¹ Blessed Columbanus was born on the island of Hibernia, situated in the ocean and inhabited by the nation of the Scots. Hibernia was anciently called Scotia; from it the nation of the Scots who inhabit Albania, which lies close to Greater Britain and is now called Scotia because of this event, derived its origin and expansion. While the mother of Columbanus was pregnant, she was suddenly overcome by sleep in the dead of night and saw a shining sun emerge from her bosom, glittering with extraordinary brilliance and giving a great light to the world. When she related this vision to a certain holy man, she received the answer that she was carrying in her womb a man of exceptional character, who would provide both what was useful for his own salvation and what was beneficial to his neighbours. When the boy was born and entrusted to education, he flourished in many virtues; but the ancient enemy began to hurl deadly darts against him and to stir up the love of young women for him. When he saw himself assailed on every side by such weapons, he resolved to travel abroad wherever it pleased God, lest the labour he had expended upon various branches of learning should be made fruitless and he should become entangled in the allurements of the world. He therefore came to the cell of a certain religious woman and took care to disclose his intention to her fully. She said to him, “While you burn in the flames of youth and remain in your native land, do you imagine that you can freely visit women, while frailty draws you, whether you wish it or not, to listen to their frail voices? Do you not remember that Adam fell through the persuasion of Eue [Genesis 3:1–6], that Sampson was seduced by Dalida [Judges 16:4–21], that Dauid was corrupted from his former righteousness by the beauty of Bersabee [2 Samuel 11:2–5], and that the wisest Salomon was deceived by the love of women [1 Kings 11:1–4]? Go, young man, go, and escape the ruin through which you know that many have fallen. Turn aside from the road that leads to the gates of hell [Proverbs 7:27].” Spurred on by words of this kind, he said farewell to his companions and his mother. When his mother blocked the threshold of the doorway, he begged her to allow him to leave, saying, “Have you not heard, mother, that whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me?” [Matthew 10:37] But she wailed, threw herself upon the floor and declared that she would not permit him to go. He leapt over both the threshold and his mother and asked her to rejoice, telling her that she would never see him again this life. He then came to a certain religious man named Senilem, who instructed him in the knowledge of the holy scriptures. Having become a monk in the monastery of Benechor under the abbot Congello, he lived for many years in complete holiness. In the twentieth year of his life, he chose twelve brothers, went to the seashore and, crossing by ship, arrived safely in Galliam. As he sowed the word of God everywhere, if any of the brothers attempted to claim anything as his own [Acts 4:32], he was separated from the fellowship of the others and subjected to the punishment of penance. No one dared to utter a harsh word, so that they led an angelic life while dwelling among mankind. So great was the grace that shone in the blessed man that, wherever he stayed, he inclined the minds of everyone towards the practice of religion. He came to Sigibertum, king of the Austrasiorum and Burgundionum, and was honourably received by him. He asked the king for a wilderness named Vosagum and, when it was freely granted to him, built a monastery there. When one of the brothers was suddenly afflicted by a violent fever, and they had no comfort of food except bark and herbs, they all fasted and prayed for three days. Unexpectedly, they saw a certain man standing before the doors with horses laden with bread and cooked food. After presenting the man of God with what he had brought, he humbly asked him to pray to the Lord for his wife, who had been tormented by such a burning fever for a year that she seemed close to death. When Columbanus and his companions had finished their prayer, the woman was restored to perfect health and gave thanks to God. Not long afterwards, nine days passed during which the man of the Lord and his companions had no food other than the bark of trees and herbs. A certain abbot was therefore divinely instructed to send provisions immediately to the servant of God Columbanus, who was living in the wilderness. The abbot ordered his cellarer to carry to blessed Columbanus everything he could prepare. Having loaded the carts and reached the wilderness, the monk said in his heart that, if the journey he had undertaken was commanded by God, the power of him who had commanded it would open a path for the horses sent ahead. Without delay, the horses took an unknown path and reached the doors of the man of God. After receiving the gifts, the man of God returned thanks to God; and the monk, upon his return, related what had happened to the brothers. From then on, crowds of people began to flock to him in the hope of recovering their health, and, supported by divine aid, he fulfilled their petitions. While the man of God was walking alone through the wilderness, he saw twelve wolves approach him and stand around him on his right and left. As he