Saint Judoc, otherwise known as Jodoc, Joyce or Josse (; traditionally 600 – 668 AD)Alban Butler, (Michael Walsh, ed.) ''Butler's Lives of the Saints'' (1991) ''s.v.'' "December 13: St Judoc, or Josse (AD 688)". was a seventh-century Breton noble considered to be a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

. Judoc was a son of Juthael, King of Brittany. He renounced his wealth and position to become a priest and lived alone for the rest of his lifetime in the coastal forest near the mouth of the River Canche.

Etymology

The name Judoc, meaning "Lord", is the 14th century Breton version of ''Iudocus'' in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, ''Josse'' in French, ''Jost,'' ''Joost,'' or ''Joos'' in Dutch, and ''Joyce'' in English. The name Judoc was rarely used after the 14th century except in the Netherlands.

Biography

According to tradition, Judoc was the son of Juthael, King of Brittany, and the brother of Saint Judicael and Saint Winnoc. In approximately 636, Judoc renounced his inheritance and wealth and embarked on a pilgrimage to Rome. He was ordained as a priest during this journey and became chaplain to the lord of

Ponthieu Ponthieu (; ; ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville. History Ponthieu p ...

. After seven years, Judoc became a hermit at a place later called Saint-Josse-sur-Mer, where he resided until his death. According to ancient

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, his body was said to be incorruptible, leaving his followers with the task of continually cutting his hair after death.

Veneration

Saint Judoc developed a local '' cultus''. Built in the eighth century at the place where Judoc's

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

was kept, the Abbey of Saint-Josse was a small

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

situated on the site of his retreat. In 903, some monks of the abbey fled Norman raiders for England, where they bore Judoc's relics, which were enshrined in the newly built New Minster in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

. To honor the event, feasts were held on 9 January. The

veneration Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

of Judoc spread from France through the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, England, Germany, and Scandinavia. In these regions, variations of ''Josse, Joyce, Joos, Joost'', and the diminutive ''Jocelyn'', became popular names for both men and women, and a number of chapels and churches were dedicated to him. The ''mal Saint-Josse'' was the term for an illness resulting from a snakebite, against which the saint's name was invoked by the fifteenth-century French poet

Eustache Deschamps Eustache Deschamps (13461406 or 1407) was a French poet, byname Morel, in French "Nightshade". Life and career Deschamps was born in Vertus. He received lessons in versification from Guillaume de Machaut and later studied law at Orleans Universi ...

in an imprecatory ballade: "...Du mau saint Leu, de l'esvertin, Du saint Josse et saint Matelin... soit maistre Mahieu confondus!". According to

Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiography, hagiographer. Born in Northamptonshire, he studied at the English College, in Douai, Douay, France where he later taught philosophy and theology. He s ...

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

gave the abbey to

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; ; 735 – 19 May 804), also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin, was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Ecgbert of York, Archbishop Ecgbert at Yor ...

who turned it into a hostel for those crossing the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. It later became a site of pilgrimage, especially popular with

Flemings Flemish people or Flemings ( ) are a Germanic ethnic group native to Flanders, Belgium, who speak Flemish Dutch. Flemish people make up the majority of Belgians, at about 60%. ''Flemish'' was historically a geographical term, as all inhabita ...

and Germans in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. ''La vie de Saint Josse'' was written in

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

verses by the poet and translator Pierre de Beauvais in the thirteenth century. The Suaire de St-Josse, or "Shroud of Saint Judoc," is a rich, silk samite saddlecloth that was woven in northeastern Iran prior to 961. When Saint Judoc was reinterred in 1134, the shroud was used to wrap his bones.M. Bernus, H. Marchal, and G. Vial, "Le Suaire de St-Josse", ''Bulletin de Liaison du Centre International d'Études des Textiles Anciens'' 33 (1971:1-57). The

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

currently houses his shroud. The

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

was closed in 1772, and subsequently sold and dismantled in 1789, leaving no traces of the buildings. The abbey church then became the parish church of the French commune of Saint-Josse. In the village church (dedicated to St. Peter) is the shrine of Saint Josse, containing his relics.

Cultural depictions

Cultural depictions usually portray Judoc holding the pilgrim's staff. He is also shown with a crown at his feet, referring to his renunciation of his lands and fortune. In Austria, there is a depiction of Judoc on the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

of Maximilian in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

. Judoc was most famously mentioned by

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He ...

's Wife of Bath, who swears "by God and by Seint Joce aint Joyce" This suggests that his name was often invoked in oaths.

Notes

External links