Tag Archives: Early Christianity

Meadow of the Sons of Nós and its Christian Heritage

2-DAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOUR TO CLONMACNOISE

CLONMACNOISE ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOUR by ARCHAEOTRAVEL.EU

We invite individual travellers (1-3pax) for a weekend archaeological tour from Dublin to Clonmacnoise monastic site. In 1979, it was visited by the Pope, John Paul II, who performed the Holy Mass onsite. Founded in the mid-6th century, the site had expanded by the mid-8th century into a thriving centre of learning and art. Clonmacnoise features a Cathedral, two round Towers, three High Crosses, nine Churches, and over 700 Early Christian graveslabs. The name Clonmacnoise means ‘Meadow of the Sons of Nós’ in Irish. You will also have a unique opportunity to see the site from the River Shannon during 5-hour private cruise from your hotel.

On the first day, you will be picked up from your accommodation in Dublin. On the way to Clonmacnoise, you will visit the remnants of another important monastic site of Durrow, a medieval town of Athlone with a pint of Guinness in the oldest pub in Ireland, and you will enjoy an overnight relaxation at a 4-star accommodation by the Lough Ree.

A dedicated guide who is an archaeologist and historian of art, specialised in Christian theology, will explain you the iconographical language of the High Irish Crosses of Clonmacnoise and Durrow and the contextual meaning of early medieval monastic sites in Hiberno-Scotland. You are welcome to ask questions and discuss the raised matters.

THE CROSS OF THE SCRIPTURES AND ITS GUARDIAN ANGEL, CLONMACNOISE, COUNTY OFFALY by ARCHAEOTRAVEL.EU

Together with our DMC partner company, we specialize in luxury individual archaeological travel in Ireland, focusing on delivering unique travel experiences to our clients. 

THE CROSS OF THE SCRIPTURES, CLONMACNOISE by ARCHAEOTRAVEL.EU

Dates: Saturday&Sunday in August-October 2024; April – October, 2025. All tours are subject to availability.

What is included:

  • Private driver (up to 8 hours per day in a row),
  • Comfortable high-standard vehicle up to 3pax,
  • Services of a private guide/archaeologist,
  • B&B overnight in a 4-star hotel,
  • Admissions,
  • Private cruise on Shannon River (5-hours),
  • Lunchboxes during the cruise,
  • Classical afternoon tea (subject to availability),
  • One bottle of mineral water per person per day.

What is not included:

  • Departure Taxes or Visa handling&fees,
  • International flights,
  • Insurance,
  • Meals, unless expressly stated above,
  • Beverages, alcohol, laundry, telephone calls; or other items of personal nature,
  • Services not specifically stated in the itinerary,
  • Tips.

CANCELLATION POLICY:

Payments are accepted by credit card.

•   We request a 20% non-refundable deposit at the moment of booking . If it is less than 4 weeks prior departure, we require the whole payment.

•  The balance is to be paid 4 weeks prior departure.

•  We will retain an additional 20% of the total cost if you cancel in less than 2-3 weeks before the tour.

•    This increases to 50% if cancelled 1-2 weeks before the tour, 80% if cancelled 3-6 calendar days prior, and 100% if cancelled 1-2 working days prior.

The rate varies depends on chosen dates. To ask about the rate and our availability, contact us . We will respond to you as soon as possible.

Featured image: Clonmacnoise monastic site: the Cross of the Scriptures. Photo by Felipe Almeida. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

Wyspa Megalitów, Archaniołów, Świętych i Uczonych

Na przełomie maja i czerwca 2024 organizujemy 10-dniowy wyjazd po Irlandii o charakterze archeologiczno-fotograficznym. W programie znajdą się zabytki epok prehistorycznych, skarby chrześcijańskie minionego Kościoła Celtyckiego, zapierająca dech w piersiach natura Szlaku Atlantyckiego, oraz pobyt w malowniczych hotelach i zamkach rozsianych na wyspie. Charakterystyczną zaletą wyjazdu jest możliwość odkrycia tajemnic archeologii alternatywnej, jak teoria kontaktów pomiędzy Egiptem a Wyspami Brytyjskimi, szczególnie Irlandią. Będziemy też dyskutować na temat Linii Świętego Michała Archanioła, który pojawia się również w amerykańskim dokumencie, w którym brałam udział: Quest for Angel autorstwa Stana Williams’a. Szczegóły i program pojawią się niebawem na stronie archaeotravel.eu Informacje na temat zabytków są prezentowane na stronie, w zakładce: Europa – Irlandia.