remained steadfast and feared nothing, they left him and sought the secret hiding places of the wilderness. Again, as he penetrated the vast wilderness, he found a bear upon a certain rock and commanded it to depart and never return. Upon that rock, devoting himself solely to prayer, he mortified his body through extraordinary abstinence. He ate only a small quantity of wild herbs or fruits of the wilderness, and by his prayers caused water, which flows to this day, to spring from the rock to quench the dryness of his thirst [Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11]. He built the monastery of Luxouium and another named Fontanas, and gathered a great company of brothers within them. When he heard that the brothers in the monastery of Luxouio were afflicted by various illnesses, and that no more healthy men remained than were needed to tend the sick, he went there and commanded them all to rise and thresh the harvest with flails upon the threshing floor. They immediately rose, with no trace of pain remaining, and took care to carry out their father’s command. At harvest time, violent winds and heavy rains swept in, and the clouds in the sky did not cease pouring rain upon the earth. Yet when the brothers, at the command of the man of God, cut the corn with sickles amid the downpour, while he himself laboured among them, the rain avoided the crop and poured down everywhere across the other regions of the country. Until the whole harvest had been gathered, not a single drop of rain appeared to fall upon the land of Columbanus. A certain noble duke named Waldelenus, who had no children, came with his wife Flauia to the man of God, saying that he possessed abundant wealth but had no one to whom he could leave his inheritance after his death. The holy man said to him, “If it is your desire to consecrate the giver’s gift to his name and entrust the child to me to receive from the baptismal font, I shall implore the Lord’s mercy for you, so that you may have not only the child whom you vow to the Lord, but as many children as you desire.” When they had promised this, the woman conceived and bore a son, whom she sent to the man of God. After baptising him, he gave him the name Donatum and sent him back to his mother to be nursed. He later became a monk in the same monastery and, being endowed with wisdom and virtues, was made bishop of Vesontionis. He built a monastery named Palacium and established monks there. The same duke afterwards had another son and two daughters; and after his death, his wife founded a monastery for women in the city of Vesontione and enlarged it with various possessions. When the man of God had left the gloves he usually wore for manual labour outside the doors of the refectory, a crow flew down, took one of them in its beak and carried it away. When the brothers asked one another who had taken it, Columbanus said that no one else would have dared to do this except the bird which was sent out from the ark of Noe and did not return [Genesis 8:7]. He added that it would by no means be allowed to feed its young unless it swiftly returned the stolen object. The crow immediately flew back and returned the stolen glove in its beak; then, forgetting its wildness, it waited for punishment, but the holy man commanded it to go. When the servant of the refectory had drawn out the tap and was allowing liquid to flow into a broad vessel, one of the brothers summoned him at the command of blessed Columbanus. Burning with obedience, he forgot to close the opening and ran to the father, carrying in his hand the plug which they call a tap. After the man of God had explained what he wanted, the servant hurried back to the cellar and found nothing left in the cask; but when he looked at the broad vessel placed beneath it, he saw that the beer had risen above its rim without the smallest drop having fallen outside. You would have thought that the vessel had been doubled, for it was clear that the liquid had risen above it to the same height as the depth of the rounded vessel below. When a certain brother complained about the small quantity of wheat contained in the granaries and asked how so great a multitude of brothers could be fed from it, Columbanus answered, “If the people served their Creator rightly, God would never allow them to perish from hunger. For he who deigned to feed five thousand men with five loaves can very easily fill a granary” [Matthew 14:17–21; Mark 6:38–44; Luke 9:13–17; John 6:9–13]. In the morning, the whole granary was found filled with the finest wheat. At Fontanas, the man of God found sixty brothers cultivating the ground with hoes and preparing the fields for future sowing. When he learned that they had only two loaves and a little beer for their meal, he looked towards heaven and said, “Christ Ihesu, sole hope of the world, multiply these loaves and this drink, you who fed five thousand men with five loaves in the wilderness” [Matthew 14:17–21; Mark 6:38–44; Luke 9:13–17; John 6:9–13]. And it came to pass that, when everyone had eaten their fill, the brothers gathered twice the original quantity of bread in fragments and twice the original measure of drink. In the monastery of Luxouio there was a certain brother named Columbanus, a kinsman of blessed Columbanus, to whom beasts and birds would come and allow themselves to be