Burgundofara (died 643 or 655), also Saint Fara or Fare, was the founder and first

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...

of the

Abbey of Faremoutiers Faremoutiers Abbey (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame de Faremoutiers) was an important Merovingian Benedictine nunnery (re-established in the 20th century) in the present Seine-et-Marne department of France. It formed an important link between the Merovi ...

Life

Her family is knowns as the Faronids, named after her brother Saint Faro. Her name may mean: 'She who moves the Burgundians'. Colomban fare faron cagnoaldus

Jonas of Bobbio's

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

Columbanus Columbanus ( ga, Columbán; 543 – 21 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey i ...

reports that she was blessed by the Irish

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

when a child:

Then Columban went to the city of
Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...
. There he was received with great joy by a nobleman Hagneric (Chagneric, father of Burgundofara), who was a friend of Theudebert ing_Theudebert_II.html"_;"title="Theudebert_II.html"_;"title="ing_Theudebert_II">ing_Theudebert_II">Theudebert_II.html"_;"title="ing_Theudebert_II">ing_Theudebert_II_a_wise_man,_and_a_counsellor_grateful_to_the_king,_and_was_fortified_by_nobility_and_wisdom._..._Columban_blessed_his_house_and_consecrated_to_the_Lord_his_daughter_Burgundofara,_who_was_still_a_child,_and_of_whom_we_shall_speak_later.

Jonas's_life_of_Burgundofara_picks_up_the_tale._She_is_betrothal.html" ;"title="Theudebert_II">ing_Theudebert_II.html" ;"title="Theudebert_II.html" ;"title="ing Theudebert II">ing Theudebert II">Theudebert_II.html" ;"title="ing Theudebert II">ing Theudebert II a wise man, and a counsellor grateful to the king, and was fortified by nobility and wisdom. ... Columban blessed his house and consecrated to the Lord his daughter Burgundofara, who was still a child, and of whom we shall speak later. Jonas's life of Burgundofara picks up the tale. She is betrothal">betrothed against her will, and against Columbanus' prediction, and straight away falls deathly sick. Her father Chagneric says to Eustasius of Luxeuil Abbey, Luxeuil, who happens to be present, "Would that she might return to health and devote herself to divine service!" Burgundofara recovers, thanks to Eustasius's prayers, but her father goes back on his word and decides to give her away in marriage. She discovers this, and flees to the church of

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

in Meaux. There her brothers Faro and

Chagnoald Chagnoald (Cagnoald, Cagnou) (died 633 AD) was a Frankish bishop of Laon during the 7th century. The family to which Chagnoald belonged is known as the Faronids, named after his brother Saint Faro, who was bishop of Meaux, while his sister was Sa ...

catch her, and are set on killing her for disobeying their father Chagneric, but the timely arrival of Eustasius settles matters. With Eustasius's support, and the approval of Bishop Gundoald of Meaux, Burgundofara established an abbey on her father's lands. First called ''Evoriacum'', it was later renamed Faremoutiers in her honour. Studies of Burgundofara's life, and those of noble heiresses in similar situations, lead some writers to conclude that in fact the abbey was very likely established with her father's blessing,Monks of Ramsgate. "Burgondophora". ''Book of Saints''
1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 8 September 2012 and the supposed parental insistence upon her marriage may have been no more than a front, especially if the marriage was proposed by the King. An edict of King

Chilperic I Chilperic I (c. 539 – September 584) was the king of Neustria (or Soissons) from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund. Life Immediately after the death of his father in 561, ...

a generation earlier had favoured the claims of daughters in inheritance over those of uncles and nephews, making the marriage of an heiress of considerable importance to the wider family. The feast of Saint Burgundofara is celebrated on 3 April, probably in error. At Faremoutiers, she was commemorated on 7 December.

References

Sources

* Riché, Pierre, ''Dictionnaire des Francs: Les temps Mérovingiens.'' Eds. Bartillat, 1996. * Wickham, Chris ''The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000.'', 2009.

Life

References

Sources

Further reading