Un Vénitien au Mont-Saint-Michel : Anastase, moine, ermite et confesseur ( † vers 1085)

A Venetian in the Mont-Saint-Michel : Anastasius, a Monk, a Hermit and a Confessor († circa 1085) - The career of the hermit Anastasius is known solely from a vita written in the early twelfth century, and which was generally not very highly thought of by historians. However, a comparison with other sources has attested to its credibility and thrown light upon the life of this Venitian who settled in the Mont-Saint-Michel around 1023 and then lived as a hermit on the islet of Tombelaine, from where he followed Hugh of Semur to Cluny before leaving for the Pyrenees, where he continued his hermitical life and where he died around 1085. Like other Italian clerics, and particularly Anselm, who was his friend, he played an important role in the Norman church, and took part in the eucharistie controversy by writing a short treatise, his only extant work. His origins, his eventful existence, and his predisposition for the solitary life make him a true disciple of Saint Romuald, who had such a profound influence on the Venitian church. Anastasius's presence in Normandy, probably on William of Volpiano's instigation, and subsequently his commitment to the Clunisians, confirm the spreading influence of the hermitic and monastic movement beyond Italy, where it originated.Arnoux Mathieu. Un Vénitien au Mont-Saint-Michel : Anastase, moine, ermite et confesseur ( † vers 1085). In: Médiévales, n°28, 1995. Le choix de la solitude. Parcours érémitiques dans les pays d'Occident, sous la direction de Odile Redon . pp. 55-78