Chapter 9

At this time, the venerable servant of Christ, Bishop Egbert, a man whose name deserves high honour, was living a life of exile in Ireland, as I have already mentioned, in order to attain his heavenly home. He planned to bring blessings to more people by undertaking the apostolic work of preaching the word of God to some of the nations who had not heard it. He had learned that there were many such nations in Germany, of whose stock came the Angles or Saxons now settled in Britain, who are for this reason still miscalled ‘Garmans’ by their neighbours the Britons. These nations include the Frisians, Rugians, Danes, Huns, Old Saxons, and Boructuars besides many other races in that region who still observe pagan rites. So this warrior of Christ planned to sail around Britain and attempt to snatch some of them from Satan and bring them to Christ. If this proved impossible, he proposed to travel to Rome, to visit and venerate the shrines of the blessed Apostles and martyrs of Christ.¹

From the execution of either of these projects, however, he was stayed by heavenly portents and manifestations. He had already chosen the boldest of his companions, whose distinguished lives and learning rendered them well fitted to preach the Gospel, and all preparations for the voyage were complete. Then early one morning he received a visit from one of the brethren, who had formerly been a disciple and assistant in Britain to God’s beloved priest Boisil, when, as already related, he was Prior of the monastery of Melrose under Abbot Eata. This brother told him of a vision which he had seen that night: ‘After the morning hymns,’ he said, ‘I had lain down on my pallet and fallen into a light sleep, when my old master and most loving teacher Boisil appeared to me, and asked whether I recognized him. “Of course I do,” I said: “you are Boisil.” He then said: “I have come to bring a message from our Lord and Saviour to Egbert, which you must deliver to him. Tell him that he is not to go on the journey that he has in mind; for it is God’s will that he should go and instruct the monks of Columba.”’ Now Columba was the first teacher of the Christian Faith to the Picts living north of the mountains, and founder of the monastery on the Isle of Iona, which long remained venerated by the people of the Picts and Irish. For this reason, Columba is now known by some people as Columbkill, a name compounded from ‘Columba’ and ‘cell’. When Egbert had heard about this vision, he ordered the brother who had related it not to tell anyone else, in case the vision were a delusion; but silently turning it over in his own mind, Egbert feared that it was true. But he did not abandon his preparations for his voyage to evangelize the heathen.

After a few days, this brother came to him once more, saying that Boisil had again appeared to him in a vision after Matins, saying: ‘Why did you convey the message that I gave you for Egbert in such a careless and offhand fashion? Now go and tell him that, whether he wishes it or not, he is to visit the monks of Columba, because their ploughs do not run straight and it is his duty to recall them to the right way.’ Hearing this, Egbert again enjoined the brother not to disclose the vision to anyone. But although he was now convinced of the vision’s reality, he none the less attempted to carry out his projected voyage with the brethren. Then, when they had stored the ship with everything necessary for the voyage and had waited some days for a favourable wind, a storm of such violence arose one night that the ship was left lying on her beam ends among the breakers, and part of her stores was lost. However, everything that belonged to Egbert and his companions was salvaged. Then, like the prophet Jonah, Egbert said: ‘For my sake this great tempest is upon you.’ So he abandoned his plan, and resigned himself to staying at home.

But among Egbert’s companions was one called Wictbert, well known for his contempt for worldly things and for his knowledge of doctrine, who had lived the life of a hermit in great perfection for many years as an exile in Ireland. Wictbert took ship and arrived in Frisia, where he preached the word of life constantly for two years to the people and their king Radbod; but his great efforts produced no results among his barbaric hearers. He then returned to his beloved land of exile and began to give himself to our Lord in his accustomed silence. And since he had been unable to help foreigners towards the Faith, he sought to be of more help to his own people by setting them a holy example.