A Scottish missionary and bishop, Saint Germain was martyred in Gaul. His relics, initially kept at Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle, were transferred to Ribemont in 850 to escape the Danes, then partially to Amiens in the 17th century. He is famous for having tamed a seven-headed hydra and is invoked against fever.
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RELICS AND CULT OF SAINT GERMAIN.
Translation of the relics to Ribemont
In 850, fleeing the Danes, Benedictines transferred the body of Saint Germain from the Bresle to Ribemont, where a miracle fixed the relics in the Saint-Anne chapel.
The body of Saint Germain saint Germain Bishop of Paris. remained until the 20th century in its tomb at Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle, under the care of the Benedictines who had established a priory there. The ravages of the Danes determined them to place this precious treasure in a safe place. In 850, two monks, in charge of these relics, headed towards the Vermandois and arrived on the evening of Novem ber 13 a Ribemont Principal site for the preservation of relics and center of the cult. t Ribemont, where they saw the doors of the Saint-Anne chapel, located in the suburb of Sucencourt, and which would later take the name of our Saint, suddenly open before them. They spent the night there; the next day, making vain efforts to lift the body of the Saint, they understood that it was fixed forever in this asylum by the will of God. Shortly after, a count of Ribemont had a collegiate church erected in his fortified castle, in honor of the Saint whose relics were soon transferred there. In 1650, at the time of the siege of this city by the army of Turenne, the silver reliquary was broken by marauding soldiers who, struck by a sudden terror, did not dare to take anything. A churchwarden transported the relics to La Fère, from where they were, a few years later, brought back to Ribemont.
Sharing of the relics with Amiens
In the 17th century, the parish priest Jean Cauchie obtained a portion of the relics for the Saint-Germain church in Amiens, which were authenticated by Bishop François Faure.
It was in 1659 that Jean Cauchie, parish priest of Saint -Germa Amiens Episcopal see of Geoffrey. in in Amiens, who had managed to find out where the relics of the Patron of his church were kept, obtained from the parish priest of Ribemont the gift of some of the relics that were then in storage at La Fère. These precious remains, which are still today at Saint-Germain in Amiens, were verif ied by Bishop François Faure Bishop of Amiens who verified the relics in 1660. François Faure on April 3, 1660.
Besides the important relics of the holy Martyr that are venerated today at Ribemont and at Saint-Germain in Amiens, some fragments ar e kept at Senarpont A site housing relic fragments and associated with the Senard procession. Senarpont, and, in two reliquaries, at Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle.
Geographical extension of the cult
The cult of the saint is mainly concentrated in Picardy (Amiens, Ribemont, Senarpont) and in Normandy.
The cult of Saint Germain is celebrated today only in Amiens, in Ribemont (Aisne), in Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle, in Senarpont, and in the few churches in Normandy and Picardy that are dedicated to him.
Medieval origins and pilgrimages
The history of the sanctuary is linked to Senard, who buried the saint, and to the monks of Saint-Fuscien-au-Bois under the impetus of Enguerrand de Boves.
The chapel that Senard had built Senard Person who performed the burial rites for Saint Germain. over the tomb of Saint Germain became in the Middle Ages a very popular pilgrimage site for those living along the Bresle. This sanctuary was served by Benedictine monks from the abbey of Saint-Fuscien-au- Saint-Fuscien-au-Bois Abbey to which the religious serving the sanctuary were attached. Bois, shortly after the foundation of that monastery. When Enguerrand de Boves Enguerrand de Boves Count of Amiens who restored the Abbey of Saint-Fuscien. , Count of Amiens, raised the abbey of Saint-Fuscien from its ruins, he united the priory of Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle with it.
In memory of Senard, who rendered the duties of burial to Germain, the clergy of Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle go in procession, with the relics of the Patron, on the Sunday following May 2nd, to meet the inhabitants of Senarpont whom they bring back to their church. It is for the same reason that the officiant, at the moment of the offering, pronounces these words: "If there is any inhabitant of Senarpont here, whatever their age, sex, or condition, let them approach first, even if the lord of the place were present."
Traditions and intercessions
Annual processions mark the memory of the saint, who is invoked in particular against fever at Ribemont.
