Lebuinus (also known as Lebuin, Lebwin or Liafwin ''; died 775) was a medieval Christian monk who is the Apostle of the

Frisians The Frisians () are an ethnic group indigenous to the German Bight, coastal regions of the Netherlands, north-western Germany and southern Denmark. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland an ...

and patron saint of the city of

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He was born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

parents, date unknown, and died at Deventer about 775.

Life

Lebuinus was a monk in

Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and beca ...

's monastery at

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

. Inspired by the examples of

Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop, and missionary. He became the first Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580), Bishop of Utrecht in what is now the Netherlands, dying at Echternach in Luxembourg, and ...

, and other great English missionaries, he resolved to devote his life to the conversion of the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

. After his ordination, he proceeded in 754 to

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, and was welcomed by

Gregory Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname *Gregory (The Walking Dead), fictional character from the walkin ...

, acting bishop of that place, who entrusted him with the mission of

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

on the borders of

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

, and gave him a companion - Marchelm (or Marcellinus), a disciple of Willibrord. Lebuinus preached the Gospel among the tribes of the district, and erected a little chapel at Wilp (see:

Voorst Voorst () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. Population centres * Appen, Netherlands, Appen (near a wood where nice walks can be taken) * Bussloo (with a recreation centre with a small l ...

) (''Wilpa'') on the west bank of the

IJssel The IJssel (; ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. It more immediatel ...

. His venerable personality and deep learning quickly won many to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, even among the nobles, and it soon became necessary to build at Deventer on the east bank of the river a larger church. However, Lebuinus's great success aroused hostility among the pagans. Ascribing his conversions to witchcraft, they formed an alliance with the anti-Christian

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

, burned the church at Deventer and dispersed the converts. After escaping with difficulty, Lebuinus determined to voice the claims of Christianity at the national assembly (''Allthing'') of the Saxons at

Marklo Marklo was, according to the '' Vita Lebuini antiqua'', an important source for early Saxon history, the tribal capital of the Saxons in which they held an annual council to "confirm laws, give judgment on outstanding cases, and determine by common ...

near the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

(Northwestern Germany). The ''Vitae'' of Lebuinus describes in great details, his appearance before the assembly, where, it is claimed, he pointed out to the Saxons the inefficacy of their deities. It also describes how he warned them of impending destruction at the hands of a powerful king unless they converted to Christianity. With the intercession of the nobleman Buto, he persuaded them sufficiently of the power of his mission that they not only allowed him to escape with his life, but allowed him to preach unmolested in the territory allotted him. His life may have been a source of inspiration in the creation of the cultus of

Livinus Saint Livinus (''c''. 580 – 12 November 657), also Livinus of Ghent, was an apostle in Flanders and Brabant, venerated as a saint and martyr in the Catholic tradition and more especially at the Saint Bavo Chapel, Ghent. His feast day is 12 N ...

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Death

On his return to Friesland, Lebuinus rebuilt the church at Deventer where he was later buried."Lebuinus", The Medieval Liturgy of the Low Countries
/ref> The exact date of his death is unknown, however it is almost certain that it occurred before 776, because during that year, the Saxons attacked and burnt the church at Deventer and yet could not identify his remains inside of the church after three days. His body and a copy of the Gospels presumed to have been written by his hand were still in Deventer, in a church bearing his name, until 882 when it was again destroyed by the Normans. The relics of St. Livinus (whose feast also is on 12 November) are probably those of Lebuinus. Saint Ludger rebuilt the church a few years later, and in doing so rediscovered the saint's remains beneath the site.

Veneration

* Lebuinus is commemorated by the Church on 12 November, mostly in the

. * The

Lebuïnuskerk, Deventer The Great Church or St. Lebuinus Church () is the main church building of the Dutch city of Deventer, Netherlands. Overview It is a Gothic hall church, built between 1450 and 1525. Originally consecrated to the English missionary Lebuinus, it w ...

was consecrated in his name.

References

;Attribution * *

Primary sources

*''Lives'' of St Lebuinus: **''Vita (Lebuini) antiqua'', earliest ''Life'' (9th or early 10th century) ***ed. ***tr.

**Hucbald of Saint-Amand, ''Vita Lebuini'' (between 918 and 930). ***ed. ; ed. ''

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published betwe ...

'' 132, pp. 877–94; MGH Scriptores 2, pp. 360–4, in abbreviated form. ***tr. **15th-century ''Life'' ***ed. M. Coens, 'Vie de S. Lebuin', in: Analecta bollandiana, 34/35 (1915-1916) 319–330. *Radbod, ''Ecloga et Sermo'' (on Lebuinus), in Surius, VI, 839 *

Altfrid Saint Altfrid (or Altfrid of Hildesheim) (died 15 August 874) was a leading figure in Germany in the ninth century. A Benedictine monk, he became Bishop of Hildesheim, and founded Essen Abbey. He was also a close adviser to the East Frankish Kin ...

, ''Vita Liutgeri'' in MGH Scriptores, II, 360 sqq.

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