Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 1.djvu/611

Rh ANSE

545

ANSEGISUS

which are said to liave eiven a favourable aaswer. It WHS probably clue to the prayers of the Kaint. A church was built and a |)rie.st established there. Ill 854 we find him back in l)<'nin:irk. where he suc- ceeded in changing the enmity of King Eric into frioiKlship. Kric had expelled the jiricsts who had been left at Schleswig, but at the rei|iu>.st of Anschar recalled them. The saint built another church in Jutland and introduced the use nf bells, which the jnigans regarde<l xs iii.strument.s of magic. He also induced the king to mitigate the horroi-s of the slave- trade. He was eminent for his piety, mortification, and observance of the monastic rule. He built hospitals, ransomed captives, sent immense alms abroad, and regretted only that he had not been fomid worthy of martyrdom. Though he wrote several works, verj- little of them remains. He had added devotional phrases to the psalms, which, ac- cording to Fabricius, in his Latin Library of the Middle Ages, are an illustrious monument to the jjiety of the holy prelate. He had also compiled a life of St. Willehad, first Hisho|) of Bremen, and the preface which he wrote was consiilercd a master- piece for that age. It is published by Fabricius among the works of the historians of Hamburg. Some letters of his are also extant. He is known in (iermany as St. Seharies and such is the title of his collpgiate church in Bremen. Another in Hamburg under the same title was converted into an orphan a.sylum by the Lutherans. All of his success as a missionary he ascribed to the piety of Louis le IX'bonnaire and the apostolic zeal of his predecessor in the work, Kbbo, .Xnhbishop of Reims, who, how- ever, as a matter of fact, had failed.

Acta SS.. I, Feb.; MiciiAiu. liiofj. r'ntr.; Hf.rgenrother, Kirchenu- (.1904) II, ISO-Sl; BcTLtii, Lms oj the Saints, Z Feb.

T. J. Campbell.

Anse, Councils of. — Several medieval councils were held in this French town (near Lyons). That of 994 decreed, among other disciplinary measures, abstinence from .servile labour after three o'clock (None) on Saturdav, i. e. the ob.servance of the vigil of Sunday. The council of 102.5 was heltl for the purptjse of .settling a conflict between the monks of Cluny and the Bishop of Macon, who complained that, though their monastery was situated in his diocese, the monks had obtained ordination from the .Xrchbishop of Vienne. St. Odilon of Cluny was present anil exhibited a papal privilege exempting liis monastery from the episcopal jurisdiction of Macon. But the fathers of the council cau.sed to be read the ancient canons ordaining that in every coun- try the abbots and monks should be subject to their own bishop, and declared null a privilege contrary to the cai\ons. The .Vrchbishop of Vienne was required to ajxilogize to the Bishop of Mdcon. In 1076 a council was held for the purp<i.sc of furthering the ecclesiastical reforms of St. Gregory VII. At the council of 1100, Hugues. .Vrchbishop of Lyons, de- manded from the assembled fathers, among whom W!us St. .Vnselm of Cantcrlnirs-, a sub.sidy for the expen.ses of the journey that, with the Pope's permis- sion, he was about to make to Jeni.salem. In 1112 the Catholic Faith and investitures were the subjects of conciliar decrees.

Manmi, Coll. Cone. XIX-XXI; La Mi'He, Ui»t. dwcr'tainc de Lyon (1G71); Hefelk, Concaimiirtch.. IV (1873).

Thom.vs J. Shahan.

Ansegiaus, Archbishop of Sens, d. 2.') November, 879, or SSiJ. He was a Benedictine monk, Abliot of St. Michael's, at Bcauvais, and in S71 became Archbishop of .Sens, .\fter Charles the Bald was crowned Emperor by Pope John VIII, he asked the Pope to ai)poiiit Ansegisus papal legate and primate over ('laul and Ciemiany. With a papal legate of French nationality, amicably (lispo.sed towards the EmiX!ror, Charles the Bald thought he could more

easily extend his influence aa emperor over those countries. The Po[je yielded to the wish of Charles, but when the bishops!us.scmble<l at the Synod of Ponthion were askecl to acknowledge the primacy of .ViLsegisus they protested, especially Iliiicmar, Archbishop of Reims, against what they considered an infiingcinent on their rights. Though AiLsegisus retained the title, it is doubtful whether he ever exercised the [Mwers of Primate of France and Germany.

ScllMlD in KirchenUz., I, 886; Hefele, Concilumsesch., IV, Slti Hqq.; Gkrorek, Geachichte der Carolinoer (Freiburg, 1848), II, 130 8qq.

Michael Ott.

Ansegisus, Saint, b. about 770, of noble parent- age; d. 20 July, K.V.i, or 834. At the age of eighteen he entered the Benedictine monastery of Foiitaiielle (also called St. Vandrille after the name of its founder) in the diocese of Rouen. St. (lirowald, a relative of An.segisus, was (hen .Vbbot of Fontaiielle. From the beginning of his monastic life St. Ansegisus mani- fested a deep piety united with great learning, and upon the recommendation of the Abbot St. Girowald he was entrusted by the Emperor Charlemagne with the government and reform of two monasteries, St. Si.xtus nea- Reims and St. Memius (St. Mange) in the diocesa of Chaloiis-sur-Marne. Under the direction of St. Ansegisus these two monasteries soon regained their original splendour. Charlemagne, being much pleased with the success of An.segisus, appointed him Abbot of Flay, or St. Germer, a monastery in the Diocese of lieauvais, the buildings of which were threatening to fall into ruins. At the same time ('haileiiiagne made An.segisus supervisor of royal works under the general direction of Abbot Einhard. Under the management of Ansegisus the structures of the monastery of Flay were comp.letely renovated, monastic discipline was restored, and the monks were instructe<l in the .sacred and the profane sciences. Louis le Dr'-bonnaire esteemed Ansegisus !is highly as his father Charicmagne had done and, seeing how all monasteries flourished that had at one time been umler the direction of Ansegisus, he put him at the head of the monastcrj' of Luxeuil in the year 817. This monaster\- was founded by St. Columban as early as .WO antl, during the .seventh and the first half of the eighth centurj', was the most renowned monastery and school of Christendom. Of late, however, its discii)line had grown lax. Having restored this monastery to its former splen- dour, he w!Ls in 823, after the death of Abbot Einhard, transferred as abbot to the monasterj' of Fontanelle, where he had spent the early days of his monastic life. He immediately applied liimself with vigour to restore monastic fervour by piotis exhortations and, most of all, by his own edifying example. Some learned and saintly monks whom he invited from Lu.xeuil to Fontanelle a.ssisted him in his great work of reform. Haiul in hand with a reform of discipline came a love for learning. The library was enriched with valuable lx)oks, such as the Bible, some works of St. Ambro.se. St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Gregory the Great, St. Bede, etc. The most learned of the monks were ])ut to writing original works, while the others occupied themselves with transcribing valuable old lH)oks and manuscripts. In a short time the librarj' of Fontanelle became one of the largest in Europe and acquired great renown for accuracy of transcribing and lx;auty of writing. A dormitory, a refectorj', a chapter-house, a library, and other new structures were erected at Fontanelle by .St An.segi.sus. On account of his great learning and pnidence he was often sent as legate to distant countries by Louis le l)(5bonnaire. The many and costly presents which he received as legate from foreign princes he distributed among variovis monas- teries. While Abbot of P'ontaneTle he WTOte a