Holy Island in the Ocean of the Egyptian Desert

Off the coast island of Lindisfarne was a major stop on our way through the historic region of Northumbria (modern-day County Northumberland). To reach the island, we needed to cross the causeway that twice a day is covered by the tide. We had checked the tide table before our arrival, as at high tide, the causeway is completely submerged underwater, and the island is cut off. At high tides. it is also possible to reach the island but only using a ferry. 

On the following day, we also took a ferry to land on the island. However, at the high tide, almost everything is closed and the island along with its inhabitants seems to fall asleep. At that time, it was difficult to visit its monuments so crossing the causeway is necessary if you are, like us, interested in its history and outstanding remnants of its turbulent past. The island is also accessible on foot, like once for hermits and pilgrims. It takes about two hours to walk to the Island from the causeway. The Pilgrims route is about 5 kilometers long but not advisable at dusk or in poor weather conditions.

Remnants of the Holy Island

Lindisfarne is today a part of the Northumberland Coast, which is said to be an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The island is situated in the north-east of England, just a few kilometers south of the border with Scotland. Lindisfarne Island, also known as the Holy Island since the Norman times, played an important role in the religious life of England, and it was one of the most significant centers of early English Christianity. The ruins now visible on the island belong to the twelfth-century Priory that claims direct descent from the early monastery. There is also a twelfth-century church dedicated to Saint Mary, and the picturesque silhouette of Lindisfarne Castle, built in the sixteenth century for defensive reasons. The island is relatively small; it measures almost 5 kilometres wide (W-E), and 3 kilometres long (N-S), with hardly 180 inhabitants. This number, however, grows during summer with incoming visitors, especially when the tide is out. Already in June, one can observe a growing number of cars and coaches crossing the causeway.

Monks and Kings

In ancient Celtic times, the island was called by the native Britons Medcaut or Insula Medicata, in Latin, which possibly stands for ‘healing island’, whereas the later name ‘Lindisfarne’ may have derived from the name of a people, called Lindissi or Lincolnshire. Back in the sixth century A.D., the island was long home to religious people, known as the Culdees, who were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. Apart from the hermites, there were also native residents, who are known as Islanders. The earliest settlement in the area of Lindisfarne was made by King Ida of the Anglians, one of the predecessors of the Anglo-Saxons. The settlement existed in the sixth century on the other side of the bay from the island. Following the general collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, Britain had fragmented into seven kingdoms, many ruled by Anglo-Saxon warlords, such as descendants of King Ida, who governed Northumbria. Apart from the Kingdom of Northumbria, there were regions of Wessex, Mercia, East England, Essex, Kent and Sussex.

 

In 547, Ida the ‘Flame-bearer’ seized the Britain Coastal Fortress, later known as Bebbanburg Castle, and founded a kingdom called Bernicia. His grandson Æthelfrith brought the neighbouring Anglian realm of Deira under his domination around 604 AD., creating the unified Kingdom of Northumbria, with the citadel Bebbanburg, the modern-day Bamburgh Castle. Perhaps, the most famous of the kings of Northumbria was Æthelfrith’s son, Saint Oswald.  As Bede the Venerable writes, when Æthelfrith was killed in battle in 617 by a rival king, Oswald fled north to seek sanctuary with the Irish of Dalriada. After 17 years, he returned to the Kingdom and retook the throne by force.

Between the East and West

After Saint Columba established the religious center and the island monastery of Iona, in the Kingdom of Dalriada, in 563, (modern-day Argyll), Columba’s family of monasteries came to include Derry, Durrow, and Kells in Ireland, and out of Iona – Lindisfarne, with its own foundtations in England, such as Melrose. On his return from Iona, King Oswald had brought with him Irish monks of the Columban Church, who converted pagan Northumbria’s Anglo-Saxons. Consequently, the conversion was not limited to just a royal household, as it was practiced by missionaries sent to the British Isles by the Roman Church from 597. Eventually, in 635AD. the monastery on the Island of Lindisfarne was founded by Saint Aidan from Iona and his companions to become an important center of medieval Christianity.

FROM LINDISFARNE TO THE HOLY ISLAND: BETWEEN THE CELTIC AND ROMAN CHURCHES. Photos by Felipe Almeida. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

The successor to Lindisfarne bishopric was Saint Cuthbert, who had become inspired by Saint Aidan’s life and followed a monastic conduct of the Hiberno-Scottish Church, with a particular taste for emulating the eremitic traditions of the early monks of the eastern and Egyptian deserts. The latter lived like hermits but still were part of monastic communities, which was in contrast with the communal living in Western monasticism. Living in such isolated places as Iona or Lindisfarne (not to mention Skellig Michael), where the former is an island and the second is cut off by tides, Celtic hermits visibly followed the way of Egyptian Fathers’ withdrawing to the desert. As a nominant scholar says, Celtic monks had replaced the desert with the ocean …

Hermit-Like Saint Cuthbert

After Saint Cuthbert’s death, in 687 A.D., miracles attributed to him caused Lindisfarne to become a place of pilgrimage, and the monastery acquired great wealth and status. The cult of Saint Cuthbert also consolidated the monastery’s reputation as a center of Christian learning.  One of the results was the production of the early medieval masterpiece of an illuminated book,  now known as the Lindisfarne Gospels, which were created on the island in the early eighth century. 

