6th or 7th-century Frankish bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht
Gondulph
(Latin:
Gondulfus, Gundulphus
, perhaps also
Bethulphus
)
of Maastricht
, sometimes
of Tongeren
(6th/7th century AD) was a
bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht
venerated as a
Roman Catholic
and
Eastern Orthodox
saint. Together with Saint Servatius and Saint Monulph, he is one of the patron saints of the city of
Maastricht
.
Legend
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Very few facts are known about Gondulph of Maastricht. According to a legend, his parents were
Munderic
and Arthemia. He was married to Palatina, only known child of Maurilion Gallo, a Gallo-Roman aristocrat with likely ties to the
Merovingian
court.
[
citation needed
]
By some reconstructions, the couple had a son named Bodegisel II, who became
Duke of Aquitaine
.
[
citation needed
]
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
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
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According to some 11th century sources Gondulph's predecessor
Monulph
transferred the
episcopal see
from
Tongeren
to
Maastricht
. 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
Liege
.
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
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
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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
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 Liege
and
Gerard of Florennes, Bishop of Cambrai
, in the presence of
Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor
. An
epitaph
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
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