Saint Who?
Saints Who Were Teachers
Saint Gildas the Wise
Abbot († 570) Feast: January 29
Scholars agree that Gildas deserved his nickname—“the Wise”—but some have complained about the tone of his famous work: On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain. Although this writing has become an important source of information about 5th– and 6th-century Britain, Gildas did not write it for historians. He wrote it for Christians.
Gildas was apparently born in Scotland and lived in Wales, Ireland, England, and France. It was probably during his years in a Welsh monastery that he developed his knowledge of the Bible, Church Fathers, and Greek literature. Gildas later lived as a hermit and moved to northwestern France, where he founded a monastery.
Gildas clearly wanted to teach his Christian countrymen about history in his greatest work. But after recounting the history of Britain from Roman times until his own, he described the lives of both kings and clergymen. Gildas then condemned them, some by name and some not, using Biblical figures and symbols. While some scholars have labeled his book “a mere jeremiad,” that is, a complaint in the style of the Prophet Jeremiah, Gildas was not merely complaining. He wanted to remind his readers that Christian wisdom requires us to compare our actions to the standard of Jesus Christ, not the world. And sometimes we must confront leaders over their failures to live up to that standard.
Everlasting Father, help us to know the truth and speak the truth with charity to others.
