Saint Beuve (or Bove or Bova) and her brother Balderic (or Baudry) lived in the 7th century in France. According to

Christian Settipani Christian Settipani (born 31 January 1961) is a French genealogist, historian and IT professional, currently working as the Technical Director of a company in Paris. Biography Settipani holds a Master of Advanced Studies from the Paris-Sorbo ...

, their father was probably

Sigobert the Lame Sigobert the Lame (also ''Sigibert'' or ''Sigebert'') (died c. 509) was a king of the Franks in the area of Zülpich ( la, Tolbiac) and Cologne. His father's name was "Childebert".''He had a son: Siegbert or Sigebert, of whom further. (Ibid.) HI ...

, King of Cologne, rather than

Sigebert I Sigebert I (c. 535 – c. 575) was a Frankish king of Austrasia from the death of his father in 561 to his own death. He was the third surviving son out of four of Clotaire I and Ingund. His reign found him mostly occupied with a successful civ ...

of Austrasia, as indicated by

Flodoard Flodoard of Reims (; 893/4 – 28 March 966) was a Frankish chronicler and priest of the cathedral church of Reims in the West Frankish kingdom during the decades following the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire. His historical writings are m ...

. Together they founded the Abbey of Saint Pierre de Reims. Beuve was the first abbess.

Family

Based on an oral tradition recorded by

, Canon of Reims, three centuries later, Beuve and her brother Balderic were reputed to be children of a king Sigebert, whom Flodoard identified as

, 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 ...

. Many early historians follow Fodoard in this. However, Christian Settipani finds that this contradicts what is known about Sigebert I.Settipani, Christian. "L'apport de l'onomastique dans l'étude des généalogies carolingiennes", ''Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval'', Oxford, Linacre College, Unit for Prosopographical Research, coll. ''Prosopographica et Genealogica'', 2000, 310 p. (), p. 219. Sigebert is known to have had a son,

Childebert II Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his de ...

, and daughters

Ingund (wife of Hermenegild) Ingunde, Ingund, Ingundis or Ingunda (born in 567/568), was the eldest child of Sigebert I, king of Austrasia, and his wife Brunhilda, daughter of King Athanagild of the Visigoths. She married Hermenegild and became the first Catholic queen of th ...

, Clodesinde, betrothed to Authari, king of the Lombards, then to Reccared, king of the Visigoths and probably a daughter married to Duke Chrodoald. Sigebert I may have had other daughters mentioned by his contemporaries, but the case of an unknown son is much less certain. According to the Salic law, on the death of a Frankish king, all his sons would share the kingdom. It is more likely that Beuve and Balderic are the offspring of

(d. 507), king of Cologne. They have a niece Doda who succeeds Beuve as abbess of Saint Pierre de Reims, and who later obtains from a prince named Pepin letters of protection for this community. It is clear that this prince can only be

Pepin of Landen Pepin I (also Peppin, Pipin, or Pippin) of Landen (c. 580 – 27 February 640), also called the Elder or the Old, was the Mayor of the palace of Austrasia under the Merovingian King Dagobert I from 623 to 629. He was also the Mayor for Sig ...

, mayor of the palace of Austrasia. Apart from Baldéric and Beuve, the only other known child of Sigobert is Chlodéric, who died in 508, so Doda, if she is the daughter of Chlodéric, was born at the latest in 508. Pépin of Landen became mayor of the palace in 613 at the earliest, giving Doda an age of at least 105 years at the time of signature of the act of protection, although it is not clear that Pepin was already mayor at the time the act was issued. There is no evidence that Doda was Chlodéric's daughter. She was likely born of an unnamed daughter of Sigebert, towards the end of his life, around 505-508. Her daughter Doda would then be born between 520 and 550, which gives her a more reasonable age at the time of the act of protection. The date of 545 may be retained for the birth of Doda. This leaves sixteen years to the accession of Sigebert I as king of Austrasia, and the legend affirms that she was promised in marriage to a lord of the court of Sigebert I." Sainte Beuve de Reims", ''Vie des Saints et des Bienheureux selon l'ordre du calendrier'', vol. 4 (Avril), Librairie Letouzey et Ané, 1946

Life

Beuve seems to have begun her religious life in the monastery for women established at Reims by

Clotilde Clotilde ( 474–545), also known as Clothilde, Clotilda, Clotild, Rotilde etc. (Latin: Chrodechildis, Chlodechildis from Frankish ''*Hrōþihildi'' or perhaps ''*Hlōdihildi'', both "famous in battle"), was a Queen of All the Franks. She was ...

and

Saint Remigius Remigius (french: Remi or ; – January 13, 533), was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event ...

. As it was outside the city walls, her brother Balderic built a house within the walls to provide greater protection for the nuns. He then went on to found the Abbey of Montfaucon. Although Beuve wished to remain a simple nun, she was named abbess of the monastery Saint-Pierre. She established the Rule of St. Benedict in the abbey, and humbly practiced many fasts, prayers and vigils. Her brother Abbot Balderic visited regularly sharing advice and encouragement.Schulenburg, Jane Tibbetts. ''Forgetful of Their Sex: Female Sanctity and Society, Ca. 500–1100''
University of Chicago Press, 1998, , p. 284 On one such occasion Balderic became ill and died during a visit to Saint Pierre. Initially buried in the abbey, his remains were moved to Montfaucon. Beuve undertook the education of her niece Doda and welcomed her when she took the veil to escape a forced marriage. Upon Beuve's death, Doda succeeded her aunt as abbess. They are also said to be related to King Dagobert, presumably

Dagobert I Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dy ...

. Saint Beuve was the first abbess of Saint-Pierre-les-Dames in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

. In 639, her brother Balderic established the convent for her. She was succeeded as abbess by her niece Doda (or Dode). Her

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

is 24 April.

References

Bibliography

* ''Vie des Saints et des Bienheureux selon l'ordre du calendrier'', vol. 4 (Avril), Librairie Letouzey et Ané, 1946 . * * Christian Settipani, "L'apport de l'onomastique dans l'étude des généalogies carolingiennes", in ''Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval'', Oxford, Linacre College, Unit for Prosopographical Research, coll. ''Prosopographica et Genealogica'', 2000, 310 p. (), p. 185-229. {{authority control 7th-century Frankish nuns Frankish abbesses 7th-century Frankish saints