Even today, the Holy Island is famous for its two great Bishops, Saint Aidan, who came together with his followers from Iona, invited by King Oswald, in the seventh century, and Saint Cuthbert, who first came to Lindisfarne as a prior in the 70s of the seventh century. Saint Aidan remained the Bishop of Lindisfarne until he died in 651 A.D., and his death had an impact on young Cuthbert, who according to a legend, saw the soul of Saint Aidan being taken by angels to heaven. It was the very moment when he decided to become a monk.

On the Verge of the Viking Age

The growing wealth of the monastery at the end of the seventh century and throughout the eighth century invited some unwanted visitors.

 

Vikings came to Lindisfarne in 793 in what was the first major attack on Europe. People from Britain had encountered the Vikings yet before their massive raid on Lindisfarne. Yet, it was the first major attack and it was shocking not only in the brutality of it but also the fact that it took place in the heart of Christian Northumbria. Many monks were killed or enslaved, and the event is often regarded as the beginning of the Viking Age.

An Oasis in the Modern World

With its ancient associations, the Castle, and Priory ruins, Lindisfarne remains today a holy site and place of pilgrimage for many. The island is a thriving community with a busy harbour, shops, hotels, and inns. There is much to see on the island: birdwatching, fishing, golf, painting, photography, and, of course, history are just some of the activities to be enjoyed on the Holy Island today.

Featured image: The view of the Holy Island with the charming silhouette of Lindisfarne Castle from the 16th century. Photo by Felipe Almeida. Copyright©Archaeotravel. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

By Joanna
Faculties of English Philology, History of Art and Archaeology.
University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland;
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Poland;
University College Dublin, Ireland.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Brown, M.P., 2004. Painted Labyrinth. The World of the Lindisfarne Gospels. London: The British Library.

Simpson, D. ‘Lindisfarne. Island and causeway’, in England’s North East. (bit.ly/4bpDlVo; accessed 27th June, 2024).

   

 

Living Retrospectives of Saint Michael’s Apparitions on Monte Gargano

“Where the rocks open wide,  there the sins of mankind are forgiven. This is the special place where any noxious action is washed off”.

Quotation of the Archangel’s words in the ‘De Apparitione Sancti Michaelis’,  the inscription running above the entrance to the Celestial Basilica, in D’Ovidio, 2018.

Two days before the feast of Saint Michael starts on 29th September, a colourful procession takes place in the narrow streets of the town of Monte Sant’ Angelo, in the region of Puglia. Inhabitants of Monte Sant’ Angelo, beautifully dressed up in costumes from the epoch, follow three decorated parade floats, each for the three successive episodes of the Golden Legend. Each of them beautifully reflects Saint Michael’s apparitions on Monte Gargano, according to the Golden Legend. The Basilica of Monte Sant’ Angelo is possibly the oldest and most significant sanctuary dedicated to the Archangel, and the fifth mount dedicated to Saint Michael according to the Book of Enoch. Its history is based on the narratives of De Apparitione Sancti Michaelis, which is is a hagiographical and composite foundation myth of Monte Sant’ Angelo.

The account of the first appearance of Archangel Michael on Monte Gargano in 490, which is called the ‘Episode of the Bull’ (see: The Archanegel of God from the Giant’s Mount in Apulia), is suddenly interrupted by another narrative in Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in Monte Gargano. This interlude is referred to as the ‘Episode of Victory’, and it is the second apparition of Archangel Michael on Gargano, which is traditionally dated to the year 492, during the alleged fight between the Christians of Siponto (modern Manfredonia) and Greek pagans.

WE ARE CELEBRATING MICHAELMAS ON SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL’S FIFTH MOUNT (MONTE SANT’ ANGELO). Copyright©Archaeotravel.

However, according to today’s historians, the events to which this episode refers took place during the war between the Lombard prince Grimoaldo and the Byzantines in the years 662-663, when the victory achieved on May 8 was considered by the Lombards to be a miracle obtained through the intercession of Saint Michael the Archangel.

