Saint Bathilde (626-680)

	Statue of St. Bathilde, Queen of the Franks, from the Reines de France et Femmes illustres series in Paris.

Individual Events and Attributes

Additional Information

Marriage

	Tomb of Clovis II (foreground) and Charles Martel in Saint Denis Basilica

Individual Note 1

Saint Balthild of Ascania (Old English: Bealdhild, "bold battle"); c. 626 – January 30, 680), also called Bathilda, Baudour, or Bauthieult,[3] was the wife and queen of Clovis II, king of Burgundy and Neustria (639 – 658). Two traditions, independent and conflicting, trace what Wilhelm Levison accounted "truly an extraordinary career for an English slave sold to the Continent".[4] One is a hagiography which was intended to further her successful candidature for sainthood.[citation needed] The other is a record of chroniclers, confirmed by a chance archaeological find in an East Anglian field.[5] Balthild is also sometimes known by the unrelated name Varburgis.

Both traditions represent her as an Anglo-Saxon originally of elite birth, perhaps a relative of King Ricberht of East Anglia, the last pagan king there. Ricberht was ousted by his Christian rival Sigeberht, who had spent time in the Frankish court. He was established as the rightful heir to the throne with Frankish help. Balthild was sold into slavery as a young girl and served in the household of Erchinoald, mayor of the palace of Neustria to Clovis.

According to Vita S. Bathildis[6] Balthild was beautiful, intelligent, modest, and attentive to the needs of others. Erchinoald (whose wife had died) was attracted to Balthild and wanted to marry her, but she did not want to marry him. She hid herself away and waited until Erchinoald remarried. Next, King Clovis noticed her and, sometime in 649, asked for her hand in marriage. Balthild was nineteen when she became queen. Different versions of this story suggest Clovis was somewhere between the ages of twelve and sixteen at the time.

Even as queen, she remained humble and modest. She is famous for her charitable service and generous donations. From her donations, the abbeys of Corbie and Chelles were founded (and likely others such as those of Jumièges, Jouarre, and Luxeuil). She also provided support to Saint Claudius of Besançon and his abbey in the Jura Mountains.[7][8] She bore her husband three children, all of whom became kings: Clotaire, Childeric, and Theuderic.

When Balthild's husband died between 655 and 658, Clotaire, the eldest son and heir to the throne, succeeded at age five. Balthild served as the queen regent until he came of age in 664, when she was forced into a convent. As queen, she was a capable stateswoman. She abolished the practice of trading Christian slaves and even sought the freedom of children sold into slavery. As the story goes, after Balthild's three children were of age and "established in their respective territories" (Clotaire in Neustria, Childeric in Austrasia, and perhaps Theuderic in Burgundy), Balthild entered the abbey and gave up her royal rank. She dedicated the rest of her life to serving the poor and the infirm.

Balthild died on January 30, 680. She is buried at her foundation, the Abbey of Chelles outside of Paris. Her Vita was first written soon after her death, probably by one of the community of Chelles. The Vita Baldechildis/Vita Bathildis reginae Francorum in Monumenta Germania Historica, Scriptores Rerum Merovincarum 2, like most of the vitae of royal Merovingian-era saints, provides some useful details for the historian. Her official cult began when her remains were transferred from the former abbey to a new church, in 833, under the auspices of Louis the Pious. Balthild was canonised by Pope Nicholas I about 200 years after her death.

In the context of seventh-century culture it is clear that Balthild was simply the outright gift of Erchinoald to Clovis as a bedfellow,[9] though her hagiography emphasizes her chastity as a slave. Other Merovingian queens who arose from servile status are Fredegund, mother of Clothaire II; Bilichild, wife of Theudebert of Austrasia; and possibly Nanthild, mother of Clovis II. During the minority of Clotaire III she had to deal with the attempted coup of Grimoald, the major domus of Austrasia, but enjoyed the continued support of her former master Erchinoald.

According to the Vita Sancti Wilfrithi by Stephen of Ripon, she was a ruthless ruler, in continuing conflict with the bishops; she seems to have been responsible for several assassinations.[10] The vita of Saint Eligius by his companion Dado reports (ch. 32), "Then his widowed queen with her boys obtained the reign for a few years. She was afterward removed by law and left the principate to her sons..."[11] She was frustrated in her desire to have Eligius entombed at her monastery of Chelles (Eligius, vita, II.37). By an apparition of Eligius (II.41) she was convinced to strip off her gold and jewelled ornaments, "keeping nothing except gold bracelets."

A gold seal matrix, which was originally attached to a seal-ring, was uncovered in 1999 by a metal detector in a field a few miles east of Norfolk's county town, Norwich. It has two sides. The official side shows a woman's face and her name BALDAHILDIS in Frankish lettering. The private side shows two naked figures, a man and a woman, embracing one another beneath a cross.[12] In Merovingian Gaul, one seal identified official documents; the other, apparently, private ones.[13] Although Frankish Balthildis, or the Old English form Bealdhild, would not have been an exceptional name at the time, there is a good possibility that it refers to Balthild, wife of Clovis II.[14] It is uncertain why the object ended up in Norwich, but it may have been an honourable gift or if the identification is correct, a representative of Balthild's may have worn it to identify himself as such.[14] It has also been suggested that the seal matrix was returned to her kin after her death.[13] The seal matrix is conserved in the Norwich Castle Museum.[13]

The Roman martyrology says her feast day is January 26; France celebrates it January 30.January 30

NOTES:

1. Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0140513124.

