Saint Corbinian ( la, Corbinianus; french: Corbinien; german: Korbinian; 670 – 8 September c. 730 AD) was a Frankish bishop. After living as a hermit near

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

for fourteen years, he made a pilgrimage to Rome. Pope Gregory II sent him to Bavaria. His opposition to the marriage of Duke Grimoald to his brother's widow, Biltrudis, caused Corbinian to go into exile for a time. His

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 ...

is 8 September. The commemoration of the translation of his relics is 20 November.

Life

Corbinian was born and baptized as Waldegiso at Châtres, near Melun, in Frankish territory. He was named after his father, who may have died when Corbinian was an infant. Soon after his father's death, his mother Corbiniana renamed Waldegiso to "Corbinian", after herself. Nothing else is known of his childhood. The early source for Corbinian's life is the ''Vita Corbiniani'' of Bishop Arbeo of Freising. He lived in Châtres on the road to Orléans as a hermit for fourteen years, near a church dedicated to Saint Germain. His reputation attracted students to him, which distracted him from his hermitage. His devotion to

Saint Peter the Apostle ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupati ...

prompted a decision to make a journey to Rome, accompanied by some of the disciples. While in Rome, Pope Gregory II admonished him to use his talents to evangelize Bavaria. Corbinian, who may already have been a bishop or who was so consecrated by Gregory, was sent to minister to Grimoald, the Frankish Duke of Bavaria. Corbinian probably arrived in Bavaria in 724. On a mountain near Freising, where there was already a sanctuary, the saint erected a Benedictine monastery and a school, which came to be governed by his brother Erembert, after his death. In 738, when

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, 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 ...

regulated the

ecclesial An ecclesial community is, in the terminology used by the Catholic Church, a Christian religious group that does not meet the Catholic definition of a "Church". Although the word "ecclesial" itself means "church" or "gathering" in a political sens ...

structure in the Duchy of Bavaria by creating four dioceses to be governed by the

archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

, Erembert was chosen first Bishop of Freising. Saint Corbinian of Freising and the Bear by Cosmas Damian Asam

Soon after settling, Corbinian denounced Grimoald's marriage to his brother's widow, Biltrudis, though Grimoald had already repented of his incest. This incited his anger and the chagrin of his wife, who excoriated Corbinian, labeling him a foreign interloper. Finally, she arranged to have him murdered. Corbinian fled Freising until Grimoald was killed and Biltrudis carried off by invaders in 725. Corbinian returned on the invitation of Grimoald's successor, Huebert, and continued his apostolic labors at Freising until his own death in 730. Corbinian's body, buried at Merano, was translated to Freising in 769 by the aforementioned Bishop Arbeo, author of Corbinian's ''

vita Vita or VITA (plural vitae) is Latin for "life", and may refer to: * ''Vita'', the usual start to the title of a biography in Latin, by which (in a known context) the work is often referred to; frequently of a saint, then called hagiography * Vit ...

'', and is now entombed in

Freising Cathedral Freising Cathedral, also called Saint Mary and Corbinian Cathedral (German: Mariendom), is a romanesque basilica in Freising, Bavaria. It is the co-cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. Freising Cathedral is also known fo ...

Corbinian's bear

Corbinian's symbol is the saddled

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

. According to his

hagiography 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 ...

, a bear killed Corbinian's pack horse on the way to Rome and so the saint commanded it to carry his load. Once he arrived in Rome, however, he let the bear go, and it lumbered back to its native forest. Both the heraldic element and the legend itself carry significant

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

ism. One interpretation is that the bear tamed by God's grace is the Bishop of Freising himself and the pack saddle is the burden of his episcopate. The bear's submission and retreat can also be interpreted as Christianity's "taming" and "domestication" of the ferocity of

paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...

and, consequentially, the laying of a " oundationfor a great civilization in the Duchy of Bavaria."

In Catholic iconography

Corbinian's Bear is used as the symbol of Freising in both civic and ecclesiastical

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

. It appeared on the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of Pope Benedict XVI, who first adopted the symbol when, still known as Joseph Ratzinger, he was appointed Archbishop of Freising-Munich in March 1977. He retained the bear in his revised coat of arms when he was elevated to

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

in June of the same year, and again on his papal coat of arms when he was elected in 2005. The scallop shell is a traditional reference to pilgrimage. For Pope Benedict XVI, it also reminded him of the legend according to which one day St. Augustine, pondering the mystery of the Trinity, saw a child at the seashore playing with a shell, trying to put the water of the ocean into a little hole. Then he heard the words: This hole can no more contain the waters of the ocean than your intellect can comprehend the mystery of God. The crowned Moor is a regional motif in heraldry often seen in Bavaria, Benedict's German homeland. Benedict has been quoted saying that, in addition to the obvious reference back to Saint Corbinian, the founder of the diocese where Benedict would become bishop in 1977, the bear represents Benedict himself being "tamed by God" to bear the spiritual burdens of Benedict's own ministries first as bishop, then as cardinal, and now as pope.Ratzinger, Joseph. ''Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977''. Ignatius Press (1998) Autobiography written during his pre-papal years. English translation (hardcover); 0898707021 (paperback).

Gallery

Scenes from the life of Saint Corbinian from a panel in the

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

. File:Corbinian-panel-young.jpg, ''S. Corbinianus adolescens - Castri vitam solitariam agit'' - Saint Corbinian as a young man decides upon a life of holy solitude File:Corbinian-panel-rome.jpg, ''St. Corbinianus Romam venit et episcopus creatur'' - Saint Corbinian travels to Rome and is created a bishop File:Corbinian-panel-prisioner.jpg, ''St. Corbinianus Adalbertum a supplicio liberat'' - Saint Corbinian frees Adalbert at his humble entreaty File:Corbinian-panel-bear.jpg, ''Sanctus Corbinianus urso sarcinas imponit'' - Saint Corbinian commands the bear to carry his luggage File:Corbinian-panel-grimoaldo.jpg, ''S. Corbinianus a Grimoaldo honorifice excipitur'' - Saint Corbinian respectfully received by Grimoald File:Corbinian-panel-teaching.jpg, ''Sanctus Corbinian' Frisingae populum docet'' - Saint Corbinian teaches the people of Freising File:Corbinian-panel-angel.jpg, ''Sanct' Corbinian' spiritum sanctissime reddit'' - Saint Corbinian solemnly gives up his spirit File:Corbinian-panel-transfer.jpg, ''S. Corbiniani reliquiae Frisingam transferuntur'' - The relics of Saint Corbinian are transferred to Freising

Notes

External links