Giles of Provence, Hermit

Today I finish reading Victoria Hislop's novel 'The Island' and recall the patron saint of lepers:


Giles of Provence, Hermit

Giles was a hermit who died in about the year 710. He founded a monastery at the place now called Saint-Gilles in Provence which became an important place on the pilgrimage routes both to Compostela and to the Holy Land. His care for the wounded and those crippled by disease resulted in his becoming the patron saint of such people, particularly of those with leprosy. Leprosy sufferers were not permitted to enter towns and cities and therefore often congregated on the outskirts, where churches built to meet their needs were regularly dedicated to Giles.

The fifth book in the Brother Cadfael murder mystery series by Ellis Peters is titled The Leper of Saint Giles, set partly in the 'hospital' and chapel of St Giles founded by the monks of Shrewsbury Abbey half a mile from their own enclave. That chapel is now a parish church in its own right, retaining a Norman doorway and a 12th century south wall with a piscina.