Aignan or Agnan ( la, Anianus) (358–453), seventh

Bishop of Orléans A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, assisted

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

general

Flavius Aetius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 454) was a Roman general and statesman of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433454). He managed pol ...

in the defense of the city against

Attila the Hun Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and Ea ...

in 451. He is known as Saint Aignan. Feast day: 17 November

Life

Aignan of Orléans (or Anianus) was born about 358 in

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

to a family probably of Roman origin, who had fled the control of the Arian Goths in their homeland of Hungary. His brother Leonianus became an abbot, and is commemorated in the Gallican martyrology on 16 November.Baring-Gould, Sabine. ''The Lives of the Saints''
United Kingdom, J. Hodges., 1877. p. 378 As a young man, he retired to a hermitage he had built for himself near that city, to live a life of prayer and penance. He then went to Orléans to study under by Bishop Euvertius. Under the direction of Euvertius, he prepared for the priesthood, and after ordination was appointed Abbot of the monastery of Saint Laurence outside the city walls. Later he was promoted to coadjutor Bishop of Orléans.Monks of Ramsgate. "Anianus". ''Book of Saints''
1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 20 July 2012 Upon the death of Euvertius, Aignan became bishop of Orléans. It was customary on the installation of the bishop for the city to release prisoners. Agrippinus, the governor of the city, refused to release them despite Bishop Aignan's request; but falling ill, immediately set them at liberty.Butler, Alban. "Saint Anian, or Agnan, Bishop of Orleans, Confessor". ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints''
1866. CatholicSaints.Info. 18 November 2013 Aignan is credited with doing much to save his city from

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...

's hordes, who had avoided Paris. Though advanced in age, he helped the populace prepare to defend themselves and traveled to Arles to ask the Roman general Aetius to intervene. Aignan died about 453 at the age of ninety-five. His remains were buried in the church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Bœufs, in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Church of Saint Aignan, Orléans.

Siege of Orléans

Attila crossed the Rhine early in 451 with his followers and a large number of allies, sacking Divodurum (now

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

) on April 7. His path can be traced through the hagiographies written to commemorate various bishops:

Nicasius of Rheims Saint Nicasius of Reims (french: Saint-Nicaise; d. 407 or 451) was a Bishop of Reims. He founded the first Reims Cathedral and is the patron saint of smallpox victims. Vandals Sources placing his death in 407 credit him with prophesying the invas ...

was slaughtered before the altar of his church in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

;

Servatius of Tongeren Saint Servatius ( nl, Sint Servaas; french: Saint Servais; li, Sintervaos; hy, Սուրբ Սերվատիոս ''Surb Servatios'') (born in Armenia, died in Maastricht, traditionally on 13 May 384) was bishop of Tongeren —Latin: ''Atuatuca ...

is alleged to have saved

Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...

with his prayers, as

Genevieve Genevieve (french: link=no, Sainte Geneviève; la, Sancta Genovefa, Genoveva; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) is the patroness saint of Paris in the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox traditions. Her Calendar of sain ...

is to have saved

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...

, bishop of

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

, is also credited with saving his city by meeting Attila in person.Hodgkin, Thomas. ''Italy and Her Invaders'', Vol. II, Oxford, 1890 Several ancient sources, in particular

Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November of an unknown year, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from 5th-century Gaul ...

and the ''Vita Aniani'' describe him as one of the main architects of the defense of Aurelianum (the former name of Orléans) against the Hun king Attila in 451 with the help of Ætius, a Roman general, whom he had first convinced to join the city. Attila's army had reached Aurelianum (modern Orleans, France) before June. This siege is confirmed by the account of the ''Vita S. Aniani'' and in the later account of

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

.Gregory of Tours, ''Historia Francorum'', 2.7. However, the inhabitants of Aurelianum shut their gates against the advancing invaders, and Attila began to besiege the city. After four days of heavy rain, Attila began his final assault on June 14, which was broken due to the approach of the Roman coalition. Chartres - église Saint-Aignan, intérieur (11)

Chartres - église Saint-Aignan, intérieur (11)

A text, exhibited in the collegiate church of Saint-Aignan in Orléans, based on sources from the 5th and 6th centuries states that faced with the lack of civil authorities, the old bishop Aignan organized the defense. During the siege he invited the inhabitants to pray to God to give them the strength to resist. At the same time, he left for

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

where the Roman patrician Ætius lived in order to convince him to intervene with his legions. While the inhabitants were waiting to be massacred, the Roman vanguard arrived, and the Huns withdrew. It was the beginning of their retreat. They were pursued and defeated near Troyes at the

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition – led by the Roman general ...

