Audradus Modicus (or ''Hardradus''; fl. 847–53) was a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

ecclesiastic and author during the Carolingian Renaissance. He wrote in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. Audradus was a monk of Saint Martin's of Tours.Audrado Modico (lat. Audradus, o Hardradus, Modĭcus)
''Enciclopedie on line''. He served as an auxiliary bishop (''

chorepiscopus A chorbishop is a rank of Christian clergy below bishop. The name chorepiscope or chorepiscopus (plural chorepiscopi) is taken from the Greek and means "rural bishop". History Chorepiscopi are first mentioned by Eusebius as existing in the se ...

'') to Archbishop

Wenilo of Sens Wenilo, , , . ''Wanilo'' is a contemporary Latin variant. (died 865) was the archbishop of Sens from 836 or 837. Prior to becoming bishop, Wenilo was a palatine chaplain. As bishop, he was one of the leading men in Aquitaine and crowned Charles the ...

(836–65) from 847 until 849, when he was deposed by the

Council of Paris The Council of Paris (French: ''Conseil de Paris'') is the deliberative body responsible for governing Paris, the capital of France. It possesses both the powers of a municipal council (''conseil municipal'') and those of a departmental counci ...

. After his deposition, he went to Rome, where he presented his writings to Pope Leo IV. Audradus was a prolific author. In verse, he composed the ''Liber de fonte vitae'' ("Book of the Source of Life") in 404

hexameters Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

, the ''Carmen in honore sancti Petri ecclesiae'' ("Song in Honour of Saint Peter's Church"), some verses in honour of Saint Martin and a passion of Saint Julian (''Passiones beatorum Iuliani et sociorum eius'') in 800 lines. He also wrote the prose ''Liber revelationum'', known from passages quoted by

Alberic of Trois-Fontaines Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (french: Aubri or ''Aubry de Trois-Fontaines''; la, Albericus Trium Fontium) (died 1252) was a medieval Cistercian chronicler who wrote in Latin. He was a monk of Trois-Fontaines Abbey in the diocese of Châlons-su ...

in the 13th century. They show him to have been a partisan of

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...

, king of

West Francia In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...

, and of Archbishop

Hincmar of Reims Hincmar (; ; la, Hincmarus; 806 – 21 December 882), archbishop of Reims, was a Frankish jurist and theologian, as well as the friend, advisor and propagandist of Charles the Bald. He belonged to a noble family of northern Francia. Biography Ea ...

, and extremely hostile to Charles's brothers, the Emperor Lothair I and

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...

, king of East Francia. The ''Liber revelationum'' can be dated to no earlier than 853. Audradus was buried in the church of Saint-Didier at

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in central France. It was the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. It is sou ...

. Like his superior, Wenilo, he morphed into a villain in popular memory. The '' chansons de geste'', such as ''

Amis et Amiles ''Amis et Amiles'' is an old French romance based on a widespread legend of friendship and sacrifice. In its earlier and simpler form it is the story of two friends, one of whom, Amis, was sick with leprosy because he had committed perjury to sav ...

'' and ''

Jordain de Blaivies (sometimes modernised ) is an Old French ''chanson de geste'' written in decasyllables around 1200. It is an adventure story, largely inspired by the ancient story of Apollonius of Tyre. It survives in a single manuscript. The original was neve ...

'', remember him as the henchman Hardré or Adradus to the archtraitor

Ganelon In the Matter of France, Ganelon (, ) is the knight who betrayed Charlemagne's army to the Saracens, leading to the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. His name is said to derive from the Italian word ''inganno'', meaning fraud or deception.Boiardo, ''Orl ...

, a figure based on Wenilo.

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Auxiliary bishops 9th-century Latin writers Medieval Latin poets Writers from the Carolingian Empire Carolingian poets