Tradition says that the city of Siponto was close to surrender during the siege by enemy troops. Bishop Saint Lorenzo Maiorano obtained a three-day ceasefire from the enemies and during this time he turned to the leader of the heavenly troops for help in trusting prayer supported by penance. On the other hand, if it was indeed the event from the 7th century, this legendary Bishop of Siponto, Saint Lorenzo Maiorano, could not ask Saint Michael for the intercession as he died in the mid-6th century. Yet, repeating after the Golden Legend, after three days of prayer, Saint Michael appeared to the bishop and predicted a quick and complete victory. This promise put hope into the hearts of the beleaguered inhabitants of Siponto. Encouraged by Saint Michael’s support, the defenders left the city and took part in a fierce battle accompanied by earthquakes, thunders, and lightnings. The victory of Siponto’s troops was complete, and the enemy army was defeated.

On the third night Michael appeared to the bishop, told him that the prayers had been heard, promised him victory, and ordered that the enemy be met at the fourth hour of daylight. As the battle was joined, Mount Gargano was shaken by a violent earthquake, lightning flashed uninterruptedly, and a dark cloud blanketed the whole peak of the mountain. Six hundred of the enemy troops fell before the swords of the defenders and the fiery lightning flashes. The rest, recognizing the power of the archangel, abandoned the error of idolatry and bent their necks to the yoke of the Christian faith.

Anonymous author, Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in Monte Gargano, The Second Apparition of Saint Michael or the Episode of the Victory (fragment), in Kosloski, 2019.
MICHAELMAS 2023: THE FIRST APPARITION OF THE ARCHANGEL ON MONTE GARGANO: THE EPISODE OF THE BULL. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

Afterwards, the narrative of the First Apparition is taken up and the third apparition of Saint Michael occurs. It is called the ‘Episode of Consecration’. According to tradition, in 493, Bishop Maiorano finally decided to follow Saint Michael’s orders and consecrate the grotto in his honour. If the second event is consistent with the chronology contained in the Liber de apparitione Sancti Michaelis, Maiorano’s decisions can be treated as an expression of recognition and thanks for the Archangel’s helping in the victory. The shepherd of the diocese of Siponto was further strengthened in his decision thanks to the positive opinion given by Pope Gelasius (492-496).

MICHAELMAS 2023:THE SECOND APPARITION OF THE ARCHANGEL ON MONTE GARGANO: THE EPISODE OF THE VICTORY. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

However, Saint Michael appeared for the third time and announced that He Himself had already consecrated the cave. Then Saint Laurenco, together with seven other bishops from the region of Puglia, where Monte Gargano is located, went in procession to the holy place together with the people and clergy of the city of Siponto. Although it is easy to write about their feat of undertaking the procession to the cave up the mount, one should imagine their difficult and steep way from the Manfredonia Bay, where Siponto has been located, up to 856 metres above sea level, from where now Monte Sant’s Angelo is looking down on the Adriatic Sea, especially, when we bear in mind that there was no proper road leading to the destination. Nowadays, you can take a bus or drive yourself, struggling with curves that make up a serpentine road. This route, although tiring, compensates visitors with wonderful views. For people suffering from fear of heights or space, such an experience can be still disturbing – yet this is the power of Saint Michael’s pilgrimage way. With wings, it would be much easier to follow.

MICHAELMAS 2023:THE THIRD APPARITION OF THE ARCHANGEL ON MONTE GARGANO: EPISODE OF THE CONSECRATION. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

During the journey, a strange event took place: eagles appeared over the bishops’ heads, protecting them from the strong rays of the sun. After arriving at the cave, inside it they found a stone altar covered with scarlet cloth and a cross above it. Moreover, according to the legend, Saint Michael left a child’s footprint on the rock as a sign of his presence. The Holy Bishop, full of joy, offered the Eucharistic sacrifice to God. This event took place on September 29, 493. Since these extraordinary events, the Grotto has enjoyed the title of Celestial Basilica, because it is the only Temple in the world that has never been consecrated by human hands.

[T]he bishop of Siponto, together with seven other Apulian bishops went in procession with the people and clergy of Siponto to the holy place. During the procession a wonderful thing happened: some eagles sheltered the bishops from the rays of the sun with their outspread wings. When they arrived at the grotto they found that a primitive altar had already been erected, covered with a vermilion altar cloth and surmounted by a Cross; moreover, according to the legend, they found the footprint of Saint Michael in the rock. With immense joy the holy bishop offered the first divine Sacrifice. It was 29 September. The grotto itself is the only place of worship not consecrated by human hand and over the centuries has received the title of “Celestial Basilica.”

Anonymous author, Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in Monte Gargano, The Third Apparition of Saint Michael or the Episode of the Consecration (fragment), in Kosloski, 2019.

