both as a monastic probationary and later alone as an anchorite. In c...
and Fursey. He is described as the 'uterine brother' of Fursey, meaning that they had the same mother but not the same father. Certain Latin Lives of Foillan therefore incorporate the Fursey ancestry into Foillan's origins: his mother is stated to have been Gelges, the Christian daughter of 'Aed-Finn' (possibly meaning Áed mac Echach
Áed mac Echach
Áed mac Echach Tirmcharna was a King of Connacht from the Uí Briúin branch of the Connachta. He was the son of Echu Tirmcharna mac Fergusso . He came to the throne in the year 557 and ruled till 575....
), King of Connacht
Kings of Connacht
The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the cóiced of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named after The Connachta.The old name for the province was Cóiced Ol nEchmacht . Ptolemy's map of c. 150 AD...
. Fursey's father is stated to be Fintan son of Finlog (though whether of Momonia or of Magmurthemne, the Bollandist
Bollandist
The Bollandists are an association of scholars, philologists, and historians who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christianity. Their most important publication has been the Acta Sanctorum...
editor finds the sources not in agreement).
Mission to East Anglia
Foillan, probably in company with Ultan, went with his brother Fursey when the latter retired to a lonely island, escaping from the multitudes who gathered around him, some of whom harboured ill-feeling towards him. From there, around 633, Fursey went through British territory to the Kingdom of East Anglia with a group of followers including Foillan and Ultan and priests named Gobàn and Dicuill. There they were received kindly by King Sigeberht of East AngliaSigeberht of East Anglia
Sigeberht of East Anglia , was a saint and a king of East Anglia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. He was the first English king to receive a Christian baptism and education before his succession and the first to abdicate in order to enter...
, who gave Fursey the site of a Roman shore-fort at a place called Cnobheresburg, to build a monastery. The monastery was built at the site usually identified as Burgh Castle
Burgh Castle Roman Site
Burgh Castle is the site of one of several Roman shore forts constructed around the 3rd Century AD, to hold cavalry as a defence against Saxon raids up the rivers of the east and south coasts of southern Britain; and is located on the summit of ground sloping steeply towards the estuary of the...
or Gariannonum
Gariannonum
Gariannonum, or Gariannum, was a Saxon Shore fort in Norfolk, England. The Notitia Dignitatum, a Roman Army “order of battle” from about AD 400, lists nine forts of the Saxon Shore in south and east England, among which one was called Gariannonor...
(formerly in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, now Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
), and it flourished between c. 634 and c. 650. The earliest source for Fursey and Foillan in East Anglia is the Vita Sancti Fursei: this was the primary source quoted by the Venerable Bede in his Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum is a work in Latin by Bede on the history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity.It is considered to be one of the most important original references on...
of 731.
Abbot of Cnobheresburg
Seized again with the desire for solitude, about 643 Fursey left the monastery of Cnobheresburg in the care of Foillan, while he (Fursey) went off to find his brother Ultan, who had previously gone to live in the East Anglian wilderness as a hermit: Fursey and Ultan lived together for a year in austerity and prayer. At the end of the year Fursey, seeing that East Anglia and the monastery were threatened by hostile invasions, decided to take his leave of East Anglia, and went into Gaul leaving Foillan now fully in charge of the monastery.The Catholic Encyclopedia states that Fursey made a return visit to the brethren in East Anglia c. 650. This is derived from the Virtutes Fursei, which states that Fursey decided that he would return to visit his brothers, and set out to do so, but then adds that he died on the journey at his estate at Macerias (Mézerolles
Mézerolles
Mézerolles is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D938 road, some northeast of Abbeville, by the banks of the river Authie.-Population:-External links:*...
in Ponthieu
Ponthieu
Ponthieu was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged together to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France. Its chief town is Abbeville.- History :...
), so in fact did not reach them. Neither the early Transitus Fursei nor Bede have the story.
