St. Dyregod

St. Aidan frå St. Aidans katedralen.
Biletet er henta frå Wikimedia Commons.
Det er tatt av Andreas F. Borchert (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

I dag er det minnedagen til Aidan av Ferns, eller Máedóc eller Moeog, som han også vert kalla. Aidan var biskop og klostergrunnleggar i Irland og Wales på 5-600-talet. På mange måtar framstår Aidan som ein ganske vanleg irsk helgen, altså ein person som kjem frå dei høgare laga av samfunnet og har eit livsløp som i stor grad framstår som legendarisk. Katolsk.no kan fortelje dette om Aidan:

Aidans legende er et fint eksempel på at en helgens livshistorie skildres etter mønster av Kristi liv. Hans fødsel blir forutsagt av Irlands store profet og vismann, Finn MacCumaill, hans unnfangelse blir fulgt av drømmer om en mirakuløs stjerne og en blendende stråle fra himmelen lyser på det stedet hvor han ble født. Hans visdom i ungdommen er stor, han tilbringer lang tid i ensom bønn, tiltrekker seg disipler, drar til Roma (= Jerusalem), hvor alle klokkene ringer uten menneskelig medvirkning, han gjør mirakler, inkludert å gå på vannet, gjør løv om til brød og fisk og bringer en død jente tilbake til livet

Dette stemmer nok, men eg vil legge til at det nesten kan minne litt om dagens Chuck Norris-vitsar. Høyr berre på desse utdraga frå Lives of Irish Saints:

Moeog asked leave of David to return to Ireland. And when he came to Ireland he said : Take me back to where David is, that he may show me who is to be my confessor. But the boatmen were not willing to return. Moeog leaped out of the boat, and walked from wave to wave,[1] 

An army invaded Ui Cennselaig one day, and all the territory took refuge with Moeog in his sanctuary (termon). Moeog drew a line with his bachall round the kine, and the army stopped from pursuing the cattle, except one of the (invading) chiefs, and he died as soon as he had passed the line. And the army, seeing this, returned to its own borders; and the kine remained with Moeog.[2] 

And he fasted forty days and nights there, as did Jesus and Elias and Moses ; and it caused in him no weakness or decay.[3] 

One day Moeog was building a church, and he could not find any wright to fashion it. So he blessed the hand of a man of his (monastic) family, named Goban, and he erected the church with wondrous carvings, and brave ornaments, that there was not the like of it (anywhere), and no one in his time surpassed this Goban in Wright s craft.[4] 

One day a thief stole a sheep from Moeog s flock ; and the thief after eating the sheep went to the church to take (an oath on) the relics in it (that he had not stolen it). As he took hold of the relics, the ears of the sheep protruded from his mouth[5] 

Henta frå Wikimedia Commons.
SeneyNatural History Association. (CC-BY-SA-2.0)

Vi kan altså slå fast at ikkje alt i denne biografien kan takast for god fisk, men det er også nokre punkt som er for flotte til å gå forbi, nemleg der han er i samspel med dyr. Først kan vi sjå på korleis han viser kjærleik til sultne ulvar:

Once Moeog was with the shepherds of the king s fort, when they saw eight wolves coming towards the flock of Moeog, and they did obeisance before him, and he saw their wretchedness. I grant, said he, a sheep to each wolf of you ; and they carried them off. The shepherds go to the fort, and complain of Moeog ; and Moeogs foster-mother came out on the green, Moeog was frightened when he saw her, and prayed to God to help him against her. Then eight sheep in colour and fashion like the other sheep were sent, and joined the flock, and it was not known whence they came.[6]

I ei anna historie får ulvane ein kalv når dei er svoltne.[7] Det kan sjå ut som om husdyra ikkje naut like stor kjærleik som dei ville dyra frå Aidan... I sitatet frå katolsk.no over vart det sagt at Aidan gjorde løv om til brød og fisk. Også denne gongen hjalp han ein svolten ulv.

