The Latin Life and Acts of *Desiderius (bishop of Cahors, ob. 655, S02958) is a composite text, combining documentary records concerning the bishop, with an account of his life, death and miracles. Written in Gaul, probably at Cahors (south-west Gaul), perhaps c. 670/700, with later amendments and miracle stories, 8th-9th c.
E08220
Literary - Hagiographical - Lives
Literary - Hagiographical - Collections of miracles
Documentary texts - Charter or diploma
Documentary texts - Donation document
Documentary texts - Letter
Inscriptions
The Life and Acts of Blessed Desiderius, Bishop of Cahors, Whose Feast is 15 November (Vita uel actus beati Desiderii episcopi Caturcensis cuius celebratio est XVII. Kl. Decb.) (BHL 2143; CPL 1304)
Summary
(1) On Desiderius' upbringing at Obrege, in the furthermost regions of Aquitaine, and his study of literature and Roman law. (2) How Desiderius and his brothers went on to take up positions of power: Rusticus as abbot of the palace oratory and archdeacon; Siagrius as governor of Marseille and count of Albi; Desiderius as the royal treasurer. (3) On Desiderius' career at court: how he took leave from the palace to go and comfort his mother when his father had died; (4) his friendship with Paul, Arnulf, Eligius and Audoin; (5) his appointment as treasurer by King Dagobert; (6) his personal qualities. (7) How his brother Rusticus was appointed bishop of Cahors, and, after the death of his brother Siagrius, the king asked him to take up his prefecture in Marseille. (8) How his brother, Bishop Rusticus, was murdered at Cahors.
(9-11) The author/redactor inserts three letters sent to Desiderius by his mother Herchenefreda.
(12) How the citizens of Cahors petitioned for the bishopric to be given to Desiderius.
(13) The author/redactor inserts a charter of Dagobert (8 Apr. 630) appointing Desiderius as bishop of Cahors, and (14) a letter of the same king to Sulpicius, bishop of Bourges, ordering him as metropolitan to oversee the consecration.
(15) On Desiderius' consecration 'in the eighth year of King Dagobert, in the time of the most pious Emperor Heraclius'. (16-17) On his building projects as bishop, including a basilica where his brother Rusticus had been killed, dedicated to *Peter (the Apostle, S00036); a basilica outside the town dedicated to *Julian (probably the martyr of Brioude, S00035); and an 'elegant oratory' (elegans oraculum) consecrated in honour of *Martin (bishop of Tours, S00050). (18-19) How a voice from the river revealed to him a hidden judgement of God (occultum Dei iudicium), portending the sudden death of a messenger. (20) On the monastery he built about 750 paces from his pontifical see (where he ordered a tomb to be prepared for him at the right side of its basilica), and another basilica which he built in honour of *Mary (mother of Christ, S00033).
(21-2) The author says more of Desiderius' merits as bishop. (23) On the introduction of the monastic life into Cahors in his time, and (24) the prosperity of the city. (25) The author reflects on the 'many noble servants the Lord Jesus had in Gaul at that time' (habebat eo tempore dominus Iesus plures in Galliis nobiles seruos): Gallus of the Auvergne, Sulpicius of Bourges, Verus of Rodez, Sallustius of Agen, Eparchius of Angoulême, Asterius of Périgueux, Eligius of Noyon, Arnulf of Metz, Eustasius of Luxeuil, Deodatus of Mâcon, and Desiderius of Cahors: as for the latter, 'there was no better man between India and Britain' (ab India usque Britania ... non fuisse uirum meliorem). (26-7) The author reflects further on his personal qualities. (28-9) How he enriched the church of Cahors with many estates.
(30) The author/redactor inserts a document summarising Desiderius' donations to the churches of Cahors (see E05965).
(31) Further praise for Desiderius' work as bishop. (32) On his friendship with Arnanus, an Irish monk (inclausus ... ex genere Scotorum), (33) and how he miraculously knew that two of his clerics had stolen some of the alms he had sent to this man. (34) How he drew up his will in the sixteenth year of King Sigibert, which the author/redactor quotes.
(35) On Desiderius' death. How he fell ill with a fever when visiting his estates at Albi, and gave up his spirit on the 17th of the kalends of December (15 November). (36) How a woman afflicted by a demon was healed when his funeral bier was brought to the boundaries of Cahors; (37) and how great crowds came out to meet the procession as it passed through the region, (38) and brought Desiderius' body for burial at his monastery. How many miracles took place at this tomb.
(39) On Desiderius' posthumous miracles: the cleric Theudolenus, who had exulted over his death, was crippled and struck dumb; (40) a woman who had acted in a similar way suffered a similar punishment, but was healed after doing penance at his tomb; (41) a blind woman, healed at his tomb.