Around 651 there was (as Fursey had foreseen) a disastrous assault on East Anglia by Penda, the Mercian king. King Anna of East Anglia
Anna of East Anglia
Anna was King of East Anglia from the early 640s until his death. Anna was a member of the Wuffingas family, the ruling dynasty of the East Angles. He was one of the three sons of Eni who ruled East Anglia, succeeding some time after Ecgric was killed in battle by Penda of Mercia...
was put to flight, and the monastery of Cnobheresburg fell into the hands of the enemies. It was pillaged, and its superior, Foillan, barely escaped death. He hastened to ransom the captive monks, recovered the relics, put the holy books and objects of veneration on board ship, and departed for Péronne
Péronne
Péronne is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Péronne, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire département* Péronne, Somme, in the Somme département* Péronne-en-Mélantois, in the Nord département...
in Frankish Neustria
Neustria
The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...
, where his brother Fursey was buried.
At Péronne and Nivelles
He and his companions were well received at PéronnePéronne
Péronne is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Péronne, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire département* Péronne, Somme, in the Somme département* Péronne-en-Mélantois, in the Nord département...
by Erchinoald
Erchinoald
Erchinoald succeeded Aega as the mayor of the palace of Neustria in 641 and succeeded Flaochad in Burgundy in 642 and remained such until his death in 658. According to Fredegar, he was a relative of Dagobert I's mother...
, Mayor of the Palace, who with King Clovis II
Clovis II
Clovis II succeeded his father Dagobert I in 639 as King of Neustria and Burgundy. His brother Sigebert III had been King of Austrasia since 634. He was initially under the regency of his mother Nanthild until her death in her early thirties in 642...
had previously befriended Fursey. But soon, turning against these visitors, that nobleman expelled Foillan and his companions from Péronne, and they went to Nivelles
Nivelles
Nivelles is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the old communes of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux....
, where they were made welcome by (Saint) Itta
Itta
Saint Itta was the wife of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia. Her brother was Saint Modoald, bishop of Trier. Her sister was abbess Saint Severa...
(also called Iduberg) and her daughter (Saint) Gertrude
Gertrude of Nivelles
Saint Gertrude of Nivelles was abbess of the Benedictine monastery of Nivelles, in present-day Belgium.She was a daughter of Pepin I of Landen and Saint Itta, and a younger sister of Saint Begga, Abbess of Andenne, Saint Bavo and Grimoald I.One day, when she was about ten years of age, her father...
, and their protector (Gertrude's brother) Grimoald I. Itta and Gertrude, wife and daughter of Duke Pepin I respectively, were the foundresses of the Nivelles monastery in the Sonian Forest
Sonian Forest
The Sonian Forest is a forest that lies across the south-eastern part of Brussels, Belgium.The forest lies in the Flemish municipalities of Sint-Genesius-Rode, Hoeilaart, Overijse and Tervuren, in Uccle, Watermael-Boitsfort, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre in the Brussels-Capital Region and in...
, an outlier of the great Silva Carbonaria
Silva Carbonaria
Silva Carbonaria, the "charcoal forest", was the dense old-growth forest of beech and oak that formed a natural boundary during the Late Iron Age through Roman times into the Early Middle Ages across what is now Belgium. The forest naturally thinned out in the open sandy stretches to the north and...
.
Foillan, like many other Irish monks who went to the Continent
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in the seventh century, was invested with episcopal
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
dignity,, having possibly been a monastic bishop at Cnobheresburg. He was therefore of great assistance in the organization of worship, and the holy books and relics which he brought were great treasures for St. Itta and St. Gertrude. As the monastery of Nivelles was under Irish discipline, the companions of Foillan were well received and lived side by side with the holy women, occupying themselves with the details of worship under the general direction of the abbess.
Foundation of Fosses, and martyrdom
Through the liberality of Itta, Foillan was enabled to build a monastery at Fosses-la-VilleFosses-la-Ville
Fosses-la-Ville is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur. On January 1, 2006 Fosses-la-Ville had a total population of 9,311...
, not far from Nivelles, in the province of Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....
