Chrodegang ( la, Chrodogangus; german: Chrodegang, Hruotgang;
[Spellings of his name in (]Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
) primary sources are extremely varied: Chrodegangus, Grodegandus, Grodegangus, Grodogangus, Chrodogandus, Krodegandus, Chrodegrangus, Chrotgangus, Ruotgangus, Droctegangus, Chrodegand, and Sirigangus. In English it is also found as Godegrand, Gundigran, Ratgang, Rodigang, and Sirigang. died 6 March 766 AD) was the
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 ...
Bishop of Metz from 742 or 748 until his death. He served as chancellor for his kinsman,
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 statesma ...
. Chrodegang is claimed to be a progenitor of the Frankish dynasty of the
Robertians. He is recognized as a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Biography
He was born in the early eighth century at
Hesbaye (Belgium, around the old Roman civitas of
Tongeren
Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...
) of a noble
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 ...
family,
[Mershman, Francis. "St. Chrodegang." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 27 October 2017 possibly the son of
Sigramnus, Count of Hesbaye Sigramnus (Sigrand), was the Count of Hesbaye. Sigramnus became Count of Hesbaye by virtue of his marriage to the daughter of Lambert, Count of Hesbaye. The dates of his rule are unknown but are believed to be between that of Lambert’s son and ...
, and
Landrada Landrada of Austrasia (died ca. 690) was an abbess who is venerated as a Catholic, Orthodox and True Orthodox including Tikhonite saint. She is credited with the foundation of Munsterbilzen Abbey
Munsterbilzen Abbey was an abbey of Benedictine nun ...
, daughter of
Lambert II, Count of Hesbaye Lambert II, (669742) was possibly a Count of Haspengau (Hesbaye), generally referred to without the number modifier. Settipani, Christian (1989). '' Les ancêtres de Charlemagne. Addenda.'' The identity of his father remains uncertain, but the prev ...
. Landrada was the sister of
Rotrude of Hesbaye, Charles Martel's first wife.
He was educated first at the monastery of
Saint-Trond
Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, and has over 41,500 inhabitants, which makes it one of the largest cities in Limburg. The muni ...
, one of the oldest and most powerful abbeys in the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
, and then at the cathedral school of Metz. At the court of Charles Martel, became his
referendary, then chancellor, and in 737 prime minister. Sometime after 742, he was appointed to succeed Sigibald as Bishop of Metz, while still retaining his civil office.
[
In 753 he met and escorted ]Pope Stephen II
Pope Stephen II ( la, Stephanus II; 714 – 26 April 757) was born a Roman aristocrat and member of the Orsini family. Stephen was the bishop of Rome from 26 March 752 to his death. Stephen II marks the historical delineation between the Byzant ...
when the pontiff visited France to seek help against Lombard incursions. As apostolic delegate to the Frankish kingdom, he was directly involved in the coronation of Pepin in 754 and the subsequent defeat of the Longbard king Aistulf
Aistulf (also Ahistulf, Aistulfus, Haistulfus, Astolf etc.; it, Astolfo; died December 756) was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of the Lombards from 749, and Duke of Spoleto from 751. His reign was characterized by ruthless and ambitious ef ...
. He accompanied the pope to Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
.[
After the death of ]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 ...
, Pope Stephen conferred the ''pallium
The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...
'' on Saint Chrodegang (754–755), thus making him an archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
, but not elevating the See of Metz. In 762, during a dangerous illness, he introduced among his priests a confraternity of prayer known as the League of Attigny. Chrodegang was well versed in Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and the native early Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
. He died at Metz on 6 March 766 and was buried in Gorze Abbey, the site of his principal shrine.
Reform
According to M.A. Claussen, "Chrodegang's work lay at the foundation of the Carolingian spiritual revival of later eighth and ninth centuries."[Claussen, M.A., ''The Reform of the Frankish Church: Chrodegang of Metz and the Regula Canonicorum in the Eighth Century'']
Cambridge University Press, 2004, , p. 4
In 748 he founded Gorze Abbey
Gorze Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Gorze in the present arrondissement of Metz, near Metz in Lorraine. It was prominent as the source of a monastic reform movement in the 930s.
