Gondulph ( la, Gondulfus, Gundulphus, link=no, perhaps also ''Bethulphus'') of Maastricht, sometimes of Tongeren (6th/7th century AD) was a bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht venerated as a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

saint. Together with Saint Servatius and Saint Monulph, he is one of the patron saints of the city of

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

Legend

Very few facts are known about Gondulph of Maastricht. According to a legend, his parents were

Munderic Munderic (died 532/33) was a Merovingian claimant to the Frankish throne. He was a wealthy nobleman and landowner with vast estates in the region around Vitry-le-Brûle (now Vitry-en-Perthois) near Châlons-sur-Marne. In 532 or 533 or around tha ...

and Arthemia. He was married to Palatina, only known child of Maurilion Gallo, a Gallo-Roman aristocrat with likely ties to the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

court. By some reconstructions, the couple had a son named Bodegisel II, who became

Duke of Aquitaine The Duke of Aquitaine ( oc, Duc d'Aquitània, french: Duc d'Aquitaine, ) was the ruler of the medieval region of Aquitaine (not to be confused with modern-day Aquitaine) under the supremacy of Frankish, English, and later French kings. As su ...

. He remains an enigmatic figure. It has been questioned whether he could be identical with Betulph, a bishop of Maastricht mentioned in 614 (see below). According to tradition, Gondulph was buried in the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of the church of Saint Servatius in Maastricht, which was built by his predecessor Monulph. In the 11th century, provost Humbert had a cenotaph erected above the alleged grave of the two saints.

Line of succession

According to some 11th century sources Gondulph's predecessor

Monulph Monulph was a sixth-century bishop of Tongeren and Maastricht, and is revered as a Roman Catholic saint. Little is known about his life. The Acta Sanctorum only lists two vitae of Monulph, none of them older than the 11th century. His birthplace ...

transferred the episcopal see from

Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...

. However, the official title ''episcopus Tungrorum'' (bishop of Tongeren) was retained until the 10th century, although the episcopal see had by that time been transferred from Maastricht to Liège. Monulph must have occupied the See of Tongeren-Maastricht until the end of the 6th, beginning of the 7th century, because a bishop of Maastricht named Betulph (Betulphus) was present at the

Council of Paris The Council of Paris (French: ''Conseil de Paris'') is the deliberative body responsible for governing Paris, the capital of France. It possesses both the powers of a municipal council (''conseil municipal'') and those of a departmental counci ...

in 614. Gondulph then could have been inserted between Monulph and Betulphus, at least if Betulphus is not identified with Gondulph. The case is similar to the situation in the Archbishopric of Mainz, where Bertulfus and Crotoldus seem to be identical. Furthermore, the disputed episcopal lists of the 11th and 12th centuries ignore the historically attested Betulphus and make Gondulph the immediate successor of Monulph. The biographies of Gondulph from the Middle Ages are largely extracts from the ''Vita Servatii'', written by the 11th-century French priest Jocundus more than four centuries after Gondulph's death, and for that reason not reliable.

Ecclesiastical tradition

According to tradition Gondulph occupied the episcopal see of Maastricht for seven years. This last date does not allow for his presence at the Paris Council in 614. Legend has obscured the historical facts about Gondulph. If Jocundus is to be believed, Gondulph endeavoured to rebuild the town of Tongeren, which had been destroyed during the barbarian invasions. Heavenly intervention caused furious

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

to attack the pagan colonists of the region and devoured them before the eyes of the horrified bishop. The bodies of Monulph and Gondulph were solemnly exhumed in 1039 by Bishop

Nithard of Liège Nithard was bishop of Liège, in the Low Countries, from 1038 to 1042. Life Nithard, who had lived in Liège for decades, was elected bishop in succession to his uncle Reginard, on the endorsement of Wazo of Liège, who had been ahead in the vot ...

and Gerard of Florennes, Bishop of Cambrai, in the presence of

Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was raised ...

. An

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

commemorating this event was later misinterpreted, giving rise to a legend according to which the two saints arose from their tomb in 1039 in order to assist at the dedication of Aachen Cathedral.

References

*''Catholic Encyclopedia'' {{authority control 7th-century Frankish bishops People from Maastricht Burials at the Basilica of Saint Servatius 7th-century Frankish saints