Halitgar (Halitgarius, Halitcharius, Halitgaire, Aligerio) was a ninth-century bishop of Cambrai (in office 817–831). He is known also as an apostle to the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

, and the writer of a widely known penitential.

Life

In 822 he travelled to Denmark as a missionary with

Ebbo of Rheims Ebbo or Ebo ( – 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 council ...

and

Willeric of Bremen Willerich (*unknown – 4 May? 838*) was the second bishop of Bremen in Germany; or, according to some, the first, his predecessor Willehad being just a missionary in the area, and the diocese set up after his death. He was consecrated in 804 or 805 ...

, though not to great immediate effect. In 823 he dedicated the church and relics of St Ursmer at Lobbes. In 825, with Amalarius of Metz, he carried the conclusions of a Paris synod on iconoclasm to Louis the Pious. He went as ambassador to

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

in 828.

De Paenitentia

His ''De Paenitentia'' laid down qualities Christians should aspire to in their lives. He discussed a distinction between killing in warfare (a sin), and in self-defense in battle. Heavy penances for homosexual acts were imposed on older men. The work is also a source for information about surviving

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

practices. It was written in five volumes, at Ebbo's request.New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. II: Basilica - Chambers , Christian Classics Ethereal Library
/ref> Ebbo's intention was to have a normative penitential; Halitgar set aside tariffs of

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

s for exhortations.

Henry Charles Lea Henry Charles Lea (September 19, 1825 – October 24, 1909) was an American publisher, civic activist, philanthropist and historian from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He took over the family publishing business from his father, Isaac Lea, and impl ...

, ''A History of Auricular Confession and Indulgences in the Latin Church'' I (1896), p. 105. This work and the two attributed to

Hrabanus Maurus Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of t ...

were considered to supersede those written before, and were very influential, particularly in pre-Norman England. At this point, "the books used by confessors began to consist more and more of instructions in the style of the later moral theology". His sources have been much debated: *material from Gregory the Great, Prosper of Aquitaine, the ''Collectio Acheriana'' *the

Canons of Elvira The Synod of Elvira ( la, Concilium Eliberritanum, es, Concilio de Elvira) was an ecclesiastical synod held at Elvira in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica, now Granada in southern Spain.. Its date has not been exactly determined but is belie ...

and other old collections * Julianus Pomerius *a source common to Halitgar, the ''Collectio quadripartita'', and the penitential writings of Hrabanus Maurus.''Ghostly Recensions in Early Medieval Canon Law: The Problem of the Collectio Dacheriana and its Shades'', The Legal History Review, Volume 68, Numbers 1-2, January, 2000

References

*''Die altenglische Version des Halitgar'schen Bussbuches : (sog. Poenitentiale pseudo-Ecgberti)'', Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1964 *Raymund Kottje (1980), ''Die Bussbucher Halitgars von Cambrai und des Hrabanus Maurus: Ihre Uberlieferung und ihre Quellen''

Notes

{{Authority control Bishops in the Carolingian Empire Bishops of Cambrai Writers from the Carolingian Empire 9th-century Latin writers Ambassadors to the Byzantine Empire