The evening of 27th September was our first on Monte Sant’ Angelo. It was followed by further celebrations dedicated to Saint Michael taking place in the town and inside the Basilica. Accordingly, it is also a time of a parish festival, celebrating the Patron Saint, with a colourful fair or indulgence feast, where various sweets, toys and regional products are sold in street markets. Whereas on weekdays, four masses are celebrated in the Cave of Saint Michael in Monte Sant’Angelo, during the pilgrimage season, espeacially during Michaelmas, often up to nine masses take place. At that special time, the Sanctuary is open to growing groups of pilgrims, a number of which comes from Poland. It is also because many priests serving in the Sanctuary, who are referred to as Michaelites, are originally from Poland. On March 31, 1995, the first Michaelites arrived at the Sanctuary and began working alongside Benedictine monks, who were the previous custodians of the Basilica. Finally, the Michaelites took over full care of the Sanctuary from July 13, 1996.

Featured image: Decorations on 29th September above the Celestial Basilica dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, during Michaelmas on Monte Gargano, where the the earliest Sanctuary dedicated to Saint Michael was built. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

By Joanna
Faculties of English Philology, History of Art and Archaeology.
University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland;
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Poland;
University College Dublin, Ireland.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Bogacki, P.J., 2017. Przewodnik po Sanktuarium Św. Michała Archanioła na Górze Gargano. Monte Sant’ Angelo: Wydawnictwo “Michael”, 7th Edition.

D’Ovidio, S., 2018. ‘The Bronze Door of Monte Sant’ Angelo on Mount Gargano: Use and Perseption’, in Foletti, I., Kravčíková, K., Rosenbergova, S., Palladino, A., eds., 2018. Migrating Art Historians on the Sacred Ways. Reconsidering Medieval French Art through the Pilgrim’s Body. Reconsidering Medieval French Art through the Pilgrim’s Body, pp. 137-158. Brno-Viella, Roma: Masaryk University.

Kosloski, P., 2019. ‘This sanctuary of St. Michael was not consecrated by human hands’, in Philip Kosloski. (https://www.philipkosloski.com/this-sanctuary-of-st-michael-was-not-consecrated-by-human-hands/,2023, accessed 9th September, 2023).

Pelc, K., Ks. CSMA, 2022. ‘Monte Sant’Angelo: Góra Świętego Anioła’, in Michalici.pl. (https://bit.ly/3TBTdPo; accessed 25th December, 2023).

The Archanegel of God from the Giant’s Mount in Apulia

“The Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel is famous not for the splendor of its marbles, but for the miraculous events that took place here: in its form it is modest, but rich in heavenly virtues, because Saint Michael the Archangel himself built and consecrated it, and, mindful of human weakness, he himself descended from heaven so that at that time people could become participants in the works of God.

Anonymous author, circa the first millenium A.D., in Bogacki, 2017, p. 3.

The Fifth Stop on the Line

In Puglia (Apulia), the south-eastern region of Italy, on Mount Gargano, in the city of Monte Sant’ Angelo, there is the most famous Roman Catholic Sanctuary, built in honour of Saint Michael the Archangel. Located atop a mountain, encrusted in white coat of buildings, on a peninsula of land surrounded by the Adriatic Sea, there is an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind Basilica, which consists of buildings clustered around the cave, testifying to its centuries-old tradition and history. For centuries it has been a place of prayer and reconciliation, famous throughout the Christian world. On the other side, Monte Gargano is the source of many legendary stories.

I had just returned from the Piedmont region and its fabulous sanctuary on Saint Michael’s Line, Sacra di San Michele, when another flight was yet waiting for me from Krakow to Bari. After five days since my return from Torino, I landed together with my three charming companions in the Puglia region, just on the eve of All Saints’ Day, which we spent in Giovinazzo, on the sunny Adriatic coast. On All Souls’ Day, November 2, we took a train from there to Foggia, where our driver, Leonardo, had already been waiting for us and took us to Monte Sant’Angelo, also known as Monte Gargano. It was a good day to meet Saint Michael. This was the All Souls’ Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. It is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful, who died. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Saint Michael the Archangel, regardless of his other functions, plays the role of a guide of souls to the Afterlife, that is to say, a psychopomp. In such a role, he usually appears in the Greek and Oriental Orthodox traditions. In art, we can find many examples of images of the dying man, with the devil at their side, and Saint Michael with a sword to defend the soul and lead it to the afterlife. This day was also the first All Souls’ Day after the loss of my beloved Godmother, who died of cancer last August. With my intention of praying for her soul, I went to the Archangel.

At the Foot of Saint Michael’s Mount

Monte Sant’Angelo is the highest inhabited point of the Gargano Peninsula, which reaches 800 metres (2625 feet) above sea level. Since 2011, the town has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the Basilica of Saint Michael. We climbed there by car driving on the road from Foggia. Right at the foot of the mountain, the road turns into a swirling serpentine all the way up to the Basilica. However, the white buildings of the town are visible from afar against the greenery of the Peninsula. Since we turned towards the coastline and found ourselves on more local roads zigzagging the Gargano Peninsula, our car was being chased by the shadows of surrounding walls of rock, leading up to the sacred mountain. At the top of the ridge, white outlines of buildings were slowly emerging in the background of the blue sky, and with every turn up along the winding road, they were becoming more and more visible and detailed.

