Chagnoald (Cagnoald, Cagnou) (died 633 AD) 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 ...

bishop of Laon The diocese of Laon in the present-day département of Aisne, was a Catholic diocese for around 1300 years, up to the French Revolution. Its seat was in Laon, France, with the Laon Cathedral. From early in the 13th century, the bishop of Laon wa ...

during the 7th century. The family to which Chagnoald belonged is known as the Faronids, named after his brother

Saint Faro Saint Faro (or Burgundofaro; died 675 AD), Count of Guînes, was bishop of Meaux. The family to which Faro belonged is known as the Faronids and is named after him. He is canonized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Chur ...

, who was

bishop of Meaux The Roman Catholic Diocese of Meaux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Meldensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Meaux'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the entire department of Seine-et-Marne. It was suff ...

, while his sister was Saint Burgundofara, who founded the convent of Faremoûtiers. They were the children of the

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

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 ...

, Chagneric.

History

The Faronids were originally from Burgundy, but had settled near Meaux. Chagnoald became a monk at

Luxeuil Luxeuil-les-Bains () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. History Luxeuil (sometimes rendered Luxeu in older texts) was the Roman Luxovium and contained many fine buildings ...

. Columban's biographer,

Jonas Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States People with the name * Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas * Jonas, one of ...

, recounts how

"Columban once withdrew to the forest in order to fast and pray. The food ran out and all he and the young monk Chagnoald had to eat were crab apples. However, when Chagnoald went to collect the apples he found a hungry bear eating them. He returned to Columban for directions. Columban ordered him to go back to the orchard and to divide it in two halves, one for the bear and one for the monks."

When

Eustace of Luxeuil Eustace of Luxeuil (c. 560 – c. 626), also known as Eustasius, was the second abbot of Luxeuil from 611. He succeeded his teacher Columbanus, to whom he had been a favorite disciple and monk. He had been the head of the monastic school. Life ...

went to visit

Chlothar II Chlothar II, sometime called "the Young" (French language, French: le Jeune), (May/June 584 – 18 October 629), was king of Neustria and king of the Franks, and the son of Chilperic I and his third wife, Fredegund. He started his reign as an in ...

, he left Chagnoald in charge at Luxeuil. Eustace also assigned

Waldebert Waldebert (also known as Gaubert, Valbert and Walbert), (died 668), was a Frankish count of Guines, Ponthieu and Saint-Pol who became abbot of Luxeuil in the Order of St. Columban, and eventually a canonized saint in the Roman Catholic Church ...

and Chagnoald to instruct the nuns at Burgundofara's double monastery at Faremoutiers in the rule Waldebert drafted for them. Chagnoald was later ordained bishop of Laon. In that position, he once angered the king,

Theuderic II Theuderic II (also spelled Theuderich, Theoderic or Theodoric; in French, ''Thierry'') (587–613), king of Burgundy (595–613) and Austrasia (612–613), was the second son of Childebert II. At his father's death in 595, he received Guntram's k ...

, by criticizing him for his immoral conduct. In response Theuderic exiled Chagnoald from his territories in 610. Chagnoald left his see, finding refuge in the territory of the king's brother

Theudebert II Theudebert II () (c.585-612), King of Austrasia (595–612 AD), was the son and heir of Childebert II. He received the kingdom of Austrasia plus the cities (''civitates'') of Poitiers, Tours, Le Puy-en-Velay, Bordeaux, and Châteaudun, as well ...

, and worked with

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 in pr ...

as a missionary in the area of

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...

. Columbanus later chastised Chagnoald for suggesting they should pray for the victory of Theudebert, rather than for their enemies. Theuderic later gained control of this territory as well. Columbanus was banished, and left for

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 ...

, with Chagnoald accompanying him. On the death of Columbanus, Chagnoald returned to his old diocese, and resumed his duties as bishop.Holweck, Frederick George. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints: With a General Introduction on Hagiology''
United Kingdom, B. Herder Book Company, 1924. p. 179 He participated in the

Council of Reims Reims, located in the north-east of modern France, hosted several councils or synods in the Roman Catholic Church. These councils did not universally represent the church and are not counted among the official ecumenical councils. Early synodal cou ...

in 630. 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 ...

, with a

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 ...

of September 6.

References

{{Authority control Year of birth missing 633 deaths 7th-century Frankish bishops Bishops of Laon 7th-century Frankish saints