Theobald of Provins, O.S.B. Cam. (french: Saint Thibaut, Thibault, Thiébaut) (1033–1066) was a French

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 C ...

and saint. He was born at

Provins Provins () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Known for its well-preserved medieval architecture and importance throughout the Middle Ages as an economic center and a host of annu ...

to the French

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

, his father being Arnoul,

Count of Champagne The count of Champagne was the ruler of the County of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the County of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I was the first to officially use the title count of Champagne. Count Theobald IV ...

.François Verdier, ''Saints de Provins et comtes de Champagne. Essai sur l'imaginaire médiéval'', Guéniot, Langres 2007. He was named after his uncle,

Theobald of Vienne Saint Theobald of Vienne (–) (also known as Teobaldo, Thibaud and Thibault) was Archbishop of Vienne, France, from 970AD until his death in 1001AD. Supporter of monastic revival, he was deemed a protector of the Church en lieu of Royal Interfe ...

, also considered a saint.H. Pomeroy Brewster, ''Saints and festivals of the Christian Church'', F.A. Stokes, 1904, pp. 314-315. As a youth, Theobald admired the lives of hermits such as

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, Paul the First Hermit,

Anthony the Abbot Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...

and

Arsenius the Great Saint Arsenius the Deacon, sometimes known as Arsenius of Scetis and Turah, Arsenius the Roman or Arsenius the Great, was a Roman imperial tutor who became an anchorite in Egypt, one of the most highly regarded of the Desert Fathers, whose teach ...

. He would visit a local hermit named Burchard, who lived on an island in the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plate ...

. Theobald refused to get married or to begin a career either in the army or at court. When war broke out between his cousin

Odo II, Count of Blois Odo II () (983 – 15 November 1037) was the count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Beauvais and Tours from 1004 and count of Troyes (as Odo IV) and Meaux (as Odo I) from 1022. He twice tried to make himself a king: first in Italy after 1024 an ...

, and

Conrad the Salic Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...

over the Burgundian crown, Theobald refused to lead troops to help his cousin and convinced his father to let him become a hermit. Theobald left home with a friend named Walter to become a hermit at

Suxy Chiny (; wa, Tchini) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2018 the municipality, which covers , had 5,175 inhabitants, giving a population density of 46 inhabitants per km2. The ...

in the Ardennes.Löffler, Klemens. "St. Theobald." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 1 August 2017 They then traveled to Pettingen, where they worked as day laborers. The two friends became

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 on the Way of St. James and afterwards returned to the

Diocese of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.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 ...

and planned to go to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Ho ...

by way of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. However, Walter fell ill near Salanigo, near

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the '' Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a t ...

, where they decided to settle. After Walter died, Theobald joined a group of hermits who had gathered in the area under the guidance of the founder of the Camaldolese, St.

Romuald Romuald ( la, Romualdus; 951 – traditionally 19 June, c. 1025/27 AD) was the founder of the Camaldolese order and a major figure in the eleventh-century "Renaissance of eremitical asceticism".John Howe, "The Awesome Hermit: The Symbolic ...

. The

Bishop of Vicenza The Diocese of Vicenza ( la, Dioecesis Vicentina) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Italy.

eventually ordained Theobald a priest. His background, however, was soon discovered and his parents came to visit him. Theobald's mother, Gisela, received the permission of her husband to stay with their son and became a hermit herself near this place of retreat. Theobald died from an illness in which the skin of every limb was covered over in blotches and ulcers. Shortly before he died, Theobald made his profession of

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...

to the prior of his Camaldolese community, who had been summoned for this purpose when it was realized how close Theobald was to death.

Veneration

Theobald died in Sossano on June 30, now his feast day, in A.D. 1066. His relics were translated to a monastery nears

Sens Sens () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. Sens is a sub-prefecture and the second city of the department, the sixth in the region. It is crossed by the Yonne and t ...

, and then to

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are re ...

, at the

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

of Saint-Thibault-en-Auxois,

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

in 1073 by

Pope Alexander II Pope Alexander II (1010/1015 – 21 April 1073), born Anselm of Baggio, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073. Born in Milan, Anselm was deeply involved in the Pataria reform ...

. Numerous miracles, some occurring before and some after his death, are reported of him. His

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal ...

is centered on Provins and Saint-Thibault-en-Auxois, where the

Cluniac The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began w ...

priory had some of his

relics 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 tang ...

. He is the patron saint of charcoal-burners.

References

External links

Theobald of Provins
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San Teobaldo di Provins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theobald Of Provins 1033 births 1066 deaths 11th-century Christian mystics People from Provins French untitled nobility 11th-century French Roman Catholic priests Medieval French saints French Benedictines Benedictine mystics Camaldolese saints French hermits 11th-century Christian saints