Donatus of Besançon

Donatus von Besançon (* around 594 ; † after 656 in Besançon ) was the 26th Archbishop of Besançon and has been venerated as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church since the 11th century .

Life

Origin and family

Donatus came from a Gallo-Roman family in northern Burgundy , who were particularly wealthy in the area around Besançon and from which the Frankish noble family of the Waltriche emerged , which rose to one of the most influential families in the Franconian Empire in the following two centuries , especially during the rule of the Carolingians . He was born there, the son of Dux of Transjurania , Waldelenus , and his wife Aelia Flavia. His younger brother Chramnelenus succeeded his father as Duke of Transjurania, his sister Sirudis later worked as the first abbess in the Jussamoutier convent at Besançon.

Sponsorship of the Columban

Donatus' father was one of the earliest and most influential supporters of the Irish-Scottish missionary Columban , who made a decisive contribution to the Christianization of the areas north of the Alps - the two men also shared a deep friendship, as the Vita Columbani of Jonas von Bobbio reports.

According to his description, the ducal couple was childless for a long time and therefore asked Waldelenus of Columban, who, due to his ascetic lifestyle, enjoyed the reputation of a priest endowed with special powers, the healing blessing of family and house. He donated the blessing on the condition that the firstborn son was dedicated to the church - and consequently Waldelenus gave his son Donatus, who was baptized by Columban himself, to the Luxeuil monastery for education and further training.

Under Columban's Abbatiat , Donatus was finally ordained a monk in the Abbey of Luxeuil.

Bishopric, founding a monastery and Regula Donati

In 625 Donatus was ordained the twenty-sixth Archbishop of Besançon. Following the episcopal customs of the time, he founded a monastery in the city under the rule of the Columban order , which in contemporary sources was only referred to as a palatium , as it was built on the remains of a Roman palace, and later the patronage of the saint Paul received.

In memory of her deceased husband, his mother Aelia Flava founded the Jussamoutier convent on the site of today's Notre-Dame church in Besançon and appointed her daughter Sirudis to be the first abbess. Donatus wrote a monastery rule for this foundation in which he combined elements from the orders of Benedict of Nursia , Columban and Caesarius of Arles . This Regula Donati is the oldest surviving evidence of the Benedictine rule and has been preserved for posterity in text form in Benedict von Aniane's Codex Regularum .

There is documentary evidence that Donatus participated as archbishop in the synods of Clichy (626/627), Chalon-sur-Saône (650) and Reims .

Donatus died after 656 and was buried in the founding monastery of Saint-Paul in Besançon.

Others

The day of remembrance for Donatus of Besançon is celebrated by the Catholic Church on August 7th .

literature

• Albrecht Diem: New ideas expressed in old words: the Regula Donati on female monastic life and monastic spirituality. In: Viator. Volume 43, number 1, 2012, pp. 1-38.
• Louis Duchesne : Fastes épiscopaux de l'ancienne Gaule . Fontemoing, Paris 1915, pp. 213-214 ( online ).
• Jo Ann McNamara, John E. Halborg: The Rule of St. Donatus of Besançon. In: Vox Benedictina. Volume 2, 1985, pp. 85-107 and pp. 181-203.
• Jo Ann McNamara, John E. Halborg: The ordeal of community . Peregrina Pub., Toronto 1993.
• Gérard Moyse: Les origines du monachisme dans le diocèse de Besançon (Ve-Xe siècles). In: Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes. Volume 131, 1973, pp. 21-104.
• Gisela Muschiol: Famula Dei. On the liturgy in Merovingian women's monasteries (= contributions to the history of ancient monasticism and Benedictineism. Volume 41). Aschendorff, Münster 1994.
• Adalbert de Vogüé : La règle de Donat pour l'abbesse Gauthstrude. In: Benedictina. Volume 25, 1978, pp. 219-313 (Edition of the Regula Donati ).
• Michaela Zelzer: The Regula Donati, the oldest text witness of the Regula Benedicti. In: Regulae Benedicti Studia. Volume 16, 1987, pp. 23-36.
• Victoria Zimmerl-Panagl: Donati Regula, Pseudo-Columbani Regula monialium (= Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum . Volume 98 / Monastica. Volume 1). De Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2015 (critical edition of Regula Donati ).
• Jonas von Bobbio : Life of the Columban. In: Karl Suso Frank (ed.): Life of the Columban. Life of Gallus / Wetti (= monk life. Volume 3). EOS, Sankt Ottilien 2011, ISBN 978-3-8306-7489-4 .

Web links

• Regula Donati in Monastic Manuscript Project .