Saint Wandregisel (french: Wandrille) (c. 605–668 AD) was a

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 ...

courtier, monk, and abbot.

Life

The son of Walchisus, a kinsman of

Pepin of Landen Pepin I (also Peppin, Pipin, or Pippin) of Landen (c. 580 – 27 February 640), also called the Elder or the Old, was the Mayor of the palace of Austrasia under the Merovingian King Dagobert I from 623 to 629. He was also the Mayor for Si ...

, he was born around 605, near

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

in the region then known as Austrasia. He was educated at the Frankish court in Metz. Wandregisel was part of a group of young courtiers including

Audoin Alduin ( Langobardic: ''Aldwin'' or ''Hildwin'', ; also called Auduin or Audoin) was king of the Lombards from 547 to 560. Life Audoin was of the Gausi, a prominent Lombard ruling clan, and according to the ''Historia Langobardorum'', the so ...

and

Didier of Cahors Saint Didier, also known as Desiderius ( AD – November 15, traditionally 655), was a Merovingian-era royal official of aristocratic Gallo-Roman extraction. He succeeded his own brother, Rusticus of Cahors, as bishop of Cahors and governed the ...

who served

Dagobert I Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dyna ...

, but in 629 he retired from court to become a monk at Montfaucon under the guidance of Saint Balderic. Wandregisel had received the tonsure without the permission normally required for a courtier, and was summoned to court to explain this apparent oversight. Dagobert then approved his request. Wandregisel soon withdrew to live as a

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 ...

in complete solitude at

Saint-Ursanne Saint-Ursanne is an old town and a former municipality of the district of Porrentruy in the canton of Jura, Switzerland which has preserved much of its medieval character. The town contains many historical buildings, including a Romanesque abbey c ...

in the Jura. Wandregisel adhered to the principles of Columbanus and his disciple Saint Ursicinus, both of whom had founded several monasteries in the region. In 635 Wandregisel spent some time at the monastery of Saint Columban at

Bobbio Bobbio ( Bobbiese: ; lij, Bêubbi; la, Bobium) is a small town and commune in the province of Piacenza in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is located in the Trebbia River valley southwest of the town Piacenza. There is also an abbey and a di ...

in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. From there, he wished to travel to Ireland, but by 642 got only as far as the abbey of Romainmôtier, which lay on the banks of the river Isère, in the

Tarentaise Valley The Tarentaise Valley (french: Vallée de la Tarentaise, ; frp, Tarentèsa) is a valley of the Isère River in the heart of the French Alps, located in the Savoy region of France. The valley is named for the ancient town of ''Darantasia'', the ...

. Wandregisel was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

, and then founded Fontenelle Abbey in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, on land obtained from

Erchinoald Erchinoald (also ''Erkinoald'' and, in French, ''Erchenout'') succeeded Aega as the mayor of the palace of Neustria in 641 and succeeded Flaochad in Burgundy in 642 and remained such until his death in 658. Family According to Fredegar, he was a ...

through the influence of his friend Archbishop

of Rouen. Fontenelle followed the rule of Saint Columbanus, and the abbey became an important center of learning. Near the abbey's ruins lies the village of

Saint-Wandrille-Rançon Saint-Wandrille-Rançon () is a former commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north west France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Rives-en-Seine.Mann, Ansgar Wilder. "Wandregisel", ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'', Bern
/ref>

Veneration

During the Viking invasions, Wandregisel's

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 ...

were dispersed to various locations and shared between various churches, including the abbey of Saint-Pierre-au-Mont-Blandin in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

(now in Belgium). Wandregisel's cult was celebrated in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

prior to the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

of 1066. In the 19th century one of his relics remained: his skull was found in Liège. It was brought back to the Abbey, when the new church was dedicated in 1967. It can be seen today in a modern reliquary.

References

Primary sources

*''Miracula Sancti Wandregisili abbatis Fontanellensis''. In ''

Acta Sanctorum ''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. The project w ...

'' 32 (July 5). Paris: Victor Palmé, 1868. 281–91. *''Translatio Sancti Wandregisili in montem Blandinium''. In ''Acta Sanctorum'' 32 (July 5). 291–302. *''Vita Sancti Wandregisili abbatis Fontanellensis I''. In ''Acta Sanctorum'' 32 (July 5). 265–71. *''Vita Sancti Wandregisili abbatis Fontanellensis II''. In ''Acta Sanctorum'' 32 (July 5). 272–81. *''Vita Wandregiseli abbatis Fontanellensis'', ed. B. Krusch. In ''Passiones vitaeque sanctorum aevi Merovingici 3'', ed. Wilhelm Levison, 1-24. MGH SS rer. Merov. 5. Hanover, 1910. 1-24
Available from the Digital MGH
{{Authority control 7th-century Frankish saints 668 deaths Abbey of Saint Wandrille Year of birth unknown Colombanian saints