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M. Charles Grosset
(Revue du departement de la Manche: Tome 21 - 1979)
Translated from the French by Len Mallalieu and Tony Bellows
What name can we give to this missionary, probably a bishop, who disembarked at Dielette and went to die on the banks of the Bresle, on the boundary of today's Normandy and Picardy?
Dom Cauchie, in 1645, cited five manuscripts which, amongst other matters, gave the Life of the Saint, patron of the church of Amiens where he had served. None of these give a plain surname to St Germain. At the start of the same century, Rosweyld, in his martyrology calls him "Germanus Anglus" and Wilson, in the Lives of the Saints of Great Britain, writes of German -"hie Anglus natione".
Is it to Dom Cauchie that we are indebted for the generalised term "Scot" that we now translate by "Germain the Scot" or "Germain of Scotland" or sometimes "Germain of Ireland". I don't know. It is very probably, however, that the term was already in use in the region of Picardy. King Louis XI, in the generosity of his last days, made a donation "for the grand devotion which he always had for the Saint and friend of God, St Germain the Scot, bishop and martyr." The documents of Ribemont (Aisne) where traces of the martyr are to be found, all employ the same titles.
However, in the middle of the 17th century. Father Philippe Labbe, using two manuscripts unknown to Cauchie, wrote a life of "Sanctus Germanus de Rota, de Flamanvilla et Carteret insignis patro".
Also, it is clear that Guillaume Nobil writes of "rector eccesia paroissaile de Germain de Rota de Flamanville du diocese de Constancia in Normania." Research into has found that the name "Germain de la Rouelle" comes from Normandy. It is this point which was made by M.A. Rostand, in the "Revue de la Manche"'(1960) in a clarification of previous work on our martyr.
I have, however, chosen the name "Germain de la mer" for presenting this study of his life. It has the benefit of being the most ancient name known to the Church of Dielette and Flamanville. In the collection of charters and records of Saint-Sauveur-Le-Vicomte, one reads, circa 1090:
"Ecclesiaro Sancti Germani de Mari.. Hugo monarchus Sancto Saivatori concessi."
I am not ignorant of the fact that there are two possible interpretations of this reference: either "St Germain who came from the sea" or "the church of Saint-German, close by the sea"; both these are applicable to Dielette. However, the advantage of this title is that, besides being based on the most ancient document, it exempts me from using more or less doubtful legends.
There are very few facts in the life of Germain about which we can be reasonably certain, with the exception of the disembarkation in Normandy and the death in the surrounds of Old Rouen. The devotion to the Saint stretches across to Saint Germain de Bresie, the tradition of the passage of Charles the Bald, and the brotherhood of Ribemont which claims to go back to the 10th century; the veneration of relics in that place make it one of the "hagiological co-ordinates". The second of these is the fixed date in the martyrologies for Germain’s death which is given as the 2nd of May.
Between these limits, what are we to make of Germain? It is that which we shall attempt to find, through the manuscripts and the legends.
Dom Chauchie, before trusting to imagination, and writing a Life of Germain which is more a matter of interpretation than fact, had recopied two of the manuscripts which he knew, one coming from Bruges, the other from Utrecht. Of the two manuscripts which Labbe cites, one comes from Flamanville; it is this, without a doubt, that derives from the Mangon copy, The "Archives de la Manche" possess this in microfilm and the original was actually at the library of Grenoble. It is from these three manuscripts (Bruges, Utrecht, Mangon) that I will attempt to piece together the life of Germain.
But what of the other manuscripts? The text of the Bollandists seems to come from part of the first Life (Bruges), together with part from another Life, originating from Saint Germain de Bresle.
The five manuscripts cited by Cauchie come from (1 ) the Cistercians ( close to Bruges ) , ( 2 ) Claimont (close to Saint-Omer), (3) Saint-Martin d’Utrecht (held at Cologne), (4) Saint-Germain sur Bresle, (5) Saint-Germain d 'Amiens. How does this fit into our picture? Father Cauchie seems to have used the last two when he wrote his Life of Germain. The Bollandists used the first two. Lastly, the manuscripts copied by Cauchie correspond to the first and third. In addition, following the publication of the Life of Germain "de Rota" by Father Phillipe Labbe, we can add two more manuscripts to the Cauchie list: (6) a manuscript coming from Flamanville (Mangon copy), (7) a manuscript coming from Carteret.
