Eoban (died 5 June 754 at

Dokkum Dokkum is a Dutch fortified city in the municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân in the province of Friesland. It has 12,669 inhabitants (February 8, 2020). The fortifications of Dokkum are well preserved and are known as the ''bolwerken'' (bulwarks). ...

) was a companion of

St. Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...

, and was martyred with him on his final mission. In Germany, he is revered as a bishop and martyr.

Biography

Little is known of Eoban apart from what the ''Vita Bonifatii'' says. Apparently, he was an English priest who came to Germany together with St. Boniface. In 753, Willibald's ''Vita'' lists him as a

Chorbishop A chorbishop is a rank of Christian clergy below bishop. The name chorepiscope or chorepiscopus (plural chorepiscopi) is taken from the Greek and means "rural bishop". History Chorepiscopi are first mentioned by Eusebius as existing in the seco ...

. The '' Fulda martyrology'' mentions him as a bishop, as does the ''Vita tertia Bonifatii''. According to the ''Vita Bonifatii auctore Willibaldo'', on the morning of 5 June 754, Boniface and 50 others, presumably including Eoban (none of the companions are mentioned by name in the ''Vita''), were killed at

(The Netherlands) by pagan Frisians. His cult was of some importance to English Catholics; he is included in the paintings made by

Niccolò Circignani Niccolò Circignani (c. 1517/1524 – after 1596) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance or Mannerist period. Biography Born in Pomarance, he is one of three Italian painters called Pomarancio. His first works are documented from th ...

of English saints and martyrs in the English College, Rome.

Veneration in Erfurt

After 756 the relics of the bishops of Utrecht Eoban and Adalar were transferred to

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

, and buried next to St. Boniface. Before 1100 they had been then transferred to

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

. Monks of Ramsgate. "Eoban". ''Book of Saints''
1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 5 December 2012 Around this time the veneration of the companions of St. Boniface began in Erfurt. The

Sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

containing the relics of the saints Adalar and Eoban in the

Erfurt Cathedral Erfurt Cathedral (german: Erfurter Dom, link=no, officially ''Hohe Domkirche St. Marien zu Erfurt'', English: Cathedral Church of St Mary at Erfurt), also known as St Mary's Cathedral, is the largest and oldest church building in ...

is dated from about 1350. His feast day as a saint is 7 July.

References

Sources

* Dehio ''Mitteldeutschland'', 1943, S. 94 * Schubert, Ernst, Der Dom zu Erfurt, Berlin 1992, Abb. 106 * Wäß, Helga: ''Reliquiensarkophag für den heiligen Bischof Adolar und seinen heiligen Diakon Eoban'', in: Form und Wahrnehmung mitteldeutscher Gedächtnisskulptur im 14. Jahrhundert, hier Bd. 2, Katalog ausgewählter Objekte vom Hohen Mittelalter bis zum Anfang des 15. Jahrhunderts, Bristol, Berlin 2006, S. 156 ff. mit Abbildungen. - * Transkription des Prozessionsprotokolls für den Umgang mit den Reliquien der hll. Adolar und Eoban, in: Helga Wäß: ''Prozessionsordnung von 1452'', in: Form und Wahrnehmung mitteldeutscher Gedächtnisskulptur im 14. Jahrhundert, Bd. 1, Bristol und Berlin 2006, S. 486 ff. -

External links

*
Eoban
in the Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon {{Authority control Bishops of Utrecht 754 deaths 8th-century Frankish bishops West Saxon saints Year of birth unknown 8th-century Christian martyrs