touched by his caressing hand, rejoicing and playing before him as puppies do before their masters. When he was seized by a violent fever, he saw a most beautiful young man come to him and say, “I cannot take you from the body now, because I am prevented by the prayers and tears of your father Columbanus.” Having summoned Columbanus, he said with tears, “Why do you keep me in this wretched life by your prayers? Those who wish to lead me away are present, but they are hindered by your tears and prayers. Remove the obstacles that restrain me, so that the heavenly kingdom may now lie open to me.” Then, after the brothers had been summoned and he had received the viaticum, he departed to the Lord. He was so gentle that a small wild animal called a squirium, when summoned from the tops of the trees and taken into his hand, would often be placed upon his neck and be seen repeatedly entering and leaving his bosom. King Theodericus often came to the man of God and humbly sought the support of his prayers. The aforementioned Sigibertus had been killed through the treachery of his brother Hilperici, whom Sigibertus had pursued with the intention of destroying him. After Sigibertus had been slain, his son Childebertus assumed the sceptre of the kingdom with the consent of his mother Brunchilde. When he died, his two sons, Theodebertus and Theodericus, reigned with their grandmother Brunchilde. Theodericus obtained the kingdom of the Burgundionum, while Theodebertus undertook the government of the kingdom of the Austrasiorum. Theodericus rejoiced because he had blessed Columbanus within the borders of his kingdom. When he came to him, the man of God began to rebuke him for committing adultery with concubines instead of enjoying lawful marriage, so that royal offspring might come not from a brothel but from a queen. When the king replied that he would obey him and renounce all unlawful conduct, the ancient serpent [Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:2] approached his grandmother Brunchilde and stirred her up against the man of God, because he feared that Theodericus would obey him. For she feared that, if he cast aside his concubines and placed a queen over the royal court, her own dignity and honour would be diminished. One day the man of God came to Brunchilde, who, when she saw him, brought to him the sons of Theodericus who had been born of a concubine. When he saw them, he asked what they wanted from him. She replied, “They are the king’s sons. Strengthen them with your blessing.” He said, “By no means. Know that they will not receive the royal sceptres, because they came from brothels.” Then, in her fury, she ordered the children to leave. As the man of God departed and crossed the threshold, a great crash arose and shook the whole house, striking terror into everyone; yet it could not restrain the fury of that wretched woman. She therefore commanded through messengers that no passage beyond the boundaries of the monastery should be opened to any of the monks, and that neither lodging nor any other assistance should be given to his monks. Seeing that the king’s mind had been turned against him, the man of God hurried to him so that he might overcome his obstinacy through his admonitions. When he arrived as the sun was setting, the king was told that the man of God was there but was unwilling to enter the royal residence. The king said, “It is better to honour the man of God with suitable provisions than to provoke the Lord to anger by offending one of his servants.” Messengers were therefore sent carrying food to Columbanus. When he saw the food and drink, he rejected them with abhorrence, saying, “It is not fitting that the mouths of God’s servants should be polluted by the food of one who denies the servants of God access not only to his own dwellings, but also to those of others.” When he had said this, all the vessels shattered into pieces, the wine was poured upon the ground, and the other provisions were scattered separately. The terrified servants took care to report to the king everything that had happened, in due order. The king, overcome with fear, hurried with his court to the man of God at daybreak. They begged forgiveness for what they had done and promised to reform in future. The king, however, neglected to keep his promises and continued committing his customary adulteries. When the man of God heard this, he sent the king a letter full of severe rebukes and threatened him with excommunication unless he resolved to reform. At this, Brunchildis stirred up the king against the man of God and urged the nobles and bishops to disparage his religion and discredit the rule he had established for his monks to observe. The king, therefore, incited by the persuasion of many, came to Luxouium and asked why the man of God differed from the customs of the people of that province, and why access to the more secluded enclosures was not open to all Christians. The man of God replied that he was not accustomed to open the dwellings of God’s servants to secular people governed by worldly desires and estranged from religion, but that he had suitable places prepared where every guest who arrived could be received. The king said, “If you wish to receive the gifts of our generosity and the support of our assistance, entry to every place shall be open to