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 monk and

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fe ...

of Ten Duinen Abbey.

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 official ...

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 ma ...

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 co ...

. It is believed that he was related to or proceeded from the noble family of Van der Gracht, lords of Moorsel. He became a canon priest at Veurne in 1135. In 1150, he became a Cistercian monk 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

coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewe ...

. In 1577, the Geuzen 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 of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

to a monastic grange 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 Roman Catholic and Eastern 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 thei ...

. For days, the body was shown to visitors. In 1625, during Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia's

progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension w ...

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 ''condottiero'' and nobleman of the Republic of Genoa, who served as a Spanish general and won a number of important battles. He i ...

, Cardinal de la Cueva, and the papal nuncio. 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 ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

, in 1796 to avoid having them destroyed by Revolutionary 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. In 2015 the lead coffin thought to contain his remains was opened. Both the carbonised lead of the coffin and the skeletal remains inside were

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

-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, 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