‘Monte Sant’ Angelo up on the left’, said Leonardo.

And in a minute, we kept turning right, while climbing up a coiled road, taking us to the white city of the Archangel and his cave.

The origins of the Sanctuary date back to the end of the fifth century and to the first decades of the sixth century. The oldest written sources testifying to an ancient tradition of this place are two letters of Pope Gelasius I, written at the turn of 493 and 494. The first of them was addressed to Bishop Giusto of Larino, and the second to Bishop Herculentius of Potenza (492-496). There is also a brief account in The Martyrologium Hieronymianum (Martyrologium sancti Hieronymi or simly, the Martyrology of Jerome), under the date of September 29. Another written source is Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in Monte Gargano, written anonymously between the sixth and tenth centuries. It is a hagiographical and composite foundation myth of Monte Sant’ Angelo, a compilation of legends on the apparitions of Saint Michael the Archangel. The final version was possibly created around 900 but a more ancient written versions of the legend had already circulated between 800 and 850. Those were compiled on the ground of earlier versions. Accordingly, the composition of the story or rather stories must already have appeared between 750 to 800. Yet, a contemporaneous anonymous writer still mentions an original version of the legend, which is estimated even for the sixth century, so one century after the described apparitions had occured.

The Apparitio and the Episode of the Bull

The text, also known as the Golden Legend, is a famous report that highlights for the first time the miracles done by the Archangel and thus emphasises the features of Saint Michael. Its eighth-century version describes in detail and at times evocatively three miraculous events that gave rise to the cult of Saint Michael the Archangel on Mount Gargano. These events are more intertwined to anient apocryphal traditions than to historic records, and are related to Saint Michael’s apparitions, three of which, represented in a simple, yet colorful way in the account, took place in the fifth century. Apart from these three apparitions described by the Golden Legend, there was also the fourth one, as miraculous as the previous ones, which took place several centuries later.

The first apparition of the Archangel is referred to as the “Episode of the lost bull”. According to the Apparitio, Saint Michael the Archangel appeared near a city called Sipontus (Siponto) in 490. A rich landowner lived there and had sheep and cattle that were grazing about the mountains. One day, he was informed that the most beautiful bull from his herd, grazing in the hills of Gargano, strayed and, instead of returning to the stables in the evening, went to the cave at the top of the hill. That fact upset the bull’s owner, who armed with bow and arrow, and accompanied by a multitude of servants went looking for the animal. After long searches in all possible places, the owner together with his men finally found the bull on the top of the mountain, kneeling at the entrance to the cave. In anger, the rich man drew his bow and fired a poisoned arrow at it to put to death the disobedient animal, but instead of striking the bull, the arrow inexplicably reversed its direction, turned back and struck the shooter instead.

[I]t happened that one bull separated himself from the rest and climbed to the top of the mountain. When the herd came in and this bull’s absence was discovered, the landowner mustered a band of his people to track it up the mountain trails, and they finally found the animal standing in the mouth of a cave at the top. The owner, annoyed at the bull for having wandered off alone, aimed a poisoned arrow at it, but the arrow came back, as if turned about by the wind, and struck the one who had launched it”.

Anonymous author, Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in Monte Gargano, The First Apparition of Saint Michael or the Episode of the Lost Bull (fragment), in Kosloski, 2019.

Shocked by this incident, the owner of the bull went to the local bishop to tell him of the strange event that took place on the top of the mountain. It is agreed that the bishop who heard about this even was the contemporaneous Bishop of Siponto (modern-day Manfredonia), Lorenzo Maiorano. Having heard about what happened, he pronounced a three-day fast and for all citizens to ask God for an answer. When the last day of prayers was approaching the evening, Saint Michael the Archangel appeared to the bishop and spoke to him with these words:

“Know that it was by my will that the man was struck by his arrow. I am the Archangel Michael, and I have chosen to dwell in that place on earth and to keep it safe. I wished by that sign to indicate that I watch over the place and guard it.”

Anonymous author, Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in Monte Gargano, The First Apparition of Saint Michael or the Episode of the Lost Bull (fragment), in Kosloski, 2019.