everyone.” Columbanus replied, “If you attempt to violate what has until now been preserved under the discipline of the Rule, know that neither your gifts nor any other assistance from you will sustain me. And if you have come here for this reason, to destroy the monasteries of God’s servants and discredit the discipline of the Rule, know that your kingdom will fall utterly and be destroyed together with the whole royal line.” Terrified by these words, the king departed, while the man of God continued to press him with dreadful rebukes. The king said, “Do you hope that I shall bestow the crown of martyrdom upon you?” He replied that he was not so mad as to commit so great a crime, but would instead make a more useful arrangement: one who differed from the customs of all secular people should endeavour to return by the same road by which he had come. To this Columbanus replied that he would not leave the enclosure of the monastery unless he were dragged away by force. The king therefore departed, leaving behind a man named Baudulfum, who expelled the man of God from the monastery and led him into exile at the town of Vesontionense. There Columbanus entered the prison, in which many condemned men were held, with no one preventing him, and proclaimed the word of the Lord to the prisoners. They promised that, if they were freed, they would reform and perform penance for the offences they had committed. Immediately, the fetters with which they were bound broke into pieces like rotten twigs. After washing their feet and wiping them with a linen cloth [John 13:5], he commanded them to go to the church and cleanse the guilt of their crimes through repentance and tears. As they ran to the church and found its doors locked, the military tribune and his men followed their tracks. Columbanus prayed to God that, by his power, he would not allow those whom he had freed from their bonds to be delivered once more into the chains of the guards. Immediately, the doors were opened by divine power; and when those in distress had entered, the soldiers saw the doors locked again before their eyes, without any human hand, more quickly than it can be told. No one dared to harm those whom divine power, through the merits of the holy man, had deigned to free from their distress in this way. After the man of God had returned with his companions to the monastery, Brunchildis and Theodericus, driven by the fierce promptings of anger, again ordered a company of soldiers to drag him away and return him to his former exile. While Columbanus sat in the courtyard of the church reading a book, they went through the enclosures of the monastery and searched everywhere. Although they repeatedly came to that place and passed close to the man of God, and some even struck their feet against his, they could not see him. The tribune then came and, looking through a window, saw Columbanus sitting and reading. Fearing the power of God, he said, “Do not let your hearts be deceived any longer by this madness. You cannot find the man whom divine power has deigned to conceal from our eyes. Let us therefore return and take care to tell the king that we cannot find him.” When the king heard this, he was offended and sent Count Bercharium and Baudulphum, whom he had sent before, together with many men. Finding the blessed man in the church with his companions, singing psalms and intent upon prayer, they said, “Man of God, we beg you to obey both the king’s commands and ours, and to leave and continue along the road by which you came.” He replied, “I do not think it pleasing to God to retrace my steps after once leaving my native land.” The count therefore departed, leaving behind others whose disposition was fiercer. Those who remained, pressed on every side by fear, touched the cloak worn by the man of God and, falling at his knees, begged him with tears to forgive them the guilt of so great a crime, since they were obeying not their own desires but the king’s commands. Seeing that others would be placed in danger unless he yielded to their harsh demands, the man of God departed amid the wailing and grief of everyone, saying, “Eternal Creator of kings, prepare for us a suitable place where your people may serve you for ever.” He added that those who wished to follow him and endure injuries with him should come, while those who remained in the monastery should steadfastly await the Lord, who would soon avenge their sorrow. Thus the man of God departed in the twentieth year after his settlement in that wilderness. Near the fortress of Auallonem, he encountered the keeper of Theodericus’s horses, who attempted to strike him with a spear; but the right hand he had raised became numb, the spear fell, and he himself, seized by a demon, collapsed at the feet of the man of God. On the following day, however, through the saint’s prayer, he returned home in good health. In a single day, Columbanus healed by his prayer twelve men who had been seized by demons, and restored five madmen to health. When they came to the river Ligerim and were slow to board a small boat, a certain man seized an oar and struck one of the man of God’s brothers. Columbanus said, “Why, cruel man, do you add sorrow to his sorrow? Is not the evil of the crime already committed enough for our ruin? Why do you strike the weary members of Christ [1 Corinthians 6:15; 1 