Aredius (c. 510–591), also known as Yrieix and Saint Aredius, was Abbot of

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

and chancellor to

Theudebert I Theudebert I (french: Thibert/Théodebert) ( 500 – 547 or 548) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 533 to his death in 548. He was the son of Theuderic I and the father of Theudebald. Sources Most of what we know about Theudebert comes fr ...

, King of

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...

in the 6th century. He founded the monastery of Attanum, and the various French

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

called St. Yrieix are named after him. He is venerated as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Background

Aredius was from a prominent Gallo-Roman family of Limoges. He was the son of a noble landowner, Jucundus, and his wife, Pelagia of Limoges. As a young boy he received his education from the abbot Sebastian of the monastery at

Vigeois Vigeois (; oc, Visoas) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France. Vigeois station has rail connections to Brive-la-Gaillarde, Uzerche and Limoges. Population Notable residents *Henri Cueco, painter. See also *Communes of ...

. As a young man, he was sent to the court of the Frankish king

Theodebert I Theudebert (also Theodobert, Theudibert, Theodebert, Theodbert, Dietbert, Tibert, etc.E. W. Förstemann, ''Altdeutsches Namenbuch'', 18561168f./ref>) is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theo-'' "people" and ''bert'' "brig ...

of Austrasia (534-48) at Trier. By 540 was appointed chancellor.

Nicetius Saint Nicetius (french: Saint Nizier) (c. 525 - c. 566) was a bishop of Trier, born in the latter part of the fifth century, exact date unknown; died in 563 or more probably 566. Nicetius was the most important bishop of the ancient see of Trie ...

bishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

, one day, while the clerics sang psalms in the church, a dazzling white dove, after flying around Aredius, landed on his head, as if to show that he was already filled with the Holy Spirit. As he was a little shy, he waved it away, and it flittered a little before landing on its shoulder, and followed him all the way to the bishop's house. Upon the death of his father, Aredius returned to the Limousin to care for his mother. Entrusting to her the management of his estates, he lived for a time as a hermit in a cave. He used his inheritance to found in the 564/572 monastery of Atane (Attane) on land from his villa Attanum on the rivers Loue and Couchou in Limousin (Haute-Vienne). He became an abbot in the monastery, and the first monks were members of his own household. Gregory of Tours says that the house followed the rule of Cassian and later incorporated some aspects of the rule of

Saint Basil Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Ca ...

. Later, other monks joined them. This later became the site of the city of Saint Yrieix. Aredius divided his time between agricultural labor and study. He was known for his evangelical journeys throughout Gaul. He founded monasteries in Vigeois and Excideuil in Périgord and went on pilgrimages, always on foot. Every year he made a pilgrimage to Tours to celebrate the feast of Saint Martin. He would also travel annually to the

Holy Cross Abbey Holy Cross Abbey ''(Mainistir na Croise Naofa)'' was a Cistercian monastery in Holycross near Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland, situated on the River Suir. It takes its name from a relic of the True Cross or Holy Rood. History A supposed fra ...

in Poitiers to visit Queen Radegund. He supported the cult of Medard of Soissons and probably built the church in his honor at Excideuil. Aredius built several churches in honor of saints whose relics he had collected. Miracle stories began to be associated with him. People in the area believed him to have the gift of healing. Gregory says they crowded to Aredius "like bees to a hive". On more than one occasion, he intervened with the Merovingian princes on behalf of the people regarding oppressive taxes. He was a friend of

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

, and bequeathed some of his wealth to the church at Tours. The town of Saint-Yrieix-La-Perche has requested that the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York return a reliquary of Aredius, which the town maintains was illegally purchased in 1906.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aredius People from Limoges 510 births 591 deaths 6th-century Frankish saints