Tilmo, Irish

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

, fl. 690.

Background

Tilmo was a native of Ireland, though from what region is unknown. He had once been a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

, then became a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

, and finally a preacher.

Cologne

Egbert of England and Wigbert tried and failed to convert the pagan

Frisians The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...

. Egbert however urged others to succeed where he had failed, with the result that

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary and saint, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands. He became the first bishop of Utrecht and died at Echternach, Luxembourg. Early life His fathe ...

and Suidbert led twelve monks on a mission to the Frisians. Tilmo was one of the monks and was assigned responsibility for the people of Cologne. Tilmo built a chapel on an island on the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and began to preach the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

to the inhabitants. Within a few years he was joined by other Irishmen such as Wiro, Plechelmus and

Otger Otgar, Otger or Odgar is a Germanic masculine given name (from Proto-Germanic *''Audawakraz''). It may refer to: * (fl. 8th century), missionary *Autchar (fl. 8th century), Frankish nobleman * Otgar of Mainz, archbishop (826–847) *, bishop of Ei ...

. The chapel became the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

of St. Martin of Cologne. Eventually, Wicterp, a native of the area, became abbot of St. Martin's, and later became

Bishop of Ratisbon The Bishops of Regensburg ( Ratisbon) are bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany.

. Wicterp was related to Plectrue, wife of

Pepin of Heristal Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the Fr ...

, which helped St. Martin's secure favour among the nobles.

References

* ''Irish Monasteries in Germany'', J.F. Hogan, pp. 526–535, ''Irish Ecclesiastical Record'', 4th series, Vol. 3, 1898.

External links

* https://archive.org/stream/s4irishecclesias03dubluoft#page/526/mode/2up {{DEFAULTSORT:Tilmo 7th-century Irish abbots Irish expatriates in Germany

Background

Cologne

See also

References

External links