The Identity of the Landowner

After some modern scholars, the rich landowner from the above cited fragment of the Apparitio, is identified with Elvio Emanuele, the leader of the army of Siponto. Nevertheless, there are written and oral versions of an ancient Apulian myth, calling the landowner Garganus, which brings to mind the name of a historical and geographical sub-region in the province of Apulia, where the story is said to have happened, namely Gargano Peninsula or more precisely Monte Gargano. Some versions additionaly say that Garganus was not only wounded but actually killed by the reversed arrow, and consequently, these were his servants who eventually informed the bishop. When I first read that story I was surprised and even concerned that Saint Michael purposely hurt the landowner or even caused his death. There are also questions about Garganus’ behaviour: why was he so determined to kill his most beautiful animal after a long search for it? Could it be just because the animal had strayed from the heard? Answers to those questions emerge only if we omit a historic context of the the story and try to understand its ancient underlying.

The Story Behind the Name

When I visited the Gargano Peninsula as a teenager, together with my two younger sisters, we went to the coastal town of Vieste, located in Gargano National Park, and at the very edge of the Gargano Peninsula. Although we had chosen that place for purely leisure purposes, and I was not so fond of archaeology yet at that time, one evening, when the heat was not so overwhelming, we decided to take part in a guided tour around Vieste. I heard then for the very first time about mysterious peoples inhabiting once the lands, and legendary connections of that region with a race of giants, who were led by the gereatest of all, Garganus; his name later went down in local tradition, and so gave the name of the Peninsla. Needless to say, at that time I had not been aware of the fact that there was a continution of the story with Saint Michael as a heveanly hero, and of his mountain that he retrived once from evil spirits having guarded it for centuries. I was not even aware of the Sanctuary atop Monte Sant’ Angelo, lying in the proximity …

As the legend goes, Gargan or Garganus was a name of a supernatural creature and inhabitant of the cave on top of the mount, where Saint Michael later appeared. It was possibly a giant or a pagan deity, or both … Once, bloody sacrifices (possibly also including humans) were offered in front of the cave to ensure the well-being of the local population. Hence, the poisoned arrow launched at the bull may have been turned back by the Archangel because he wanted to say – no more offerings to the evil. Such a role of Garganus, as presented in the Apparitio, is similar to that played by a giant or a dragon, taking into possession a mountain or a cave and spreading terror among local people until a hero kills it and frees his human victims from evil powers. The latter archetype can be easily recognised in the character of Saint Michael slaying the dragon, who himself reveals that he punished Garganus (or Gargan) – supposedly the pagan giant deity of the cave, and placed the cave on the mount under his own special protection. This is why the name of Monte Gargano changed its dedication to Saint Michael (Monte Sant’Angelo).

Garganus Means Giant

A later tradition of a giant of similar name, Garganeus, is retold by the twelfth century French poem Florimont by Aymon de Varennes. That giant also lives on Mount Garganus, devours humans and is finally killed by the hero, who once lived on the opposite site of the Adriatic Sea. Such stories of man-eating giants actually abound in the French folklore; apart from François Rabelais’ giant, Gargantua, who comes to life in the sixteenth century, giants had apparently inhabited the Caves of Gargas in the Pyrenees region of France. There is also an interesting medieval Arthurian legend, referring to another great sanctuary of Saint Michael, also constructed on the Line, namely Mont Saint Michel, in Normandy.

The account can be read in mid-twelfth century Historia regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth, and in the fourteenth century Alliterative Morte Arthure. The legend goes that Arthur freed the people of Mont Saint Michel from a blood-thirty giant, who had settled there in the pagan times, as much as did the giant from Saint Michael’s Mount, in Cornwall. The latter is mostly known from the Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean (1734). Also, an Icelandic tradition has its gaint, who may be hidden under the term gargann, found among poetic names for snakes or dragons. Although it has not been yet fully explained, the word may also refer to a legendary giant or dragon, which once was the owner of a mountain.

Giants as Creatures from the Stone Age

Yet, there is much more to the story to be told. Many modern scholars have been highly interested in the origins and remnants of the literary figure of Gargantua. Hence, they studied his name, including the derivation of the prefix gar– from a pre-Indoeuropean root. After René Herval, the common root of these similar names ascribed to giants, who went down in European folklore, could be gal – ‘stone’, and the reduplicated version, galgal would indicate accumulation and probably give the meaning tumulus, a stone and earth structure typical of a prehistoric site. From galgal, the word gargas and Mount Garganus may have originated.

Furthermore, there is Gilgal (Galgala or Galgalatokai) of the 12 Stones in Western Palestine, then, the name of Saint Galganus from Sienna, whose story is curiously also marked by the apparition of Saint Michael. Those linguistic connections place Garganus, and so ancient giants, in the prehistoric cluture of megalithic stone structures, which are asrcibed by numerous legendary accounts to giants, who are said to have been their designers and engineers. On the other side, they are predominated as evil creatures related to fallen angels.

