Radegonde

See also: Holy-Radegonde

Sainte Radegonde ( Radegundis in Latin) was born in Thuringe towards 519, (girl of Berthaire, king de Thuringe) and died on August 13rd, 587 with Poitiers. It was a queen of the Francs, fifth wife of the king Clotaire 1 {{er}} then the founder of the monastery Holy-Cross of Poitiers. Festivals the August 13rd and the February 28th.

Life of Radegonde

In the middle of the V {{E}} century, the frank kingdom was disturbed. The king of Neustrie, Childéric Ier, had to flee in Thuringe. He was accommodated by the king Basin and the queen Basine of Saxony his wife. When the disorders in Neustrie were alleviated, it returned there. Meanwhile, Childéric had allured the girl of its hosts Basine of Thuringe.

With died of Basin, the kingdom of Thuringe was divided between its three sons: Bodevie, Hermanfried and Berthaire. It followed a fratricidal war. The Basine princess of Thuringe took refuge then in Neustrie near Childéric Ier. They married each other in 463 and from their union was born in 466, a son, the future Clovis Ier. The brother of Basin, Berthaire, had two children, of which Radegonde in 519, which is thus the niece of Clovis.

Berthaire was assassinated by his/her two brothers. Bodevie was then also victim of a coalition between the king of Metz, Thierry Ier, and its other brother Hermanfried. Radegonde was taken along to the three years age at the court of Hermandfried. But Thierry Ier, requiring part of the kingdom of Thuringe in exchange of his support, formed an alliance with Clotaire Ier, king de Neustrie. They overcame the army thuringeoise. Radegonde became at five years the captive one of Clotaire Ier.

It was taken along to France, with Saint-Quentin, then with Athies in the Vermandois. The wife of Clotaire, Ingonde, gave to Radegonde a very religious education. Ingonde died in 538. Clotaire wanted to then marry Radegonde with Vitry-in-Artois. This one initially tried to flee in the neighborhoods of Péronne. Caught up with, it had to be solved with the ceremony, chaired by the bishop Saint Medard, with Soissons.

Radegonde, fifth wife of Clotaire, was detached to them fashionable concerns more and more to carry out a pious and charitable life near the poor. After Clotaire had massacred Hermanfried, his/her brother, it was attracted more and more by a life of prayers, whereas Clotaire always wanted it like wife and queen.

Devoted Deaconess by Holy Medard, it made initially a pilgrimage with Tours on the tomb of holy Martin. It then went to ask council saint Jean de Chinon who lived in a hermitage troglodyte which always exists above the city. It went then on the ground of Saix, Vienna, that Clotaire had given him and there founded an oratory and an old people's home where it dealt itself with the patients: it was one of the first old people's homes organized in France. But Clotaire, which had initially accepted the vocation of the queen, changed opinion: it sent a troop to Saix to bring back it to the court. When the soldiers announced themselves for Saix, Radegonde flees towards the South through an oats field that workmen were sowing. At this point in time occurred the miracle of the oats , the holy queen made instantaneously push the oats to hide there. Questioned by the prosecutors, the harvesters, could affirm that they had not seen anybody in the field since time when these oats had been sown. As from this moment, Clotaire let to him go on its way towards a consecrated life to the religion. It went to Poitiers where it founded the monastery Notre-Dame (become since Holy-Cross). The October 25th 552 (or 553), it entered the Notre-Dame monastery accompanied by many young girls, in the presence of a large crowd. She gave to her partners a strict rule. With Agnes, her spiritual sister that it made a point of choosing like future abbess, and Venance Fortunat, Italian poet who will become the biographer of Radegonde, it went to Arles to get information about the rule of holy Césaire in order to adopt it. It was placed under the protection of the the Holy See, to be free episcopal capacity.

Agnes became abbess of the monastery. Venance Fortunat became bishop of Poitiers. According to another biography, that of Baudonivie made up towards 600, it had a great veneration for the relics. It gathered a great number of it which would be always with the monastery Holy-Cross, of which a fragment of the cross of Christ, that it had asked and obtained from the emperor Justin II. It is at the time of the arrival in Poitiers of this badge relic that holy Venance-Fortunat composed the anthem Vexilla governed prodeunt . Radegonde will have the remainder of its life a great influence on the large ones of its time, in particular Sigebert Ier, successor and wire of Clotaire. She died the August 13rd 587, at 68 years, in the Notre-Dame monastery. She was buried in the abbey church Holy-Marie-out-the-walls (today Holy-Radegonde) in Poitiers. During the invasions Normans, his skin was taken along to the Abbaye Saint-Beno4it cheese of Quinçay, then brought back to Poitiers in 868.

Many miracles are allotted to him, which attracted many pilgrims. She was declared holy little time after her death.

Representations - Iconography

Radegonde is represented most of the time as a nun, sometimes with a crown posed close to it.
  • At XVIe and XVIIe centuries, it appears as a queen, with the royal crown and badges (engraving of Jacques Callot).
  • a manuscript of the 11th century (Library of Poitiers), described the various episodes of the life from the holy one.
  • a statue of Holy Radegonde at summer realized by the sculptor étampois Nicolas Legendre (1619-1706) at the 17th century (church co.-Radegonde, Poitiers).
  • At the 19th century, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes painted Holy Radegonde listening to a reading of the poet Fortunat (Town hall of Poitiers).

List places dedicated to holy Radegonde

1. Communes or villages of Holy-Radegonde France

2. Churches and localities in France

3. In German-speaking countries

  • Sankt Radegund (Innviertel), Austria.
  • Sankt Radegund EIB Graz, (Steiermark), Austria

4. In Belgium

  • Acoz-Mettet Holy-Radegonde Parish church in ogival style of 1868. Source and worship of Holy Aragone which is a popular deformation of the name of Holy Radegonde. Sainte Aragone is the owner of the potters.

Random links:First Egyptian intermediate period | Canton of Villefranche-sur-Mer | Be a prelude to in Fondation | Rahbe | Equip with Argentina of football to the world cup 1978 | Janet_Jackson