Legrand, [Étienne].

[SAINT VORLES AND SAINT BERNARD – MIRACLES OF BILOCATION AND LACTATION] L'histoire saincte de la ville de Châtillon-sur-Seine au duché de Bourgogne, contenant la Vie & les Miracles de S. Vorle, patron du lieu. L'enfance & l'education de S. Bernard au mesme lieu. Les mracles de l'image de la Ste. Vierge, qui s'y conserve de temps immemorial. Et plusieurs autres remarques curieuses [The sacred history of the town of Châtillon-sur-Seine in the Duchy of Burgundy, containing the Life and Miracles of St. Vorles, patron saint of the town. The childhood and education of St. Bernard in the same town. The miracles of the image of the Blessed Virgin, which has been preserved there since time immemorial. And several other curious observations].

Autun: Par Blaise Simonnot, 1651. Octavo (17 × 11.4 cm). Two volumes, each with separate title leaf, bound in contemporary limp vellum; [30], 161, [1] pp.; [10], 279, [6] pp. One large folding plate, measuring 49 × 22.6 cm, containing the paternal and maternal genealogical chart of St. Bernard. Limp boards somewhat discolored and creased; some scuffing to lower corner of first few leaves; old ink title and shelfmark to spine; ownership annotation to title: "Ex Biblioth. ff. Minor Dinion"; good or better. Item #54962

First and only edition of this rare work of "sacred geography" and local devotional history, focused primarily on the significance of Saint Vorles to Châtillon-sur-Seine. St. Vorles is a little-known saint whose cult appears to have been strongly rooted in this town near Dijon, in Eastern France. He was born at Marcenay around 530 and died in 591. Among others, including many miracles associated with his grave and relics, the book recounts his most spectacular miracle, involving a feat of bilocation. Upon hearing of Vorles' saintly reputation, King Gontran of Burgundy went to witness him saying Holy Mass. After the reading of the Epistle, the priest became immobile for an entire hour, after which he resumed the Mass as if nothing had happened. When pressed for an explanation by the king for the extraordinary pause, St. Vorles explained that he had been called to rescue a child from a burning house in a nearby village, a fact which the king's retinue was then able to confirm: the foundation of the house, approximately 25 km away, was still smoldering and the parents were looking for the man who rescued their child. As a result of the miracle he witnessed, King Gontran converted and was later revered as a saint himself.

At the same time, the book also ties Châtillon-sur-Seine and its church to St. Bernard of Clairvaux. As a child, St. Bernard was educated by the priests of St. Vorles in Châtillon and the author conjectures that he was in the town from age 7 or 9 to 21 or 22. According to legend, Bernard later saved a local relative who had fallen into a well through his prayers. Legrand also describes how St. Bernard would pray before an ancient image of the Virgin Mary at the local church, reflecting on the mystery of the Incarnation and her Divine Motherhood. One day, he experienced a moment of ecstasy during which the Virgin was said to have miraculously squeezed milk into the saint's mouth. The author also cites numerous other contemporary miracles tied to the Marian image at Châtillon, such as several spontaneous remissions. A curious attempt to embed local geography and history within a sacred landscape by simultaneously reinterpreting the tradition of a local patron saint, establishing a connection with a major figure of the Church (St. Bernard), and linking the village to an ancient Marian tradition.

Sommervogel, IV, 1660.

As of April 2026, KVK, OCLC fail to locate any copies in North America.

Price: €2,500.00

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