Lambert of Maastricht, commonly referred to as Saint Lambert ( la, Lambertus;

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarc ...

: ''Sint-Lambrecht''; li, Lambaer, Baer, Bert(us); 636 – c. 705 AD) was the bishop of Maastricht-Liège (

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 ...

) from about 670 until his death. Lambert denounced Pepin's liaison with his mistress

Alpaida Alpaida (also Alpaïde, Alpaide, Alphaida, Alpoïde, Elphide, Elfide, Chalpaida; 654 – c. 714) was a Frankish noblewoman who hailed from the Liège area. She became the wife of Pippin of Herstal (635 or 640 – 16 December 714) and mother to ...

, the mother 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 statesm ...

. The bishop was murdered during the political turmoil that developed when various families fought for influence as the Merovingian dynasty gave way to the Carolingians. He is considered a martyr for his defence of marriage. His feast day is September 17.

Life

Very little is known about the life of Lambert. According to the 14th-century chronicle-writer

Jean d'Outremeuse Jean d'Outremeuse or ''Jean des Preis'' (1338 in Liège – 1400) was a writer and historian who wrote two romanticised historical works and a lapidary. ''La Geste de Liége'' is an account of the mythical history of his native city, Liège, writt ...

he was the son of Apre, lord of Loon, and his wife Herisplindis, both from noble families of Maastricht. The child was baptized by his godfather, the local bishop

Remaclus Saint Remaclus (Remaculus, Remacle, Rimagilus; died 673) was a Benedictine missionary bishop. Life Remaclus grew up at the Aquitanian ducal court and studied under Sulpitius the Pious, bishop of Bourges. In 625 he became a monk at Luxeuil Abbe ...

, and educated by Landoald, archpriest of the city and head of the noble abbey school in

Wintershoven Kortessem (; li, Kotsoeve) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. On January 1, 2006, Kortessem had a total population of 8,074. The total area is 33.90 km² which gives a population density of 238 inhabit ...

. Lambert was related to the seneschal

Hugobert Hugobert (also Chugoberctus or Hociobercthus) (died probably in 697) was a seneschal and a count of the palace at the Merovingian court during the reigns of Theuderic III and Childebert III. He was a grandson of the ''dux'' Theotar, and it is ass ...

, the father of

Plectrude Plectrude ( la, Plectrudis; german: Plektrud, Plechtrudis) (died 718) was the consort of Pepin of Herstal, the mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, from about 670. She was the daughter of Hugobert, seneschal of Clovis IV, and Irmina o ...

, who was

Pepin of Herstal Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the Fr ...

's lawful wife. He was thus an in-law of hereditary mayors of the palace who controlled 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 ...

kings of Austrasia. Lambert appears to have frequented the Merovingian court of King

Childeric II Childeric II (c. 653 – 675) was the king of Austrasia from 662 and of Neustria and Burgundy from 673 until his death, making him sole King of the Franks for the final two years of his life. Childeric was the second eldest son of King Clovis ...

, and was a protégé of his uncle, Theodard, who succeeded Remaclus as bishop of Maastricht. He is described by early biographers as “a prudent young man of pleasing looks, courteous and well-behaved in his speech and manners, well-built, strong, a good fighter, clear-headed, affectionate, pure and humble, and fond of reading.” When Theodard was murdered soon after 669, the councillors of Childeric made Lambert bishop of Maastricht."Who is St. Lambert", St. Benedict Priory
/ref> After Childeric himself was murdered in 675, the faction of Ebroin, ''majordomo'' of

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks. Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It late ...

and the power behind that throne, expelled him from his see, in favor of their candidate, Faramundus. Lambert spent seven years in exile at the recently founded Abbey of Stavelot (674–681). With a change in the turbulent political fortunes of the time, Pepin of Herstal became mayor of the palace and Lambert was allowed to return to his see.Albers, Petrus Henricus. "St. Lambert." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 26 August 2017 In company with

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary and saint, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands. He became the first bishop of Utrecht and died at Echternach, Luxembourg. Early life His fath ...

, who had come from England in 691, Lambert preached the gospel in the lower stretches of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

, in the area to the north. In conjunction with Landrada he founded a convent at Munsterblizen.Arduino, Fabio. "San Lamberto of Maastricht", Santi e Beati, September 15, 2006
/ref> Lambert was also the spiritual director of the young noble

Hubertus Hubertus or Hubert ( 656 – 30 May 727 A.D.) was a Christian saint who became the first bishop of Liège in 708 A.D. He is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers. Known as the "Apostle of the Ardennes", he w ...

, eldest son of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine. Hubertus would later succeed Lambert as bishop of Maastricht. Lambert seems to have succumbed to the political turmoil that developed when various clans fought for influence as the Merovingian dynasty gave way to the Carolingians. Historian Jean-Louis Kupper says that the bishop was the victim of a private struggle between two clans seeking to control the Tongres-Maastricht see. Lambert is said to have denounced Pepin's adulterous liaison with

, who was to become the mother of

. This aroused the enmity of either Pepin, Alpaida, or both. The bishop was murdered at Liège by the troops of

Dodon Dodon may refer to * Dodon (farm), a farm and former tobacco plantation in Maryland, U.S. * Dodon, Kyrgyzstan, a village in Kyrgyzstan * L'Isle-en-Dodon, a commune in France * Lac Dodon, an iron meteorite discovered in Canada * Igor Dodon (born ...

, Pepin's ''domesticus'' (manager of state domains), father or brother of Alpaida. The year of his death is variously given for some time between 705 and 709. Lambert came to be viewed as a martyr for his defence of marital fidelity. Lambert's two nephews, Peter and Audolet, were also killed defending their uncle. They too, were viewed as saints. Many historians however question the accuracy of the relationship between Alpaida and Dodon, due to that claim appearing much later. Although Lambert was buried at Maastricht, his successor as bishop, Hubertus, translated his relics to Liège, to which the see of Maastricht was eventually moved. To enshrine Lambert's relics, Hubertus, built a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

near Lambert's residence which became the true nucleus of the city. The shrine became St. Lambert's Cathedral, destroyed in 1794. Its site is the modern ''Place Saint-Lambert''. Lambert's tomb is now located in the present

Liège Cathedral Liège Cathedral, otherwise St. Paul's Cathedral, Liège, in Liège, Belgium, is part of the religious heritage of Liège. Founded in the 10th century, it was rebuilt from the 13th to the 15th century and restored in the mid-19th century. It beca ...

. The Cathedral of Our Lady and St. Lambert in Liège was built in his honor. LamBo3

Patronage

Lambert is the patron of the city of Liège.Monks of Ramsgate. “Lambert of Maestricht”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 23 August 2016
/ref> His feast day in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

calendar is 17 September. The ''Lambertusfest'' in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

has long been a folk holiday, celebrated for two weeks culminating on the eve of 17 September. Children build "Lambertus pyramids" of branches, decorated with lanterns and lamps around which they dance and sing traditional songs (known as ''Lambertussingen'' or ''Käskenspiel''). A few churches in Germany and Belgium are dedicated to Saint Lambert.

References

External links

''Das Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon'':
Lambert (Lantpert) von Maastricht (von Lüttich) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert Of Maastricht 636 births 705 deaths 7th-century Frankish nobility 8th-century Frankish saints Belgian Roman Catholic saints Dutch Roman Catholic saints 8th-century Frankish bishops People from Maastricht Bishops of Liège