Walaric
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Saint Walaric, modern French Valery (died 620), was a
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...
monk turned hermit who founded the . His cult was recognized in
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
and
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.


Life

Walaric was born in the
Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...
to a peasant family. Taught to read at a young age, he abandoned the occupation of tending sheep to join the abbey of Autumo. He later moved on to the abbey of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre and finally the
abbey of Luxeuil Luxeuil Abbey (), the ''Abbaye Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul'', was one of the oldest and best-known monasteries in Franche-Comté, located in what is now the département of Haute-Saône in Franche-Comté, France. History Columbanus The abbey was f ...
under the famous abbot
Columbanus Saint Columbanus (; 543 – 23 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in presen ...
. At Luxeuil he was renowned for his horticultural skills. His ability to protect his vegetables from insects was regarded as miraculous.David Hugh Farmer, "Walaric (Waleric, Valery) (d. 620)", ''The Oxford Dictionary of Saints'', 5th rev. ed. (Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 441. When
Theuderic II Theuderic II (also spelled Theuderich, Theoderic or Theodoric; in French, ''Thierry'') ( 587–613), king of Burgundy (595–613) and Austrasia (612–613), was the second son of Childebert II. At his father's death in 595, he received Guntram's ...
, king of
Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
(), expelled Columbanus from his domains, Walaric and a fellow monk named Waldolanus left the kingdom to preach the gospel in
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, according to tradition, the
Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...
. He eventually settled down as a hermit at a place called Leuconay near the mouth of the
Somme River The Somme ( , ; ) is a river in Picardy, northern France. The river is in length, from its source in the high ground of the former at Fonsomme near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme, in the English Channel. It lies in the geologica ...
. A community of disciples grew up around him. After his death, his successor Blitmund (Blimont) built a monastery for the community, which came to bear Walaric's name. The village that developed around the monastery still does:
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme Saint-Valery-sur-Somme (, literally ''Saint-Valery on Somme''; ), commune in the Somme department, is a seaport and resort on the south bank of the River Somme estuary. The town's medieval character and ramparts, its Gothic church and long water ...
.


Memory

A biography ( saint's life) of Walaric was composed in the 11th century. It was wrongly attributed to a certain Raginbertus. The so-called "Valerian prophecy" was a legend originating in Walaric's abbey and the abbey of
Saint-Riquier Saint-Riquier (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated northeast of Abbeville, on the D925 and D32 crossroads. Abbey Saint-Riquier (originally ''Centula'' or ''Centul ...
intended to refute the claims of the early 11th-century ''
Historia Francorum Senonensis The ''Historia Francorum Senonensis'' ("History of the Franks of Sens") is a short anonymous Latin chronicle of the Frankish kings from 688 down to 1015. It was written at Sens before 1034 and is hostile towards the Capetian dynasty that had taken ...
'' that the Capetian dynasty were illegitimate usurpers. According to the legend, Walaric appeared in a vision to
Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; ; 941 – 24 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as t ...
(), the first Capetian, and thanked him for rescuing his body from the
Carolingians The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid ...
. He prophesied that the
kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...
would belong to Hugh's heirs "until the seventh generation". Interpreted figuratively, the number seven signified perfection and thus eternity; interpreted literally, it meant that the
Philip Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...
() would be the last Capetian.John W. Baldwin, ''The Government of Philip Augustus: Foundations of French Royal Power in the Middle Ages'' (University of California Press, 1986), p. 370. Cures were claimed from an early date at Walaric's tomb. Duke
William II of Normandy William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
had Walaric's relics put on public display and invoked his name in a prayer for a favourable wind for his invasion of England. The invasion fleet sailed from Saint-Valery-sur-Somme in 1066. Walaric's cult thus spread to England, where a chapel in
Alnmouth Alnmouth () is a coastal village in Northumberland, England, situated east-south-east of Alnwick. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 Census was 562, reducing to 445 at the 2011 Census. Located at the mouth of the River Aln, the vil ...
was dedicated to him in the 12th century. 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 ...
was celebrated on 1 April in
Chester Abbey Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint ...
and
Croyland Abbey Crowland Abbey (historically often spelled Croyland Abbey; Latin: ) is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire. It is a Grade I listed building. History A ...
. King
Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...
() transferred his relics from Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to
Saint-Valery-en-Caux Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Pays de Caux, Caux'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. The ad ...
. His translation (transfer of relics) was celebrated in Chester and Croyland on 12 December. His abbey in Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, however, later recovered his relics. The English village of
Hinton Waldrist Hinton Waldrist is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, England. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The village is between Oxford and Faringdon, southwest of Oxford. The p ...
is named after its 12th-century lord, Thomas de Saint-Valery.


Notes


References


External links


Walric at ''Catholic Online''
{{authority control 620 deaths 7th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown Colombanian saints