Although it makes use of two Lives, the text of Cauchie’s Life of Germain can only be used with great care, because it is very difficult to determine what comes from his Life of Germain written in the 17th century, where Cauchie freely added to the undertakings of his predecessors. That is why one must be wary of all those who have made use of Cauchie's text - Asselin, in his "Memoire sur un temple gaulois a Kerkevilie" (1833), Corblet in "Les Saints du Diocese d’Amiens" (1870) and Guerin in the compilation called the "Petits Bollandistes".
I must, however, take a look at the more recent work on St Germain
First, there is the work of Abbot Basseville of Ribemont; this recounts, along with a translation from the Acta Sanctorum, the text from Cauchie and the transcription of traditions both Norman and Picardian; this gives a history that is nearly complete right up to the present day. This was published in 1943.
In 1959, Dom Laport published a small book containing a critical study which is most valuable for the life of Germain.
Finally, and most recent, is the study of 1964 by Abbot Genest of Flamanville. This considers the problem from the perspective of place-names; results that are most important can be drawn from this and used in what follows.
If we return to the manuscripts, the study of the three manuscripts (which I have chosen to look at) makes it appear evident that there existed an initial version, unknown, but probably Picardian, from which these derive; we must accept that this must be dated from the repair of the monastery of Saint-German sur Bresle, in the middle of the 11th century. The manuscript of Bresle starts with an introduction with which we have little interest, and which ends with the following paragraph: "We do not possess either the Acts or the story of the passion of this saint. We know that the story of his life was burnt by the pagans. Therefore, with the help of God, we have tried hard to bring to light all that we have gathered up in our thoughts on this subject."
Did the Acts of St Germain exist in the Cotentin, where they had been later destroyed by the Norman invasion, as this tale seems to say? It is possible, but nothing remains of them other than these ancient traditions. That is why it seems logical for Le Nain to treat the tale as "very bad history"; also Bollard, taking into account the historical contradictions, considers certain parts of it to be absurd.
When we look at the manuscripts, it must be confessed that the beginning is not too promising. The history is set "in the era of the very famous Emperor, Jovian, when the very saintly Germain, Bishop of Auxerre, crossed the sea" (Utrecht ms.). The trouble is that Jovian only ruled from June 363 to February 364, and that Germain of Auxerre was born close to 380, with his voyages dating from 425 and 445. The three manuscripts studied here agree on the same dating; the Mangon manuscript also makes it clear that Jovian was the successor of Julian the Apostate; that of Bruges tells us of the life of Jovian, in a marvellous story with very little veracity. What seems most extraordinary is the choice of the emperor. This Jovian would hardly have become known at all were it not for the fact that he restored Athanasius to his rightful position (after Athanasius had been chased away from the See of Alexandria by the Arians) and if he had not begun to reopen the churches closed by Julian. Jovian’s task of restoring orthodox Roman Christianity ceased after his death; if the Church had seen in his reign a hope of renewal, its brevity did not let him use it as she had dreamed.
The travels of Germain of Auxerre in Great Britain are well-known. On two occasions, with an interval of twenty years between, the Saint is sent as leader in the fight against Pelagianism. On the first time, he is accompanied by Loup, Bishop of Tours, and on the second, by Bishop Sever of Treves. All this has been ignored by our biography: the manuscripts assert that Germain went from pilgrimage to pilgrimage, in order to visit "the tombs of the saints"; he went by sea to Britain when he had exhausted the sites of Gaul. In this way, they transform him into a sightseeing delegate of Rome.
Always, in one of his journeys, Germain comes across "a prince of the Scottish nation" called Audinus, who is accompanied by his wife Aquila and their son. Germain is invited to come to their home and, after a long conversation, he is able to convert them; baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, he gives his name to the child (- our St Germain).
Let us pause for a moment on the origin of our Saint to look at this. First, there is nothing surprising that Germain of Auxerres, on his travels, comes across a leader of the Celts: "prince from the country Scotland" (Lat. "princeps ex gente Scotta"). After more than one century, the Celts are placed on the coast of Great Britain and occupy the isle of Anglesey and a part of the land of Gaul. What is curious is the mention which they make of a Roman military institution, the employment of a permanent troop of professional soldiers - the "strong ones" (Lat. "firma"). These would have probably been recruited as in the Empire, from among mercenaries, usually of German origin, or else coming from the ancient Roman armies (which had been evacuated from the island about fifty years earlier.) Therefore we may see in this "Audinus" (and this is the solution of Dom Laporte) the translation of a German "Odin" and so our Germain would have been raised in a military environment, as were our great Bishops, Martin and Victrix. It is more difficult to understand the name "Aquila" which is clearly a Latin name, but masculine. I myself think that we see here a confusion between the name of the wife and the Roman eagle. In conclusion, on Germain's parentage, it seems most unlikely that Germain had Scottish ancestry (and even less likely is Irish ancestry ).
