Severinus of Paris

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Severinus of Paris († around 540 or 555 in Paris ) or Severin of Paris , also known as Séverin le Solitaire (the hermit) in France , was a monk who lived in a hermitage on the left bank of the Seine in the middle of the 6th century withdrew in Paris. The saint , particularly venerated in Paris, was a contemporary of Clovis' widow, saint Chlothilde (around 474-544), who is considered to be the pioneer of Christianity in France and Europe.

His feast day is November 27th .

Events in the time of Severinus

During Severinus' lifetime, the Franconian Empire ruled by the Merovingians was divided into four sub-kingdoms in 511 under the sons of Clovis. Childebert I ruled in Paris . In 524 he and his younger brother Chlothar I tore the empire of their older brother Chlodomer (511-524), who had fallen in the battle of Vézeronce , and divided it among themselves. Chlodomer's widow Guntheuca had to marry Chlothar, who wanted to consolidate his claim to the kingdom of his brother through this marriage and wanted to kill Guntheuca's underage children. The latter had been placed in the care of her grandmother Chlothilde, who stood up for the hereditary claims of her grandchildren, although the division of this legacy meant a further splitting of the empire. This thwarted the power-hungry Chlothar's plans. Defying Childebert's objection, he murdered two of his brother's three sons, 10-year-old Theudobald and 7-year-old Gunthar, with his own hands and in a cruel manner. The youngest named Chlodoald escaped the assassination attempt with the help of his father's faithful.

Legend

There are no reliable sources about the life of Saint Severinus of Paris. According to the legend written down in an old breviary , he is said to have protected the young Chlodoald, the later saint (French: Saint Cloud ), in his hermitage on the road to Orléans, shaved his tonsure and in this way saved his life. According to other sources, Chlodoald cut himself off the long locks that identified him as a Merovingian prince capable of ruling, a sign of his voluntary renunciation of the claim to rulership.

After Severinus' death, Chlodoald is said to have built an oratory in his memory on the site of today's parish church of Saint-Séverin in Paris, in which he buried him. This was soon replaced by a larger chapel, and later by a church that burned down during the Norman invasions. When it was erected again, it was given the status of a parish church in the 11th century and underwent another new building and several renovations. The oldest part of today's church is the tower from the 12th century.

literature

  • Gregory of Tours : “Decem Libri Historiarum” (History of the Franks), second half of the 6th century
  • Joris-Karl Huysmans : “La Bièvre et Saint-Séverin”, Paris, 1929, Plon

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ cf. Huysmans
personal data
SURNAME Severinus of Paris
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Severin of Paris, Severin le Solitaire
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Saint
DATE OF BIRTH 5th century or 6th century
DATE OF DEATH around 550
Place of death Paris