Samson of Dol

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For other uses, see Saint-Samson (disambiguation).
Saint

Samson of Dol
Kingdom of the Franks
Venerated inCatholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church[1]
Major shrineDol; Milton Abbas, Dorset
Feast28 July

Samson of Dol (also Samsun; born c. late 5th century) was a Welsh saint, who is also counted among the

Corentin. Born in southern Wales, he died in Dol-de-Bretagne
, a small town in north Brittany.

Life

The primary source for his biography is the Vita Sancti Samsonis, written sometime between 610 and 820 and clearly based on earlier materials.[2] It gives useful details of contacts between churchmen in Britain, Ireland and Brittany.

Samson was the son of Amon of Demetia and Anna of Gwent. His father's brother married his mother's sister so that their son Maglor was Samson's cousin twice over. Due to a prophecy concerning his birth his parents placed him under the care of Illtud, Abbot of Llantwit Fawr, where he was raised and educated.[3]

Samson later sought a greater austerity than his school provided, and so moved to Llantwit's daughter house,

cenobitic and later an eremitic monk, he travelled from Caldey to Ireland, where he is said to have founded or revived a monastery.[4]

There is one fairly certain date recorded of Samson's life; that he was ordained bishop by Bishop Dubricius[3] on the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter (22 February) at the beginning of Lent, which can be calculated to have fallen in the year 521. If, as is usual, he was 35 years old at the time then he would have been born in 486.

Abbott Samson's Pillar Cross at St Illtud's Church, Llantwit

celtic crosses which now stand in the church. [7]

Later he travelled to

Merovingian king Childebert I on behalf of Judael, Conomor's estranged son (c. 540-60). He is recorded as having attended a council in Paris
sometime between 556 and 573, by which time he would have been old. He was buried with his cousin Magloire in the cathedral of Dol.

The Anglo-Saxon King

Athelstan (r. 924–939) obtained several relics of Samson, including an arm and a crozier, which he deposited at his monastery at Milton Abbas in Dorset.[8]

Roman Martyrology

In the 2004 edition of the

Roman Catholic liturgical calendar of saints celebrated annually in Wales.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Samson (Sampson) July 28".
  2. ISBN 2-271-05386-2
  3. ^ a b c Huddleston, Gilbert. "St. Samson." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 27 Feb. 2013
  4. ^ St Samson of Caldey Island in Wales & Dol Island in Brittany Archived 2012-04-04 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Iolo Morganwg: the Stonemason
  6. ^ Iolo Morganwg: Vale of Glamorgan Trail, published by Vale of Glamorgan Council, n.d.
  7. ISBN 9781859021279
    .
  8. ISBN 9780199596607
    .
  9. ^ Martyrologium Romanum, 2004, Vatican Press (Typis Vaticanis), page 419.
  10. ^ National Calendar for Wales, accessed 8 February 2012

Bibliography

External links
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