. After the death of Itta in 652, Foillan came one day to Nivelles and sang Mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
, on the eve of the feast of Saint Quentin
Saint Quentin
Saint Quentin , Quintinus in Latin, also known as Quentin of Amiens, is an early Christian saint. No real details are known of his life.-Martyrdom:...
. The ceremony being finished, he resumed his journey, doubtless undertaken in the interests of his monastery. In the Sonian Forest
Sonian Forest
The Sonian Forest is a forest that lies across the south-eastern part of Brussels, Belgium.The forest lies in the Flemish municipalities of Sint-Genesius-Rode, Hoeilaart, Overijse and Tervuren, in Uccle, Watermael-Boitsfort, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre in the Brussels-Capital Region and in...
the saint and his companions fell into a trap set by bandits who inhabited the dense forest. They were slain, stripped, and their bodies concealed. Foillan's head, still speaking prayers, was thrown into a nearby pigsty. The bodies were recovered by St. Gertrude, and when she had taken some relics of the saint, his body was borne to the monastery of Fosses-la-Ville, where it was buried about 655.
Veneration
Foillan was one of the numerous Irish TravellerIrish Traveller
Irish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic people of ethnic Irish origin, who maintain a separate language and set of traditions. They live predominantly in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.-Etymology:...
s who, in the course of the seventh century, evangelized in Neustria
Neustria
The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...
, bringing thither the liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
and sacred vessels, founding prosperous monasteries, and sharing considerably in the propagation of the faith in these countries. Owing to the friendship which united him with Erchinoald, Mayor of the Palace (who, however, expelled him from Lagny
Lagny-sur-Marne
Lagny-sur-Marne is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France from the center of Paris....
), and with the members of Pepin's family, Foillan played a significant part in Frankish ecclesiastical history, as shown by his share in the direction of Nivelles and by the foundation of the monastery of Fosses-la-Ville.
It is not surprising, therefore, that he should be honoured and venerated both at Nivelles and Fosses-la-Ville and to find at Le Roeulx
Le Roeulx
Le Rœulx is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006 Le Rœulx had a total population of 7,977. The total area is 42.80 km² which gives a population density of 186 inhabitants per km². The Château du Rœulx, a family seat of the Comtes de Croÿ-Rœulx,...
(Belgium) a monastery bearing his name. As late as the twelfth century the veneration in which he was held inspired Philippe de Harvengt, Abbot of Bonne-Esperance, to compose a lengthy biography of the saint. He is the patron of Fosses, near Charleroi
Charleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
. In the Diocese of Namur his feast is celebrated on 31 October, in the Diocese of Mechlin and Diocese of Tournai on 5 November.
There are several Latin Lives of Foillan of varying authority, reproduced by the Society of Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum
Acta Sanctorum
Acta Sanctorum is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. It begins with two January volumes, published in 1643, and ended with the Propylaeum to...
. Around 1100 Hillinus, a deacon and cantor of the church of Fosses, wrote a metrical life of Foillan for his master Sigebert, the patron of Fosses. Soon afterwards, between 1102 and 1112, Hillinus also wrote a prose In Miraculis Sancti Foyllani Martyris, a book of the miracles associated with St Foillan at Fosse.
Musician
According to Gratten Flood, "About the year 653, St. Gertrude, of Brabant, (daughter of Pepin, Mayor of the Palace), abbess of Nivelle, in Brabant, sent for St. Foillan and St. UltanUltan
Ultan was an Irish monk who later became an abbot. He was the brother of Saint Fursey and Foillan. He was a member of Fursey's mission from Ireland to East Anglia in c. 633, and lived there both as a monastic probationary and later alone as an anchorite. In c...
, brothers of our celebrated St. Fursey (Patron of Perrone), to teach psalmody to her nuns. These two Irish monks complied with her request, and built an adjoining monastery at Fosse, in the diocese of Liege." (* A History of Irish Music, p. 12, William H. Gratten Flood, Dublin, 1906.)
External links
- Saints Index: Foillan
- Patron Saints: Foillan
- Foillan at the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...