Difference between revisions of "Saint Boniface" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Infobox Saint
 
{{Infobox Saint
 
|name=Saint Boniface of [[Mainz]]/[[Fulda]]/[[Dokkum]]
 
|name=Saint Boniface of [[Mainz]]/[[Fulda]]/[[Dokkum]]
|birth_date=c. [[672]]
+
|birth_date=c. 672
 
|death_date={{death date|754|6|5|mf=y}}
 
|death_date={{death date|754|6|5|mf=y}}
|feast_day=[[June 5]]
+
|feast_day=June 5
 
|venerated_in=[[Roman Catholic Church]], [[Lutheran Church]], [[Anglican Communion]]
 
|venerated_in=[[Roman Catholic Church]], [[Lutheran Church]], [[Anglican Communion]]
 
|image=SaintBoniface.jpg
 
|image=SaintBoniface.jpg
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|prayer_attrib=Saint Boniface
 
|prayer_attrib=Saint Boniface
 
}}
 
}}
'''Saint Boniface''' ([[Latin]]: Bonifacius; [[German language|German]]: Bonifatius; c. [[672]] [[June 5]], [[754]]), the '''Apostle of the Germans''', born '''Winfrid''' or '''Wynfrith''' at [[Crediton]] in the kingdom of [[Wessex]] (now in [[Devon]], [[England]]), was a [[missionary]] who propagated [[Christianity]] in the [[Frankish Empire]] during the [[8th century]]. He is the patron saint of [[Germany]] and the [[Netherlands]].<ref>http://www.saintboniface.info/home</ref><ref> http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9027821/Crediton</ref>
+
'''Saint Boniface''' ([[Latin]]: Bonifacius; [[German language|German]]: Bonifatius; c. 672 – June 5, 754), the '''Apostle of the Germans''', born '''Winfrid''' or '''Wynfrith''' at [[Crediton]] in the kingdom of [[Wessex]] (now in [[Devon]], [[England]]), was a [[missionary]] who propagated [[Christianity]] in the [[Frankish Empire]] during the [[8th century]]. He is the patron saint of [[Germany]] and the [[Netherlands]].<ref>[http://www.saintboniface.info/home Saint Boniface of Crediton] - Retrieved September 24, 2007.</ref><ref> [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9027821/Crediton Crediton - Britannica Online Encyclopedia] - Retrieved September 24, 2007.</ref>
  
He was killed in [[Frisia]] in 754. <ref>http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintb15.htm</ref> His tomb is in the crypt of [[Fulda]] Cathedral.
+
He was killed in [[Frisia]] in 754. <ref>[http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintb15.htm Patron Saints Index: Saint Boniface] - Retrieved September 24, 2007.</ref> His tomb is in the crypt of [[Fulda]] Cathedral.
  
 
==Early life==
 
==Early life==
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==First Mission to Frisia==
 
==First Mission to Frisia==
In [[716]], Winfrid set out on a missionary expedition to [[Frisia]], intending to convert the inhabitants by preaching to them in their own language, his own [[Old English language|Anglo-Saxon language]] being similar to [[Frisian language|Frisian]]. His efforts, however, were frustrated by the war then being carried on between [[Charles Martel]] and [[Radbod]], king of the Frisians, and he returned to Nursling.
+
In 716, Winfrid set out on a missionary expedition to [[Frisia]], intending to convert the inhabitants by preaching to them in their own language, his own [[Old English language|Anglo-Saxon language]] being similar to [[Frisian language|Frisian]]. His efforts, however, were frustrated by the war then being carried on between [[Charles Martel]] and [[Radbod]], king of the Frisians, and he returned to Nursling.
  
 
==Thor's Oak and the Conversion of the Northern Germanic Tribes==
 
==Thor's Oak and the Conversion of the Northern Germanic Tribes==
 
{{main|Thor's Oak}}
 
{{main|Thor's Oak}}
 
[[Image:Reliekschrijnbinnen.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A view inside the shrine of Saint [[Saint Boniface|Boniface of Dokkum]] in the [[Hermit|hermit-church]] of [[Warfhuizen]] in the [[Netherlands]]. The little folded paper on the left contains a bone-fragment of Saint [[Benedict of Nursia]], the folded paper on the right a piece of the habit of saint [[Bernard of Clairvaux]]. The big bone in the middle (about 5 cm in length) is the actual relic of Saint Boniface.]]
 
