Saint Begga (also Begue, Begge) (b. 613 – d. 17 December 693 AD) was the daughter 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 ...

, mayor of the palace of

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...

, and his wife

Itta Itta of Metz, O.S.B. (also ''Ida'', ''Itte'' or ''Iduberga''; 592–8 May 652) was the wife of Pepin of Landen, Mayor of the Palace of the Kingdom of Austrasia. After his death, she founded the Abbey of Nivelles, where she became a Colombanian ...

of Metz. She is also the grandmother of

Charles Martel Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesma ...

, who is the grandfather of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

Life

The daughter of

and his wife,

, Begga was the older sister of St

Gertrude of Nivelles Gertrude of Nivelles, OSB (also spelled ''Geretrude'', ''Geretrudis'', ''Gertrud''; c. 628 – 17 March 659) was a seventh-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium. Life Family and childhood The ea ...

. She married Ansegisel, son of

Arnulf, Bishop of Metz Arnulf of Metz ( 582 – 645) was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia. He later retired to the Abbey of Remiremont. In French he is also known as Arnoul or Arnoulf. In English he is known as Arnold. G ...

, and had three children: Pepin of Heristal,

Martin of Laon Martin was the count of Laon in the late second half of the 7th century. After the assassination of King Dagobert II of Austrasia in 679, Count Martin (''dux Martinus'') and Pepin of Herstal were the leading noblemen of Austrasia and led the r ...

, and Clotilda of Heristal, who married

Theuderic III of the Franks Theuderic III (or Theuderich, Theoderic, or Theodoric; french: Thierry) (c. 651–691) was the king of Neustria (including Burgundy) on two occasions (673 and 675–691) and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king ...

. Ansegisel was killed sometime before 679, slain in a feud by his enemy Gundewin. Begga made a pilgrimage to Rome and upon her return, she took the

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...

, she had seven churches built at Andenne on the Meuse. There she spent the rest of her days as abbess. She was buried in Saint Begga's Collegiate Church in Andenne.

Veneration

She is commemorated on 17 December. Some hold that the

Beguine The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take forma ...

movement which came to light in the 12th century was actually founded by St Begga; and the church in the beguinage of

Lier, Belgium Lier (; french: Lierre, ) is a municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. It is composed of the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt. The city centre is surrounded by the river ''Nete'', a ...

, has a statue of St Begga standing above the inscription: ''St. Begga, our foundress''. The Lier beguinage dates from the 13th century. Another popular theory, however, claims that the Beguines derived their name from that of the priest

Lambert le Bègue Lambert le Bègue, also called Lambert li Bègues, (English: ''Lambert the Stutterer'') was a priest and reformer, who lived in Liège, Belgium, in the middle of the 12th century. Life Whether he was named "le Bègue" (the "Stammerer"), because ...

, under whose protection the witness and ministry of the Beguines flourished.McDonnell, ''Beguines and Beghards'', pp. 179, n. 51, & 430-31

Footnotes

References

*Andenn
History of Andenne, Belgium
* Attwater, Donald & John, Catherine Rachel. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993;
Saint Begga profile
catholic.org * Baix, F. "Begge," in ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques'', VII, ed. A. Baudrillart (Paris, 1934), cols. 441-48 * Heller, J., ed. ''Genealogiae ducum Brabantiae'' (Monumenta Germaniae Historica; SS, XXV), pp. 385–413, ref Genealogia ampliata, 1270 * Rousseau, Félix. "Le monastère mérovingien d'Andenne", ''À travers l'histoire de Namur, du Namurois et de la Wallonie. Recueil d'articles de Félix Rousseau (n.p., 1977), pp. 279–313

External links

Saint Begga at Saints.sqpn.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Begga 693 deaths Belgian saints Beguines and Beghards Christian royal saints Christian female saints of the Middle Ages 7th-century Frankish women Pippinids 7th-century Frankish saints People from Andenne 613 births

Life

Veneration

See also

Footnotes

References

External links