Saint Pardulphus (''Pardulf, Pardoux'') (657 – 737 AD) was a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

saint and

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

. The '' Vita Pardulfi'', was written by an anonymous monk around the middle of the eighth century. It is notable for the insight it provides into life 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 Janu ...

at the time. He was born at

Sardent Sardent (; oc, Sarden) is a commune in the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France. Geography An area of streams, lakes, forestry and farming, comprising the village and several hamlets situated in the valley of th ...

, from a family of

peasants A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

. His legend states that he was a shepherd who decided to live as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

after experiencing a terrible storm. Lantarius, the count of Limoges, had built a monastery at

Guéret Guéret (; Occitan: ''Garait'') is a commune and the prefecture of the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France. Geography Guéret is a light industrial town, the largest in the department, with a big woodland a ...

. Pardulphus joined this monastery, later serving as its abbot. He followed strict

penances Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part i ...

, never keeping himself warm, and only eating once a week. He is alleged to have rejected heat from any source but the rays of the

sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

. However, as he grew old he did occasionally make use of “hot stones” to keep himself warm. He rejected the consumption of all

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, ...

, eating only the

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

the local peasants brought him. The ''Vita Pardulfi'' records a

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

performed by Pardulphus. Some carpenters were cutting wood with which to build the church of Saint-Aubin at Guéret. After they loaded the wood onto carts and returned to the building works, it was determined that the wood was too short. The carpenters’ superintendent wished to have the carpenters whipped in punishment for this, but Pardulphus intervened with a miracle that made the wood the right size and even surpassed the intended length. As a result, the excess wood was sawn off and hung in the church as an object of veneration. According to tradition, during the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

invasion of southern France, Pardulphus remained in his monastery. Umayyad forces, retreating after the

Battle of Tours The Battle of Tours, also called the Battle of Poitiers and, by Arab sources, the Battle of tiles of Martyrs ( ar, معركة بلاط الشهداء, Maʿrakat Balāṭ ash-Shuhadā'), was fought on 10 October 732, and was an important battle ...

, arrived at the monastery. However, his monastery was spared from attack; this was attributed to Pardulphus’ prayers.

Veneration

His feast day is October 6. A reliquary that contained his arm had been preserved at the church of Sardent. However, it is now found at the Museum of Fine Art at Guéret.Guéret, musée des Beaux-Arts
/ref> A number of places in France, such as Saint-Pardoux-de-Drône, take their name from him.

Vita Pardulfi

The ''Vita Pardulfi Abbatis Waractensis'' (

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functione ...

for "Life of (Saint) Pardulf of Guéret") is a work on the life of Pardulphus, which was written around the middle of the eighth century. The ''Vita Pardulfi'' is notable for the insight it provides into life in

during the time of its writing. The work also indicates the high esteem in which Duke

Odo of Aquitaine Odo the Great (also called ''Eudes'' or ''Eudo'') (died 735–740), was the Duke of Aquitaine by 700. His territory included Vasconia in the south-west of Gaul and the Duchy of Aquitaine (at that point located north-east of the river Garonne), a ...

was held, in contrast to the negative picture provided by the '' Continuations of Fredegar'', which were compiled on the instructions of Duke Childebrand, half-brother of Odo's rival

Charles Martel Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesm ...

References

Sources

*Fouracre, Paul (2000). ''The Age of Charles Martel''. Pearson Education.

External links

St. Pardulphus

{{Authority control 728 deaths Frankish Benedictines French hermits 8th-century Frankish saints 657 births