Saint Disibod (619–) was an

Irish monk The Hiberno-Scottish mission was a series of expeditions in the 6th and 7th centuries by Gaelic missionaries originating from Ireland that spread Celtic Christianity in Scotland, Wales, England and Merovingian lands. Catholic Christianity spread ...

and hermit, first mentioned in a martyrologium by

Hrabanus Maurus Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of th ...

(9th century).

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen Benedictines, OSB (, ; ; 17 September 1179), also known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictines, Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mysticism, mystic, visiona ...

around 1170 composed a ''Vita'' of Saint Disibod. He is commemorated on 8 September.

Life

He was born the son of one of the lesser chieftains in Ireland. At the age of thirty he was ordained, and shortly after, chosen to succeed the recently deceased bishop. After many years, discouraged at the lack of interest of the people, he resigned and decided to go abroad. According to Hildegard's ''Vita sancti Dysibodi'', Disibod came to the

Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...

in 640 as a missionary, accompanied by his disciples Giswald, Clemens and Sallust. They were active in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

and

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

, until, guided by a dream, Disibod built a cell at the confluence of the rivers Nahe and Glan, the location of the later monastery of Disibodenberg. His labours continued during the latter half of the seventh century, and, though he led the life of an anchorite, he had a numerous community, who built bee-hive cells, in the Irish fashion, on the eastern slopes of the hill.Grattan-Flood, William. "St. Disibod."
''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909 It is thought that, before Disibod's arrival, the hill already was the site of a Celtic temple. He frequently wished to appoint a head over the community, but the monks strenuously objected, and would have none while he lived.

Notes

External links

''Butler's Lives of the Saints'' 619 births 700 deaths 7th-century Frankish saints 7th-century Irish Christian clergy Medieval Irish saints on the Continent Colombanian saints People from Bad Kreuznach (district) {{Ireland-saint-stub