In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

a p p e n d i x 1 Translation of the Vita sancti Geraldi brevior Here begins the prologue to the life of the man of God, Gerald, [whose feast day is] 13 October, related by the Lord Abbot Odo. To the Reverend Father and Lord Abbot Aimon, his fellow servant of the brothers and the most insignificant of abbots,1 Odo sends perpetual greetings in the Lord. You have asked, Father, together with Lord Bishop Turpin and not a small number of other noble men, that I should write something concerning the life or rather the miracles of the lord Gerald. I postponed it at first, however, in part because the matter seemed unclear to me on account of its newness2 and, I confess, in part because I was worried and still am worried that this account might not be easy for me to relate. Indeed, uncertainty in this matter arises particularly since this same man was powerful in this world. It was for this very reason that in certain places groups of peasants recently used to gather, and as it was a useless thing they gradually stopped. To be sure, when some noble laymen and pious clerics whom the same lord Gerald had raised from childhood had described to me his way of life as being of such a kind that through the will of God it was not unworthy of miracles, I put aside my doubts,3 considering with confidence that, according to the saying of the Apostle, God leaves no time without a proof of His goodness. Maybe it is for this reason, since nowadays we do not care about the examples of the Fathers and iniquity is growing, that He offered this servant of His to us either so as to inspire imitation or else as a witness, just as He brought the queen of the south to the Jews.4 For even if he was powerful in the things of this life, that is no obstacle to a layman who has managed well the things he has justly received: for there is no power that does not 194 appendix 1 come from God.5 It is all the more greatly laudable, though, since he had possessions of the sort that make men proud, and yet he remained a pauper in spirit, according to the example of Job or rather of David. For in fact no law constrains the grace of God, who gave different tongues to Peter when he spoke to the gentiles before their baptism,6 and who furnished so many good things for the quarrelsome people of the Hebrews in the desert for the salvation of those to come. If therefore God, the arranger of the ages, deigns to repeat in our days these deeds in His holiness, we should praise them and be eager to give thanks, since He is mindful of his promise that He himself made: Who glorifies me, He says, I will glorify him.7 And so now, finally, confident of the kindness of Christ, I undertake what you command. I ask you, however, Father, that you beg that same Christ that his faithfulness might grant this very selfsame account to be not unworthy of the blessed man in any way and that he remove from me any failure or sin in it. Here ends the preface. Here begins the life of Saint Gerald. 1. Gerald, then, had his origin in the province of Aquitaine, namely, in the territory that is the district of Auvergne and also of Cahors and bordering Albi besides,8 begotten of his father Gerald and his mother Adeltrude. His ancestors were as illustrious in nobility as they were rich in possessions, and what is more excellent, most of them were distinguished by the reputation of their piety. For in fact Saint Caesarius, bishop of Arles, and the blessed abbot Aredius are said to have been from the same ancestry;9 and concerning his mother Adeltrude it is said that several miracles have already been performed at her tomb. But the splendor of mind that Gerald received from his ancestors he poured out again in himself, greatly multiplied, and truly his forebears are the more glorious for that reason, in that they have merited to produce so fortunate an offspring. And because the Lord is in the offspring of the just, it follows clearly that his family be blessed through him.10 His father, nonetheless, in order to purify...

Share