On another occasion when Maedoc came to the monastery named Shanbo, at the foot of the hill called Mount Leinster, as he was going along the road, a bitch wolf happened to meet him, wretched, weak, and starving. It came to him gently and fawningly. Maedoc asked a lad who had joined him on the road, whether he had anything which he could give the wolf. The lad said that he had one loaf and a piece of fish. Maedoc took this from him, and threw it to the wolf. The boy flushed and flamed at seeing this, and said that he was afraid of his master, for he was not of Maedoc s following, but had chanced upon him by the way. Maedoc said : Bring me some of the leaves of the wood, said he. And he did so. Maedoc blessed the foliage thereupon, and it was turned into a loaf and fish ; and he gave it to the lad afterwards.[8]

Biletet er henta frå Wikimedia Commons.

I kunsten vert det sagt at Aidan vert fremstilt saman med ein hjort, eller symbolisert av ein hjort. Her vil eg seie at kunstnarane har tatt lett på oppgåva si, for eg finn ingen skikkelege bilete av dette på nettet, men det er uansett eit par flotte forteljingar å ta av. Katolsk.no kan fortelje at ein gong Aidan og ein annan munk måtte ut i skogen for å samle ved, kom det to tamme hjortar og hjalp dei å bære veden heim att. Er ikkje det ein forteljing som skapt for eit maleri, så veit ikkje eg. Hjortane var kanskje takksame på grunn av denne hjorteforteljinga:

Another day Maedoc was in a retired spot reading his psalms. A harassed stag came to him, pursued hotly by the hounds, and stopped in front of him. Maedoc perceived that he was asking him to protect him ; so he put his rosary on the stag s horns. The hounds followed the stag, and it appeared to them as in the form of a man. And they did not follow it (any further), and it escaped uninjured after laying down the rosary.[9] 

Her må altså kunstnarane sjå sitt ansvar og gje oss hjortebilete!

Også sjødyra stod på godfot med denne mannen:

Maedoc set out after bidding farewell to Bishop David and receiving his blessing, and after binding a covenant and chieffriendship with him, and between their successors after them in their respective places for ever. Maedoc then went to the sea-shore, and found a huge wild animal coming to meet and receive him there. And he mounted on its back with firm and confident faith. The animal carried him thence to the port called Inber Crimthainn. There it left him after taking leave of him in its own brute fashion[10]

Aidan hjalp også ein okse:

Another day Maedoc was sent to fetch a vessel of ale to the monastery ; and as he was going close to an ever-deep and dreadful valley which lay on his way, the cart in which the vessel was and the oxen fell down at the edge of a hideous precipice sign of the Cross of suffering between them and the precipice. After the saint had raised his hand on high the oxen suffered no hurt, the cart was not broken, and no drop of the ale was spilt.[11]

I ein annan versjon av denne historia er ikkje oksen med, men berre ølet, han knuser då ei mugge med øl, gjer krossteiknet over ølet, og så er alt attende i mugga att. Ikkje ein dråpe har gått tapt.[12] Dette gleda nok Aidan, for han var nok glad i sitt øl. Katolsk.no kan fortelje oss at då han kom til ein kloster skule i Wales var han ein vanleg munk. «Det eneste som skilte ham fra sine medbrødre, var at han tok med seg sitt eget øl fra hjemlandet!»

Dette er altså ein helgen ein må like, sjølv om det kanskje er eitt og anna moment i denne biografien ein kan stille seg tvilande til om stemmer heilt med korleis det faktisk var...

[1], Bethada Náem Nérenn = lives of Irish Saints, redigert av Charles Plummer s. 179
[2] ibid s. 179
[3] ibid s. 181
[4] ibid s. 182
[5] ibid s. 183
[6] ibid s. 177
[7] ibid s. 206
[8] ibid s. 209
[9] ibid s. 190-191
[10] ibid s. 215
[11] ibid s. 204 
[12] ibid s. 179