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Saint Emmeram of Regensburg (also ''Emeram(m)us'', ''Emmeran'', ''Emmerano'', ''Emeran'', ''Heimrammi'', ''Haimeran'', or ''Heimeran'') was a Christian
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
and a
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 ...
born in
Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...
,
Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...
. Having heard of idolatry in
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, Emmeram travelled to Ratisbon (Regensburg) some time after the year 649 to the court of
Theodo I Theodo (about 625 – 11 December c. 716), also known as Theodo V and Theodo II, was the Duke of Bavaria from 670 or, more probably, 680 to his death. It is with Theodo that the well-sourced history of Bavaria begins. He strengthened his duchy ...
,
Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and Monarch, kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic States of Germany, state in th ...
. He supposedly travelled up the
Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...
, crossed through the
Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
and then followed the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
to Regensburg. Theodo welcomed Emmeram to his court, where he laboured for three years carrying out
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
work. During this time, he gained a reputation as a pious man. He died circa 652 and is buried in St. Emmeram's in
Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
, Germany. His feast day in the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Calendar of saints 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 September 22.


Life

Arbeo of Freising Arbeo (also Aribo or Arbo) of Freising (723 or earlier near Meran – 4 May 784) was an early medieval author and Bishop of Freising from 764. Arbeo probably was a scion of the Huosi noble dynasty in the stem duchy of Bavaria. He may have be ...
wrote a biography of Emmeram in 750, the ''Vita Sancti Emmerami'', about 100 years after the saint's death. The literature tells the story of Emmeram, born to a noble family in
Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...
. According to
Alban Butler Alban Butler (13 October 171015 May 1773) was an English Roman Catholic priest and hagiographer. Biography Alban Butler was born in 1710, at Appletree, Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, the second son of Simon Butler, Esq. His father died when ...
and others, he became
Bishop of Poitiers The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Poitiers (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Pictaviensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Poitiers'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in France. The archepiscopal see is in the city of Poitiers. Th ...
,although this cannot be verified.Clugnet, Léon. "St. Emmeram." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 14 April 2019
There is speculation that he held the office briefly between the death of Dido and the accession of
Ansoaldus Ansoald ( la, Ansoaldus) was the bishop of Poitiers from 676 until about 696.This is according to . , write that his dates are unknown. Ansoald was probably a Burgundian from the region around Autun. He inherited land from both his parents near ...
. Having heard of idolatry in
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, he decided to travel to Ratisbon (Regensburg) some time after the year 649 to the court of
Agilofing The Agilolfings were a noble family that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains from about 550 until 788. A cadet branch of the Agilolfings also ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards intermittently from 616 to 712. They ...
,
Theodo I Theodo (about 625 – 11 December c. 716), also known as Theodo V and Theodo II, was the Duke of Bavaria from 670 or, more probably, 680 to his death. It is with Theodo that the well-sourced history of Bavaria begins. He strengthened his duchy ...
,
Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and Monarch, kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic States of Germany, state in th ...
. He supposedly travelled up the
Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...
, crossed through the
Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
and then followed the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
to Regensburg. Theodo welcomed Emmeram to his court, where he laboured for three years carrying out
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
work. During this time, he gained a reputation as a pious man. He founded the monastery that later bore his name. He then went on a pilgrimage to Rome, but after a five days' journey, at a place now called Kleinhelfendorf, south of Munich, he was set upon by envoys of the Duke of Bavaria who tortured him cruelly. He died shortly afterwards at Ascheim, about fifteen miles distant. The cause of this attack and the circumstances attending his death are not known.


