Lebuin

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Lebuin ( Old Saxon Liafwin, "dear friend"; † around 775) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary in the Franconian Empire . He became famous for his appearance at the Marklo assembly of the pagan Old Saxons, as described in Vita Lebuini . Lebuin is venerated as a Christian saint.

Life

Life (based on Vita Liudgeri I)

Nothing is known about Lebuin's birth and youth. According to the oldest and most reliable historical source ( Vita Liudgeri I), Lebuin was a pious and learned priest who came from Anglo-Saxon Britain to the mainland (around 770) to preach to the people in the area of ​​the river IJssel . That area was then a borderland of Christian Franks, partly converted Frisians and pagan Old Saxons, which had long attracted Anglo-Saxon missionaries. The abbot Gregor von Utrecht , who was responsible for this parish, gave Lebuin a permit and provided him with another clergyman from England named Markhelm, who had been a pupil of the important missionary Willibrord . Lebuin was welcomed by a woman Aeverhild and other local believers. On the west side of the river IJssel, in Wilp , the believers built a first chapel for Lebuin. Shortly afterwards they built a church for their preacher on the other bank, in Deventer , which became the center of his missionary work. The source does not say which activities Lebuin sparked in detail. But apparently he challenged the wrath of the Old Saxons. They gathered an army, burned Lebuin's church in Deventer and drove the Christians out of that area. The missionary fled back to Utrecht, to his mentor Abbot Gregory. When the attackers had withdrawn, Lebuin returned to Deventer, resumed his old activity and rebuilt the church. Soon after (around 775) he died and was buried in his church.

Exact dates to Lebuin are not possible. The timeframe of his work as a missionary, as can be inferred indirectly from Vita Liudgeri I, II, ranges from about the year 770 to at most the year 776.

The second destruction of Lebuin's church in Deventer (after Vita Liudgeri I, II)

After Lebuin's death, Deventer was devastated a second time by the Old Saxons and Lebuin's church was burned down. It is particularly emphasized in the sources that the body of the church founder remained hidden from the Gentiles and could only be found again by another clergyman, Saint Liudger . He built a third church over Lebuin's grave (before 777) and reorganized Christian life on site.

Lebuin and the Marklo Assembly (based on Vita Lebuini)

In the Vita Lebuini it is reported that Lebuin has embarked on a journey into the interior of the Christian hostile Old Saxony, namely to a place near the Weser called Marklo , where the Saxon greats and their entourage regularly gathered for a central assembly to discuss the inner Regulate the affairs of their country. Lebuin suddenly appeared among those present and warned them to accept the Christian faith, otherwise they would face violent submission by a neighboring king. The Saxons revolted against the missionary and drove him from the meeting place. Threatened with death, Lebuin disappeared from the eyes of the heathen by being hidden in the trunk of a tree by means of a divine miracle.

This miracle report is of particular importance for the history of the early Middle Ages because it is - alongside the church history of the Beda Venerabilis from the early 8th century - the only written source that provides detailed information about the internal circumstances of Old Saxony. The credibility of the Vita Lebuini, on which the doctrine of Old Saxon history is based, is, however, now massively questioned, even completely rejected (M. Springer).

Adoration

Lebuin has been venerated as a Catholic saint since the 9th century. His feast day is November 12th. His memory is particularly cherished in the city of Deventer, even beyond the time of the Protestant Reformation.

A memorial for Lebuin (Lebuinsbuche) has been erected in the Schwarzenmoor district of the Westphalian city of Herford . The saint is said to have been hidden in that place on his flight from the Marklo assembly. This admiration probably came about in 1934.

swell

  • Altfrid : Vita Liudgeri I. Written from 840 to 849 by Altfrid, the 3rd Bishop of Münster († 849), re-edited by B. Senger: Liudger in his time. Münster 1982.
  • Anonymous: Vita Liudgeri II. Written 850 to 859.
  • Anonymous: Vita Lebuini I. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, SS 30,2, ISSN  0343-0847 (perhaps written 840 to 862, probably not until 900)
  • Hucbald : Vita Lebuini II. Written 917 to 930 by Hucbald, monastery monk of St. Amand († 930).
  • Bede : 5.10. Bede: Church history of the English people. Darmstadt 1982, pp. 458f., ISBN 3-534-13422-2

Other sources

  • Poem by Radbod von Utrecht on Lebuin, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Poetae. Volume 4.1. 1881, p. 171, ISSN  0343-0847 (Radbod, Bishop of Utrecht (r. 899-817))
  • Sermon of the Radbod von Utrecht on Lebuin: JP Migne: Patrologiae cursus completus. Series latina, Volume 132, pp. 553 f.
  • Mention of the Lebuin grave in Deventer, in: Annales Fuldenses. Hannover 1891, 1993, p. 99, ISBN 3-7752-5303-3 , also in: Sources for the Carolingian history of the empire. Volume 3. Darmstadt 1960, pp. 118f.

literature

Web links

Commons : Lebuinus  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Catholic Encyclopedia  - Sources and full texts (English)
Wikisource: Saint Lebuinus  - legend
personal data
SURNAME Lebuin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Liafwin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Frankish missionary, Christian saint
DATE OF BIRTH 7th century or 8th century
DATE OF DEATH 775