Lambert of Maastricht, commonly referred to as Saint Lambert (;

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or , there was no overarching sta ...

: ''Sint-Lambrecht''; ; 636 – c. 705), was the bishop of Maastricht-Liège (

Tongeren Tongeren (; ; ; ) is a city and former municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the only Roman administrative capital wit ...

) from about 670 until his death. Lambert denounced Pepin's liaison with his mistress or bigamous wife

Alpaida Alpaida (also Alpaïde, Alpaide, Alphaida, Alpoïde, Elphide, Elfide, Alféïde, Chalpaida; 654 – c. 714) was a Frankish noblewoman who hailed from the Liège area. She became the second wife, concubine or mistress of Pepin of Herstal and mot ...

, the mother of

Charles Martel Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...

. The bishop was murdered during the political turmoil that developed when various families fought for influence as the Merovingian dynasty gave way to the Carolingians. He is considered a martyr for his defence of marriage. His feast day is September 17.

Life

Very little is known about the life of Lambert. According to the 14th-century chronicle-writer Jean d'Outremeuse he was the son of Apre, lord of

Loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British English, British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family (biolog ...

, and his wife Herisplindis, both from noble families of Maastricht. The child was baptized by his godfather, the local bishop

Remaclus Remaclus (Remaculus, Remacle, Rimagilus, also called Remaclus von Stablo; died 673) was a Benedictine missionary bishop who is venerated as a saint. For his life, see Vita Remacli Episcopi at Abbatis, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores ...

, and educated by Landoald, archpriest of the city and head of the noble abbey school in

Wintershoven Wintershoven is a village and a district in the municipality of Kortessem, in the province of Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), ...

. Lambert was related to the seneschal

Hugobert Hugobert (also Chugoberctus or Hociobercthus) (died probably in 697) was a seneschal and a count of the palace at the Merovingian court during the reigns of Theuderic III and Childebert III. He was a grandson of the ''dux'' Theotar, and it is assu ...

, the father of

Plectrude Plectrude (; ) (died 718) was the consort of Pepin of Herstal, the mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, from about 670. She was the daughter of Hugobert, seneschal of Clovis IV, and Irmina of Oeren. She was the regent of Neustria during t ...

, who was

Pepin of Herstal Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Franks, Frankish statesman and military leader who was the de facto ruler of Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke ...

's lawful wife. He was thus an in-law of hereditary

mayors of the palace Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo, ( or ) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He ...

who controlled the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

kings of

Austrasia Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...

. Lambert appears to have frequented the Merovingian court of King

Childeric II Childeric II ( 653 – 675) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks in the 7th century. He ruled Austrasia from 662 and Neustria and Kingdom of Burgundy, Burgundy from 673 until his death, making him sole king for the final two years o ...

, and was a protégé of his uncle,

Theodard :''Theodard was also the murdered bishop Theodard of Maastricht.'' Saint Theodard () (ca. 840–1 May, ca. 893) was an archbishop of Narbonne. He may have been born to the nobility and served as a subdeacon at a church council at Toulouse. ...

, who succeeded Remaclus as bishop of Maastricht. He is described by early biographers as “a prudent young man of pleasing looks, courteous and well-behaved in his speech and manners, well-built, strong, a good fighter, clear-headed, affectionate, pure and humble, and fond of reading.” When Theodard was murdered soon after 669, the councillors of Childeric made Lambert bishop of Maastricht."Who is St. Lambert", St. Benedict Priory
/ref> After Childeric himself was murdered in 675, the faction of

Ebroin Ebroin (died 680 or 681) was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681. In a violent and despotic career, he strove to impose the ...

, ''majordomo'' of

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day ...

and the power behind that throne, expelled him from his see, in favor of their candidate, Faramundus. Lambert spent seven years in exile at the recently founded

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 ...

(674–681). With a change in the turbulent political fortunes of the time, Pepin of Herstal became mayor of the palace and Lambert was allowed to return to his see.Albers, Petrus Henricus. "St. Lambert." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 26 August 2017 In company with

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop, and missionary. He became the first Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580), Bishop of Utrecht in what is now the Netherlands, dying at Echternach in Luxembourg, and ...

, who had come from England in 691, Lambert preached the gospel in the lower stretches of the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

, in the area to the north. In conjunction with

Landrada Landrada of Austrasia (also called Leandra, died between and 708Baring-Gould, p. 191) was a German saint and ascetic. She co-founded Munsterbilsen Abbey, which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Landrada's feast day is 8 July. She is the patron ...

he founded a convent at Munsterblizen.Arduino, Fabio. "San Lamberto of Maastricht", Santi e Beati, September 15, 2006
/ref> Lambert was also the spiritual director of the young noble Hubertus, eldest son of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine. Hubertus would later succeed Lambert as bishop of Maastricht. Lambert seems to have succumbed to the political turmoil that developed when various clans fought for influence as the Merovingian dynasty gave way to the Carolingians. Historian Jean-Louis Kupper says that the bishop was the victim of a private struggle between two clans seeking to control the Tongres-Maastricht see. Lambert is said to have denounced Pepin's adulterous liaison with

, who was to become the mother of

. This aroused the enmity of either Pepin, Alpaida, or both. The bishop was murdered at Liège by the troops of Dodon, Pepin's ''domesticus'' (manager of state domains), father or brother of Alpaida. The year of his death varies between sources, but is taken to be between 705 and 709. Lambert came to be viewed as a martyr for his defence of marital fidelity. Lambert's two nephews, Peter and Audolet, were also killed defending their uncle. They too, were viewed as saints. Many historians however question the accuracy of the relationship between Alpaida and Dodon, due to that claim appearing much later. Although Lambert was buried at Maastricht, his successor as bishop, Hubertus, translated his relics to Liège, to which the see of Maastricht was eventually moved. To enshrine Lambert's

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

s, Hubertus built a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

near Lambert's residence which became St. Lambert's Cathedral That cathedral was torn down starting in 1794 (its site is the modern ''Place Saint-Lambert''), with Lambert's tomb being relocated to the

Liège Cathedral Liège Cathedral, otherwise St. Paul's Cathedral (), is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic cathedral in Liège, Belgium. Founded in the 10th century, it was rebuilt from the 13th to the 15th century and restored in the mid-19th century. It became ...

, in which it still resides. LamBo3

Patronage

Lambert is the patron of the city of

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

and of

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, where a relic of his head is located since 1190. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

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 ...

calendar is 17 September. The ''Lambertusfest'' in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

has long been a folk holiday, celebrated for two weeks culminating on the eve of 17 September. Children build "Lambertus pyramids" of branches, decorated with lanterns and lamps around which they dance and sing traditional songs (known as ''Lambertussingen'' or ''Käskenspiel''). A few churches in Germany and Belgium are dedicated to Saint Lambert.

Relics

Lambert's relics in Liège are kept in four glass jars, which in turn are held in a red box, which also holds documents related to previous examinations of the relics (done in 1896, 1938 and 1985, according to the Liège diocese). In October of 2023, they were opened again, and this time a medical investigation was to be done as well.

References

External links

''Das Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon'':
Lambert (Lantpert) von Maastricht (von Lüttich) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert Of Maastricht 636 births 705 deaths 7th-century Frankish nobility 8th-century Frankish saints Belgian Roman Catholic saints Dutch Roman Catholic saints 8th-century Frankish bishops People from Maastricht Bishops of Liège