2. US dict: bôl'·tild

3. Other names: Baldhild, Bautour, Bauduria, Bat(h)ilde (d'Ascagnie), Bathild, Bathildis, Balthilde, Batilda, Baltilda, Betilda, Bathylle, Badechild, Baldechild, Berthildis, etc.

4. Levison, England and the Continent in the Eighth Century (Oxford University Press) 1946:10.

5. David Keys, "Erotic royal seal shows Anglo-French entente", The Independent, 15 June 2003

6. Vita Sanctae Bathildis, probably written by a nun of Chelles, and translated and paraphrased in Sainted Women of the Dark Ages pp 264ff. (ref.).

7. Saint-Claude (Municipality, Jura, France)

8. Saint Claude

9. Joanna Story, Carolingian Connections: Anglo-Saxon England and Carolingian Francia, C. 750-870 (2003) p. 32.

10. Bede reported that Aunemundus, bishop of Lyon, was assassinated at her instigation in 658.

11. Medieval Sourcebook

12. Worldtimelines, with image

13. a b c British Archaeology April 2001, p. 26.

14. a b Leslie Webster, "57. Norwich area, Norfolk: Gold swivelling bezel from a Frankish seal-ring."

SOURCES:

Webster, Leslie. "57. Norwich area, Norfolk: Gold swivelling bezel from a Frankish seal-ring". Treasure Annual Report 1998 - 1999. Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/treasurerep_199899Pt3.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-31.

Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0140513124.

J.L. Nelson, "Queens as Jezebels: the careers of Brunhild and Balthild in Merovingian history" Medieval Women, D. Baker, ed. (1978) pp 31–77.

Jo Ann Macnamara, John E. Halborg, E. Gordon Whatley, Sainted Women of the Dark Ages, pp 264ff.

Alexander Callander Murray, ed. From Roman to Merovingian Gaul: A Reader (in series Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures), 1999. Chapter 14 ""Sanctity and politics in the time of Balthild and her sons"²

Individual Note 2

Wife of Clovis II, King of France, time and place of birth unknown; d. January; 680. According to some chronicles she came from England and was a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon kings, but this is a doubtful statement. It is certain that she was a slave in the service of the wife of Erchinoald, mayor of the palace of Neustria. Her unusual qualities of mind and her virtues inspired the confidence of her master who gave many of the affairs of the household into her charge and, after the death of his wife, wished to marry her. At this the young girl fled and did not return until Erchinoald had married again. About this time Clovis II met her at the house of the mayor of the palace, and was impressed by her beauty, grace, and the good report he had of her. He freed and married her, 649. This sudden elevation did not diminish the virtues of Bathilde but gave them a new lustre. Her humility, spirit of prayer, and large-hearted generosity to the poor were particularly noticeable.

Seven years after their marriage Clovis II died, 656, leaving Bathilde with three sons, Clothaire, Childeric, and Thierry. An assembly of the leading nobles proclaimed Clothaire III, aged five, king under the regency of his mother, Bathilde. Aided by the authority and advice of Erchinoald and the saintly bishops, Eloi (Eligius) of Noyon, Ouen of Rouen, Leéger of Autun, and Chrodebert of Paris, the queen was able to carry out useful reforms. She abolished the disgraceful trade in Christian slaves, and firmly repressed simony among the clergy. She also led the way in founding charitable and religious institutions, such as hospitals and monasteries. Through her generosity the Abbey of Corbey was founded for men, and the Abbey of Chelles near Paris for women. At about this date the famous Abbeys of Jumièges, Jouarre, and Luxeuil were established, most probably in large part through Bathilde's generosity. Berthilde, the first Abbess of Chelles, who is honoured as a saint, came from Jouarre. The queen wished to renounce her position and enter the religious life, but her duties kept her at court. Erchinoald died in 659 and was succeeded by Ebroin. Notwithstanding the ambition of the new mayor of the palace, the queen was able to maintain her authority and to use it for the benefit of the kingdom. After her children were well established in their respective territories, Childeric IV in Austrasia and Thierry in Burgundy, she returned to her wish for a secluded life and withdrew to her favourite Abbey of Chelles near Paris.

On entering the abbey she laid down the insignia of royalty and desired to be the lowest in rank among the inmates. It was her pleasure to take her position after the novices and to serve the poor and infirm with her own hands. Prayer and manual toil occupied her time, nor did she wish any allusion made to the grandeur of her past position. In this manner she passed fifteen years of retirement. At the beginning of the year 680 she had a presentiment of the approach of death and made religious preparation for it. Before her own end, that of Radegonde occurred, a child whom she had held at the baptismal font and had trained in Christian virtue. She was buried in the Abbey of Chelles and was canonized by Pope Nicholas I. The Roman martyrology places her feast on 26 January; in France it is celebrated 30 January.³

Sources