Saint Calminius, also known as Saint Calmin, founded three

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

abbeys in the 6th or 7th centuries AD:

Mozac Abbey Mozac Abbey is a former Cluniac monastery in the commune of Mozac near Riom in Auvergne, France. History A monastery was founded here in either 533 or 680 by Saint Calminius (''Saint Calmin'') and his wife, Saint Namadia. Calminius is said to ...

, in Puy-de-Dôme;

Laguenne Laguenne (Limousin: ''Las Guenas'') is a village and a former commune in the Corrèze department in central France. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the new commune of Laguenne-sur-Avalouze.Tulle, Corrèze) and the abbey of Monastier-Saint-Chaffre. His

Saint's day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is August 19. His widow,

Saint Namadie Namadia (french: Namadie) was the wife of Calminius, with whom she is venerated as a Christian saint. On her husband's death in the 6th or 7th century she retired until her death to the monastic community at Marsat, which later became a dependent ...

(Latin: ''Namadia''), became a nun at

Marsat Marsat () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department The following is a list of the 464 Communes of France, communes of the Puy-de-Dôme Departments of France, d ...

. Their remains were conserved in the abbey church at Mozac in the 12th-century

Saint Calminius Reliquary Saint Calminius, also known as Saint Calmin, founded three French abbeys in the 6th or 7th centuries AD: Mozac Abbey, in Puy-de-Dôme; Laguenne Abbey (near Tulle, Corrèze) and the abbey of Monastier-Saint-Chaffre. His Saint's day is August 19. ...

Biography

The Life of Saint Calmin is more a literary document than an historical record, in order to embellish the past of the founder of the Abbey of Mozac. By glorifying Saint Calmin, the fame of the monastery is strengthened. His hagiographer seems to have exaggerated the titles of the founder of the abbey of Mozac. Indeed, the duchy of Aquitaine was later constituted in the 9th century. In the same way, the title of Count of Auvergne does not appear until around 980. Calminius is descended from a family of Roman origin who came to settle in Clermont. He holds the title of Duke of Aquitaine (Calminius dux Aquitaniæ) and Count of Auvergne and some possessions, however in the 7th century, the Auvergne is disputed between Franks and Aquitans. Calminius is initially a man of war, but he resolves to live in the austerity of religious life. From then on, he decides to build three monasteries. He began by going to the Velay mountains to the place called Le Villars, where he founded an oratory, Saint-Chaffre du Monastier. A few cenobites joined him, and the place became a real monastery which originally bore the name Calminiacum. Then he left for the bishopric of Limoges, where he began a hermit's existence. When he resurfaced, he founded his second monastery near Tulle. This establishment is more precisely called Laguenne. The people already consider him a "saint". But he prefers to end his days in Auvergne. Long before his death, he settled in Mozac, a place conducive to meditation since it is calm and abounds in water. He founded his last abbey there. Before the construction of Mozac Abbey, Calminius went to Rome to obtain the consecration of the first monastery, Carmery en Velay. On his return, he passed through the islands of Lérins. Admiring the famous abbey on the Ile Saint-Honorat, he stayed there for several months. There, he learns the rule of Saint Benedict. The abbot of Lérins authorizes him to take about twenty monks to help him found his monastery in Mozac. After its construction, Calminius leaves his companions again to go one last time to Rome. Arriving in Italy, he meets the Pope to tell him of his humble desire to enrich his last foundation. The pope offered him a part of the skull of Saint Peter (hence the name of Saint Peter's Abbey of Mozac). On his way back, he stopped in Agen where he obtained a portion of the arm of Saint Caprais. Mozac immediately enjoyed the reputation of its patron. His return to Mozac is celebrated with great pomp, so happy are the monks to see their community enjoying such great wealth and influence. Shortly afterwards, Calmin dies in "odour of sanctity". He is buried in the crypt the day after the octave of the Ascension, but the year of his death remains unknown. During the Middle Ages, there was a country chapel named of Saint-Calmin, on the road between Riom and Mozac. This chapel was destroyed long before the Revolution. Neither its architectural importance nor its exact location is known. However, it must have been located in the area still called Saint-Calmin today, less than 500 m east of the abbey. The main road in this district is called, in Riom as in Mozac, the rue Saint-Calmin. The only indirect vestige of the Saint-Calmin church is a stone cross standing at the crossroads between the boundaries of Mozac and Riom. For safety reasons, it has been moved to the side of the road.

Reliquary

The Saint Calminius Reliquary (French – ''châsse de saint Calmin'') is the 12th-century chasse-form

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...

which was the main object in the treasury of

().Marie-Madeleine Gauthier, ''Émaux méridionaux : catalogue international de l'œuvre de Limoges'', Paris, 1987. It contains the bones of Saint Calminius and his wife

. The structure is of wood and measures 81 × 24 cm x 45 cm. Fourteen copper plaques have been attached, which are enameled using the '' champlevé'' technique (gaps are carved in the metal, into which molten enamel is poured before firing). The box is in the shape of a church without a transept or choir. It is decorated with

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

champlevé enamel Champlevé is an enamelling technique in the decorative arts, or an object made by that process, in which troughs or cells are carved, etched, die struck, or Casting (metalworking), cast into the surface of a metal object, and filled with vitreo ...

, depicting scenes from the life of the saint and his wife, in particular the foundation of the three institutions and his funeral. It was permanently exhibited on the south arm of the transept of the abbey church. It was hidden and saved in 1789 during the French Revolution by a villager and municipal councillor Jean Ozenne (1756–1832). It is now housed in the

Musée Dobrée The Musée Dobrée is a museum in Nantes, in the quartier Graslin in the immediate outskirts of the city centre and very close to the city's Natural history museum of Nantes, Natural History Museum. It was given to the city by Thomas Dobrée (13 A ...

References

Bibliography and sources

*''Charte du roi Pépin, pour la donation et la restauration du monastère de Mozac, datée de la vingt-quatrième année du règne de Pépin, roi des Francs'', BNF, collection Moreau, vol. 284, Fol. 160. *Léon Levillain, « La translation des reliques de saint Austremoine à Mozac et le diplôme de Pépin II d'Aquitaine (863) », dans ''Le Moyen Âge'', 2nd series, volume VIII, July - August 1904, p. 281-337. *R.P.F. Thomas d'Aquin de Saint-Joseph Carme Déchaussé, ''Histoire de la vie de saint Calmine (sic) duc d'Aquitaine, fondateur des monastères de Saint-Théophrède en Velay et de Mosac en Auvergne, patron de l'église de Laguenne proche de Tulle'', 1646. *

Paul Guérin Paul Guérin (8 March 1830 – 23 June 1908) was a French priest, professor of philosophy, writer and encyclopedist. He was gifted as a compiler, and is best known for being the author of the series '' Les Petits Bollandistes: vie des saints'', w ...

, ''Les petits Bollandistes : vies des saints'', tome X, Paris, Bloud et Barral, 1876, p. 20 et suivantes. {{DEFAULTSORT:Calminius 7th-century Frankish saints