Friday, August 24, 2012

An Irish hermit in Switzerland

This is the tale of the medieval Irish hermit who has a city in Switzerland named after him, how a wild bear saved his life, and how it has come to pass that a collection of 'Book of Kells'-style illuminated manuscripts that exist to this day in the stunning UNESCO-protected library of St Gallen are due solely to his legacy.

Born in the year 550, the wealthy and well-born Gall, aka Gallus, Gallo, Gallonus or Gallunus -- it being Latin medieval times, people had lots of names -- travelled from Leinster to the monastery of St Comgall in Bangor to give it all up and become a monk.

His close mentor and friend was St Columbanus. So in the year 573, or thereabouts, they set off with other disciples to Europe on their mission to convert people to Christianity.

The men travelled first to France. 

However, there was a bit of a spat with a local kingpin, Theoderic of Burgundy, so they moved on to Switzerland and created monasteries together around Lake Constance and Zurich.

Apparently, Gall lost the head when he saw people worshipping pagan statues and flung them -- the statues, not the people -- into the lake.

Unfortunately, it was at this point in 612, by all accounts, that the relationship between the two friends went awry.

According to legend, Columbanus was very put out that Gall wouldn't come with him to Lombardy, pleading illness. Some say it began with jealousy -- Gall was better at catching fish. So Columbanus left him there in the wilderness around Lake Constance.

Gall became a proper hermit, living in the forest -- which was very tough and cold in Switzerland. 

Apparently, he commanded a bear to go and fetch wood for the fire. And the bear did just that.

In the full story of the bear, the creature was also terrorising the local people and Gall made him stop by giving him gingerbread.

Then, Gall went on to command a demon to leave a possessed girl, Fridiburga, the betrothed of the mighty Sigebert, King of the Franks.

Previously, the monks of Luxeuil in France had elected Gall as their abbot and Sigebert now offered him a bishopric in gratitude, but he said no to both and stayed a hermit.

Meanwhile, Columbanus became very ill and died. As a parting shot before he left, he forbade Gall to say Mass while he was still alive.

And at the moment of his old mentor's death, Gall is said to have known he had passed away.

He immediately said Mass to honour his friend. Meanwhile, to show there were no hard feelings between them, Columbanus had left instructions for his walking staff to be sent to his protégé.

This year is the 1,400th anniversary of Gall arriving in the area where he set the wheels in motion for the huge Benedictine Abbey and the Swiss city that would go on to bear his name.

As a side note on what happened to Fridiburga and Sigebert: they never did marry. He was killed in 613. Poor Fridiburga -- no demon, but no husband or children either.

Gall died in 646 at the age of 95. He had attracted many followers. A church was founded in his honour, Ecelesia Sancti Galluni. One hundred years later, St Otmar became the first abbot of a Benedictine Monastery (born out of Gall's hermit cell) to continue on his tradition. It still exists today.

The monks went on to develop an incredible library.

Stiftsbibliothek St Gallen currently holds in its care more than 170,000 works; of these, 400 pre-date the year 1000.

Irish monks continued to travel to the place where St Gall died, and brought their skills with them. There is a collection of perfectly preserved illuminated manuscripts in the very same style as the 'Book of Kells'.

Some of these books are even written in the Irish language.

The beauty of these pages is as delicate and nuanced as the day the monks placed the marks on the vellum with their own hands.

Curiously, these manuscripts have survived the passage of time in better condition than those in Ireland because they were not read as often, not being as easily understood.

UNESCO rightly declared the abbey library a World Heritage Site in 1983.

This year, because of the 1,400th anniversary, many of those manuscripts are on show in the magnificent Baroque-period Stiftsbibliothek.

And the Swiss are enthusiastically celebrating their adopted Irish monk with art exhibits, concerts and walking tours following the trail of Gall's life in the ancient town. The city has even built a replica of Gall's hermitage on the monastery's square.

Created without a single nail, the wooden buildings follow the rules of medieval building.
Perhaps unexpectedly, the people of St Gallen are 44pc Catholic. A huge ecclesiastical garment industry thrived there.

A fascinating museum, Textile Kirchenschatze aus St Gallen, displays the splendour of Catholic priests' and bishops' painstakingly embroidered robes, shoes and hats.

Church fashion goes for a more sedate look these days, but in the past the theatrical style was truly spectacular.

All of this because one Leinster man found God, got sick in Switzerland, made friends with a bear and cast out a demon by the year 612.

No wonder the people of St Gallen are happy to have him as their adopted founder.