Saint Poppo (

Deinze Deinze () is a city and a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It comprises the city of Deinze, and the towns of Astene, Bachte-Maria-Leerne, Gottem, Grammene, Hansbeke, Landegem, Meigem, Merendree, Nevele, Petegem-aan-de-Leie, ...

, 977 – Marchiennes, 25 January 1048) was a knight of

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

descent who turned to a

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...

life after experiencing a spiritual conversion. He became one of the best known

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 ...

s of Stavelot and was one of the first recorded

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

s to the Holy Land. Liturgically, he is commemorated on the 25th of January.

Biography

The ''Vita Popponis'', the biography of Poppo, was written shortly after his death by the monk Onulf and the abbot Everhelm of the Abbey of Hautmont. According to this source, Poppo belonged to a noble family of Flanders; his parents being Tizekinus and Adalwif. Around the year 1000, he made a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

to the Holy Land with two companions. Soon after this he also went to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He was about to marry a lady of noble family, when a flame suddenly burst out of the sky late at night and kept his lance radiating. Poppo believed this to be an illumination of the Holy Spirit, and soon after, he decided to enter the monastery of Saint Thierry at

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

in 1005. Around 1008, Abbot Richard of Saint Vannes at

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

, a reformer of monasteries, took Poppo to his monastery. Richard made Poppo prior of

St. Vaast Vedast or Vedastus, also known as Saint Vaast (in Flemish, Norman and Picard) or Saint Waast (also in Picard and Walloon), Saint Gaston in French, and Foster in English (died ) was an early bishop in the Frankish realm. After the victory of T ...

in Arras, in the

Diocese of Cambrai The Archdiocese of Cambrai ( la, Archdiocesis Cameracensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Cambrai'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France, comprising the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-He ...

, at around 1013. This job consisted of reclaiming the monastery's lands from

vassals A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. ...

and securing the possession of the monastery by deeds. Sometime before 1016, he was appointed to the same position at Vasloges (''Beloacum'', Beaulieu) in the

Diocese of Verdun The Diocese of Verdun ( la, Dioecesis Virodunensis; french: Diocèse de Verdun) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan ...

. In 1020, the German emperor Henry II appointed Poppo Abbot of the Abbeys of Stavelot and Malmedy (in

Lower Lorraine The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as '' Lothier'' or '' Lottier''

, now

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

). In 1023, Poppo also received the

Abbey of St. Maximin St. Maximin's Abbey (german: Reichsabtei St. Maximin) was a Benedictine monastery in Trier in the Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. History The abbey, traditionally considered one of the oldest monasteries in western Europe, was held to have been fo ...

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

.Uta-Renate Blumenthal (1991), ''The Investiture Controversy'', , page
42–3
/ref> Poppo became even more important during the reign of Conrad II. From St. Maximin, the Cluniac reform now found its way into the German monasteries. The emperor placed several imperial monasteries under Poppo's control or supervision, such as Limburg an der Hardt,

Echternach Echternach ( lb, Iechternach or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in ...

, St. Gislen, Weissenburg, St. Gall, Hersfeld,

Waulsort Waulsort ( wa, Åssôrt) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Hastière, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Until the reorganisation of the Municipalities of Belgium 1977, Waulsort was a municipality in its own r ...

Hautmont Hautmont () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is southwest of the centre of Maubeuge, and has 14,500 residents. On August 3, 2008, a narrow but strong F4 tornado swept through the town, as well as Maubeuge, Neuf-Mesni ...

and Hastières.Timothy Reuter et al (2000), ''The New Cambridge Medieval History'',
page 182
/ref> Soon after Poppo transferred these positions to his pupils and family members, the bishops and laymen who had founded these monasteries placed a series of other monasteries under his care, including St. Laurence at Liège, St. Vincent at Metz, St. Eucharius at Trier, Hohorst, Brauweiler, St. Vaast and Marchiennes. However, the reform of Richard of Saint-Vanne had no permanent success in the German Empire. Poppo practiced the most severe asceticism. He had no interest in literary affairs, lacked management capacities, and was not prominent in politics. During the reign of Henry III he lost influence. Poppo died while staying at the Abbey of Marchiennes and was buried in the Abbey of Stavelot.

Notes

External links

Poppo
at

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

online
Poppo at Patron Saints IndexSaint of the Day, January 25: ''Poppo of Stavelot''
at ''SaintPatrickDC.org''
Dutch history article about Deinze
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poppo of Stavelot 977 births 1048 deaths 11th-century Christian saints Abbots of Stavelot Belgian Roman Catholic saints People from Deinze