[[Image:Reliekschrijnbinnen.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A view inside the shrine of Saint [[Saint Boniface|Boniface of Dokkum]] in the [[Hermit|hermit-church]] of [[Warfhuizen]] in the [[Netherlands]]. The little folded paper on the left contains a bone-fragment of Saint [[Benedict of Nursia]], the folded paper on the right a piece of the habit of saint [[Bernard of Clairvaux]]. The big bone in the middle (about 5 cm in length) is the actual relic of Saint Boniface.]]
Winfrid again set out in [[718]], visited [[Rome]], and was commissioned in [[719]] by Pope [[Gregory II]], who gave him his new name of Boniface. He set out to evangelize in Germany and reorganize the church there. For five years Boniface laboured in [[Hesse]], [[Thuringia]], and [[Frisia]], and on [[November 30]], [[722]], he was elevated to bishop of the Germanic territories he would bring into the fold of the Roman Church.  
+
Winfrid again set out in 718, visited [[Rome]], and was commissioned in 719 by Pope [[Gregory II]], who gave him his new name of Boniface. He set out to evangelize in Germany and reorganize the church there. For five years Boniface labored in [[Hesse]], [[Thuringia]], and [[Frisia]], and on November 30, 722, he was elevated to bishop of the Germanic territories he would bring into the fold of the Roman Church.  
  
In [[723]], Boniface felled the holy oak tree dedicated to [[Thor]] near the present-day town of [[Fritzlar]] in northern [[Hesse]]. He did this with [[Elijah]] in mind. Boniface called upon Thor to strike him down if he cut the "holy" tree. According to St. Boniface's first biographer, his contemporary [[Saint Willibald]], Boniface started to chop the oak down, when suddenly a great wind, as if by miracle, blew the ancient oak over. When Thor did not strike him down, the people converted to Christianity. He built a chapel from its wood at the site where today stands the cathedral of Fritzlar. Later he established the first bishopric in Germany north of the old Roman [[Limes]] at the Frankish fortified settlement of [[Büraburg]], on a prominent hill facing the town across the [[Eder]] River.  
+
In 723, Boniface felled the holy oak tree dedicated to [[Thor]] near the present-day town of [[Fritzlar]] in northern [[Hesse]]. He did this with [[Elijah]] in mind. Boniface called upon Thor to strike him down if he cut the "holy" tree. According to St. Boniface's first biographer, his contemporary [[Saint Willibald]], Boniface started to chop the oak down, when suddenly a great wind, as if by miracle, blew the ancient oak over. When Thor did not strike him down, the people converted to Christianity. He built a chapel from its wood at the site where today stands the cathedral of Fritzlar. Later he established the first bishopric in Germany north of the old Roman [[Limes]] at the Frankish fortified settlement of [[Büraburg]], on a prominent hill facing the town across the [[Eder]] River.  
  
The felling of [[Thor's Oak]] is commonly regarded as the beginning of German [[Christianization]] north and east of the old borders of the Roman Empire. From that point on, Boniface went directly to the high places of the pagans and first struck them down, which inadvertently was to cause his death. In 732, he traveled again to Rome to report, and Gregory II conferred upon him the [[pallium]] as archbishop with jurisdiction over Germany. Boniface again set out for what is now Germany, baptized thousands, and dealt with the problems of many other Christians who had fallen out of contact with the regular hierarchy of the Catholic church. During his third visit to Rome in 737–38, he was made [[papal legate]] for Germany. In [[745]], he was granted [[Mainz]] as metropolitan see.
+
The felling of [[Thor's Oak]] is commonly regarded as the beginning of German [[Christianization]] north and east of the old borders of the Roman Empire. From that point on, Boniface went directly to the high places of the pagans and first struck them down, which inadvertently was to cause his death. In 732, he traveled again to Rome to report, and Gregory II conferred upon him the [[pallium]] as archbishop with jurisdiction over Germany. Boniface again set out for what is now Germany, baptized thousands, and dealt with the problems of many other Christians who had fallen out of contact with the regular hierarchy of the Catholic church. During his third visit to Rome in 737–38, he was made [[papal legate]] for Germany. In 745, he was granted [[Mainz]] as metropolitan see.
  
