SaintSome sources refer to him as ''blessed'' or '' Beatus'' rather than ''Saint''. Se
saints.sqpn.com
an
santiebeati.it
/ref> Idesbald (''Idesbaldus'') (c. 1100–1167) was a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monk and

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Ten Duinen Abbey Ten Duinen Abbey or the Abbey of the Dunes () was a Cistercian monastery at Koksijde in what is now Belgium. It was one of the richest and most influential religious institutions in the medieval County of Flanders. It later relocated from Koksijde ...

Life

As a youth Idesbald was a

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

and

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

to the

Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the c ...

. It is believed that he was related to or proceeded from the noble family of Van der Gracht, lords of

Moorsel Moorsel is a village in the Denderstreek in the province East Flanders in Belgium, a ''deelgemeente'' of the city of Aalst. The village belongs to a league of neighbouring villages, which call themselves the ''Faluintjesgemeenten''. Moorsel is t ...

. He became a canon priest at

Veurne Veurne (; , ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , ...

in 1135. In 1150, he became a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

at the abbey of Our Lady of the Dunes (Ten Duinen), serving as abbot of this foundation from 1155 to 1167.

Veneration

Idesbald was buried in the abbey in a

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

coffin A coffin or casket is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, for burial, entombment or cremation. Coffins are sometimes referred to as caskets, particularly in American English. A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" a ...

. In 1577, the

Geuzen ''Geuzen'' (; ; ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called ''Watergeuzen'' (; ; ). In the Eigh ...

plundered the abbey, and the monks transported Idesbald's

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

to a

monastic grange Monastic granges were outlying landholdings held by Monastery, monasteries independent of the Manorialism, manorial system. The first granges were owned by the Cistercians, and other orders followed. Wealthy monastic houses had many granges, mo ...

at Bogaerde. On 13 November 1623 his coffin was opened in the presence of several witnesses so that the relics could be inspected and authenticated; the body was reported to be

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Catholic and Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness. I ...

. For days, the body was shown to visitors. In 1625, during Infanta

Isabella Clara Eugenia Isabella Clara Eugenia (; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, which comprised the Low Countries and the north of modern France, with her husband Albert ...

progress Progress is movement towards a perceived refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. It is central to the philosophy of progressivism, which interprets progress as the set of advancements in technology, science, and social organization effic ...

through Flanders, the body was displayed to the Infanta and her court, including

Ambrogio Spinola Ambrogio Spinola Doria, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases and 1st Duke of Sesto (1569 – 25 September 1630) was an Italian military leader and nobleman of the Republic of Genoa, who served as a Spanish general and won a number of important battles. ...

, Cardinal de la Cueva, and the

papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

. Idesbald's

were

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

again, this time to

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

, in 1796 to avoid having them destroyed by

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

troops. In 1830, the relics were placed in a chapel associated with the abbey of Our Lady of the Potteries. Idesbald's cult was officially approved in 1894 by a decree issued by the

Diocese of Bruges The Diocese of Bruges (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, which covers all of Belgiu ...

. In 2015 the lead coffin thought to contain his remains was opened. Both lead carbonate from the coffin and the skeletal remains inside were

radiocarbon Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...

-dated. The dates reveal that the remains are not those of St Idesbald, as they date to the later 15th or early 16th century. It is hypothesised that the coffin and skeleton represent the burial of a later abbot The village of

Saint-Idesbald Saint-Idesbald (; ) a village at the Belgian West Coast, part of Koksijde, which also includes Oostduinkerke. Its name refers to Saint Idesbald (or Idesbaldus), a 12th-century abbot of the Abbey of Ten Duinen. In 1931, George Grard set up his ...

, which gained fame as an artists' quarter, takes its name from him.

Notes

References

External links

Idesbald

Beato Idesbaldo delle Dune
{{Authority control 1100s births 1167 deaths 12th-century Christian saints Belgian Cistercians Belgian Roman Catholic saints Incorrupt saints People from Koksijde People from Veurne Abbots of Dunes 12th-century people from the county of Flanders 12th-century Christian abbots