When the Bishop of Auxerre had gone back to his boat so that he might return in it to his own land (Gaul), the child Germain grew older and wiser; in the life which we follow, the hagiological clichés are not missing! However, in time he arrives at the "honours of priesthood". After this, he plans to leave his country to go to Gaul and, on the sea shore, he makes this prayer: "Lord, if you agree with my plan to go to France and there to see, once again, my lord and pious father, the very saintly Doctor and Bishop Germain, who gave me his name in baptism, then please see fit to provide me with a craft. "While he prayed, the wheel of a cart (Lat. "rota plaustri") came in front of him. He takes a place on it, calling upon the Lord: "Lead me, as you led the children of Israel through the middle of the Red Sea." Despite the waves, he manages to leave; he arrives opposite Flamanville, in the small port of Dielette. Is it possible to date this arrival and to make any sense of this fabulous tale?
If we follow the story word for word, we are led to suppose that Germain stayed in England for about twenty years, and that he believed, when about to leave, that his godfather was still alive, and that he was going to look for and rejoin him. Now the second voyage (445) of the Bishop of Auxerre took place several years before his death: so our supposition marks the baptism date on the first voyage (425). But if we suppose this to be true, contradictions follow from it: it is not towards Auxerre that Germain makes his way, but towards Treves where Bishop Sever is found - and he is the companion of the second voyage. If, on the other hand, we take it that the baptism date was on the second voyage (445), and we take the dates of 480 or 490 for the martyr, then it is hardly possible to consider that the bishop missionary was sixty years old (on his death), and from this we suppose nearer to forty years is to be taken as the true age. Therefore we must admit that there is either an interpolation in the text, or some sort of interpretation by the author of the biography, (where he hazards a guess about why Germain left for Gaul, and writes that in as part of the story). So it seems that the evidence points to the baptism date of the second voyage (445), and the date of Germain’s departure around 470 (about twenty years on).
Another problem remains: what are we to make of this "wheel of a cart" which comes to a standstill to let Germain travel on it? Dom Laporte sees here a "corracle" - a small boat, which could be circular or rectangular, of the type used by the Irish and the Gauls. But to cross the English Channel in so fragile a vessel seems truly to attempt the impossible! I would rather believe that the journey was broken into two parts. The arrival of Germain on the wheel of a cart was too much a part of the tradition for it to be entirely invention. So we might consider a two stage journey as follows: the first takes Germain to a harbour on the North coast, by a proper ship, and it is afterwards that the second stage comes when he crosses (by small boat) from Joburg or from Herqueville to Dielette.
Certainly that fits in much better with the expression "opposite shore" (Lat."altera ripa") of the author of the life of Germain.
Miracles follow on Germain's arrival in Gaul. The people of the village (Flamanville, according to the Mangon ms. ) gather at the harbour in the presence of a judge representing the civil authorities. They are astonished, admiring the strange boat and asking where it had come from. Germain disembarked and immediately addressed them: "My little children. I am not a god, nor a magician, but simply a servant of God. He allowed me to come to you so that you might come to know the path of righteousness, which seems narrow when it begins, but at its end is wide and spacious. By this path, we reach a kingdom full of glory, where joy is eternal. You do not know this, but you do know the path which begin wide but whose finish is narrow; this path leads to a kingdom of decay, where only eternal darkness can be found." And the people cry out: "All that you say, we knew to be true." But the judge recalled the listeners around him: "It is not by the virtue of Christ that this man acts. He is a magician. Do not listen to him." But almost as soon as he had spoken, he had to withdraw to a hiding place to relieve himself; there, the impious judge spilled out his entrails.
First, it must be stated that this sermon was a strange one for directly addressing a pagan population. It appears much more suitable for recalling believers who had fallen into a life of mediocrity, and who needed to be brought back to a more severe life of discipleship, than for converting unbelievers. None of the fundamental truths is mentioned, and it is the judge himself who makes the allusion to Christ. Incidentally, the judge's death is most extraordinary, not because of its originality - because it is the same tale as that of the death of Arius, as reported by Athanasius and old traditions - but because it wishes to reproduce the lavatorial details in exactly the same terms as in the tale of the famous heretic.