Corinthians 12:27]? Why do you show yourself merciless towards one who is gentle? Remember that divine vengeance will strike you in this very place where you struck a member of Christ.” And so it happened. For when the man later returned to cross there, he was struck by divine power and drowned in the same place. From there, Columbanus came to Aurelianis. When he saw that, by the king’s command, even the entrances of the churches were not opened to him, he sent men to buy provisions; but although they searched, they found nothing, because fear of the king had struck the hearts of everyone. Although Columbanus was honoured by the men of the city after healing many people there, they did not dare to give him anything openly because of the guards and their fear offending the king. Sailing along the Ligerim, they reached the city of turonensem, where Columbanus begged the guards to bring the boat into harbour and allow him to go to the tomb of blessed Martin. The guards refused and ordered them to pass the harbour swiftly and keep the boat in the middle of the river’s channel. Seeing this, the saint sorrowfully raised his face towards heaven, lamenting that he was subjected to such grief that he was not even permitted to visit the tombs of the saints. As soon as they came opposite the harbour, the boat began to stand still as though held fast by anchors, and turned its bow towards the harbour. The guards were therefore compelled to allow the boat to go where it wished. Having disembarked, the man of God went to the tomb of Martin and remained there in prayer throughout the night. On the following day, when he was invited by the bishop and sat at table, he was asked why he was returning to his homeland. He replied, “The dog Theodericus drove me away from my brothers.” Then a certain man named Crodoaldus, who was very powerful, said humbly to the man of God that he thought it better to drink milk than wormwood. Columbanus said, “I know that you wish to observe the terms of King Theodericus’s covenant.” When Crodoaldus declared that he would observe them for as long as he could, Columbanus said, “Be silent. If you are bound by King Theodericus’s covenant, you shall be a joyful messenger sent by me to your friend and lord. Tell him this: both he and his children shall be destroyed within three years, and the Lord shall utterly root out his lineage.” Crodoaldus said, “Why do you utter such things, servant of God?” The man of God replied, “I cannot remain silent about what the Lord has commanded me to declare.” When the man of God arose in the morning, he heard that the possessions he had kept in the boat had been stolen. Returning to the tomb of blessed Martin, he complained that he had not kept vigil there so that Martin might allow losses to be inflicted upon him and his brothers. Immediately, the man who had stolen the gold coins began, amid bodily scourging and torment, to cry out and reveal the place where the coins were hidden. The thieves ran there, returned everything they had taken and begged forgiveness for so great a crime. Sailing onwards to the town of namutense, Columbanus ordered that food should be given to a poor man who asked for alms. When he heard that they had nothing except a little flour, he ordered all of it to be given to the poor man and nothing to be kept for the next day. At last, when their bodies had been exhausted by a three-day fast, a certain man arrived, sent by his mistress named Procula, and said that she had been divinely instructed to send provisions to Saint Columbanus and his companions. He presented them with one hundred modii of wine, two hundred of wheat and also one hundred modii of malt. There Columbanus restored to health through his prayer two women who were possessed by demons. After this, the namutensis bishop and a certain count, acting according to the king’s command, compelled the blessed man and his companions to sail to Hiberniam. When they had sailed a considerable distance across the sea, a contrary wind arose and forced them to return to the port from which they had departed. After everything belonging to the man of God had been removed from the ship and the servants of God had disembarked, the wind became favourable again and allowed the sailors to take the ship safely wherever they wished. Columbanus therefore proceeded to King Lotharium, the son of Hilperici, who reigned over Austrasiis and the Franks. He was honourably received by him and was asked to remain within the borders of his kingdom. But Columbanus was unwilling to stay there, lest he appear to provide an occasion for hostility between the kings. He rebuked the king for certain errors, and the king promised to amend everything according to his command. Meanwhile, a dispute arose between Kings Theodericus and Theodebertum concerning the borders of their kingdoms, and each sent envoys to Lotharium asking for his assistance. When the king sought the advice of the blessed man on this matter, Columbanus, filled with the spirit of prophecy, said that he should follow neither proposal, for within three years the kingdoms of both men would come under his dominion. Seeing that the man of God had spoken such things to him prophetically, the king refused to support either of them and happily awaited the promised time. Departing from there, the man of God came to