Lambert of Maastricht, commonly referred to as Saint Lambert ( la, Lambertus; Middle Dutch: ''Sint-Lambrecht''; li, Lambaer, Baer, Bert(us); 636 – c. 705 AD) was the bishop of Maastricht-Liège ( Tongeren) from about 670 until his death. Lambert denounced Pepin's liaison with his mistress Alpaida, the mother of Charles Martel. The bishop was murdered during the political turmoil that developed when various families fought for influence as the Merovingian dynasty gave way to the Carolingians. He is considered a martyr for his defence of marriage. His feast day is September 17.

Life

Very little is known about the life of Lambert. According to the 14th-century chronicle-writer Jean d'Outremeuse he was the son of Apre, lord of

Loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order Gavi ...

, and his wife Herisplindis, both from noble families of Maastricht. The child was baptized by his godfather, the local bishop

Remaclus Saint Remaclus (Remaculus, Remacle, Rimagilus; died 673) was a Benedictine missionary bishop. Life Remaclus grew up at the Aquitanian ducal court and studied under Sulpitius the Pious, bishop of Bourges. In 625 he became a monk at Luxeuil Abbe ...

, and educated by Landoald, archpriest of the city and head of the noble abbey school in

Wintershoven Kortessem (; li, Kotsoeve) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. On January 1, 2006, Kortessem had a total population of 8,074. The total area is 33.90 km² which gives a population density of 238 inhabita ...

. Lambert was related to the seneschal Hugobert, the father of Plectrude, who was Pepin of Herstal's lawful wife. He was thus an in-law of hereditary mayors of the palace who controlled the Merovingian kings 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 the F ...

. Lambert appears to have frequented the Merovingian court of King Childeric II, and was a protégé of his uncle,

Theodard :''Theodard was also the murdered bishop Theodard of Maastricht.'' Saint Theodard (french: Théodard) (ca. 840–1 May, ca. 893) was an archbishop of Narbonne. He may have been born to the nobility and served as a subdeacon at a church counc ...

, who succeeded Remaclus as bishop of Maastricht. He is described by early biographers as “a prudent young man of pleasing looks, courteous and well-behaved in his speech and manners, well-built, strong, a good fighter, clear-headed, affectionate, pure and humble, and fond of reading.” When Theodard was murdered soon after 669, the councillors of Childeric made Lambert bishop of Maastricht."Who is St. Lambert", St. Benedict Priory
/ref> After Childeric himself was murdered in 675, the faction of

Ebroin Ebroin (died 680 or 681) was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681. In a violent and despotic career, he strove to impose the aut ...

, ''majordomo'' of Neustria and the power behind that throne, expelled him from his see, in favor of their candidate, Faramundus. Lambert spent seven years in exile at the recently founded

Abbey of Stavelot The Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, also Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy, sometimes known with its German name Stablo, was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Princely power was exercised by the Benedictine abbot of th ...

(674–681). With a change in the turbulent political fortunes of the time, Pepin of Herstal became mayor of the palace and Lambert was allowed to return to his see.Albers, Petrus Henricus. "St. Lambert." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 26 August 2017 In company with Willibrord, who had come from England in 691, Lambert preached the gospel in the lower stretches of the Meuse, in the area to the north. In conjunction with Landrada he founded a convent at Munsterblizen.Arduino, Fabio. "San Lamberto of Maastricht", Santi e Beati, September 15, 2006
/ref> Lambert was also the spiritual director of the young noble Hubertus, eldest son of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine. Hubertus would later succeed Lambert as bishop of Maastricht. Lambert seems to have succumbed to the political turmoil that developed when various clans fought for influence as the Merovingian dynasty gave way to the Carolingians. Historian Jean-Louis Kupper says that the bishop was the victim of a private struggle between two clans seeking to control the Tongres-Maastricht see. Lambert is said to have denounced Pepin's adulterous liaison with Alpaida, who was to become the mother of Charles Martel. This aroused the enmity of either Pepin, Alpaida, or both. The bishop was murdered at Liège by the troops of

Dodon Dodon may refer to * Dodon (farm), a farm and former tobacco plantation in Maryland, U.S. * Dodon, Kyrgyzstan, a village in Kyrgyzstan * L'Isle-en-Dodon, a commune in France * Lac Dodon, an iron meteorite discovered in Canada * Igor Dodon (born ...

, Pepin's ''domesticus'' (manager of state domains), father or brother of Alpaida. The year of his death is variously given for some time between 705 and 709. Lambert came to be viewed as a martyr for his defence of marital fidelity. Lambert's two nephews, Peter and Audolet, were also killed defending their uncle. They too, were viewed as saints. Many historians however question the accuracy of the relationship between Alpaida and Dodon, due to that claim appearing much later. Although Lambert was buried at Maastricht, his successor as bishop, Hubertus, translated his relics to Liège, to which the see of Maastricht was eventually moved. To enshrine Lambert's

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s, Hubertus, built a basilica near Lambert's residence which became the true nucleus of the city. The shrine became St. Lambert's Cathedral, destroyed in 1794. Its site is the modern ''Place Saint-Lambert''. Lambert's tomb is now located in the present

Liège Cathedral Liège Cathedral, otherwise St. Paul's Cathedral, Liège, in Liège, Belgium, is part of the religious heritage of Liège. Founded in the 10th century, it was rebuilt from the 13th to the 15th century and restored in the mid-19th century. It beca ...

. The Cathedral of Our Lady and St. Lambert in Liège was built in his honor. LamBo3

Patronage

Lambert is the patron of the city of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

.Monks of Ramsgate. “Lambert of Maestricht”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 23 August 2016
/ref> 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 ...

in the Roman Catholic Church calendar is 17 September. The ''Lambertusfest'' in Münster has long been a folk holiday, celebrated for two weeks culminating on the eve of 17 September. Children build "Lambertus pyramids" of branches, decorated with lanterns and lamps around which they dance and sing traditional songs (known as ''Lambertussingen'' or ''Käskenspiel''). A few churches in Germany and Belgium are dedicated to Saint Lambert.

References

External links

''Das Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon'':
Lambert (Lantpert) von Maastricht (von Lüttich) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert Of Maastricht 636 births 705 deaths 7th-century Frankish nobility 8th-century Frankish saints Belgian Roman Catholic saints Dutch Roman Catholic saints 8th-century Frankish bishops People from Maastricht Bishops of Liège