It is, equally, in this way that the legend of St Hilary of Poitiers describes the end of the anti-pope Leon, who refused him permission to speak at an imagined council. Before its appearance in the "Golden Legend", it appears in the Codex Callistinus and it has featured in all these details in the ancient cenotaph of St Hilary. Whoever is killed in the same manner as Arius must, it seems, to have followed his doctrine; the continuation of the story strengthens this hypothesis.
We are now coming to the most famous of the miracles of Germain - that of the dragon. According to old traditions at Flamanville, this was hurled into the Baligan hole.
As in the life of St Pair of Avranches, it is the prefect, Maximian, who comes to talk to the missionary. It appears that in this region there was a dragon of frightening size, which had seven heads, like the beast of the Apocalypse. Several days before, a young child had left his parents "because of the hardness of his heart"; he had made his way towards the lair of the beast, and had not been seen since.
Before continuing, Germain speaks to Maximian and the troops who accompany him. He demands of them a formal promise to follow Christ: "If you believe in the name of Christ, he will act in accordance with your wish - otherwise, you will become the prey of the dragon." When they agree with this, he goes towards the cave. On the way, he finds the infant suffocated by the breath of the beast. "Child," he says, "in the name of the Holy Trinity, rise up!" Then, as is usual in this kind of legend, the dragon sets eyes upon the saint. At this point, the saint places his stole around his neck, and the dragon helpfully leaves to drown in a neighbouring pool! Everyone then sings the merits of Christ and of Germain, his disciple: "Great is the God of the Christian, this One God in Three Persons." Abandoning their heathen life, Maximian and his six hundred soldiers are baptised in "the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
It is this miracle which will be set in a future iconography of St Germain de la Mer; it will still show a beast with numerous heads, which he crushes beneath an episcopal cross. But having stated the miracle, it is necessary for us to attempt to look at it a little more closely and try to interpret these feats in a less extraordinary manner. To begin with, notice that the child is said to have left home "of his own free will", and not, as is often found in later versions of the legend, taken by the dragon for food. There is an underlying lesson in this story. If we now look at the dragon, we have, very probably, the symbol of a pagan cult, heir to old Celtic traditions and similar to that which is found at the "Roche du Thar", where Patemus will chase away the false gods. The dragon may even be a symbol of an actual statue of a beast, or more likely, a sacred pagan rock which Germain throws into a deep hole. The story suggests that the pagan cult threatened to engulf the heretics because they were not held up by the rigid catholic discipline, and particularly because they did not believe in the divinity of Christ, and were lacking the invocations in the Trinity - "One God in Three Persons". All this is reminiscent of the struggle against the Arians, such as we find if we look across to the writings of contemporary Doctors of the Church, from Athanasius to Hilary.
In addition to this, it is very clear that Maximian represents the military power, as he is mentioned as being accompanied by six hundred soldiers. Now the "Notice of Dignities" ("Notitia dignitatum") tells us about garrisons of Roman troops on the "saxon shore" (Lat. "litus saxonicum"). In particular, regarding the garrisons of Flamanville, Masselin ("Les garnisons du litus saxonicum dans La Notitia dignitatum", 1917), notes that "the garrisons were not gathered in the towns but dispersed all around the territory of a town". Without making any inroads into the insoluble problem of Grannonum, we notice the existence of troops at Avranches, from Batares, and from Sueves to Coutances. It was probably from the last centre that would have come provision of a garrison to occupy the port of Dielette. For the most part, these "barbarians" were Arians. The success of the heresy was certainly due to some extent to the very great simplify of its doctrine, but also, it should be said, it was helped by the very great laxity of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. It makes sense to see this as the heresy that Germain is speaking about when he is talking of the road that is easy and comfortable at its start, but which leads to darkness; against this, he preached the orthodox faith, as stern in its theory as in its application.
Another difficulty disappears if it is a matter of heretics. These baptisms are in quick succession and given immediately. In spite of all the legends, this is in complete opposition to catholic tradition. We are in the time when Leo the Great laid down the rules for the ministry of baptism: of particular importance was the period of teaching before baptism (catecumenate), and the date when it was possible to administer the sacrament - the day before Easter or the day before Pentecost. However, a letter of Leo states that "for those who have been baptised by heretics, it is not necessary to rebaptise, but only to reconcile them to the Church by the laying on of hands with the invocation of the Holy Spirit." So a simple priest would have been able to "reconcile" the Arians (who were heretics because they believed in God, but did not admit to the divinity of Christ or the Holy Spirit) and he must not, as a rule, baptise them, but simply impress upon them the Holy Spirit. Then what are we to make of our text? I think that there is probably a confusion here by the 9th century author between "reconciliation" and "baptism".