History
Gorze Abbey was founded in around 757 by Bishop Chrod ...
(near Metz). He also established St. Peter's Abbey on the Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
, and did much for the abbeys of Gengenbach and Lorsch. For the latter he is said to have obtained the relics of Saint Nazarius, and for Gorze those of Saint Gorgonius. In his diocese he introduced the Roman Liturgy and musical chant, and also enriched community life for the canons of his cathedral.
Rule of Chrodegang
Around 755, he wrote a special rule for them, the ''Regula Canonicorum'', later known as 'Rule of Chrodegang'. The rule, containing thirty-four chapters, was based on the Rule of St. Benedict
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...
. Its purpose, however, was principally pastoral: to encourage the mutual support of a community as found in a monastic setting, while recognizing the very different responsibilities of canons serving the spiritual needs of the faithful. Chrodegang necessarily adapted the Benedictine rule, particularly in regards to the hospitality characteristic of monasteries, and the care of the sick as there were neither guest houses nor hospices at cathedrals.
The rule was widely circulated and gave an important impulse to the spread of community life among the secular clergy. In 816, it was incorporated in part into the Institutio canonicorum Aquisgranensis The Institutio canonicorum Aquisgranensis (the Instruction of canons of Aachen) was a text disseminated in 816 at a church council gathered at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) by Emperor Louis the Pious, which sought to distinguish canons from monks and ...
established by the Council of Aachen A number of significant councils of the Latin Church were held at Aachen (also known in French as ''Aix-la-Chapelle'') in the early Middle Ages.
In the mixed council of 798, Charlemagne proclaimed a capitulary of eighty-one chapters, largely a rep ...
. By the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Rule of Chrodegang was gradually supplanted by more popular rules based on Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...
.
It seems probable that the Rule of Chrodegang was brought by Irish monks to their native land from the monasteries of north-eastern Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, and that Irish anchorites
In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites are ...
originally unfettered by the rules of the cloister
A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...
bound themselves by it. The ''Rule of Céli Dé'', which is preserved in the Leabhar Breac, and has been attributed to Máel Ruain, was possibly written in the 9th century by one of his community. The Rule "...is more a canonical than a monastic rule, and analogous to Chrodegang of Metz's ''Regula Canonicorum''."Gammack, James. "Maelruain", ''A Dictionary of Christian Biography'', (William Smith and Henry Wace, eds.), London, John Murray, 1882
/ref>
In the course of the 9th century mention is made of nine places in Ireland (including Armagh
Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...
, Clonmacnoise, Clones, Devenish and Sligo
Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...
) where communities of Culdees were established as a kind of annex to the regular monastic institutions. They seem especially to have had the care of the poor and the sick, and were interested in the musical part of worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...
.
See also
* Benedict of Aniane
Benedict of Aniane ( la, Benedictus Anianensis; german: Benedikt von Aniane; 747 – 12 February 821 AD), born Witiza and called the Second Benedict, was a Benedictine monk and monastic reformer, who left a large imprint on the religious prac ...
* Máel Ruain -his rules for the Culdees
* Wulfred -on reforming the canons at Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
Notes
References
Sources
*
*D'Achéry
Luc d'Achery (1609 – 29 April 1685) was a learned French Benedictine of the Congregation of St. Maur, a specialist in the study and publication of medieval manuscripts.
Life
D'Achery was born at Saint Quentin in Picardy. He entered the Or ...
, Spicilegium, I, 656
Medieval Lands Project, Family of Enguerrand, Comte de Paris
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrodegang Of Metz
766 deaths
8th-century Frankish bishops
Bishops of Metz
Belgian Roman Catholic saints
Year of birth unknown
8th-century Frankish saints
8th-century Latin writers
8th-century Frankish writers