Introduction the GSR : REDON ’S IDEALS and REALITIES
Rutger Kramer – RMA Thesis – Monastic Ideals and the Use of the Bible in the GSR – 2007 Introduction THE GSR : REDON ’S IDEALS AND REALITIES Once upon a time, in the region that is nowadays known as Brittany, in the north-west of France, there lived a powerful nobleman whose name was Haelwocon. If this man, close advisor of the ruler of the land, had but one vice, it was his dependence on the lazy and luxurious lifestyle he had grown accustomed to. Haelwocon was a slave to his belly. He also was a drinker of wine beyond measure, and to make matters even worse, he refused to take advice from anybody when he was reproached, and he just laughed when called upon to mend his erroneous ways. In doing this, he opened himself up to attacks by demons, and only after such an attack had finally happened did he repent. Tormented by convulsions, he ordered his servants to tie him up and bring him to the nearest monastery, where he hoped he might find solace. Indeed, he did. Through the prayers of the monks, the demons were expelled from his body, “and from that day he took care to mend his ways and lead a sober life, and revere the holy place”. The story of Haelwocon is a story of redemption that has been written down in the Gesta Sanctorum Rotonensium ( GSR ), a ninth-century work that tells about origins and rise to prominence of the monastery of Redon, its first abbot, and the first generation of monks. 1 As such, it is no surprise that, in this anecdote, the monastery the hapless aristocrat asks to be brought to, is indeed Redon.
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