Germain stayed little at this first residence. The life that we are analysing indicates that he crosses the sea often, not taking anyone with him, and that he often returned to see his first converts. This period must correspond to the times of his passages to Cartaret and to Saint-Germain-sur-Ay, where legends completely analogous to those of Flamanville are found, with testimonies of the fight against the idolatrous cult of the cave.
After three months, Germain resumed his travels, and went towards the Moselle, crossing the "Gaul of the North" (Belgium and Friesland). It seems that he did not have a very great success, because "he was often chased from villages and flogged, preferring this to suffering in silence like a bad servant who conceals the word of Christ." He leaves this task and goes towards Treves to find there St Sever, the old companion of Germain of Auxerre, who was probably a witness at his baptism. We have here an indication of the antiquity of the legend, as the author of the latest version cites a personage (St Sever) of whose existence he was ignorant, so that he manages to confuse Sever of Treves with Sever of Cologne, who had died a long time before the birth of Germain.
Germain did not have to approach Treves to find Sever because Sever had abandoned his episcopal see to try to convert the Francs of the region. This agrees with the hagiography of the life of St Loup which, speaking of Sever, Bishop of Treves (towards 450 ), tells us that Sever has become the preacher of the Gospel close to the Germanic peoples above all. It is probably in the middle of this apostolate that Sever consecrates Germain. "By his authority and that of the Holy See," he made of Germain a missionary bishop, without giving him an exact see, but showing him the area in which he must do as follows: "Found churches of God where there are none, and where such are to be found, occupy yourself with teaching priests and ministers."
Is it for confirmation of that episcopal dignity, taken a little "without due formality", that Germain goes towards Rome? It is possible, but the biography does not speak of the reasons. It then tells us that he was in prayer at the Basilica of St Peter, when a voice came from the innermost part of the sanctuary: "Intercede on my behalf, servant of God, because you have merit to obtain ail that you will ask." Germain prayed so much in the basilica that he fell asleep and saw a vision of Peter and Paul who said to him; "Be courageous and strong, do not cease to sow the words of truth which overflow from your faith, and you will share in the eternal reward."
With these two episodes (which must be treated as quite distinct), the interpretation is easy. The first corresponds to publicity, which is undisguised, for the oratory of Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle, which is certainly from a later author: if one prays to St Germain, one is sure to have the prayer granted. The other story is quite different, and may well be a distortion of the visit that Germain made to the successor of St Peter, together with a summary of the instructions given on that occasion. This makes Germain a forerunner of the "wandering bishops" of the people of Ireland who, after Columba, crossed to Gaul, converted the pagans, brought back the heretics to orthodoxy, and prompted the catholics to live a harder, more ascetic life.
Probably coining from Rome into Spain, Germain continued in his mission to convert the Arians. It is in the Basque Provinces, in the district of Toulouse, that we find him again: the author was not able to follow more closely a Spanish tradition which must have been joined to the others. Apart from the name of the town, our biography knows nothing. It contents itself with generalisation: "he did a number of miracles, founded some churches, and was sometimes chased from villages too set in their heretic traditions." Is it these failures which prompt him to abandon his struggle against the Visigothic authorities (Arians) or, on the other hand, as the text relates, is it just that he simply wishes to bring his evangelisation to a close? In either case, after many months, he crosses the sea again and disembarks in his homeland - probably in the country of Wales. There, says the tradition, he was venerated by all, never being exposed to persecution by pagan priests; favoured by offerings from the faithful, he can raise up a large number of churches which he equips with ministers. I have asked myself if he did not leave there some record of his journeys; in the district from Brecknosws (Brecon) to Pentre Poethe (Pontypridd?), a carved stone has been found which has been dated with some certainty to before the 6th century by the lettering used. In fact, the lettering places it between a terminus at the 6th century and a beginning in the 2nd or 3rd century. This stone is now kept at the British Museum and on it are seen, successively: a man in a small boat, a saint taming a dragon, a bishop with his cross. Now these are three principal parts in the life of our saint, so this might have been a stone commemorating the journeys of Germain, or a memorial completed soon after he had died.