 
Tradition credits Boniface with the invention of the [[Christmas tree]]. The Oak of Thor at [[Geismar]] was chopped down by Boniface in a stage-managed confrontation with the old gods and local heathen tribes. A fir tree growing in the roots of the Oak was claimed by Boniface as a new symbol.
 
Tradition credits Boniface with the invention of the [[Christmas tree]]. The Oak of Thor at [[Geismar]] was chopped down by Boniface in a stage-managed confrontation with the old gods and local heathen tribes. A fir tree growing in the roots of the Oak was claimed by Boniface as a new symbol.
"This humble tree's wood is used to build your homes: let Christ be at the centre of your households. Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days: let Christ be your constant light. Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven: let Christ be your Comfort and Guide"[http://www.saintboniface.info/home]
+
"This humble tree's wood is used to build your homes: let Christ be at the center of your households. Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days: let Christ be your constant light. Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven: let Christ be your Comfort and Guide"[http://www.saintboniface.info/home]
  
 
After his third trip to Rome, Boniface went to [[Bavaria]] and founded there the bishoprics of [[Bishopric of Salzburg|Salzburg]], [[Bishopric of Regensburg|Regensburg]], [[Bishopric of Freising|Freising]], and [[Bishopric of Passau|Passau]].   
 
After his third trip to Rome, Boniface went to [[Bavaria]] and founded there the bishoprics of [[Bishopric of Salzburg|Salzburg]], [[Bishopric of Regensburg|Regensburg]], [[Bishopric of Freising|Freising]], and [[Bishopric of Passau|Passau]].   
Line 61: Line 63:
 
The support of the [[Franks|Frankish]] mayors of the palace ([[maior domo]]s) and later the early [[Pippinid]] and [[Carolingians|Carolingian]] rulers, was essential for Boniface's work. Monasticism went from the Celts to the Anglo-Saxons and thence to the Carolingian kings. From the Anglo-Saxons, Boniface joined the papacy and the Carolingian kings and provided education for them. [[Charles Martel]] erected four dioceses in Bavaria ([[Bishopric of Salzburg|Salzburg]], [[Bishopric of Regensburg|Regensburg]], [[Bishopric of Freising|Freising]], and [[Bishopric of Passau|Passau]]) and gave them Boniface as [[archbishop]] and [[metropolitan bishop|metropolitan]] over all Germany east of the Rhine, with his seat at [[Mainz]]. Boniface had been under his protection from 723 on; indeed, the saint himself explained to his old friend, Daniel of Winchester, that without the protection of Charles Martel he could "neither administer his church, defend his clergy, nor prevent idolatry." The Christian Frankish leaders desired to defeat their rival power, the non-Christian Saxons, and to incorporate the Saxon lands into their own growing empire. Boniface's destruction of the [[Germanic paganism|indigenous Germanic faith]] and holy sites was, thus, an important part of the Frankish campaign against the Saxons. However, Boniface's motives are unmistakable; he wished first to spread the gospel.
 
The support of the [[Franks|Frankish]] mayors of the palace ([[maior domo]]s) and later the early [[Pippinid]] and [[Carolingians|Carolingian]] rulers, was essential for Boniface's work. Monasticism went from the Celts to the Anglo-Saxons and thence to the Carolingian kings. From the Anglo-Saxons, Boniface joined the papacy and the Carolingian kings and provided education for them. [[Charles Martel]] erected four dioceses in Bavaria ([[Bishopric of Salzburg|Salzburg]], [[Bishopric of Regensburg|Regensburg]], [[Bishopric of Freising|Freising]], and [[Bishopric of Passau|Passau]]) and gave them Boniface as [[archbishop]] and [[metropolitan bishop|metropolitan]] over all Germany east of the Rhine, with his seat at [[Mainz]]. Boniface had been under his protection from 723 on; indeed, the saint himself explained to his old friend, Daniel of Winchester, that without the protection of Charles Martel he could "neither administer his church, defend his clergy, nor prevent idolatry." The Christian Frankish leaders desired to defeat their rival power, the non-Christian Saxons, and to incorporate the Saxon lands into their own growing empire. Boniface's destruction of the [[Germanic paganism|indigenous Germanic faith]] and holy sites was, thus, an important part of the Frankish campaign against the Saxons. However, Boniface's motives are unmistakable; he wished first to spread the gospel.
  
