Saint Poppo (

Deinze Deinze () is a city and a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It comprises the city of Deinze, and the towns of Astene, Bachte-Maria-Leerne, Gottem, Grammene, Hansbeke, Landegem, Meigem, Merendree, Nevele, Petegem-aan-de-Lei ...

, 977 –

Marchiennes Marchiennes () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It was fictionally portrayed in Émile Zola's Germinal. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes ...

, 25 January 1048) was a knight of

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

descent who turned to a

monastic Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

life after experiencing a spiritual conversion. He became one of the best known

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

s of

Stavelot Stavelot (; ; ) is a town and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Francorchamps and Stavelot. It is best known as the home of Spa-Francorchamps Circuit a ...

and was one of the first recorded

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

s to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

. Liturgically, he is commemorated on 25 January.

Biography

The ''Vita Popponis'', the biography of Poppo, was written shortly after his death by the monk Onulf and the abbot Everhelm of the Abbey of Hautmont. According to this source, Poppo belonged to a noble family of Flanders; his parents being Tizekinus and Adalwif. Around the year 1000, he made a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

to the

with two companions. Soon after this he also went to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He was about to marry a lady of noble family, when a flame suddenly burst out of the sky late at night and kept his lance radiating. Poppo believed this to be an illumination of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

, and soon after, he decided to enter the monastery of Saint Thierry at

Rheims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

in 1005. Around 1008, Abbot Richard of Saint Vannes at

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

, a reformer of monasteries, took Poppo to his monastery. Richard made Poppo prior of St. Vaast in

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

, in the

Diocese of Cambrai The Archdiocese of Cambrai (; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Cambrai'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France, comprising the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Helpe, Cambrai, Dou ...

, at around 1013. This job consisted of reclaiming the monastery's lands from

vassals A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

and securing the possession of the monastery by deeds. Sometime before 1016, he was appointed to the same position at Vasloges (''Beloacum'', Beaulieu) in the

Diocese of Verdun The Diocese of Verdun (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Besançon. The Diocese of Verdun co ...

. In 1020, the German emperor

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

appointed Poppo Abbot of the Abbeys of Stavelot and Malmedy (in

Lower Lorraine The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as '' Lothier'' or '' Lottier''

, now

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

). In 1023, Poppo also received the Abbey of St. Maximin at

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

.Uta-Renate Blumenthal (1991), ''The Investiture Controversy'', , page
42–3
/ref> Poppo became even more important during the reign of

Conrad II Conrad II (, – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdom ...

. From St. Maximin, the Cluniac reform now found its way into the German monasteries. The emperor placed several imperial monasteries under Poppo's control or supervision, such as Limburg an der Hardt,

Echternach Echternach (, ; or locally ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in Luxembourg. History The town grew around the Abbey of Echt ...

, St. Gislen, Weissenburg,

St. Gall Gall (; 550 645) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. However, he may have originally come from the border region betwe ...

, Hersfeld, Waulsort,

Hautmont Hautmont () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is southwest of the centre of Maubeuge, and has 14,500 residents. On 3 August 2008 a narrow but strong F4 tornado swept through the town, as well as Maubeuge, Neuf-Mesn ...

and Hastières.Timothy Reuter et al (2000), ''The New Cambridge Medieval History'',
page 182
/ref> Soon after Poppo transferred these positions to his pupils and family members, the bishops and laymen who had founded these monasteries placed a series of other monasteries under his care, including St. Laurence at Liège, St. Vincent at Metz, St. Eucharius at Trier, Hohorst,

Brauweiler Brauweiler is a part of Pulheim, west of Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The former Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic ...

, St. Vaast and

. However, the reform of

Richard of Saint-Vanne Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and i ...

had no permanent success in the German Empire. Poppo practiced the most severe

asceticism Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...

. He had no interest in literary affairs, lacked management capacities, and was not prominent in politics. During the reign of Henry III he lost influence. Poppo died while staying at the Abbey of Marchiennes and was buried in the

Abbey of Stavelot The Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, also Principality of Stavelot-Malmedy, sometimes known with its German name Stablo, was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Princely power was exercised by the Benedictine abbot of t ...

Notes

External links

Poppo
at

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

online
Poppo at Patron Saints IndexSaint of the Day, January 25: ''Poppo of Stavelot''
at ''SaintPatrickDC.org''
Dutch history article about Deinze
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poppo of Stavelot 977 births 1048 deaths 11th-century Christian saints Abbots of Stavelot Belgian Roman Catholic saints People from Deinze 11th-century Christian abbots