Saint Folcwin or Folcuin (;

Old Dutch In linguistics, Old Dutch ( Modern Dutch: ') or Old Low Franconian (Modern Dutch: ') is the set of dialects that evolved from Frankish spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from around the 6th Page 55: "''Uit de zesde eeu ...

: ''*Folkwin''; French: Folquin) (d. 15 December 855) was a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

abbot, cleric, and

Bishop of Thérouanne A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

(appointed 816).

Biography

Folcwin was born to

Hieronymus, son of Charles Martel Hieronymus (Jerome) (c. 722 - after 782), was the son of Charles Martel and his mistress, and so was the half-brother of Bernard, Abbot of St. Quentin, a key confidant of Louis the Pious, and Remigius, the third Archbishop of Rouen. In 754, Hiero ...

, and his wife Ercheswinda (Ermentrudis). He was appointed

bishop of Thérouanne A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

in 816 and confirmed by

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

; he was consecrated in 817 by the

Archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese w ...

, likely

Ebbo Ebbo, Ebo or Epo ( – 20 March 851) was the Archbishop of Rheims from 816 until 835 and again from 840 to 841. He was born a German serf on the royal demesne of Charlemagne. He was educated at his court and became the librarian and counc ...

. He seems to have remained loyal to Louis. Folcwin participated regularly in synods, including the synods of

Ingelheim am Rhein Ingelheim (), officially Ingelheim am Rhein (), is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. The town sprawls along the Rhine's left bank. It has been Mainz-Bingen's district seat since 1996. From the la ...

(840), Paris (846/7),

Quierzy Quierzy (), also known as Quierzy-sur-Oise (; formerly in , ''Carisiacum'', ''Charisagum'', ''Karisiacum''), is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France, straddling the Oise River between Noyon and Chauny. Hi ...

(849), and Soissons (853).

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...

appointed him as

Missus dominicus A ''missus dominicus'' (plural ''missi dominici''), Latin for "envoy of the lord uler, also known in Dutch as Zendgraaf ( German: ''Sendgraf''), meaning "sent Graf", was an official commissioned by the Frankish king or Holy Roman Emperor to sup ...

for one of the twelve West-Frankish ''missatica'', one which apparently overlapped mostly with his diocese. Folcwin was closely tied to the

Abbey of Saint Bertin The Abbey of Saint Bertin was a Benedictine monastic abbey in Saint-Omer, France. The buildings are now in ruins, which are open to the public. It was initially dedicated to but was rededicated to its second abbot, . The abbey is known for its ...

; in 843 he returned the relics of

Audomar Audomar (died 670), better known as Omer, was a bishop of Thérouanne, after whom nearby Saint-Omer in northern France was named. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Biography Audomar was born of a disti ...

(the founder of Bertin) to Sithiu (now

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Sa ...

). Archbishop

Hincmar Hincmar (; ; ; 806 – 21 December 882), archbishop of Reims, was a Frankish jurist and theologian, as well as the friend, advisor and propagandist of Charles the Bald. He belonged to a noble family of northern Francia. Biography Early life Hincm ...

of Reims asked Folwin for relics for the dedication of the altar in

Reims Cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims (; ; meaning "Our Lady of Reims"), known in English as Reims Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name, the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and wa ...

; with the Normans threatening, Folcwin sent off relics of Ss

Bertin Bertin (; 615 – ''c''. 709 AD), also known as Saint Bertin the Great, was the Frankish abbot of a monastery in Saint-Omer later named the Abbey of Saint Bertin after him. He is venerated as a saint by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The ...

and

Winnoc Winnoc (c. 640-c. 716/717) was an abbot or prior of Wormhout. Three lives of the saint are extant ( BHL 8952-4). The best of them is the first life, which was written by a monk of Bertin in the mid-9th century or perhaps a century earlier.

for security reasons. Folcuin died on 15 December 855 during an official visit to

Esquelbecq Esquelbecq (; from ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Its southern limit with Ledringhem is ''chemin de Rubrouck''. Population History In 1436, Wautier de Ghistelles was ''seigneur d'Ekelsbeke et de Ledringhem'' (L ...

. During his lifetime Charles the Bald seems to have already tried to forcefully appoint a successor; after his death, Hincmar made every effort to have his successor be appointed through a process originating in Thérouanne. Folcuin's remains were elevated on 16 November 928, and

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

in 1181. The earliest evidence of a cult is found in the work of his relative,

Folcuin Folcuin ( 935 – 16 September 990) was a monk at the abbey of Saint-Bertin, where he was a deacon and archivist, and later abbot of Lobbes. He wrote histories of the abbots of both his monasteries. The ''Gesta abbatum Sithiensium'' (Deeds ...

abbot of Lobbes Lobbes Abbey () was a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery in the municipality of Lobbes, Hainaut Province, Hainaut, Belgium. The abbey played an important role in the religious, political and religious life of the Prince-Bishopric of Li ...

, who produced the ''Gesta abbatum Sithiensium'' (or ''Gesta abbatum Sancti Bertini'', "Deeds of the Abbots of Saint-Bertin"), a combination of

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

and

cartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the fo ...

. Folcuin incorporates numerous charters from the abbey's archives into his historical narrative, which begins with the abbey's foundation around 650 and continues to 961/2. It was composed at the request of the lay abbot,

Adalolf Adelolf, Count of BoulogneHis name is variously spelled Adelulf, Adalulf, Adalolf, and, in French, Adalolphe; in Latin, Adalolphus. (died 933), was a younger brother of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders and was granted the County of Boulogne by his fat ...

. Evidence from a hagiographical manuscript from the time of abbot Odbert (986-1007) shows that Folcwin, along with

Silvin of Auchy Saint Silvinus or Silvin (c. 650 in Toulouse – 15 February 717 in Auchy) was an evangelist in the area of Thérouanne, which is now in northern France. Life Silvin was born of a notable family of the area of Toulouse and passed his first years ...

(whose body was in Saint-Bertin, after Arnulf I stole it from Auchy-les-Moines), Bertin, and Winnoc, was "fundamental to heinstitutional identity" of the monks in Saint-Bertin. Folcwin's name is found in liturgical manuals from the area by the beginning of the eleventh century. He is venerated in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

on 14 December, as well as the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

. The first part of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

of St Bertin's is credited to St Folquin. A review of his life was written during the next century by his grand nephew

, abbot of Lobbes, on request of Walter, abbot of Saint-Bertin.

References

{{Authority control French Roman Catholic saints 855 deaths

Biography

See also

References