From the Giant to the Landowner

In Virgil (70-19BC) and Horace (65-27BC), the name Garganus is typically attached to a mountain, whereas in folklore, he is a wealthy man and landowner, and lives on a mountain, which is named after him. An Italian scholar, Giovanni Battista Bronzini claims that the name Garganus is likely to have originated as a personal name since palce-names have different endings, and so there is a hypothesis that Gargan was an ancient personification of an Oriental deity, and a remnant of a primitive Asian cult transplanted to Europe that reemerges in the two sites now dedicated to the Archangel, precisely, Monte Gargano and Mont Saint Michel (once called Mont-Gargan or Mont-de-Gargan). An Apulian legend about a man-eating giant, Gargan, a monstrous lord of the cave atop the mountain is thus echoed in the Apparitio, where Gargan is simply referred to as the owner of the herd in the First Apparition.

Still during his first appearing to the bishop of Siponto, Saint Michael also asked him to have his sanctuary loacted atop the mountain, in the cave, where he had demonstrated his powers, and where people could look for his intercession.

“Where the rock opens, human sins will be forgiven… The prayers you will offer to God here will be answered. Go to the mountains and dedicate this cave for Christian worship”.

Anonymous author, Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in Monte Gargano, The First Apparition of Saint Michael or the Episode of the Lost Bull (fragment), in Bogacki, 2017, p. 5.
The Entrance to Saint Michael’s Sanctuary with the figure of the Archangel, guarding his Mount. The two-arcaded portico conceals a staircase leading down to the cave, where Saint Michael appeared, and the Celestial Basilica, consecrated with his hand. Photos by Magdalena Wrona and Joanna Pyrgies. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

From Human Fear to the Angelic Victory

As the Apparition goes, because the Monte Gargano was a mysterious and almost inaccessible mountain, and was also a place of pagan worship, the bishop hesitated for a long time before deciding to fulfil the Archangel’s command. This type of dilemmas accompanying the people appointed by the Archangel to establish his sanctuaries also appear in other accounts on the creation of the seven monasteries along Saint Michael’s Line; the Bishop of Avranches, Saint Aubert, also delayed the construction of the monastery due to pagan rituals taking place on the site designated by the Archangel, whereas Saint Giovanni, who initiated Sacra di San Michele, primarily started the construction of the sanctuary in the wrong place and was suggestively corrected by the heavenly forces.

Despite all that hesitancy, so typical of human nature, even of the saints appointed by God, Saint Michael’s sanctuaries were built along the Line, staring with the one on Monte Gargano, the place once dedicated to the pagan deity and giant. Saint Michael’s apparitions are an invitation given to man to humble himself before the majesty of God. Christians from all over the world have come to the sanctuary of Celestial Basislica, wchich is seen as the house of God and the gate of heaven. They have chosen that place to find peace and forgiveness in the arms of God’s love. For centuries, the holy cave has been the centre of countless pilgrimages, a place of prayer, and, above all, a place of reconciliation with God.

Among the pilgrims who visited this place were many popes, rulers, numerous government leaders, and ministers, as well as many saints, and thousands of pilgrims from all nations. In this special place, all of them found forgiveness, hope and peace of mind through the powerful intercession of Saint Michael the Archangel. Over the course of fifteen centuries, pilgrims flock there to honour Saint Michael, the Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, preaching, like he does, with all their life, “Who is like God!”

Featured image: The frontispiece with Saint Michael fighting the devil at the entrance to the Sanctuary on atrio superiore (the upper courtyard). Photos by Magdalena Wrona and Joanna Pyrgies. Copyright©Archaeotravel.

By Joanna
Faculties of English Philology, History of Art and Archaeology.
University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland;
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Poland;
University College Dublin, Ireland.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Bogacki, P.J., 2017. Przewodnik po Sanktuarium Św. Michała Archanioła na Górze Gargano. Monte Sant’ Angelo: Wydawnictwo “Michael”, 7th Edition.

Kosloski, P., 2019. ‘This sanctuary of St. Michael was not consecrated by human hands’, in Philip Kosloski. (https://www.philipkosloski.com/this-sanctuary-of-st-michael-was-not-consecrated-by-human-hands/,2023, accessed 9th September, 2023).

Oleschko, H., 2023. ‘Płynąc z psychopompposem, part 2’, in Któż jak Bóg. Dwumiesiecznik o aniołach i życiu duchowym, no 3 (183), May-June, 2023, pp. 22-24.

Ruggerini, M. E., 2001. ‘St Michael and the Dragon from Scripture to Hagiography’, in Monsters and the Monstrous in Medieval Northwest Europe. Mediaevalia Groningana, Vo. III, Olsen, pp. 23-58. K. E. and Houwen, L.A.J.R., eds. Leuven – Paris -Sterling, Virginia: Peeters.