Hubertus or Hubert ( 656 – 30 May 727
A.D.) was a Christian
saint who became the first bishop of
Liège in 708
A.D. He is the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholic Church, Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocacy, advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, ...
of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers. Known as the "Apostle of the
Ardennes
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
", he was called upon, until the early 20th century, to cure
rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, vio ...
through the use of the traditional
Saint Hubert's Key.
Hubert was widely venerated during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. The iconography of his legend is entangled with the legend of the martyr
Saint Eustace. The
Bollandists published seven early lives of Hubertus (''
Acta Sanctorum
''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. The project w ...
'', November 3, 759 – 930
A.D.); the first of these was the work of a contemporary, although it offers few details.
Hubertus died 30 May 727
A.D. in or near a place called (in Latin) ''Fura''. In the later Middle Ages, this location was claimed to have been identified as
Tervuren
Tervuren () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636. The total ...
near
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
; recent scholarship, however, considers
Voeren
Voeren (; ) is a Flemish Dutch-speaking municipality with facilities for the French-speaking minority, located in the Belgian province of Limburg. Bordering the Netherlands to the north and the Wallonia region's Liège Province () to the s ...
(Fourons), a location much closer to Liège than Brussels, to be the saint's likelier resting place. His
feast day is 3 November.
His other skills were in mathematics and metalwork.
Early life
Hubert likely was born in
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...
about the year 656, the eldest son of
Bertrand, allegedly a
Duke of Aquitaine.
At the age of 10 he nearly died from a fever. As a youth, Hubert was sent to the
Neustria
Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks.
Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It la ...
n court of
Theuderic III () at Paris, where his charm and agreeable address led to his investment with the dignity of
"count of the palace". Meanwhile, the tyrannical conduct of
Ebroin,
mayor of the Neustrian palace (in office: 658 to ), caused a general emigration of the nobles and others to the court 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 th ...
at
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est ...
. Like many nobles of the time, Hubert was a hunting enthusiast.
About this time (682), Hubert married Floribanne, daughter of Dagobert,
Count of Leuven.
[ (Their son Floribert of Liège later would succeed his father as Bishop of Liège - in office: 727 to ; bishoprics were all but accounted as fiefs heritable in the great families of the Merovingian kingdoms.) Hubert soon followed his noble peers to the Austrasian court and was warmly welcomed by Pepin of Herstal, Mayor of the palace, who entitled him almost immediately Grand Master of the household.
]
Spiritual conversion
Hubert's wife died giving birth to their son Floribert, and his grief prompted him to retreat from the court. He withdrew into the forests of the Ardennes and gave himself up entirely to hunting.
Legend holds that on a Good Friday morning, while the faithful were in church, Hubert was hunting in the forest. As he pursued a magnificent stag or hart, the animal turned and Hubert was astounded to see a crucifix floating between its antlers. He heard a voice saying: "Hubert unless thou turnest to the Lord and leadest a holy life, thou shalt quickly go down into Hell." Hubert dismounted and prostrated himself, and after asking "Lord, what wouldst Thou have me do?" is told, "Go and seek Lambert, and he will instruct you."
The story of the stag first appears in one of the later legendary hagiographies
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
(''Bibliotheca hagiographic Latina'', nos. 3994–4002) and has been appropriated from the legend of Saint Eustace or Placidus. It was only attributed to Saint Hubert in the 15th century.
Hubert is honored among sport hunters as the originator of ethical hunting behavior. In some versions of the story, the stag is said to have lectured Hubert to hold animals in higher regard and have compassion for them as God's creatures with value in their own right. For example, the hunter ought to only shoot when a clean, quick, and therefore humane kill is assured. He ought to shoot only old stags which are past their prime breeding years and forego a much-anticipated shot on a trophy to instead euthanize a sick or injured animal that might appear on the scene. Further, one ought never to shoot a female with young in tow, to assure the young deer have a mother to guide them to food during the winter. Such is the legacy of Hubert, which is still taught today and who held in high regard in the extensive, rigorous German and Austrian hunter education courses.
His legacy is also followed by the French '' chasse à courre'' (riding to hounds) masters, huntsmen, and followers who hunt deer, boar, and roe on horseback and are the last direct heirs of Hubert in Europe. ''Chasse à course'' is currently enjoying a revival in France. These hunters apply a specific set of ethics, rituals, rules, and tactics that date from the early Middle Ages. Hubert is venerated every year by the hunts in formal ceremonies.
Religious career
Hubert set out immediately for Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
, to meet Lambert
Lambert may refer to
People
*Lambert (name), a given name and surname
* Lambert, Bishop of Ostia (c. 1036–1130), became Pope Honorius II
*Lambert, Margrave of Tuscany ( fl. 929–931), also count and duke of Lucca
*Lambert (pianist), stage-name ...
, a bishop who received him kindly and became his spiritual director. Hubert renounced all his very considerable honors and gave up his birthright to the Aquitaine to his younger brother, Odo, whom he made guardian of his infant son, Floribert. Having distributed all his personal wealth among the poor, he studied for the priesthood, was ordained, and soon afterward became one of St. Lambert's chief associates in the administration of his diocese. By the advice of St. Lambert, Hubert made a pilgrimage to Rome in 708, but during his absence, Lambert was assassinated by the followers of Pepin. According to the hagiographies of Hubert, this act was simultaneously revealed to the pope in a vision, together with an injunction to appoint Hubert bishop of Maastricht.