At Ribemont, where Saint Germain is invoked against fever, a solemn procession is held every year on the Sunday following the feast of the holy Martyr.
Guy, Count of Amiens, and his wife Mathilde held the cult of Saint Germain in all the greater veneration as they possessed as a domain the land where t he Scottish missionar missionnaire écossais Bishop of Paris. y had shed his blood. They wished to propagate their devotion to the Saint in the city of Amiens and erected a church for him not far from the site of the old castle. It was at first only a simple chapel.
Patronage and toponymic traces
Saint Germain is the patron of numerous churches and his name is preserved in the topography of Amiens and the Cotentin.
He is the titular patron of the churches of Saint-Germain in Amiens, Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle, Argoules (Somme), a chapel in Ribemont (Aisne), Flamanville and Carteret (diocese of Coutances), and Mesnil-David (canton of Annule).
The Breviaries of Amiens, from 1746 and 1840, make a simple memorial of Saint Germain, which has been suppressed in the current Proper.
In Ribemont, they celebrate not only the glorious death of the Martyr, but also the translation of his relics to this locality, on November 13.
Near the Cap de la Hogue are the point and the cove of Saint-Germain. It is probable that this is where the holy Bishop landed for the second time in Gaul.
It is known that three streets in Amiens and one of its islets bear the name of Saint-Germain.
The tomb and the crypt
The 13th-century antique coffin at Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle is the object of popular devotion and monumental protection.
The antique coffin of Saint Germain still remains under the altar of the church of Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle. The gabled lid is pierced laterally with two circular holes, through which pilgrims pass their arms and take earth that they apply to the bodies of the sick suffering from the Sèvre. Above it, a large stone, raised on six pillars, displays the effigy of the holy Pontiff: it is a work from the 13th century. Germain is lying on his back, dressed in his episcopal insignia, trampling a dragon underfoot. This tomb, classified as a historical monument, was lithographed in Baron Taylor's Voyage pittoresque.
This tomb, according to the inspection of the learned Abbé Cochet, inspector o f historica abbé Cochet Inspector of historical monuments who studied the tomb. l monuments for the Seine-Inférieure department, would deserve, given the excellence of its sculpture, to be enclosed under glass; to preserve it from any future mutilation, the decision was made to isolate it from the altar and shelter it under a vaulted and closed chapel, forming a crypt or confession. The happy idea was had to place on top of this crypt a rich stone altar, made at the expense of the parish council. The altarpiece and the tabernacle, in the shape of a fortress, recall the Hubault castle. This den of brigandage and tyranny is supposed to have been conquered by civilizing Christianity, which raised the throne of the true God upon its keep. The exposition, below the tabernacle, was carved from a single piece of stone, with its columns and its vault.
Artistic representations and sources
The saint is traditionally depicted taming a seven-headed hydra, as evidenced by various medieval statues and stained glass windows.
Saint Germain is ordinarily depicted wearing episcopal insignia, holding the seven-headed hydra on a leash with his stole.
His statue is found at the portal of Saint-Vulfran in Abbeville and Saint-Germain in Amiens; inside the churches of Saint-Germain in Amiens (work of M. Duthoit) and Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle (15th century).
A stained glass window at Saint-Germain in Amiens depicted the legend of the Patron. Simon Martin wrote in 1649 (Nouvelles vies des Saints) that it was valued at a thousand écus. Only one panel remains, which is kept at the museum, and which represents the holy Apostle taming the seven-headed chimera. — Another stained glass window, representing the same figure, can be seen at a chapel of the Saint-Germain convent.
See the Hagiographie d'Amiens, by M. Corblet.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Landing at Cap de la Hogue
- Evangelization mission in Gaul
- Martyrdom (blood shed on land later belonging to Guy of Amiens)
- Burial by Senard
- Translation of relics to Ribemont on November 13, 850
- Translation of relics to Amiens in 1659
Miracles
- Sudden opening of the doors of the Sainte-Anne chapel in Ribemont
- Body became impossible to lift, signifying the divine will to remain in Ribemont
- Sudden terror of marauding soldiers in 1650
- Healings through earth taken near the coffin
Quotes
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If there is any inhabitant of Senarpont here, whatever their age, sex, or status, let them approach first, even if the lord of the manor were present.
Liturgy of the offering at Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle