Sadalberga (or Salaberga) (c. 605 – c. 670) was the daughter of

Gundoin, Duke of Alsace Gundoin was the first Duke of Alsace in the middle of the seventh century. He was a Franks, Frankish nobleman from the Meuse-Moselle basin. He was, according to the author of the ''Vita Sadalbergae'', an "illustrious man (''vir inluster''), opulent ...

and his wife Saretrude. Sadalberga founded the Abbey of St John at

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...

. She is the subject of a short hagiography, the '' Vita Sadalbergae''.

Life

Gundoin of Alsace was on close terms with Waldebert, a Frankish nobleman who later became abbot of

Luxeuil Luxeuil-les-Bains () is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Saône Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté west of Mulhouse in eastern France. History Luxeuil (sometimes rendered Lux ...

. Waldebert would come to guide Sadalberga in her monastic endeavors.Fox, Yaniv. ''Power and Religion in Merovingian Gaul'', Cambridge University Press, 2014
According to her anonymous ''vita'', Gundoin had extended hospitality to Waldebert's predecessor, Eustace of Luxeuil upon the Abbot's return from Bavaria, and Eustace had cured the child Sadalberga of blindness. Her brother Leudinus Bodo became

Bishop of Toul The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire. History The diocese was erect ...

. Although she was drawn to religious life, her parents forced her to marry. Her first husband, Richramn, died after two months. Between 629 and 631, Gundoin removed the widowed Sadalberga from her convent of Remiremont and sought to marry her to a courtier of Dagobert I, at the king's insistence. Then she was wed to a nobleman, Blandinus, a close counselor of King Dagobert. She had five children, Saretrude, Ebana, Anstrudis, Eustasius (died in infancy), and Baldwin (Baudoin). Her husband Blandinus and two of her children, Baldwin (feast day October 16) and Anstrudis, became saints. Sadalberga's brother was Leudinus Bodo (d. 670). After some years, she and Blandinus agreed mutually to separate and assume contemplative lives. He became a hermit and she went into a nunnery at Poulangey, accompanied by Anstrudis. Encouraged by Waldebert, Salaberga founded the abbey of St. John the Baptist at

. One of her kinsman had been bishop there, and his successor supported her efforts. She died there c. 670, and was succeeded as abbess by her daughter, Anstrudis.Le Jan, Regine. "Convents, Violence and Competition for Power on Francia", ''Topographies of Power in the Early Middle Ages'', (Frans Theuws, Mayke B. de Jong, and Carine Van Rhijn eds.), p. 250, Brill, 2001

Notes

{{Authority control 7th-century Frankish women 670 deaths 7th-century Frankish saints Year of birth uncertain Christian female saints of the Middle Ages Colombanian saints

Life

See also

Notes