Saint Bessus
Encyclopedia
Saint Bessus, sometimes Besse, is venerated as a member of the legendary Theban Legion
, whose members were led by Saint Maurice
and were martyred for their Christian
faith in the 3rd century. Except for St. Maurice's cult, veneration for Bessus enjoyed a wider popularity than those associated with other saints of the Theban Legion and remains popular today. According to tradition, Constantius survived the decimation
of his Legion and fled to valleys of Aosta and Cogne
. He then dedicated himself to converting the people in this area to Christianity.
Evidence for Bessus' existence is confused and uncertain: the name of Bessus is actually identified with two different, semi-legendary saints with the same name: one was a martyred bishop of Ivrea who lived in the eighth century, the other was a hermit
with the same name who lived in an Alpine
sanctuary near Campiglia in Val Soana. In addition, there are two feast days associated with Bessus that were celebrated at Ivrea: August 10 and December 1. The cult of Saint Bessus may actually represent the Christianization of the cult associated with the Egyptian
god Bes
, also invoked for fertility. Bessus and Bes, as Fabio Arduino points out, are both associated with an ostrich
feather in their iconography
.
Numerous legends were connected with Bessus. A breviary
dating from 1473 states that Bessus was martyred in the following manner: he was invited to a banquet by some Piedmontese who had stolen the cattle that was now being served as a meal. When Bessus discovered this, he denounced the cattle thieves. Angered, the thieves chased him and forced him to jump the cliffs of Monte Fautenio. Bessus survived but was then killed by the Roman
legionnaires who had slaughtered the Theban Legion at Agaunum
. The cliff preserves an imprint associated with the saint. According to local tradition, the sanctuary dedicated to the saint was constructed on the place of Bessus' martyrdom, which remains today a place of pilgrimage
. A different version of the tale states that the saint hid himself in the Valley of Cogne before being killed by the Roman soldiers.
In 1912, Robert Hertz
, a French
historian and anthropologist, collected at Cogne a different version of Saint Bessus' death, which was part of an oral tradition passed from generation. This version states that Bessus was not a soldier of the Theban Legion at all, but a local shepherd
who was so pious that God rewarded him with a prosperous, fat, and healthy flock. Envious of his prosperity, some shepherds killed him by forcing him off a cliff.
According to a local tradition, Bessus’ relics were stolen in the ninth century and taken to Ozegna
, to the chapel now occupied by the sanctuary known as Beata Vergine del Convento e del Bosco. Subsequently, during the reign of Arduin of Italy
, the relics were translated
to the cathedral of Ivrea, where they were placed in a Roman sarcophagus
. Today, the relics rest in a lateral altar along with those associated with other martyr saints.
Saint Bessus was considered to be a great thaumaturgus and miracle-worker, and a protector of soldiers against the dangers of war; he was also invoked for fertility.
On August 10 of every year, a festival and pilgrimage is held every year in the mountains of Gran Paradiso National Park
(Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso), in the Val Soana. A statue of the saint is carried to the cliff that is associated with his martyrdom. The honor of carrying the saint was once a cause of dispute between the towns of Cogne and Campiglia. Each town had once been under the jurisdiction of separate dioceses, but in the 13th century, the two towns became part of the diocese of Ivrea.
Theban Legion
The Theban Legion figures in Christian hagiography as an entire Roman legion — of "six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men" — who had converted en masse to Christianity and were martyred together, in 286, according to the hagiographies of Saint Maurice, the chief among the Legion's...
, whose members were led by Saint Maurice
Saint Maurice
Saint Maurice was the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century, and one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that group. He was the patron saint of several professions, locales, and kingdoms...
and were martyred for their Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
faith in the 3rd century. Except for St. Maurice's cult, veneration for Bessus enjoyed a wider popularity than those associated with other saints of the Theban Legion and remains popular today. According to tradition, Constantius survived the decimation
Decimation (Roman Army)
Decimation |ten]]") was a form of military discipline used by officers in the Roman Army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers. The word decimation is derived from Latin meaning "removal of a tenth".-Procedure:...
of his Legion and fled to valleys of Aosta and Cogne
Cogne
Cogne is a town and comune in Aosta Valley, northern Italy with 1469 inhabitants, as of 2005.Cogne is located in the valley with the same name, leading to the Gran Paradiso massif Ibex, wild goat, marmots, royal eagles are easy to see...
. He then dedicated himself to converting the people in this area to Christianity.