Boniface balanced this support and attempted to maintain some independence, however, by attaining the support of the [[papacy]] and of the [[Agilolfing]] rulers of [[Bavaria]]. In Frankish, Hessian, and Thuringian territory, he established the dioceses of [[Büraburg]], [[Würzburg]], and [[Erfurt]]. He also organized provincial synods in the Frankish church and maintained a sometimes turbulent relationship with the king of the [[Franks]], [[Pippin III|Pepin]], whom he may have crowned at [[Soissons]] in [[751]]. By appointing his own followers as bishops, he was able to retain some independence from the Carolingians, who most likely were content to give him leeway as long as Christianity was imposed on the Saxons and other Germanic tribes.
+
Boniface balanced this support and attempted to maintain some independence, however, by attaining the support of the [[papacy]] and of the [[Agilolfing]] rulers of [[Bavaria]]. In Frankish, Hessian, and Thuringian territory, he established the dioceses of [[Büraburg]], [[Würzburg]], and [[Erfurt]]. He also organized provincial synods in the Frankish church and maintained a sometimes turbulent relationship with the king of the [[Franks]], [[Pippin III|Pepin]], whom he may have crowned at [[Soissons]] in 751. By appointing his own followers as bishops, he was able to retain some independence from the Carolingians, who most likely were content to give him leeway as long as Christianity was imposed on the Saxons and other Germanic tribes.
  
 
==Last mission to Frisia==
 
==Last mission to Frisia==
He had never relinquished his hope of converting the Frisians, and in [[754]] he set out with a small retinue for Frisia. He baptized a great number and summoned a general meeting for confirmation at a place not far from [[Dokkum]], between Franeker and [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]]. Instead of his converts, however, a group of armed inhabitants appeared who slew the aged archbishop. According to their own law (The [[Lex Frisionum]]), the Frisians had the right to kill him, since he had destroyed their shrines.  Boniface's hagiographer reports that the Frisians killed the saint because they believed the chests he carried with him contained gold and other riches, but were dismayed when they discovered that there were only the bishop's books contained within.  
+
He had never relinquished his hope of converting the Frisians, and in 754 he set out with a small retinue for Frisia. He baptized a great number and summoned a general meeting for confirmation at a place not far from [[Dokkum]], between Franeker and [[Groningen (city)|Groningen]]. Instead of his converts, however, a group of armed inhabitants appeared who slew the aged archbishop. According to their own law (The [[Lex Frisionum]]), the Frisians had the right to kill him, since he had destroyed their shrines.  Boniface's hagiographer reports that the Frisians killed the saint because they believed the chests he carried with him contained gold and other riches, but were dismayed when they discovered that there were only the bishop's books contained within.  
  
 
His remains were eventually buried in the abbey of Fulda after resting for some time in Utrecht, and they are entombed within a shrine beneath the high altar of Fulda cathedral. [[Image:Sint-Bonifatiuscrypte Fulda.jpg|thumb|Saint Boniface Crypt, Fulda, Germany]] The forcible conversion of Germany up to the [[Elbe]] River was completed by [[Charlemagne]], who destroyed the Saxons' independence, though not that of the Frisians, in the last decades of the eighth century.
 
His remains were eventually buried in the abbey of Fulda after resting for some time in Utrecht, and they are entombed within a shrine beneath the high altar of Fulda cathedral. [[Image:Sint-Bonifatiuscrypte Fulda.jpg|thumb|Saint Boniface Crypt, Fulda, Germany]] The forcible conversion of Germany up to the [[Elbe]] River was completed by [[Charlemagne]], who destroyed the Saxons' independence, though not that of the Frisians, in the last decades of the eighth century.
Line 70: Line 72:
 
==Trivia==
 
==Trivia==
 
A famous statue of St. Boniface stands on the grounds of [[Mainz Cathedral]]. A more modern rendition stands facing the cathedral of Fritzlar.
 
