Saint Ernest facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Saint Ernest
Ernest in a stained glass window of the Church of St Peter and Paul, Épernay
Abbot of the abbey of Zwiefalten
Died	1148 AD Mecca
Venerated in	Catholic Church
Major shrine	Zwiefalten Abbey
Feast	November 7

Saint Ernest was an important religious leader who lived a long time ago. He was an abbot (a leader of a monastery) at Zwiefalten Abbey in Germany from 1141 to 1146. Ernest was part of a big historical event called the Second Crusade. This was a journey by Christians to protect the Holy Land after a city called Edessa was captured in 1144. He died in 1148.

Who Was Saint Ernest?

Not much is known about Saint Ernest's early life. His name, Ernest, is a Germanic name that means "severe." He was born into a noble family in Steisslingen, Germany. Ernest and his two brothers helped support many monasteries in a region called Swabia.

It's not completely clear when Ernest decided to join a religious life. Some records suggest he might have become a monk as early as 1131. Other stories say he was given to the monastery as a child. However, the rules of his monastery did not allow child monks, so this story is probably not true.

Ernest and the Second Crusade

In the 1140s, a famous religious leader named St. Bernard asked people to join the Second Crusade. The goal was to protect the Christian lands in Jerusalem and stop the advances of a leader named Zengi. Many important people, including the German king Conrad III and Saint Ernest, decided to join.

Ernest traveled with a group led by the king's brother, Bishop Otto of Freising. Sadly, this crusade was not very successful. The German armies faced many difficulties as they marched through a region called Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Many soldiers died from hunger, sickness, or attacks.

The few who made it to the Holy Land joined other Crusader forces. However, they failed in a siege (a military attack to capture a city) of Damascus in July 1148. After this, they returned home without success. Otto of Freising's group suffered greatly from hunger and attacks by Turkish forces. Many Christians were captured or killed during their journey.

Ernest's Final Journey

Saint Ernest never reached Jerusalem. We don't have any direct accounts from people who saw what happened to him. However, a story written later in the 1100s, called the Vita S. Ernusti abbatis, tells us about his death.

This story says that Ernest was captured by a group called Saracens during an ambush. He and 40 other young, strong Christian prisoners were taken to Mecca. There, they were brought before the "king of Persia."

The story says the king ordered Ernest and the other Christians to worship his gods. But Ernest bravely refused. He was tortured very badly. Even after this, when he was brought before the idols again, he refused to worship them. Instead, he threw rocks at the idols, breaking them into pieces.

According to the story, Ernest was then killed in a very painful way. This story has some parts that are like fairy tales. For example, it shows Muslims as people who worship idols. However, historical records from that time, like those by Otto of Freising, tried to explain that this was not true.