Paristus, where he healed a demoniac at the city gate. He then came to King Theodebertum, from whom he received a place named Brigancias beside the Renum in which to build a monastery. Seeing certain men preparing to offer a profane sacrifice, with a large vessel containing twenty modii of beer placed in their midst, he asked what they intended to do with it. They said that they wished to make an offering to their god Worden, whom they call Mercury. When he heard of this pestilent practice, Columbanus blew upon the vessel; immediately, the vessel burst apart and broke into pieces, spilling all the liquid. Seeing this, the astonished barbarians said that he must possess a mighty breath if he could shatter a vessel strengthened with bindings. The man of God converted many of them to the faith and, after instructing them, baptised them. While he and his companions were living at Brigandiam, the brothers endured a time of such severe poverty that for three days they had nothing to eat. On the third day, such a multitude of birds arrived that, just as quail had once covered the camp of the Israelites [Exodus 16:13; Numbers 11:31–32], the multitude of birds filled the entire district of that place. Columbanus therefore ordered his companions to give thanks and praise to the Creator and then to catch the birds, which did not attempt to depart until after the third day. A certain bishop was also divinely instructed to send an abundance of wheat to the man of God. None of the brothers had ever seen that kind of bird before, and their flavour was so excellent that it seemed to surpass even royal delicacies. While Columbanus was mortifying his body by fasting beneath a certain cliff in the vast wilderness and had nothing to eat except wild apples, a bear arrived and began greedily to eat them. When the man of God realised this, he sent his servant to leave part of the apples for the beast and command it to leave the other part untouched. When the servant had assigned certain trees to the beast, the bear remained content with its own portion and never afterwards presumed to touch the part belonging to the man of God. Meanwhile, the dispute between Kings Theodericus and Theodebertum became firmly established, and each raged against his brother with the intention of destroying him. During these events, the man of God went to Theodebertum and urged him to lay aside the arrogance of the pride he had assumed, become a cleric and submit himself within the Church to sacred religion, lest he suffer the loss of eternal life together with the loss of his present kingdom. This statement provoked laughter from the king and all those standing around him, who said that they had never heard of one of the Meruingum, after being raised to kingship, voluntarily becoming a cleric. When everyone rejected this advice, Columbanus said, “If he will by no means accept the clerical state voluntarily, he shall soon be made a cleric against his will.” Having said this, the man of God returned to his cell. Soon afterwards, Theodericus challenged Theodebertum to battle, defeated him near Tullum and put him to flight. At that time, the man of God was reading while holding a book and was suddenly overcome by sleep, in which he saw what was taking place between the two kings. When he awoke, he told his servant of the bloody battle between them and lamented that so much human blood was being shed. The servant said, “Father, assist Theodebertum with your prayers, so that he may defeat our common enemy Theodericum.” “That is foolish advice,” said Columbanus, “and contrary to religion. For the Lord did not will it so, since he taught us to pray for our enemies [Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27–28]. It is for the righteous Judge to decide what he wishes to be done with them.” Theodericus therefore pursued Theodebertum and, when he had been captured through the treachery of his own men, sent him to his grandmother Brunchildem. When she received him, favouring the cause of Theodericus, she ordered Theodebertum to become a cleric; and not many days later, after he had entered the clerical state, she most impiously ordered him to be killed. Meanwhile, Theodericus, while staying in the city of metensem, was struck by divine power and died amid the flames of a raging fire. After him, Brunchildis placed his son Sigibertum on his father’s throne. Lotharius, therefore, remembering the prophecy of the man of God, gathered an army and attempted to recover the territories of his kingdom which were owed to his dominion. Sigibertus came to fight against him, but Lotharius captured and killed him. He also captured his five brothers, the sons of Theoderici, together with their great-grandmother Brunchilde; and, after killing the boys separately, he placed Brunchildem upon a camel and paraded her before his enemies, then bound her to the tails of horses and deprived her of life. Thus he utterly destroyed that lineage, in accordance with the prophecy of the man of God. Columbanus, having left his disciple Gallo in Alamannia, crossed into Italiam, built the monastery of Bobium and died about the year of our Lord six hundred and fifteen, on the ninth of the calends of December. He also built several famous monasteries in Alamannia which, as is reported, admit only Hibernicos to the monastic life even to the present day.