Eoban

Eoban († June 5, 754 or 755 at Dokkum ) was a companion of the diocese founder Bonifatius . He is venerated as a bishop and a martyr .

Life

Eoban was an English priest who came to Germany with Boniface. In the Frisian mission he was choir bishop before he probably became bishop of Utrecht in 754.

On June 5, 754 or 755, he and his companions ( more than 50 people according to Willibald ) were slain by pagan Frisians in the morning on the banks of the Boorne river near Dokkum (Netherlands), on the day on which he had previously baptized Confirmation Wanted to make Frisians from the area.

Whether his death was martyrdom in the strict sense of the word , or whether it could also have been robbery , is more of a theological question. Recent research concludes that the perpetrators were pagan Frisians who were well aware of who they were dealing with, but who also took the opportunity to steal prey.

Worship in Erfurt

After 756 the bones of Bishop Adalar and Eobans were transferred from Utrecht to Fulda and buried next to Boniface. They are said to have been transferred to Erfurt before 1100 . In any case, the worship of Boniface's companions in Erfurt begins at this time.

The relics - sarcophagus of Saints Adolar and Eoban in Erfurt Cathedral is dated around 1350.

His veneration as a saint is celebrated on June 7th.

literature

Dehio Central Germany , 1943, p. 94

Theodor Schieffer: Winfrid Bonifatius and the Christian foundation of Europe . Herder, Freiburg 1954, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1972, p. 254; P. 272 f u. ö.

Schubert, Ernst, Der Dom zu Erfurt, Berlin 1992, fig. 106

Wäß, Helga: Reliquary sarcophagus for St. Bishop Adolar and his St. Deacon Eoban , in: Form and Perception of Central German Memorial Sculpture in the 14th Century, here Vol. 2, catalog of selected objects from the High Middle Ages to the beginning of the 15th century, Bristol, Berlin 2006, p. 156 ff. With illustrations. - ISBN 3-86504-159-0

Transcription of the procession protocol for dealing with the relics of St. Adolar and Eoban, in: Helga Wäß: Processional order of 1452 , in: Form and perception of Central German memory sculpture in the 14th century, Vol. 1, Bristol and Berlin 2006, p. 486 ff. - ISBN 3-86504-159-0

Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz : Eoban. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 1518-1519. ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Web links

Eoban in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints

Individual evidence

^ Bonifatius, epistolae 109, ed. M. Tangl. In: MGH Epistolae selectae, vol. 1. Weidmann, Berlin 1916, pp. 234–236, here p. 235, lines 3-19 (but without mentioning the name Eoban); Willibald, Vita S. Bonifatii I, c. 8, ed. W. Levison. In: MGH Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum. Hahn, Hanover Leipzig 1905, p. 47 f. with note 2 (from the formulation quem ad subveniendum suae senilis aetatis debilitate Fresonis, iniuncto sibi episcopio in urbe qui vocatur Trecht, subrogavit it does not necessarily follow that Eoban was bishop of Utrecht during Boniface's lifetime. It is more likely that the same construction as in Mainz, where Boniface, with the consent of the Pope, had ordained his student Lul as choir bishop and appointed him as his designated successor, while his request to resign from office had been rejected.)

↑ Cf. Gereon Becht-Jördens: Heiliger und Buch. Reflections on the tradition of the Bonifacius martyrdom on the occasion of the partial facsimile of the Ragyndrudis Codex . In: Hessisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte 46, 1996, pp. 1–30, here pp. 15–30, especially p. 18, p. 22 f .; ders .: The murder of Archbishop Bonifatius by the Frisians. Searching for and shaping a martyrdom out of ecclesiastical necessity? . In: Archive for Middle Rhine Church History 57, 2005, pp. 95–132, here p. 95; Pp. 123-125.

predecessor	Office	successor
Wera	Bishop of Utrecht 753–754	Gregor

personal data
SURNAME	Eoban
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Eoba; Eaba
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Companion of St. Boniface, saint, Bishop of Utecht
DATE OF BIRTH	7th century or 8th century
DATE OF DEATH	June 5, 754 or 755
Place of death	Dokkum , Netherlands

[1] Bonifatius, epistolae 109, ed. M. Tangl. In: MGH Epistolae selectae, vol. 1. Weidmann, Berlin 1916, pp. 234–236, here p. 235, lines 3-19 (but without mentioning the name Eoban); Willibald, Vita S. Bonifatii I, c. 8, ed. W. Levison. In: MGH Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum. Hahn, Hanover Leipzig 1905, p. 47 f. with note 2 (from the formulation quem ad subveniendum suae senilis aetatis debilitate Fresonis, iniuncto sibi episcopio in urbe qui vocatur Trecht, subrogavit it does not necessarily follow that Eoban was bishop of Utrecht during Boniface's lifetime. It is more likely that the same construction as in Mainz, where Boniface, with the consent of the Pope, had ordained his student Lul as choir bishop and appointed him as his designated successor, while his request to resign from office had been rejected.)

[2] Cf. Gereon Becht-Jördens: Heiliger und Buch. Reflections on the tradition of the Bonifacius martyrdom on the occasion of the partial facsimile of the Ragyndrudis Codex . In: Hessisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte 46, 1996, pp. 1–30, here pp. 15–30, especially p. 18, p. 22 f .; ders .: The murder of Archbishop Bonifatius by the Frisians. Searching for and shaping a martyrdom out of ecclesiastical necessity? . In: Archive for Middle Rhine Church History 57, 2005, pp. 95–132, here p. 95; Pp. 123-125.