Saint Radbod (or Radboud) (before 850 – 917) was
bishop of Utrecht
List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht.
Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580
Founders of the Utrecht diocese
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from 899 to 917.
Life
Radboud was born around the middle of the 9th century from a noble Frankish family near Namur. His mother was of Frisian origin and a descendant of the Frisian king
Radboud (died in 719). Radboud began his studies under the care of his maternal uncle Gunthar (Günther), Archbishop of Cologne from 850 until his deposition in 863. After that Radboud continued his studies at the court school of the Western Frankish king Charles the Bald (843- 877), whose chaplain he became. After Charles's death, he presumably became a Benedictine monk in the famous Saint-Martin convent of Tours. In 899 Radboud was elected bishop of the diocese of Utrecht with the permission of Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia (887-899). Because
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
was destroyed by the Normans, he did not live there but in
Deventer
Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...
in the Oversticht, where one of his predecessors had settled.
As bishop, Radboud was the most important representative of East Frankish authority in the northern Netherlands. In 911, however, the Duchy of Lorraine, in which the diocese of Utrecht was located, came to the western Frankish kingdom. Radboud then seems to have wavered between loyalty to his old king or loyalty and connection with the new monarch. His most ancient biographical description criticizes him for the use of bishops in the East Frankish government, but this criticism may be the responsibility of the author. Around 914/915 he traveled to Rome where he presented a further unknown conflict with Count Meginhard of Hamaland to
Pope John X
Pope John X ( la, Ioannes X; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli, ...
(914-928); After having heard Radboud and representatives of Meginhard, the pope found a settlement.
Radboud made preparations to take the seat in Utrecht again. To do so, he drew up a list of all the possessions of the diocese before the expulsion by the Normans. Radboud died in
Ootmarsum
Ootmarsum is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is a part of the municipality of Dinkelland, and lies about 10 km north of Oldenzaal.
In 2001, the city of Ootmarsum had 4227 inhabitants. The built-up area of the city was 1.5 ...
in 917 before these plans could be executed. He had appointed his successor, Balderik, himself.
Writings
A number of smaller writings are attributed to Radboud, but there are doubts about his authorship. Most of the writings are saints' lives, some in prose, others in verses. He described the life of the Anglo-Saxon missionaries
Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English 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 foundations of ...
(in prose),
Suitbert Suitbert, Suidbert, or Swithbert may refer to:
*An Alemannic chieftain who founded the town of Schwieberdingen
*Saint Suitbert of Kaiserwerdt
*Saint Suitbert the Younger
Saint Suitbert, Suidbert, Suitbertus, or Swithbert, a holy abbot venerated in ...
and
Lebuïnus (both in a sermon and in verses), as well as
St. Amalberga (?) and Bishop
Saint Servatius
Saint Servatius ( nl, Sint Servaas; french: Saint Servais; li, Sintervaos; hy, Սուրբ Սերվատիոս ''Surb Servatios'') (born in Armenia, died in Maastricht, traditionally on 13 May 384) was bishop of Tongeren —Latin: ''Atuatuca ...
of
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 ...
.
Veneration
He was buried in the Lebuin Church of Deventer. Several sources, including historian Johan Picardt, indicate that his intestines have been buried in the church in Nijenstede.
[ Hesselink-Zweers, D., "Hardenberg, an episcopal castle fortified city", Hardenberg Municipal Archives] During the Middle Ages, the veneration of Saint Radboud remained limited to the diocese of Utrecht. His feast day is 29 November.
Patronage
In the Netherlands, Radboud is the patron of Catholic scientific practice. In 1905, the St. Radboud Foundation was established with the aim of promoting Catholic higher education in the Netherlands and in particular the establishment of a Catholic university. In 1923 the Catholic University of Nijmegen was opened, in 1956 the associated
Sint-Radboud hospital (now Radboudumc). On 1 September 2004, the university adopted the name
Radboud University Nijmegen
Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, nl, Radboud Universiteit , formerly ''Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen'') is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university bears the name of Saint Radboud, a 9th century D ...
.
References
Further reading
* F. Rädle, "Bischof Radbod von Utrecht", ''Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters: Verfasserlexikon'', 2e ed.; dl. 7: 962-965 (with a survey of Radboud's published writings)
* B. Ahlers, ''Die ältere Fassung der Vita Radbodi'' (Frankfurt-Bern, 1976)
* M. Carasso-Kok, ''Repertorium van verhalende historische bronnen uit de Middeleeuwen'' (Den Haag, 1981); kritisch overzicht van aan Radboud toegeschreven werken (nrs. 8, 18, 52, 53, 62, 80, 88, 89, 352) en van de heiligenlevens over Radboud (nr. 75)
* ''Vita Radbodi/ Het leven van Radboud'', toegelicht, bezorgd en vertaald door Peter Nissen en Vincent Hunink (Nijmegen 2004)
* A. G. Weiler, "Sint Radboud, bisschop van Utrecht
eventer
Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...
van 899/900 tot 917. Pastor, geleerde, historicus, dichter en componist", ''Trajecta, tijdschrift voor geschiedenis van het katholiek leven in Nederland''; 12 (2003) 97-115
* René Veenman, "Radbouds Over de zwaluw", in: ''Madoc''; 19 (2005): 194-203
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radboud of Utrecht
9th-century births
917 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Bishops of Utrecht
Dutch Roman Catholic saints
10th-century bishops in Lotharingia
10th-century Christian saints
10th-century Latin writers