A famous statue of St. Boniface stands on the grounds of [[Mainz Cathedral]]. A more modern rendition stands facing the cathedral of Fritzlar.
A statue of him was unveiled by [[Princess Margaret]] in his native [[Crediton]], located in Newcombes Meadow Park. There is a wooden statue in the Anglican Church - see external link from [[Crediton]].
+
A statue of him was unveiled by [[Princess Margaret]] in his native [[Crediton]], located in Newcombes Meadow Park. There is a wooden statue in the Anglican Church - see external link from Crediton.
 
The UK National Shrine is located at the [[Catholic]] church at [[Crediton]], [[Devon]], which has a bas-relief of the felling of Thor's Oak and a series of paintings by Timothy Moore.
 
The UK National Shrine is located at the [[Catholic]] church at [[Crediton]], [[Devon]], which has a bas-relief of the felling of Thor's Oak and a series of paintings by Timothy Moore.
  
His feast day is [[June 5]] in the [[Catholic Church]], the [[Lutheran Church]], and the [[Anglican Communion]] and [[December 19]] in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]].
+
His feast day is June 5 in the [[Catholic Church]], the [[Lutheran Church]], and the [[Anglican Communion]] and December 19 in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]].
  
 
A cathedral has been dedicated to him in [[Winnipeg, Manitoba]], [[Canada]]. It is called [[Saint Boniface Cathedral]] and is a landmark in the city. There are St Boniface Church in Bunbury, [[Cheshire]] and in [[Chandler's Ford]], [[Hampshire]], both in the UK.
 
A cathedral has been dedicated to him in [[Winnipeg, Manitoba]], [[Canada]]. It is called [[Saint Boniface Cathedral]] and is a landmark in the city. There are St Boniface Church in Bunbury, [[Cheshire]] and in [[Chandler's Ford]], [[Hampshire]], both in the UK.
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*[[Mainz Cathedral]]
 
*[[Mainz Cathedral]]
 
==Further reading==
 
==Further reading==
*Talbot, C. H., ed., ''The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany: Being the Lives of S.S. Willibrord, Boniface, Strum, Leoba and Lebuin, together with the Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald and a Selection from the Correspondence of St. Boniface''NY: Sheed and Ward, 1954.
+
*Talbot, C. H., ed., ''The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany: Being the Lives of S.S. Willibrord, Boniface, Strum, Leoba and Lebuin, together with the Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald and a Selection from the Correspondence of St. Boniface.'' (NY: Sheed and Ward, 1954, OCLC 254678)
 
<blockquote>
 
<blockquote>
 
English translation of original source material. Includes the first biography of St. Boniface, written by his 8th Century contemporary St. Willibald.
 
English translation of original source material. Includes the first biography of St. Boniface, written by his 8th Century contemporary St. Willibald.
 
</blockquote>
 
</blockquote>
  
==External links==
+
==Notes==
* [http://www.saintboniface.info/home/ Saint Boniface of Crediton]
 
==References==
 
 
<references />
 
<references />
  
<br>
+
<br/>
 
{{start box}}
 
{{start box}}
 
{{succession box|title=[[Archbishop of Mainz]]|before=Gewielieb|after=[[Lullus]]|years=745-755}}
 
{{succession box|title=[[Archbishop of Mainz]]|before=Gewielieb|after=[[Lullus]]|years=745-755}}

Revision as of 15:36, 24 September 2007


Saint Boniface of Mainz/Fulda/Dokkum

Boniface
Bishop and Martyr
Born c. 672 in Crediton, Devon
Died June 5 754 in Dokkum, Frisia
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, Anglican Communion
Major shrine Fulda
Feast June 5
Attributes axe, book; fountain; fox; oak; raven; scourge; sword
Patronage brewers; file cutters; Fulda; The Netherlands and Germany; tailors; World Youth Day

Saint Boniface (Latin: Bonifacius; German: Bonifatius; c. 672 – June 5, 754), the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid or Wynfrith at Crediton in the kingdom of Wessex (now in Devon, England), was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the Netherlands.[1][2]

He was killed in Frisia in 754. [3] His tomb is in the crypt of Fulda Cathedral.