After spending 18 months in Great Britain, Germain makes the journey to the Cotentin for a second time. In the boat which turns up, one of the passengers is possessed by a demon, if not by the devil himself. His presence suffices to create a storm which ceases when Germain exorcises him. The sea becomes tranquil and Germain arrives in the harbour of "Mogdunum". Where is this place which goes unspecified? The tradition suggests the coast to the South of Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue. Not far from Crasville there is, bordering the sea, a chapel of Saint-Germain which could be a memorial to his disembarkation.
Now the daughter of an important person of Montebourg was blind and paralysed; as soon as she heard of the arrival of Germain, which she had been waiting for, praying for this all of 7 years, she was brought to him. The saint baptised her in the name of the Holy Trinity, returned her sight and the use of her limbs, and named her Petronille. This event was to become the cause and salvation of a great number of men, who bent beneath the yoke of Christ.
I conjecture that what we find here is not just a matter of a banal miracle such as one often finds in the lives of the saints. The healing of Petronille is presented in the biography of St Germain as being of such importance that it is certainly necessary to consider a symbolic explanation. Now the region of Montebourg, like all the West coast, must have been occupied by Roman troops; if we follow the interpretation of the "Notitia Dignitatum" by Masselin (1917), we find that a legion of Sarmations were designated to protect the island of Alderney and the region of Alaume - these were stationed behind the coast, as a reserve force. It is probable that these Sarmations and their leader were responsible for a heretic church and therefore blind, incapable of propagating the gospel in the neighbourhood, and by this called paralytic. One may see here, albeit obscurely, "infirm" pagans waiting for the return of Germain. Does the duration of 7 years represent the time of his travels or the duration of this first church? Two interpretations are equally possible.
But more curious still is the name proposed for the convert. We find it again a little towards the North, at today's Pernelle; here name of the parish and the famous fair meet with the feast of St Petronille. And above all, where Germain had passed by, we find chapels sending us back to that saint: there is the church of St Pernelle close to Saint-Germain-des-Vaux, bordering the sea; there is also the chapel of Saint-Pemelle near Dielette. Why this devotion to Petronille? Cauchie does not hesitate to add "in the honour of St Peter" and he makes a good attempt to tie this up with the return to Roman orthodoxy, by making those churches founded by St Germain as being daughters of St Peter.
However, the traditions in support of this do not come until much later. It is in the 6th century that an envoy of the Queen of the Lombards, coming on a pilgrimage to Rome, collected oil from the tombs of Petronille, of Nerce and Achillee, and wrote "See Petronillae filioe sic Petri aposto sci Nercei Sci Achillei" and the complete legend hardly goes back to the displacement of the tomb in the 8th century.
Nevertheless, this much is certain: that the church St Petronille existed at Rome from 390 and we have clear confirmation of this from the journey of Germain; undoubtedly he brought back relics from there and placed them at the churches which he founded for their protection. That seems to have been characteristic of the second journey, and is an application of the function conferred on him, first by Sever, then by Pope Leo: "Found churches of God in places where there are none.. Never cease to sow with fruitfulness the words of truth which overflow from the faith."
That will mean, as we see in a legend of Flamanville, that it is at this period that he founds a church which, much later, was dedicated to him; it is clearly on this journey that we find all the patronyms of St Germain - following which some churches were consecrated by himself to his godfather, the Bishop of Auxerre, and some were dedicated after his departure and martyrdom: Saint-Germain-sur-Ay, Barneville, Carteret, Saint-Germain-le-Galliard, Flamanville, Heauville, on the West coast or several miles from these; Saint-Germain-des-Vaux, Querqueville, Bretteville, to the North; Saint-Germain-de-Tournebut, Saint-Germain-de-Varreville, to the West; without counting all the chapels, crosses and fountains dedicated to St Germain. All these are very close to the sea and probably correspond to the military posts of barbarians converted by the journey of the saint and also to the successive renderings of the episode of Flamanville.
Genest stresses some other patronyms. The existence of a church of Saint-Maurice, quite near to Bameville and to Cartaret (where are found churches dedicated to St Germain) reminds us that the godfather of Germain de la Mer was buried at Saint-Maurice of Auxerre; here is a very curious coincidence of names. Might it be conjectured that in going towards Rome, our bishop followed a pilgrim route towards the tomb of the one who had baptised him?