Evidence for Bessus' existence is confused and uncertain: the name of Bessus is actually identified with two different, semi-legendary saints with the same name: one was a martyred bishop of Ivrea who lived in the eighth century, the other was a hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
with the same name who lived in an Alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
sanctuary near Campiglia in Val Soana. In addition, there are two feast days associated with Bessus that were celebrated at Ivrea: August 10 and December 1. The cult of Saint Bessus may actually represent the Christianization of the cult associated with the Egyptian
Egyptian mythology
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...
god Bes
Bes
Bes was an Egyptian deity worshipped in the later periods of dynastic history as a protector of households and in particular mothers and children. In time he would be regarded as the defender of everything good and the enemy of all that is bad...
, also invoked for fertility. Bessus and Bes, as Fabio Arduino points out, are both associated with an ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
feather in their iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
.
Numerous legends were connected with Bessus. A breviary
Breviary
A breviary is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office...
dating from 1473 states that Bessus was martyred in the following manner: he was invited to a banquet by some Piedmontese who had stolen the cattle that was now being served as a meal. When Bessus discovered this, he denounced the cattle thieves. Angered, the thieves chased him and forced him to jump the cliffs of Monte Fautenio. Bessus survived but was then killed by the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
legionnaires who had slaughtered the Theban Legion at Agaunum
Agaunum
Roman Agaunum, the modern Saint-Maurice in the canton Valais in southwesternmost Switzerland, was a minor post confined between the Rhône and the mountains along the well-travelled road that led from Roman Genava, modern Geneva, over the Alps by the Great St...
. The cliff preserves an imprint associated with the saint. According to local tradition, the sanctuary dedicated to the saint was constructed on the place of Bessus' martyrdom, which remains today a place of pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
. A different version of the tale states that the saint hid himself in the Valley of Cogne before being killed by the Roman soldiers.
In 1912, Robert Hertz
Robert Hertz
Robert Hertz was a French sociologist who was killed in World War I.Hertz was a student at the École Normale Supérieure, from which he aggregated in philosophy in 1904, finishing first in his class...
, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
historian and anthropologist, collected at Cogne a different version of Saint Bessus' death, which was part of an oral tradition passed from generation. This version states that Bessus was not a soldier of the Theban Legion at all, but a local shepherd
Shepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...
who was so pious that God rewarded him with a prosperous, fat, and healthy flock. Envious of his prosperity, some shepherds killed him by forcing him off a cliff.
Veneration
Ozegna
Ozegna is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 30 km north of Turin....
, to the chapel now occupied by the sanctuary known as Beata Vergine del Convento e del Bosco. Subsequently, during the reign of Arduin of Italy
Arduin of Italy
Arduin of Ivrea was Margrave of Ivrea and King of Italy. He was the son of Dado, Count of Pombia. Arduin succeeded to the northern Italian Margraviate of Ivrea in 990 on dubious grounds. He was excommunicated for the murder of the Bishop of Vercelli in 997.He was made King of Italy after the death...
, the relics were translated
Translation (relics)
In Christianity, the translation of relics is the removal of holy objects from one locality to another ; usually only the movement of the remains of the saint's body would be treated so formally, with secondary relics such as items of clothing treated with less ceremony...
to the cathedral of Ivrea, where they were placed in a Roman sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
. Today, the relics rest in a lateral altar along with those associated with other martyr saints.
Saint Bessus was considered to be a great thaumaturgus and miracle-worker, and a protector of soldiers against the dangers of war; he was also invoked for fertility.
On August 10 of every year, a festival and pilgrimage is held every year in the mountains of Gran Paradiso National Park
Gran Paradiso National Park
Gran Paradiso National Park is an Italian national park in the Graian Alps, between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. The park is named after Gran Paradiso mountain, which is located in the park...
(Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso), in the Val Soana. A statue of the saint is carried to the cliff that is associated with his martyrdom. The honor of carrying the saint was once a cause of dispute between the towns of Cogne and Campiglia. Each town had once been under the jurisdiction of separate dioceses, but in the 13th century, the two towns became part of the diocese of Ivrea.
Sources
- Robert Hertz, “San Besso. Studio di un culto alpestre”, in La preminenza della destra e altri saggi, Einaudi, Torino, 1994.
- Hertz, Robert. "Saint Besse: a Study of an Alpine Cult". In Saints and their Cults: Studies in Religious Sociology, Folklore and History. Editor Stephen Wilson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 55-100.
- Marco Reis, “Il mistero di Besso - Tra Cogne e Campiglia le radici di un popolo”, Lampi di Stampa, 2006.