Legend

As the story goes, Uta (or Ota), the daughter of the duke, confided to Emmeram that she was expecting a child out of wedlock. According to Arbeo, the father was one Sigipaldus from her father's own court. Moved with compassion, Emmeram advised her to name himself, whom everyone respected, as the father hoping to mitigate some of her shame. Shortly thereafter, the legend goes, Emmeram abruptly went on a pilgrimage to Rome. At this point, Uta named Emmeram as the father. When Duke Theodo and his son
Lantpert Lantpert (or ''Landbert'' or ''Landfried'') (born before 636, died after 680) was the son of Theodo, duke of Bavaria, and Gleisnot of Friuli. According to the ''Vita Hamhrammi'' by Arbeo, bishop of Freising, Lantpert is the murderer of the Saint ...
learned of Uta's pregnancy, Lantpert went after the bishop. Lantpert caught up with Emmeram in Helfendorf (now part of the Munich suburb of Aying) on the old Roman road between
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...
and
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
on the
Via Julia Augusta The Via Julia Augusta (modern Italian Via Giulia Augusta) is the name given to the Roman road formed by the merging of the Via Aemilia Scauri with the Via Postumia. The road runs from Placentia (modern Piacenza) to Arelate (modern Arles), init ...
and greeted him as "bishop and brother-in-law". According to popular tradition, wanting to protect the real culprit, Emmeram did not defend himself, and received numerous wounds. Lantpert and his followers tied Emmeram to a ladder and proceeded to torture him; he was then beheaded. His companions, Vitalis and Wolflete, found him still alive, lying in his own blood, and tried to bring him quickly back to
Aschheim Aschheim is a small town and municipality in the district of Munich in Bavaria in Germany. It lies beyond the northeastern outskirts of Munich. Aschheim is the location of BMW's test track opened by the manufacturer in 1972, and also has a golf ...
, where a walled church of
Apostle Peter An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
stood. The improbability of the tale, the details of the saint's martyrdom, which are certainly untrue, and the fantastic account of the prodigies attending his death show that the writer, infected by the pious mania of his time, simply added to the facts imaginary details supposed to redound to the glory of the martyr.


Veneration

A text printed in Munich in 1743, ''Officium oder Tageszeiten des wunderthätigen Bayerischen Apostels und Blutzeugen Christi St. Emmerami, zu täglichen und andächtigen Gebrauch in allen Anliegen und Widerwärtigkeiten etc.'', states that the cart was accompanied by
Arbeo of Freising Arbeo (also Aribo or Arbo) of Freising (723 or earlier near Meran – 4 May 784) was an early medieval author and Bishop of Freising from 764. Arbeo probably was a scion of the Huosi noble dynasty in the stem duchy of Bavaria. He may have be ...
depicted the place of his death as a "lovely, ever spring-green place, upon which a spring appeared and the local people later built a little church." When the misunderstanding of Emmeram's relationship to Uta was revealed, he was entombed in Aschheim, whereupon legend states that it rained for forty days. Emmeram was exhumed and put upon a raft in the
Isar The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria, and Bavaria, Germany, which is not navigable for watercraft above raft size. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Bad Tölz, Munic ...
. When the raft reached the Danube, it miraculously floated upstream to Regensburg, where Emmeram was interred in the church of
St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
.(A somewhat similar tale is told of
Lubentius Lubentius (c. 300 – c. 370) is a Christian saint, venerated by the Catholic Church. A patron saint of the boatmen on the River Lahn, his feast day is 13 October. Life Lubentius was given by his parents when a small child, to Martin of Tours, who ...
of Dietkirchen.) His remains were later moved to a church dedicated to the martyr. This church burned down in 1642. Emmeram's bones were found under the altar in 1645 and moved to St. Emmeram's Abbey. The church, now a
basilica minor In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular b ...
, houses his
leg bones Leg bones are the bones found in the leg. These can include the following: * Femur – The bone in the thigh. * Patella – The knee cap * Tibia – The shin bone, the larger of the two leg bones located below the knee cap * Fibula The fibula ...
in a
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...
in the eastern portion under the altar.Röhrer-Ertl O. "Bemerkungen zur Identifikation des H1. Emmeram aus St. Emmeram in Regensburg". ''Ein methodenkritischer Vergleich''
bservations on the identification of Holy Emmeram at St. Emmeram's Church in Regensburg. Critical comparison Anthropol Anz. 1981 Sep;39(3):173-88. German. PMID 7034635
At the spot Saint Emmeram died in the year 652, a small chapel was erected in the year 1842. The church of St. Lorenz in
Oberföhring Bogenhausen (Central Bavarian: ''Bognhausn'') is the 13th borough of Munich, Germany. It is the geographically largest borough of Munich and comprises the city's north-eastern quarter, reaching from the Isar on the eastern side of the Englischer ...
has a side altar dedicated to St. Emmeram. In the church of Saints Peter and
Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
in Aschheim, a
plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pla ...
memorializes the first grave of Emmeram with an inscription. The day of his
martyrdom 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 external ...
is also his feast day, 22 September.


See also

* Saint Emmeram of Regensburg, patron saint archive


Notes


Sources


St. Emmeram
from th
Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon
* Emmeram von Regensburg article on th
German language Wikipedia


External links

* Arnoldus Emmeramensis

by Migne Patrologia Latina {{DEFAULTSORT:Emmeram 652 deaths Medieval German saints Bishops of Poitiers Colombanian saints 7th-century bishops in Bavaria Burials at St. Emmeram's Abbey 7th-century Christian martyrs Year of birth unknown