(42) 'How one day the staff of the blessed man, which is called a cambutta by the people of Gaul and which hung at the head of his tomb, suddenly became damp and began to liberally exude drops of oil. The many people who assembled at this miracle were astonished and wondered why it had occurred. Those of wiser counsel stated that, by divine providence, it was for the grace of healing; which is precisely what occurred. For whenever the sick approached, water was poured over the staff and it was gently washed, and it [presumably the water] was given to those who were troubled, and in this way many received the benefits of health.' (Itaque dum baculum beati viri, quod a Gallis cambutta vocatur ad caput sepulcri illius sedule dependeret, quadam die subita infusione madefactum uberrime guttas manare olei coepit. Ad quod miraculum multi adgregati ingenti stupore tenebantur adtoniti, quidnam facto opus esset. Cuidam autem altiores consilii medendi gratia id fieri ex divina praestantia denuntiant; quod demum factum est. Nam quotiens deinceps egri adveniunt, baculum ipsud aqua perfusum ac tenuiter lavatum incommodantibus datur et multis per hoc sanitatis bona tribuuntur.)
(43) How Bishop Aregius of Rodez, having sought in vain the help of many saints for an illness (sanctorum e diuerso adminicula querebantur, sed nic recuperare ualebat), was healed by Desiderius; (44) as was Abbot Februndus; (45) the priest Dracolenus; (46) Mummolenus, a small child; (47) Ruccolenus, an adolescent; (48) a man from Mercuès; (49) a small boy, who had been wasting away at the monastery for women within the city.
(50) That it was not only at Desiderius' tomb that miracles took place: how at his estate at Pompegiagum, a horse which had slept on his former bed died in the night. (51) More miracles, from 'current times,' are added (adiciatur ... quod moderno tempore gestum): the healing, with oil from the tomb, of the boy Hildulf, and (52) Maurontus, an adolescent. (53) The author states that healings take place on a daily basis in the 'flourishing' city of Cahors, 'which excels almost all its neighbouring cities' (Cadurca urbs ... florentissime ... prae cunctis pene uicinis urbibus emicuerat).
(54) The author/redactor records six 'very short inscriptions' (breuissimis titulis) by Desiderius in the city.
(55-6) The work closes with a final sermon for the people of Cahors, thanking Christ 'for giving us such a shepherd ... who can intercede for our sins and bring our prayers to your ears' (gratias tibi ... talem nobis dedisiti pastorem ... qui digne pro nostris peccatis interuenire et ad clementissimas aures tuas preces ingerere). (57) The author concludes by addressing Desiderius directly, stating that he/she has granted him 'the gift of my intellect' (Haec tibi, Desiderii uenerabilis, ingenii mei munus obtuli).
Text: Krusch 1902.
Summary: B. Savill.
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Cult building - oratory
Cult building - monastic
Burial site of a saint - unspecified
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Saint as patron - of a community
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Visiting graves and shrines
Construction of cult buildings
Composing and translating saint-related texts
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
Ceremonies at burial of a saint
MiraclesMiracle during lifetime
Miracle after death
Punishing miracle
Healing diseases and disabilities
Revelation of hidden knowledge (past, present and future)
Exorcism
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Contact relic - saint’s possession and clothes
Contact relic - oil
Contact relic - water and other liquids
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Children
Family
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy
Ecclesiastics - abbots
Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
Relatives of the saint
Monarchs and their family
Aristocrats
Crowds
Source
The Life and Acts survives principally in two manuscripts of the 11th and 14th/15th centuries. Its first modern editor considered the work to be a composition of the late 8th or 9th century (Krusch 1902), but more recent re-evaluations have suggested that its core text may date to before c. 700 (Heinzelmann 2010), perhaps as early as c. 670, albeit with later stylistic amendments (Berschin 1988). A major recent study of the Life now argues for almost the full work dating from the late 7th century, with further posthumous miracles possibly inserted during the Carolingian period (chs. 41-50) and perhaps even later (chs. 51-52) (Bate, Carpentier and Pon, 2021). The text is partly modelled upon – and at times derivative of – Audoin's Life of Eligius (of possibly 660/86: E06301).Discussion
This Life's occasionally political, court-facing narrative is typical of much later Merovingian hagiography, but its composite arrangement – inserting letters by the saint's mother, royal documents arranging for his episcopal appointment, testamentary evidence, and inscriptions commissioned by the saint – is unusual. Heinzelmann has argued that these documents may have already been incorporated into the text as early as c. 700; the detailed recent study by Bate et al. considers them part of the original author's design.Bibliography
Editions:Krusch, B., Vita vel actus beati Desiderii episcopi Caturcensis, in: Passiones vitaeque sanctorum aevi Mervingici II (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 4; Hannover and Leipzig, 1902), 563-602.
Bate, A.K., Carpentier, E., and Pon, G., La Vie de Saint Didier, évêque de Cahors (630-655). Introduction, édition, traduction et notes (Turnhout, 2021).
Further reading:
Berschin, W., Biographie und Epochenstil im lateinischen Mittelalter, 5 vols (Stuttgart, 1988), ii. 56-8.
Heinzelmann, M., 'L'hagiographie mérovingienne: panorama des documents potentiels', in: M. Goullet, M. Heinzelmann, and C. Veyrard-Cosme (eds.), L'hagiographie mérovingienne à travers ses réécritures (Beihefte der Francia 71; Ostfildern, 2010), 27-82.
Benjamin Savill
30/10/2021
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Maria | Certain | S00035 | Julian, martyr of Brioude (southern Gaul) | Iulianus | Uncertain | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain | S00050 | Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397 | Martinus | Certain | S02958 | Desiderius, bishop of Cahors, ob. 655 | Desiderius | Certain |
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