Boisil

praepositus (or prior) of the monastery of Mailros, under abbot Eata, is described by Bede (Hist. Eccl. 4:27) as a man of great virtues and of a prophetic spirit; several instances of his power of predicting events are given, which Bede seems to have learned from Herefrith and Sigfrid. Whatever may be the truth of these stories, it seems certain that it was through Boisil that Cuthbert obtained admission at Mailros and the tonsure. Another of his favorite pupils was the famous Egbert. Boisil probably died about 664. He was not only a scholar, but an indefatigable preacher in the villages of the north. Relics of him are preserved at Durham, and his memory is observed on Sept. 9. See Mabillon, Acta Sanctorum, O. S. B. Saec. 2, p. 850.