How did Germain travel about? Obviously, we know nothing of this from the biography, but it is a good hypothesis to compare this missionary, travelling continually, with the two Breton priests Lovocatus and Cathernus, who were addressed by Licinius, Metropolitan of Tours (succession around 509), by Melanius of Rennes and Eutochius of Angers: "We have heard that you do not cease to make a point of carrying, from cottage to cottage, certain tables on which you celebrate the sacrifice of the Mass" (cf. Labriolle, "La Crise Montaniste", 1913). Sowe may imagine that Germain used such tables - and the places where these were used became centres of worship after he had passed, and contributed much later to the creation of the parishes which, at one time or another, had been consecrated to his memory,
More extraordinary, perhaps, is the refusal to make contact with the ecclesiastical hierarchy, if such a thing as this existed. It is probable that when Germain was wandering across the Cotentin, there was by then a bishop at Coutances, a Christian community at Carentan, or else at Valognes. This great traveller who crossed all Gaul to meet Sever of Treves seems not to come across Ereptiole of Coutances.
There is still a greater problem. The story of his life tells us that, at one time, he was travelling with a group of catechumens and disciples and that he crossed Bayeux. We know that the governor of the town refused to supply Germain with wine, and would not free the prisoners who were asking for Germain so that the bishop needed a miracle to release them. But, at this time, we know for sure that there was a bishop at Bayeux - either Loup or Manvieu - so it seems that there is no contact here between the regional bishop and the titular bishop. Miracles followed Germain - the walls of the prison collapsed, and a dead person was brought back to life - but all this occurs without the episcopal hierarchy ever hearing about it!
Germain, continuing on his travels, crosses today's Normandy close to its edge. Masselin has turned up a very great number of localities and churches dedicated to St Germain. This is a list of names which do not all derive from our bishop; the influence of Germain of Paris must be added to that of the other two. But it is curious to find in the list that he gives a complete series of villages or towns following the path from Isigny to Bayeux (Saint-Germain-du-Pert, Ecrammeville, Suonnet, Mosles), then from Bayeux to Caen ( Bretteville-l’Orgueilleuse, Rots, Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe), and from Caen to Liseux (Airan, Magny-le-Feule, Bieville-en-Ange); it is as if they marked the path Germain travelled.
The manuscript takes the history of Germain to his arrival at Mortemer in the valley of Eaulnes (might we suppose that Saint-Germain-des-Essarts indicates his path in bypassing the city of Rouen?) While he is asleep, he has a vision of his death and, having prayed with his companions, he begins on his way towards Old Rouen. There, a ruler called Hubauld owns a castle. Emboldened, it seems, by his prediction, Germain goes to speak before a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin. In the middle of the sermon, Hubauld appears, followed by his soldiers. Now certain that his time had come, Germain makes this prayer: "Agios, Agios, Agios, Divine Trinity in incomprehensible simplicity, tear me from this body of mud and clay. I entrust to your care all which I have conquered and all which will be remembered of me and all those who pray to you in memory of me." Angered by this prayer, the tyrant Hubauld brings his sword down on Germain’s neck in such a manner that the head was almost severed, and those watching saw Germain’s spirit rise to the sky, in the form of a dove, as white as snow.
It is a young country girl who heard the severed head give her Germain’s last instructions; following these, she comes to find another ruler, Senard, who was a friend of Germain. Senard took the body of the martyr (who, besides, had also been shifted - transported by angels) and removed it with care. Where the body was placed, a church was raised up, and miracles followed there without stopping.
We pass by the difficulties of placing with precision the location of the martyrdom. Dam Laporte discusses this and locates the most likely site. It seems that Germain was killed in the locality of "Canivet", not far from the cemetery at the hamlet of Sortival. During the night, some "angels" - which may well be clergy who had accompanied St Germain - took up the body and carried it to the right bank in the ownership of Senard.
Equally, we may agree with Dom Laporte that it is necessary to see, in Hubauld and Senard, two Frankish chiefs, probably idolatrous, situated at the limit of what was still the Kingdom of Syragrius.
But it is necessary to return to the prayer of Germain. The Mangon manuscript specifies the triple "Agios" (Eng. "Holy") of Greek - this is the "Trisagion" which, for Athanasius, is the symbol of the Trinity and the anti-Arian prayer par excellence. Let us also notice that once more there is the commendation of those who pray to God, and invoke the name of Germain.
