Arbogast of Strassburg; ; ; ; 600s) was a 7th-century missionary in the

Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...

and an early

Bishop of Strasbourg Archbishops

*Charles Amarin Brand (16 July 1984 – 23 October 1997) (with rank of archbishop from 1988) *Joseph Doré (23 October 1997 – 25 August 2006) *Jean-Pierre Grallet (21 April 2007 – 18 February 2017) *Luc Ravel (18 February 2017 ...

Biography

Only little historical facts of his life can be stated with certainty, other than that he came to Francia, was appointed

Bishop of Strasbourg Archbishops

and was venerated from the early medieval period as the saint who brought Christianity to the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. Because of this, the given name Arbogast became especially popular in the region. His origin is variously given as Scotland or Ireland,

Aquitania Gallia Aquitania (, ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France and the comarca of Val d'Aran in northeast Spain, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquit ...

Francia The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...

. According to the ''vita'', a 10th-century hagiographical account of his life, Arbogast found a warm friend in the Merovingian King Dagobert. On Dagobert's accession, Arbogast was appointed

Bishop of Strasbourg Archbishops

, and was famed for sanctity and miracles.Grattan-Flood, William. "St. Arbogast." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907 Still according to the ''vita'', Arbogast brought back to life Dagobert's son, Siegebert, who had been killed by a fall from his horse. Siegebert had been boar hunting with his father’s huntsmen in forests along the Ill River near Ebersheim, and became separated from the others. He encountered a boar, and his startled horse reared, throwing him and trampling him while his foot was caught in his stirrup. His companions found him and took him home, where he died the next day. King Dagobert summoned Arbogast, and the holy man prayed to Saint Mary, mother of Jesus: as she had carried the life of the entire world, would she not intercede for the life of this one boy? Siegebert stood up in his burial shroud. When the king offered bishop Arbogast money in reward, he declined, suggesting instead that land be donated to build a cathedral at Strasbourg. Arbogast built a small hermitage outside the city, on the banks of the River Ill to which he had frequent recourse.O'Hanlon, John. ''Lives of the Irish saints'', Vol. 6, 1873, p. 285
/ref> According to the ''vita'', he was buried outside of the city. He was buried either in the old Roman necropolis or on the side of Hangman's Hill, where a gallows was located and only malefactors were interred. The site of his burial was subsequently deemed suitable for a church, and a chapel to was built in honor of St Michael. Arbogast is commemorated on 21 July. Arbogast appears on the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

Batzendorf Batzendorf (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Bas-Rhin department The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of Fran ...

References

Sources

* * * Ward, Donald (translator), The German Legends of the Brothers Grimm, Vol. II, Institute for the Study of the Human Issues, Philadelphia (1981), legend 437.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arbogast Bishops of Strasbourg 7th-century births 7th-century deaths 7th-century Frankish bishops 7th-century Frankish saints Year of birth unknown Alsatian saints