Early life

Born at Crediton, Devon, Winfrid was of a respected and prosperous family. It was somewhat against his father's wishes that he devoted himself at an early age to the monastic life. He received his theological training in the Benedictine monasteries of Adescancastre, near Exeter and Nursling, on the western edge of Southampton, under the abbot Winbert. Winfrid taught in the abbey school and at the age of 30 became a priest. He wrote the first Latin grammar produced in England.

First Mission to Frisia

In 716, Winfrid set out on a missionary expedition to Frisia, intending to convert the inhabitants by preaching to them in their own language, his own Anglo-Saxon language being similar to Frisian. His efforts, however, were frustrated by the war then being carried on between Charles Martel and Radbod, king of the Frisians, and he returned to Nursling.

Thor's Oak and the Conversion of the Northern Germanic Tribes

File:Reliekschrijnbinnen.jpg
A view inside the shrine of Saint Boniface of Dokkum in the hermit-church of Warfhuizen in the Netherlands. The little folded paper on the left contains a bone-fragment of Saint Benedict of Nursia, the folded paper on the right a piece of the habit of saint Bernard of Clairvaux. The big bone in the middle (about 5 cm in length) is the actual relic of Saint Boniface.

Winfrid again set out in 718, visited Rome, and was commissioned in 719 by Pope Gregory II, who gave him his new name of Boniface. He set out to evangelize in Germany and reorganize the church there. For five years Boniface labored in Hesse, Thuringia, and Frisia, and on November 30, 722, he was elevated to bishop of the Germanic territories he would bring into the fold of the Roman Church.

In 723, Boniface felled the holy oak tree dedicated to Thor near the present-day town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse. He did this with Elijah in mind. Boniface called upon Thor to strike him down if he cut the "holy" tree. According to St. Boniface's first biographer, his contemporary Saint Willibald, Boniface started to chop the oak down, when suddenly a great wind, as if by miracle, blew the ancient oak over. When Thor did not strike him down, the people converted to Christianity. He built a chapel from its wood at the site where today stands the cathedral of Fritzlar. Later he established the first bishopric in Germany north of the old Roman Limes at the Frankish fortified settlement of Büraburg, on a prominent hill facing the town across the Eder River.

The felling of Thor's Oak is commonly regarded as the beginning of German Christianization north and east of the old borders of the Roman Empire. From that point on, Boniface went directly to the high places of the pagans and first struck them down, which inadvertently was to cause his death. In 732, he traveled again to Rome to report, and Gregory II conferred upon him the pallium as archbishop with jurisdiction over Germany. Boniface again set out for what is now Germany, baptized thousands, and dealt with the problems of many other Christians who had fallen out of contact with the regular hierarchy of the Catholic church. During his third visit to Rome in 737–38, he was made papal legate for Germany. In 745, he was granted Mainz as metropolitan see.

Tradition credits Boniface with the invention of the Christmas tree. The Oak of Thor at Geismar was chopped down by Boniface in a stage-managed confrontation with the old gods and local heathen tribes. A fir tree growing in the roots of the Oak was claimed by Boniface as a new symbol. "This humble tree's wood is used to build your homes: let Christ be at the center of your households. Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days: let Christ be your constant light. Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven: let Christ be your Comfort and Guide"[1]

After his third trip to Rome, Boniface went to Bavaria and founded there the bishoprics of Salzburg, Regensburg, Freising, and Passau.

In 742, one of his disciples, Sturm (also known as Sturmi, or Sturmius), founded the abbey of Fulda not far from Boniface's earlier missionary outpost at Fritzlar. Although Sturm was the founding abbot of Fulda, Boniface was very involved in the foundation. The initial grant for the abbey was signed by Carloman, the son of Charles Martel.