Hubert distributed his episcopal revenues among the poor, was diligent in fasting and prayer, and became well known for his eloquence in the pulpit. In 720, in obedience to a vision, Hubert translated St. Lambert's remains from Maastricht to Liège with great pomp and ceremony, with several neighboring bishops assisting. A basilica for the relics was built upon the site of Lambert's martyrdom, and was consecrated as a cathedral the following year, the see being removed from Maastricht to Liège, then only a small village. This laid the foundation of the future greatness of Liège, of which Lambert is honored as patron, and Hubert as founder and first bishop.
Hubert actively evangelized among pagans in the extensive Ardennes
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
forests and in Toxandria, a district stretching from near Tongeren to the confluence of the rivers Waal and the Rhine.
Death
Hubertus died peacefully in a place called ''Fura'', located 30 miles from Liège, 30 May 727 or 728. Initially he was buried in the collegiate St. Peter's Church, Liège
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...
, but his bones were dug out from the ground and translated to the Benedictine Abbey of Amdain ("Andagium", in French "Andage", the present-day Saint-Hubert, Belgium) in the Ardennes in 825. The abbey became a locus for pilgrimages, until Hubert's coffin disappeared during the Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...
. His feast day is 3 November, probably the date of the translation of his relics to Amdain.
Veneration
Hubert was widely venerated in the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
and partly because of his noble birth, several military orders were named after him: the 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 l ...
n, the Bohemian International Order of St. Hubertus and that of the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne.
Hubertus, along with Quirinus of Neuss, Cornelius and Anthony, was venerated as one of the Four Holy Marshals (''Vier Marschälle Gottes'') in the Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhineland ...
.
The ''St. Hubertus Orden'' ( Order of Saint Hubert), a chivalric order, was founded in 1444 by Gerhard V of Jülich and Berg.
In the Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and oth ...
, at least two churches were dedicated to Saint Hubertus within the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
.
Patronage
St. Hubert of Liège is patron of archers; dogs; forest workers; trappers; hunting and huntsmen;[Brown, C.F. Wemyss. "St. Hubert." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 12 Aug. 2014]
/ref> mathematicians; metal workers; smelters and the city of Liège.
St. Hubert has been described as the patron saint of hunters and is honored by sportsmen as the originator of ethical hunting behavior. However, he renounced hunting after having his vision encountering the stag, as it was believed that God had seen his hunting life as an unholy, idolatrous one which would lead him to Hell. According to the Jews in the Middle Ages, when St. Hubert became a priest, clergy were subsequently forbidden to hunt and if they did, would be required to take penance.
God's call to Hubertus made him realize that hunting had distracted him from fulfilling his religious duties on Easter's Good Friday.
Lambert sent Hubert to the Ardennes to live amongst the people and the forest creatures. Hubert studied to become a priest and was soon ordained. Following Lamberts's assassination, Hubert becomes Bishop of Maastricht, then of Liége. He was known as the Apostle of the Ardennes throughout his life, venturing much into the forest and gaining the trust (and the faith) of its people through the outdoorsman skills he acquired in his hunting life. Hubert becomes a sought reference and voice whenever matters of the forest are on the table.[History of St Hubertus, international order of Saint Hubertus (https://www.iosh-usa.com/about-us/history-of-st-hubertus)]
Gallery
File:Hollola.vaakuna.svg, Saint Hubertus Deer, the coat of arms of the municipality of Hollola
File:La Visión de San Huberto por Jan Brueghel el Viejo con Rubens.jpg, ''The Vision of Saint Hubert'' (c. 1617) by J. Brueghel and P. P. Rubens, Prado, Madrid.
File:Hubertus-liege.jpg, A print in the style of an illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, th ...
showing Hubert of Liège with the stag.
File:St.Hubert, NL, kerk in het russisch orthodox klooster St.Elias.JPG, Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most C ...
church and monastery, interior in Sint Hubert, Netherlands
File:St Hubert window.JPG, Stained glass window in St. Ethelbert's Church, Herringswell, Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...
, dedicated to the memory of Llewellyn Sidney Davies.
File:Grad Bistra statue.jpg, A zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic t ...
statue of Saint Hubert and a deer outside Bistra Castle in Slovenia
File:Linteau_de_la_chapelle_St_Hubert.JPG, Depiction of the miracle of the stag at Château d'Amboise, France.
File:Rellstal-Kapelle-Interior-Glasscheibe-H03a.jpg, Glass window with St. Hubert from Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...
, Austria.
File:3 × Jägermeister (ubt).JPG, St. Hubert's stag is the logo of Jägermeister
( , ; stylized Jägermeiſter) is a German digestif made with 56 herbs and spices. Developed in 1934 by Wilhelm and Curt Mast, it has an alcohol by volume of 35% ( 61 degrees proof, or US 70 proof). The recipe has not changed since its creation ...
("Master Hunter") liqueur.
File:Coat_of_arms_of_Hrodna.svg, Saint Hubertus Deer, the coat of arms of the city of Grodno
Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish ...
See also
* Chronological list of saints in the 8th century
* Jägermeister
( , ; stylized Jägermeiſter) is a German digestif made with 56 herbs and spices. Developed in 1934 by Wilhelm and Curt Mast, it has an alcohol by volume of 35% ( 61 degrees proof, or US 70 proof). The recipe has not changed since its creation ...
* Saint Eustace
* St. Hubert's hound
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
Notes
External links
Painting from the National Gallery, London
The Conversion of Saint Hubert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hubertus, Saint
650s births
727 deaths
8th-century Frankish bishops
8th-century Frankish saints
Bishops of Liège
Saint-Hubert, Belgium
Medieval Belgian saints
7th-century Frankish people
Animals in Christianity