Bertha (Kent)

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Bertha (also Berta or Bercta ; * around 561/562; † between 601 and 616/618) was the daughter of the Merovingian Frankish king Charibert I and Ingoberga . Bertha is considered a saint .

Life

Modern statue of Bertha in Lady Wootton's Gardens, Canterbury

Around 580 the Christian Bertha married the pagan Æthelberht I of Kent. Gregory of Tours called Æthelberht in this context filius regis ("son of the king"), from which historians conclude that his father Eormenric was still alive at this time and Æthelberht was not yet king. While some assume an early date of 560 for Eormenric's death, others believe it to be around 585/590. It is accordingly unclear whether the heathen Eormenric had the opportunity to influence his son's choice of bride. Æthelberht initially remained a heathen, but was religiously tolerant and did not prevent Bertha from practicing her faith. From this marriage the son Eadbald and probably the daughter Æthelburg emerged. According to Christian legend, Eadburh, Abbess of Liming, was also her daughter.

She brought Bishop Liudhard with her to England as her chaplain , and had a church rebuilt in Canterbury that dates from the time of the Roman occupation. She dedicated this to St. Martin of Tours , one of the main patrons of the Frankish royal family; today's St Martin's Church in Canterbury still stands in the same place.

Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet in 597 . Bertha's influence may have prompted Æthelberht to welcome the missionaries that Pope Gregory I sent from Rome . Pope Gregory I reprimanded Bertha in a letter in 601 that she would neglect her husband's conversion, which suggests that his baptism could not have happened before 601. In the same letter (Gregory I, Ep XI, 35), however, she was also praised for her support of Augustine's mission.

Bertha died between 601 and 616/618 and was buried in the Martinskapelle, the mausoleum of the abbey church "Peter and Paul" in Canterbury. Æthelberht was buried at her side after his death in 616/618.

Adoration

Bertha was venerated as a saint soon after her death , although there is no evidence of a cult around her. Her feast day is July 4th.

swell

literature

Web links

Commons : Bertha (Kent)  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c D. P. Kirby: The Earliest English Kings , Routledge, 2000, ISBN 978-0415242110 , pp. 25-26.
  2. ^ Gregory of Tours : Historia Francorum ( History of the Franks ) 9.26
  3. ↑ Simon Keynes: Kings of Kent . In: Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , pp. 501-502.
  4. ↑ a b S. E. Kelly: Æthelberht ; In: Michael Lapidge et al. (Ed.): The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England . Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford et al. a. 2001, ISBN 978-0-6312-2492-1 , p. 13
  5. ^ William Hunt :  Ethelbert (552? -616) . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 18:  Esdaile - Finan. MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London, 1889, pp 16 - 17 (English).
  6. ↑ a b Beda: HE 1.25
  7. ↑ Beda: HE 1,26
  8. ↑ Ekkart Sauser:  Ethelbert. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 18, Bautz, Herzberg 2001, ISBN 3-88309-086-7 , Sp. 391-392.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  9. ^ A b Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz:  Bertha, Queen of Kent. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 549-549.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  10. ^ St. Bertha in Catholic Online
  11. ^ Bertha, Queen of Kent in Catholic Encyclopedia
personal data
SURNAME Bertha
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Berta; Bercta
BRIEF DESCRIPTION by marriage Queen of Kent
DATE OF BIRTH between 561 and 562
DATE OF DEATH between 601 and 618