Ursinus the Abbot (seventh century) was an

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of Saint-Martin at

Ligugé Ligugé () is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. It is located on the River Clain, south of Poitiers. It is known for its historic monastery, Ligugé Abbey. Twin towns – sister cities Ligug ...

, and presumed biographer of Saint

Leodegar Leodegar of Poitiers ( la, Leodegarius; french: Léger; 615 – October 2, 679 AD) was a martyred Burgundian Bishop of Autun. He was the son of Saint Sigrada and the brother of Saint Warinus. Leodegar was an opponent of Ebroin, the Frankish Ma ...

. He began his career as 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 ...

in the monastery of Saint-Maixent at

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks. Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It later ...

. Ursinus later became the abbot of the monastery of Saint-Martin, where he spent the rest of his days. During his tenure he built a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

, which became a place of honor to such a degree that in 782 it received the relics of sainted Leodegar. Ursinus also commissioned the monk Defensor to compile the

florilegium In medieval Latin, a ' (plural ') was a compilation of excerpts or sententia from other writings and is an offshoot of the commonplacing tradition. The word is from the Latin ''flos'' (flower) and '' legere'' (to gather): literally a gathering of ...

'' Liber scintillarum'' from the

patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

writings in the abbey's collection. An Ursinus wrote the ''Vita sancti Leodegarii''. Later authors tell this story: In 684, bishop

Ansoald Ansoald ( la, Ansoaldus) was the bishop of Poitiers from 676 until about 696.This is according to . , write that his dates are unknown. Ansoald was probably a Burgundian from the region around Autun. He inherited land from both his parents near ...

of Poitiers requested of the new abbot Andulf (684–96) that his monks provide him with a beatific Life of Bishop

Leodegar of Autun Leodegar of Poitiers ( la, Leodegarius; french: Léger; 615 – October 2, 679 AD) was a martyred Burgundian Bishop of Autun. He was the son of Saint Sigrada and the brother of Saint Warinus. Leodegar was an opponent of Ebroin, the Frankish Mayo ...

, martyred three years prior at Sarcing in Artois; and Andulf delegated this task to Ursinus. This ''Life'' (or ''Passion'') does not survive, but historian Bruno Krusch claimed to have reconstructed it as the basis of several versions from the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

era. Historian

Paul Fouracre Paul J. Fouracre is professor emeritus of medieval history at the University of Manchester. His research interests relate to early medieval history, the history of the Franks, law and custom in medieval societies, charters, hagiography and serf-lor ...

initially questioned this account, but by 1996 he had accepted it.''Late Merovingian France. History and Hagiography 640-720'' Manchester, 1996 Ursinus's tombstone, in the

Latin language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

, reads:

Notes

Sources

*''Defensoris Liber Scintillarum'', ed. H. Rochais,

Corpus Christianorum The Corpus Christianorum (CC) is a major publishing undertaking of the Belgian publisher Brepols Publishers devoted to patristic and medieval Latin texts. The principal series are the ''Series Graeca'' (CCSG), ''Series Latina'' (CCSL), and the ''Co ...

Series Latina (Turnhout, 1954). {{Authority control French abbots 7th-century Frankish writers 7th-century Latin writers