The date of the event is placed on the 2nd of May and nearly all the commentators are in agreement in placing the martyrdom towards 480 or 490.
However, let us take note of the curious coincidence which makes the day that Germain is venerated the same as that of Athanasius, the Greek champion of orthodoxy. It seems that the story opens with Jovial (of whom we know little other than his restoration of the exiled bishop to the See of Alexandria) and continues with an analogous story to that of the death of Arius, ending with the sacred day of the death of Athanasius; at each point, the story seems to have wished to bring Germain close to this Doctor of the Church, Athanasius, whose name it does not mention one single time! From this, we can see that it is a matter of embellishing the life of the martyr who fought against the Arians, who will be presented as the Western counterpart to he who made the divinity of Christ triumphant in the East.
It is surprising that Germain's fame arrived as far as Normandy or Picardy and this poses the problem of the origin of the initial document. If it came from the Cotentin, it has been quite forgotten by other church traditions; the bishops of Coutances have returned to Germain very much the same disdain that he seems to have had for them. No martyrology and no breviary make any mention of him. Without a doubt, he became for them part of the group of "those Irish who call themselves bishops" of whom the cathedral chapters of Charlemagne speak with such scorn.
When Germain became a popular saint in Picardy, processions took place on his feast day at Amiens, at Ribemont, and we may also find traces if him beneath the face of Saint-Wulfron d’Abbeville and probably Saint-Riquier, where we find mention of a bishop and a dragon with 7 heads. However, Coutances did not deign to keep his day. Toustain de Billy was able to look for and find documents concerned with the history of the diocese; he had not a word to say about Germain. The first work of Lecanu - "Histoire des eveques de Coutances" ignores Germain completely. Similarly, at the end of the 19th century. Pigeon, publishing a list of the saints of the dioceses of Coutances and Avranches, cites St George regarding the arrival of relics at Port-Bail, but completely forgets the first missionary of the Cotentin. For clergy who can take for granted the incredible history of a Floxel, Germain is dismissed as legendary! We will attempt later to explain their disdain. Let us be content today with announcing it.
So what remains of the tradition of St Germain? First, the patronage of several churches - certainly that of Flamanville and that of Carteret, probably, at some time, the chapel of Querqueville (Asselin maintains this) and the church of Saint-Germain-sur-Ay (Lecanu says this in his "Histoire du diocese" ). We know nothing about all the other "Saint Germain" place-names, where our missionary might have been displaced by the patronym of Germain of Auxerre, which is much more well known
There is very little remembered of Petronille apart from the sole veneration at the church of Pernelle. From the point of view of iconography, it seems there is nothing earlier than the statues at Flamanville, and these are of no historical value in our quest. Is there nothing else? Gerville claims that the bishop and the dragon are shown at the old church of Cartaret. Perhaps they are at the top of the church at Tollevast where one can recognise these same figures, even if the dragon bears more resemblance to a snake. Mussel describes this as follows: "A saint - a bishop or abbot - cross in hand, head encircled by a halo, dressed in a pleated robe with flared sleeves, holding in his hand a figure much larger than him in prominence, and a snake which is wrapped all around his limbs and his body, and is devouring the figure."
I think, however, that it is necessary to tie this up with another tradition. Nothing is as odd as the old church of Cartaret, all alone in the middle of a beach, but with neighbouring caves. The church of Dielette was in close proximity to the sea almost right up until the 17th century. Also, at Saint-Germain-des-Vaux, there was a chapel on the coast: "It existed to the 14th century, but now all trace has disappeared" ("Annuaire de la Manche", 1891). It is also shown on the map of Mariette marked as "old church". Near to Crasville, one must see there another; there is also Saint-Germain de Querqueville, dominating by its height the harbour at Cartaret. What may me conclude from this? I believe that a good hypothesis would be that where Germain had passed, some churches were built which, demolished and remade, have kept the memory of St Germain de la Mer.
What are we to make of Germain’s part in the evangelisation of the Cotentin? That which is most striking in the story of his life is always his success with the garrisons of the coast; to those Arian barbarians, Germain came as a chaplain and, before the triumph of Clovis, had already managed to incline them towards the catholic Church, either by politics or by conviction. But besides that his influence was non-existent; Germain ignored the towns where Gallo-Romans lived, generally left alone the Christian community, and more or less ignored the countryside where pagan peasants held onto superstitious and religious traditions with no established form. It was not Germain who brought these to Christianity but, all the same, he contributed to the disappearance of the idols.