Bertharius ( it, San Bertario di Montecassino) ( 810 – 883) was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

who 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 ...

and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

. He was also a poet and a writer. A member of the Lombard nobility, Bertharius as a young man made a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

to Monte Cassino at the time of the abbacy of Bassacius and decided as a result to become a monk. He became abbot in 856, succeeding Bassacius in that position.Herbert Bloch, ''Monte Cassino in the Middle Ages'' (Published by

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, 1988), 268. He became abbot at a critical time, in which Muslim incursions threatened

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

. The basilicas ''extra muros'' of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

had been sacked in 846 AD. Bertharius fortified the abbey with massive walls and towers between 856 and 873, while

Louis II of Italy Louis II (825 – 12 August 875), sometimes called the Younger, was the king of Italy and emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was ''impera ...

conducted various expeditions against the Muslim forces, beating them back temporarily. Bertharius founded the city that he named ''Eulogimenopoli'', later renamed San Germano, and today called

Cassino Cassino () is a ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Southern Italy, at the southern end of the region of Lazio, the last city of the Latin Valley. Cassino is located at the foot of Monte Cairo near the confluence of the Gari and Liri rive ...

. Bertharius promoted the study of texts and embellished the abbatial church with precious furnishings. He established a new monastery for women at

Teano Teano ( Teanese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, northwest of Caserta on the main line to Rome from Naples. It stands at the southeast foot of an extinct volcano, Rocca Monfina. Its St. Clement's ...

and maintained good relations with the city of

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...

. In 873, Muslim raids in Campania and Latium resumed, and a band of raiders paid by the

Duke of Naples The Dukes of Naples were the military commanders of the ''ducatus Neapolitanus'', a Byzantine outpost in Italy, one of the few remaining after the conquest of the Lombards. In 661, Emperor Constans II, highly interested in south Italian affairs (h ...

Athanasius Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

, established a base in the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

in 882. They burned the abbey of

San Vincenzo al Volturno San Vincenzo al Volturno is a historic Benedictine monastery located in the territories of the Comunes of Castel San Vincenzo and Rocchetta a Volturno, in the Province of Isernia, near the source of the river Volturno in Italy. The current monaste ...

, killing some of the monks there, and on September 4, 882, raiders attacked Monte Cassino, burning and destroying it. Bertharius and the monks managed to escape, finding refuge at the foot of the mountain of Monte Cassino, in the monastery of San Salvatore.

Angelarius Saint Angelar (died probably soon after 885 AD) was a medieval Bulgarian saint and Slavic enlightener. He was one of the most prominent disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius. Along with them and Saint Gorazd, Saint Clement of Ohrid, Naum of Pres ...

, a prior of Monte Cassino, took most of the monks to Teano. However, Bertharius remained at Monte Cassino. In 883, the monastery was again attacked, and Bertharius was killed along with some other monks at the altar of St. Martin on October 22 of that year in the church of Saint Salvator at the foot of the hill.Herbert Bloch, ''Monte Cassino in the Middle Ages'' (Published by Harvard University Press, 1988), 5.Herbert Bloch, ''Monte Cassino in the Middle Ages'' (Published by Harvard University Press, 1988), 684. Bertharius was succeeded by Angelarius, who rebuilt the church of St. Salvator (later named St. Germanus).Herbert Bloch, ''Monte Cassino in the Middle Ages'' (Published by Harvard University Press, 1988), 290.

Veneration

Bertharius’ body was immediately

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to Monte Cassino and in 1486 moved to the abbatial church there, in front of the tombs of Saints

Benedict Benedict may refer to: People Names *Benedict (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Benedict (surname), including a list of people with the surname Religious figures * Pope Benedict I (died 579), head of the Catholic Chu ...

and

Scholastica Scholastica (c. 480 – 10 February 543) is a saint of the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Anglican Communion. She was born in Italy. According to a ninth century tradition, she was the twin sister of Benedict of Nursia. ...

. In 1514, a chapel was dedicated in his honor; his body was placed under the altar. Various artistic depictions of Bertharius were made during succeeding centuries, but these were lost during the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His cult was confirmed on August 26, 1727, by

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...

. He is also venerated in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

, his feast day being October 22.

References

External links

Saints.SQPN: BerthariusCatholic Online: Bertharius
{{Authority control Abbots of Monte Cassino 810s births 883 deaths 9th-century Christian martyrs Christian saints killed by Muslims Italian Roman Catholic saints Canonizations by Pope Benedict XIII