Saint Giles
Saint Giles (640?-720?) (
Latin:
Ægidius,
French: Gilles,
Italian: Egidio) was a 7th-8th century
Christian hermit saint.
Giles first lived in retreats near the mouth of the
Rhône and by the
River Gard, in today's southern
France. (The story that he was the son of King Theodore and Queen Pelagia of
Athens is probably an embellishment of his early
hagiographers.)
Finally he withdrew deep into the forest near
Nîmes, where in the greatest solitude he spent many years, his sole companion being a deer, or
hind, who in some stories sustains him on its milk. This last retreat was finally discovered by the king's hunters, who had pursued the hind to its place of refuge. An arrow shot at the deer wounded the saint instead, who afterwards became a patron of cripples. The king, who by legend was
Wamba, an anachronistic
Visigoth, but who must have been (at least in the original story) a
Frank due to the period, conceived a high esteem for the hermit, whose humility rejected all honors save some disciples, and built him a
monastery in his valley, which he placed under the
Benedictine rule. Here Giles died in the early part of the 8th century, with the highest repute for sanctity and
miracles.
Around his tomb in the abbey sprang up the town of
St-Gilles-du-Gard. His cult spread rapidly far and wide throughout Europe in the
Middle Ages, as is witnessed by the numberless churches and monasteries dedicated to him in France,
Spain,
Germany,
Poland,
Hungary,
Slovakia, and
Great Britain; by the numerous
manuscripts in prose and verse commemorating his virtues and miracles; and especially by the vast concourse of
pilgrims who from all Europe flocked to his shrine.
In
1562 the
relics of the saint were secretly transferred to
Toulouse to save them from the anger of the
Huguenots and the level of
pilgrimages declined. With the restoration of a great part of the relics to the church of St. Giles in
1862, and the publicized rediscovery of his former tomb there in
1865, the pilgrimages recommenced.
Besides the city of Saint-Gilles, nineteen other cities bear his name. Cities that possess relics of St. Giles include Saint-Gilles,
Toulouse and a multitude of other French cities,
Antwerp,
Brugge and
Tournai in Belgium,
Cologne and
Bamberg in Germany,
Rome and
Bologna in Italy,
Prague and
Gran. The lay
Community of Sant'Egidio is named after his church in Rome. Giles is also the
patron saint of
Edinburgh,
Scotland.
In medieval art he is depicted with his symbol, the hind. His emblem is also an
arrow, and he is the
patron saint of
cripples. Giles is one of the
Fourteen Holy Helpers, initially invoked as protection against the
Black Death. His
feast day is
September 1.
The fifth book in the
Brother Cadfael murder mystery series by
Ellis Peters is titled
The Leper of Saint Giles.
Churches and other locations named after Giles include:
;
United Kingdom*
St Giles-without-Cripplegate in
London.
*
St Giles Cathedral in
Edinburgh.
* St Giles, in the district of that name,
Lincoln, Lincolnshire.
* In
Chalfont St Giles both church and village are named after him.
*
St Giles Church, in
Wrexham, the steeple of which is one of the
Seven Wonders of Wales.
* St. Giles Church in
Pontefract England* St Giles, Godshill in the
New Forest, Hampshire*
St Giles', a street in
Oxford named after a nearby church and the focal point of the St. Giles Fair, held on or around St. Giles' feast day.
Other locations
* see Saint-Gilles, for a list of places named after him in France.
* Sant'Egidio in Trastevere, Rome, after which the Community of Sant'Egidio is named.
* St. Giles Presbyterian Church in Hurstville, Sydney, Australia
* St. Giles Church in Brunswick, Germany
* St Giles church (14th-16th centuries) in Burgos, Spain.
* St. Aegidius Church in Bardejov, Slovakia (13th-15th century).He shares his feast day with another
St Giles, an
Italian hermit of the
10th century and a
Blessed Giles, (d. about
1203) a
Cistercian abbot of
Castaneda in the Diocese of
Astorga,
Spain.
Blessed Aegidius of Assisi is also known as
Blessed Giles.
*
Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Giles*
(Carnegie Museum of Art): St. Gilles
