Rembert Regulus (Rieul) of Senlis (died 260) was the first bishop of

Senlis Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hautes de France. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other ...

. His feast day is March 30th.

Biography

Rieul de Senlis was perhaps one of the companions of Denis of Paris and

Lucian of Beauvais Saint Lucien (Lucianus, Lucien) of Beauvais (died c. 290 AD) is a Christianity, Christian martyr of the Catholic Church, called the "Apostle of Beauvais."

who would have evangelized Senlis in the Oise. Rieul de Senlis and Regulus of

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 ...

are sometimes confused. On this question, historians are divided. Basil Watkins says that they are probably the same person as Regulus of

. Some sources, such as the martyrology, say that Saint Rieul was bishop of Arles and he died in Senlis; others like the Bollandists, do not hesitate to settle the difficulty, making two saints Rieul, the one bishop of Arles, the other bishop of Senlis. The historian of Valois,

Claude Carlier Claude Carlier (7 September 1725 – 25 April 1787), called the Abbé Carlier, was a French religious, historian and agronomist. He was the prior of Andrésy and '' prévôt royal'' (royal provost) of the '' châtellenie'' (castellany) of Verberi ...

, finds the existence of relics in two different places, Arles and Senlis, proof, that the bishop of Arles and the bishop of Senlis are two different people. However, multiple relics frequently exist of the same saint.

The relics

The relics of Saint Rieul de Senlis, preserved in the cathedral, were analyzed in 1999 according to the technique of carbon 14. It was concluded that there was a 65% probability that the owner died between 320 and 445 (compared to 12% probability for the period 260 - 320, and 20% for the period 445 - 535 ). If it is indeed the body of Rieul, it should delay the date of evangelization of the region of Senlis to the fourth century. This date is much more likely than that of the third century, which is too early for the region. Excavations of Marc Durand indicate that the Gallo-Roman temple in the Halatte forest near Senlis, was very active still in the third century, and was violently destroyed around 385 - 390 . Then, after a period of weak reactivation related to the maintenance of paganism (the frogs of Saint Rieul?), It was definitively abandoned towards 400/425Durand, Marc. " Proceedings and results of archaeological excavations conducted on the Gallo-Roman temple of the forest of Halatte (1996-1999) ", ''Archaeological Review of Picardy'', Senlis, Special No. 18 "The Gallo-Roman temple of the forest of Halatte (Oise) ", 2000, p. 143-152
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The legend of frogs

Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection '' Les ...

, in his ''Walks and Memories'' ( 1854 ), recounts a legend told from the time of his childhood, according to which, near Rully (Oise) a crowd gathered to listen to Saint Rieul, but the noise of the frogs of a nearby pond (the source of the Aunette ), a concert of croaking, drowned out his voice. With a gesture, Saint Rieul imposed silence. All are silent except for one. (Frogs, like dragons, are often metaphors for rural paganism, defeated by evangelizers like Rieul.)

References

Bibliography

* Henri-Louis-Joseph Blond, "Research on the date of the apostolate of Saint-Rieul", ''Archaeological Committee of Senlis, Reports and Memories 1863'', Senlis 1864, p. 58–96. * Amédée Vicomte of Caix de Saint-Aymour, " The legend of Saint-Rieul ", ''Causeries du besacier: Mixes to serve the history of the countries that today form the department of Oise'' , Paris, A. Claudin / H Champion, 2nd series, 1895, p. 81-127. 260 deaths {{France-bishop-stub