. Every day, Aignan climbed to the top of a tower to scan the horizon and warn of a possible return of the Huns.

Legend

Saint Aignan contributed through prayer and his skill as a negotiator to save the city of Orléans, in 451, from total destruction by the Huns (who had just destroyed Divodurum, with its inhabitants). A local legend tells that, during the siege of the city of Orléans by the Huns, the relief troops of the Roman general Ætius were late in arriving. Saint Aignan invoked heaven by throwing a handful of sand from the Loire from the top of the ramparts... Each grain turned into a wasp and a cloud of stings managed to put the barbarians to flight. Then Attila decided not to attack the city and to bypass it.

Veneration

According to

, there was a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

with a shrine to Anianus sometime before 587. Gregory calls it the ''basilica sancti Aniani''. A

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

dedicated to Anianus existed in the first half of the 7th century. According to the ''

Chronicle of Fredegar The ''Chronicle of Fredegar'' is the conventional title used for a 7th-century Frankish chronicle that was probably written in Burgundy. The author is unknown and the attribution to Fredegar dates only from the 16th century. The chronicle begins ...

'', written in the middle of the century, the shrine of Anianus was comparable in importance to that of Saint

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

.Head, Thomas. "Saintly Patronage and Episcopal Authority at the Abbey of Micy", ''Hagiography and the Cult of Saints The Diocese of Orléans, 800–1200''
Cambridge University Press, 1990, p. 21 In the 11th century, King Robert II of France decided to build an abbey and an

abbey church A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

, including a crypt containing the relics of Saint Aignan. This crypt, reworked in the 14th century, is one of the largest in France, but the sculpted capitals from the 11th century remain. In the 1070s, an anonymous monk of Saint-Aignan composed the ''Miracula sancti Aniani'', a collection of stories of miracles performed by Anianus. Aignan is honoured in the Roman Martyrology, and the Paris Breviary. He is one of the patron saints of the city of Orléans, somewhat supplanted almost a thousand years later and in rather similar circumstances, by Joan of Arc. Saint Aignan will be chosen as protector of the city and the diocese of Orleans, in memory of his courage and his trust in God. Nowadays, many places in France bear his name, because he was considered a savior at the time.

Iconography

Saint Aignan is represented in art as praying on the top of the walls of Orléans.

Customs

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Saint Aignan Fair (17 November), also known as the Pig Fair, was held on the square still known as the Saint Aignan cloister, located alongside the current Saint Aignan collegiate church. In reality, this event dates back several centuries (it already existed in the 18th century) and was an important fair and festival. The tradition is to give children a gingerbread pig on which their name is written with a sugar line. It was coupled with the Tree Fair, which still exists.

Legacy

A Saint-Aignan chapel was built in the 12th century, in 1116, on the

Île de la Cité Île de la Cité (; English: City Island) is an island in the river Seine in the center of Paris. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of the Roman governor. In 508, Clovis I, the first King of the Franks, established his palace ...

in Paris, close to Notre-Dame Cathedral. This construction is due to Étienne de Garlande, dean of the chapter of the collegiate church of Saint-Aignan in Orléans and chancellor of Louis VI the Fat. The remains of this site can still be seen in the walls of 19 rue des Ursins. He also has a church named after him in Saint-Agnan in Moselle: the church of Saint-Agnan. A church of Saint-Aignan in Ruffey-sur-Seille (Jura), where he is represented by three large paintings (17th and 19th century). Another church of Saint-Aignan exists in the Atlantic Pyrenees at Ramous, as well as at

Ivoy-le-Pré Ivoy-le-Pré () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography An area of lakes, forestry and farming comprising the village and several hamlets situated in the valley of the petite Sauldre river, about ...

dating from the 13th century. A church of Saint-Aignan, built on an ancient spring, also exists in Épeigné-les-Bois (Indre-et-Loire). The church of the commune of Lacquy (Landes) is dedicated to Saint Aignan since the 10th century. The painter Ulpiano Checa y Sanz realized in 1900 a fresco representing Saint Aignan. The parish church of Saint Aignan in

Tonnerre, Yonne Tonnerre () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. Geography Straddling the Canal de Bourgogne, the commune is situated at the following crossroa ...

, given by Count Guillaume de Nevers II in 1089 to the young abbey of Molesme, is considered to be the mother church of the future parishes of the city (Saint-Pierre 1148 and Notre-Dame 1164).

Footnotes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aignan Of Orleans 358 births 453 deaths Bishops of Orléans 5th-century Christian saints Gallo-Roman saints 5th-century Romans