Boniface and the Carolingians

St Boniface, Baptising and Martyrdom, from the Sacramentary of Fulda

The support of the Frankish mayors of the palace (maior domos) and later the early Pippinid and Carolingian rulers, was essential for Boniface's work. Monasticism went from the Celts to the Anglo-Saxons and thence to the Carolingian kings. From the Anglo-Saxons, Boniface joined the papacy and the Carolingian kings and provided education for them. Charles Martel erected four dioceses in Bavaria (Salzburg, Regensburg, Freising, and Passau) and gave them Boniface as archbishop and metropolitan over all Germany east of the Rhine, with his seat at Mainz. Boniface had been under his protection from 723 on; indeed, the saint himself explained to his old friend, Daniel of Winchester, that without the protection of Charles Martel he could "neither administer his church, defend his clergy, nor prevent idolatry." The Christian Frankish leaders desired to defeat their rival power, the non-Christian Saxons, and to incorporate the Saxon lands into their own growing empire. Boniface's destruction of the indigenous Germanic faith and holy sites was, thus, an important part of the Frankish campaign against the Saxons. However, Boniface's motives are unmistakable; he wished first to spread the gospel.

Boniface balanced this support and attempted to maintain some independence, however, by attaining the support of the papacy and of the Agilolfing rulers of Bavaria. In Frankish, Hessian, and Thuringian territory, he established the dioceses of Büraburg, Würzburg, and Erfurt. He also organized provincial synods in the Frankish church and maintained a sometimes turbulent relationship with the king of the Franks, Pepin, whom he may have crowned at Soissons in 751. By appointing his own followers as bishops, he was able to retain some independence from the Carolingians, who most likely were content to give him leeway as long as Christianity was imposed on the Saxons and other Germanic tribes.

Last mission to Frisia

He had never relinquished his hope of converting the Frisians, and in 754 he set out with a small retinue for Frisia. He baptized a great number and summoned a general meeting for confirmation at a place not far from Dokkum, between Franeker and Groningen. Instead of his converts, however, a group of armed inhabitants appeared who slew the aged archbishop. According to their own law (The Lex Frisionum), the Frisians had the right to kill him, since he had destroyed their shrines. Boniface's hagiographer reports that the Frisians killed the saint because they believed the chests he carried with him contained gold and other riches, but were dismayed when they discovered that there were only the bishop's books contained within.

His remains were eventually buried in the abbey of Fulda after resting for some time in Utrecht, and they are entombed within a shrine beneath the high altar of Fulda cathedral.

File:Sint-Bonifatiuscrypte Fulda.jpg
Saint Boniface Crypt, Fulda, Germany

The forcible conversion of Germany up to the Elbe River was completed by Charlemagne, who destroyed the Saxons' independence, though not that of the Frisians, in the last decades of the eighth century.

Trivia

A famous statue of St. Boniface stands on the grounds of Mainz Cathedral. A more modern rendition stands facing the cathedral of Fritzlar. A statue of him was unveiled by Princess Margaret in his native Crediton, located in Newcombes Meadow Park. There is a wooden statue in the Anglican Church - see external link from Crediton. The UK National Shrine is located at the Catholic church at Crediton, Devon, which has a bas-relief of the felling of Thor's Oak and a series of paintings by Timothy Moore.

His feast day is June 5 in the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Anglican Communion and December 19 in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

A cathedral has been dedicated to him in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is called Saint Boniface Cathedral and is a landmark in the city. There are St Boniface Church in Bunbury, Cheshire and in Chandler's Ford, Hampshire, both in the UK.


A primary school has also been established, St Boniface Catholic Primary School, in Tooting, London. It was founded in 1903 and has over 320 pupils. There is also an active PTA, the Friends of St Boniface. A secondary school has been named after him: St. Boniface's Catholic College. It is located in Plymouth, England.

See also

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  • Mainz Cathedral

Further reading

  • Talbot, C. H., ed., The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany: Being the Lives of S.S. Willibrord, Boniface, Strum, Leoba and Lebuin, together with the Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald and a Selection from the Correspondence of St. Boniface. (NY: Sheed and Ward, 1954, OCLC 254678)

English translation of original source material. Includes the first biography of St. Boniface, written by his 8th Century contemporary St. Willibald.

Notes

  1. Saint Boniface of Crediton - Retrieved September 24, 2007.
  2. Crediton - Britannica Online Encyclopedia - Retrieved September 24, 2007.
  3. Patron Saints Index: Saint Boniface - Retrieved September 24, 2007.


Preceded by:
Gewielieb
Archbishop of Mainz
745-755
Succeeded by:
Lullus

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