Agericus of Verdun | |
---|---|
Bishop of Verdun | |
Born | c. 521 Harville, Meuse, France |
Died | 1 December 588 Verdun, Meuse, France |
Venerated in | Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church |
Major shrine | Verdun Cathedral |
Feast | 8 February (Diocese of Verdun), 1 December (elsewhere) |
Agericus of Verdun (also known as Saint Agericus, Airy or Aguy; Latin: Agericus, 521-588) was the tenth Bishop of Verdun and an advisor to King Childebert II of Austrasia.
Born to a modest peasant family in 521 in Harville near Verdun, whose parents had prayed for many years to be given a child. He was delivered in a wheat field where his mother was working. King Thierry I, who was hunting nearby, was present at his baptism and acted as his godfather. He was given the name Agericus, meaning "field" or "rural" (rendered in French as Airy).
The king took an interest in Agericus' education, recognizing his intellectual promise in both humanistic and religious studies. At the age of 30, Agericus devoted himself to the ecclesiastical state.
He was ordained as a priest by Saint Désiré of Verdun, the ninth Bishop of Verdun. At the age of 34, following the death of his mentor, Agericus became bishop. He became known for his charitable works, particularly in aiding the poor and educating the people.
He was praised by Venantius Fortunatus [1] and Gregory of Tours. [2] Agericus played a significant role at the court of King Sigebert I of Austrasia (561–575) and his son and successor, Childebert II (570–596).
He died on 1 December 588.
He was buried in Saint-Martin Chapel, which he had built and which was later renamed in his honor. His remains were later transferred to Verdun Cathedral, where, until the last century, several of his personal belongings were preserved, including a wooden spoon with an ivory-inlaid handle and two ivory-handled knives.
The Benedictine Abbey of Saint Agericus in Verdun was established over his tomb in 1037.
Hugh of Flavigny wrote a Vita Agerici [3]
Saint Agericus is also credited with founding Saint-Sauveur Hospital, the first hospice in Verdun, with the earliest known historical mention dating to 1093.
His feast day is on 8 February in the Diocese of Verdun [4] and on 1 December elsewhere. [5] [6]
Miracles attributed to Saint Agericus include:
The 580s decade ran from January 1, 580, to December 31, 589.
Year 588 (DLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 588 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had been the northernmost part of Roman Gaul, and cities such as Cologne, Trier and Metz. It also stretched beyond the old Roman borders on the Rhine into Frankish areas which had never been formally under Roman rule. It came into being as a part of the Frankish Empire founded by Clovis I (481–511). At the same time, the initial powerbase of Clovis himself was the more Romanized part of northern Gaul, lying southwest of Austrasia, which came to be known as Neustria.
Chlothar II, sometimes called "the Young", was king of the Franks, ruling Neustria (584–629), Burgundy (613–629) and Austrasia (613–623).
Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities.
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The dynasty consolidated its power in the 8th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum hereditary, and becoming the de facto rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the Merovingian throne. In 751 the Merovingian dynasty which had ruled the Franks was overthrown with the consent of the Papacy and the aristocracy, and Pepin the Short, son of Martel, was crowned King of the Franks. The Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of the Romans in the West in over three centuries. Nearly every monarch of France from Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious until the penultimate monarch of France Louis Philippe have been his descendants. His death in 814 began an extended period of fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.
Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 575 until his death in March 596, and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his death, as the adopted son of his uncle Guntram.
The Kingdom of the Franks, also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Frankish Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties during the Early Middle Ages. Francia was among the last surviving Germanic kingdoms from the Migration Period era.
Dagobert II was a Merovingian king of the Franks, ruling in Austrasia from 675 or 676 until his death. He is one of the more obscure Merovingians. He has been considered a martyr since at least the ninth century.
Saint Gontrand, also called Gontran, Gontram, Guntram, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the king of the Kingdom of Orléans from AD 561 to AD 592. He was the third-eldest and second-eldest-surviving son of Chlothar I and Ingunda. On his father's death in 561, he became king of a fourth of the Kingdom of the Franks, and made his capital at Orléans. The name "Gontrand" denotes "War Raven".
Sigebert III was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 633 to his death around 656. He was described as the first Merovingian roi fainéant, or "do-nothing king", with the mayor of the palace in fact ruling the kingdom throughout his reign. Nevertheless, Sigebert lived a pious Christian life and was later sanctified, being remembered as Saint Sigebert of Austrasia in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church.
Brunhilda was queen consort of Austrasia, part of Francia, by marriage to the Merovingian king Sigebert I of Austrasia, and regent for her son, grandson and great-grandson.
Gundoald or Gundovald was a Merovingian usurper king in the area of southern Gaul in either 584 or 585. He claimed to be an illegitimate son of Chlothar I and, with the financial support of the Emperor Maurice, took some major cities in southern Gaul, such as Poitiers and Toulouse, which belonged to Guntram, king of Burgundy, a legitimate son of Chlothar I. Guntram marched against him, calling him nothing more than a miller's son and named him 'Ballomer'. Gundovald fled to Comminges and Guntram's army set down to besiege the citadel. The siege was successful, Gundovald's support drained away quickly and he was handed over by the besieged to be executed.
The Prince-Bishopric of Verdun was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Bar. Some time in the late 990s, the suzerainty of the County of Verdun passed from Herman of Ename of the House of Ardenne–Verdun to the Bishopric of Verdun.
Garibald I was Duke of Bavaria from 555 until 591. He was the head of the Agilolfings, and the ancestor of the Bavarian dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards.
Saint Albinus of Angers, also known as Saint Albin in English, was a French abbot and bishop. Born to a noble Gallo-Roman family at Vannes, Brittany, St. Albinus was a monk and from 504 A.D. Abbot of Tintillac. His reputation spread during the twenty-five years in which he served as abbot. In 529, St. Albinus was elected, against his wishes, Bishop of Angers.
Saint Gaugericus, in French Saint Géry was a bishop of Cambrai, France.
Magneric of Tier was a Frankish bishop of Trier. He is a Catholic and Orthodox saint, with a feast day on July 25. Magneric was one of the first bishops with a Germanic name. He was a friend and admirer of Gregory of Tours, mentioned in his History of the Franks, and ordained St Géry, one of his disciples, who became bishop of Cambrai-Arras on the ascent of King Childebert II. Venantius Fortunatus described the Bishop as virtuous and charitable, and an "ornament of bishops".
The Diocese of Verdun is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Besançon. The Diocese of Verdun corresponds to the département of Meuse in the région of Lorraine. The diocese is subdivided into 577 parishes.
The Legend of Saint Agericus' barrel is a legend involving the 6th Century Bishop of Verdun