Gangulphus
Saint Gangulphus of Burgundy | |
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Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church | |
Feast | 11 May |
Attributes | Pictured as a Burgundian knight with a fountain springing under his sword. He holds a shield with a cross. He may also hold the spear with which he was murdered |
Patronage | Saint of husbands unhappily married; tanners, shoemakers, children, and horses; invoked against knee pains, sicknesses affecting the eyes and skin; invoked against marital difficulties and adultery[1] |
Gangulphus
Gangulphus decided to renounce his wealth and become a hermit. Even so, he was subsequently killed by his wife's lover, who wished to remove Gangulphus as a possible interference to the adulterous relationship.
Legend
Born to one of the most illustrious families of Burgundy, his education was provided by his parents, who were virtuous Christians. As a youth, Gangulphus was known for his great honesty, chastity, and propriety, and visited churches and read religious texts, avoiding the company of libertines. When his parents died, he became a model landowner, taking care of the household economy with ease and industry and also providing for the churches and the poor on his land. When it came time to marry, he chose a woman who did not share his virtues.
As an important nobleman, Gangulphus participated in the wars of the time, but also dedicated himself to preaching the gospel in Frisia.
On a journey back to Burgundy, he found a property at
During his absence, his wife had committed adultery with a priest. His wife protested her innocence, but Gangulphus wished her innocence to be judged by God. Thus, he had her dip her hand into the very same source of water he had created on his property. His wife’s hand was completely and miraculously scalded by the water. Gangulphus was fairly lenient: he forbade his wife from ever sharing his marriage bed and also ordered the priest to go abroad.
Gangulphus meanwhile withdrew to his castle at Avallon, near Vézelay, performing works of penance and charity.
However, his wife soon had her lover return. Hurrying back, the priest, wishing to
The priest fled the country with Gangulphus' wife.[4] Purported miracles soon took place at Gangulphus' tomb. Both his wife and the priest soon suffered illnesses and died.[4]
Veneration
Gangulphus'
Gangulphus' name is found in numerous
Some of his
Gangulphus became also associated with the spot now occupied by the area known as Saint-Gingolph, where he is said to have dedicated himself as a hermit to a life of prayer and penance. Local legends confused Gangulphus with a hypothetical soldier of the Theban Legion who escaped from nearby Agaunum and would have faced martyrdom there.[4]
There is a poem about the saint in
The Office of St Gangulphus
The Psalterium Foundation[6] has undertaken to collect the available materials on the saint.[7] The extensive research done earlier by Paul Trenchard was only available on the Internet Archive.[8] His website has been reconstructed and extended with new findings on the website gengulphus.com.[9] Moreover, an Office was reconstructed from disparate fragments. Finally in early 2022, this Office was sung and recorded by the gregorian chant ensemble, Hartkeriana.[10] It appears that most of this Office has not been sung in over 500 years. The recording will become available in due time.
Gallery
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Image of Gangulphus from a church at Wolpertswende
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Saint Gangolf Altar, Wolpertswende
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Bust of Gangulphus in Milseburg.
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Historical map of Bamberg. Church of St Gangolf at Bamberg.
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Portal of St Gangolf in Trier
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Gangolf - Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon
- ^ Variants include Gengoul, Gangulf, Gangolf, Gangolfo, Gengou, Gangloff, Gengoux, Gigou, Genf, Gandoul, Gingolph, Gangulfus, Golf.
- ^ a b Alessandro Barbero
- ^ a b c San Gengolfo
- ^ St. Gangolf, Bambergs aelteste bestehende Kirche und lebendige Gemeinde
- ^ "The Psalterium Foundation | Stichting Psalterium". Retrieved 2022-08-14.
- ^ "The Psalterium Foundation's Next Project | The Psalterium Foundation". Retrieved 2022-08-14.
- ^ "Gengulphus on the Internet Archive". 2012-04-02. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
- ^ "St Gengulphus | Gangulphus – Gengoux – Gengoult – Gangolf – Gingolph". Retrieved 2022-08-16.
- ^ "Hartkeriana | The Psalterium Foundation". Retrieved 2022-08-14.
External links
- Saints of May 11: Gangulphus of Burgundy Archived 2015-03-22 at the Wayback Machine
- (in Italian) Alessandro Barbero, “Santi laici e guerrieri. Le trasformazioni di un modello nell'agiografia altomedievale”
- (in German) Gangolf
- (in Italian) San Gengolfo
- (in French) Sancte Gengulphe = Saint-Gingolph