Samson of Dol
| Saint Samson of Dol | |
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| Born | c. 485 South Wales |
| Died | c. 565 Dol, France |
| Honored in | Wales, Cornwall, Brittany |
| Major shrine | Dol; Milton Abbas, Dorset |
| Feast | 28 July |
Saint Samson of Dol (born late 5th century) was a Christian religious figure who is counted among the seven founder saints of Brittany. Born in southern Wales, he died in Dol-de-Bretagne, a small town in north Brittany.
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[edit] Life
Samson was of noble blood, the son of Amon of Demetia, Wales and Anna of Gwent, daughter of Meurig ap Tewdrig, King of Glamorgan and Gwent. His father's brother also married his mother's sister and their son Saint Magloire was therefore his cousin. In view of the prophecy concerning his birth his parents placed him under the care of Saint Illtud, abbot of Llantwit Fawr, where he was raised and educated.
Later, after the death of Saint Pyr, Samson became abbot of Llantwit's daughter house on Caldey Island. He was ordained bishop by Bishop Dubricius on the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter (February 22) at the beginning of Lent, which can be calculated to have fallen in the year 521, the only certain date in Samson's life.
If the usual practice was observed and he was 35 years old at the time of his ordination this would mean he was born in 486, though he is recorded as having been in attendance at a church Council in Paris held sometime between 556 and 573 at which time he would have been between 70 and 87 years old.
At first, a cenobitic monk and later, an eremtic monk, he travelled widely. It is known that Samson travelled from Llaniltud Fawr to the island monastery of Caldey off the coast of Dyfed (Pembrokeshire), Wales and then on to Ireland where he is said to have founded or revived a monastery[1], to Cornwall (where he founded a cenobite, at either South Hill or Golant), the Scilly Isles, Guernsey and Brittany.
While in Brittany, he founded the monastery of Dol. Samson participated in Breton politics, organising the excommunication of King Conomor and successfully petitioning the Merovingian king, Childebert I, on behalf of King Judwal. One of the seven founder saints of Brittany with Pol Aurelian, Tugdual or Tudwal, Brieuc, Malo, Patern (Paternus) and Corentin, he was buried, with his cousin Magloire, in the Cathedral of Dol.
[edit] Records
The primary source for his biography is the Vita Sancti Samsonis, written sometime between 610 and 820, but clearly based on earlier materials.[2] Not only does it preserve such details about Samson such as his abstinence from alcohol - unlike many of his contemporaries, such as the Abbot Pyr who was killed when he fell down a well while drunk - but valuable details about Celtic Christianity in Britain during Samson's time. This document details the contacts churchmen in Britain had with both Ireland and Brittany, describes their belief, and offers facts that have been used to prove both that religious communities were headed by abbots where the bishops served in a subordinate role, and that these communities were actually headed by bishops as was the usual practice in the rest of Europe. This Vita was later used as a model for the writing of other hagiographies in Brittany. There is an English translation of the Vita by Thomas Taylor, published in 1925 by SPCK. A second life of less interest was edited by Dom Plaine in 1887.
For further information, see[3][4].
[edit] Roman Martyrology
In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Samson is listed under 28 July with the Latin name Samsónis. He is mentioned as follows: 'At Dol in Brittany (died) Samson, abbot and bishop, who having learned the Gospel and monastic discipline in Wales from Illtud, spread these in Domnonia.'[5] He does not appear in the current Roman Catholic liturgical calendar of saints celebrated annually in Wales.[6]
[edit] Bibliography
- ^ St Samson of Caldey Island in Wales & Dol Island in Brittany
- ^ Florent, Piere (tr. & ed.) (1997) La Vie ancienne de saint Samson de Dol. Paris: CNRS ISBN 2-271-05386-2
- ^ The life of St Samson of Dol by Thomas Taylor (Kessinger Publishing, LLC (July 25, 2007)): CNRS ISBN 0-5480-9467-5
- ^ The emergence of monasticism: from the Desert Fathers to the early Middle Ages By Marilyn Dunn (Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2003): CNRS ISBN 1-4051-0641-7)
- ^ Martyrologium Romanum, 2004, Vatican Press (Typis Vaticanis), page 419.
- ^ National Calendar for Wales, accessed 8 February 2012
- Doble, G. H. (1970) The Saints of Cornwall: part 5. Truro: Dean and Chapter; pp. 80–103
- Journey to Avalon: The Final Discovery of King Arthur By Chris Barber, David Pykitt pp 119 St Samson
- Jones, Alison (1994) The Wordsworth Dictionary of Saints, p. 202
[edit] See also
- Blessed Julian Maunoir, "Apostle of Brittany"
- St. Sampson church, Golant
[edit] External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
- "St. Sampson, Bishop and Confessor", Butler's Lives of the Saints
- A version of Taylor's English translation of the Vita Sancti Samsonis, with emendations based on a recent edition
