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 Ch ...

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. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

, 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 ...

.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, 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 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. 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 a ...

, and Conrad the Salic 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 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 Pettingen () is a village in the commune of Mersch, in central Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duch� ...

, 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 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 thr ...

, 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. 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 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 Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to a monastery nears Sens, 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 r ...

, 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. Theobald was

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

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