Saint Bienheuré (Bié, Beatus) is a semi-legendary
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
of
Vendôme
Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019).
It is one of th ...
. Tradition states that he lived in a
cave
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
near the town. Like
Saint George
Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
, he is said to have fought a
dragon
A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
. His legend was conflated with that of
Beatus of Lungern.
Legend
The legend states that Bienheuré
fasted and prayed before fighting the dragon. According to the legend, the dragon was so large that when it went to drink from a river at some distance away, its tail still lay in its cave. It was also so large that it drained the
Loir
The Loir is a long river in western France. It is a left tributary of the Sarthe. Its source is in the Eure-et-Loir department, north of Illiers-Combray. It joins the river Sarthe in Briollay, north of the city of Angers.
It is indirectly ...
when it drank from it.
There are three versions of this combat: the first states that the dragon fled at the sight of Saint Bienheuré; the second version states that Saint Bienheuré defeated the dragon with one blow from his staff; the third states that the dragon strangled itself with its chain.
Historicity
Bienheuré is identified with a missionary who traveled and preached in, besides Vendôme,
Garonne
The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ;
or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux ...
,
Laon
Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
History
Early history
The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...
, and
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
. His place of death is considered to have been
Chevresson, near Laon.
Veneration
A
chapel
A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
dating from the fifth century was built on the hillside where he is said to have lived.
L'Association du Faubourg Saint Bienheuré organizes an annual festival in honor of the saint on the second Sunday of May.
Notes
Further reading
*Jean-Jacques Loisel, ''Dans les pas de saint Bienheuré de Vendôme'', Sté Sc et Lettres L & C (Blois), 1999, pp. 59–87.
External links
L'Association du Faubourg Saint BienheuréLa Légende de Saint BienheuréLa Légende de Saint Bienheuré
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bienheure
French hermits
3rd-century Christian saints