Sigimund

Sigimund (* 6th century; † early 7th century), Latinized also Sigimundus and Sigismund , also wrongly Siegbert , was sixth at the end and beginning of the 7th century bishop of Mainz . The existence of a bishop of this name can be deduced from the eight different editors of the pre-Bonifatian Mainz bishops lists , beginning with the so-called Series I from the time of Archbishop Heriger (913-927). What is certain is that the Austrasian King Childebert II. 589 received an invitation from a Bishop Sigimund to celebrate Easter in Mainz.

Name and origin

The name Sigimund is of Burgundian origin. Eugen Ewig thinks it is possible that Sigimund had connections to Brunichild through Guntram I of Burgundy, brother-in-law and ally of the Austrasian Queen Brunichild . In 587 Brunichild suppressed a rebellion of opposition greats in her empire and in the same year settled all outstanding disputes with Burgundy in the Treaty of Andelot . In the course of these events, Ewig accepted a "push of magnates" from west to east to broaden and secure their power base as well as intensive Mainz-Burgundian relations. As a result, Sigimund and his successor Leudegasius came to Mainz.

Term of office

Sigimund must have assumed office after 580 and before 589, with Ewig assuming he took office around 587, corresponding to the political events in Austrasia and Burgundy. In his 591 completed Historia Francorum , Gregor von Tours reports in the tenth book: "So, at the invitation of Sigymundus, the priest of the city of Mainz (Momotiacensis oppidi), King Childebert decided to celebrate the Easter holidays in the city mentioned." What was meant here Easter in the year 589. Sigimund's term of office probably ended in the first years of the 7th century, but at the latest around the year 610.

Act

There are no traditional references to the work of Sigimund as bishop in Mainz. From the traces of Burgundian cult relationships in connection with the veneration of saints by Vincent of Valencia and Victor von Solothurn , beginning at the end of the 6th and beginning of the 7th century, Eternally concludes that Sigimund and his successor Leudegasius, who is also from Burgundy, tried to worship them in Burgundian areas to establish important saints in Mainz. These are concentrated in the suburban area between Roman Mainz and the former vicus near Weisenau, in the middle of which was the Church of St. Alban .

Sigimund is also mentioned in the translation report of the monk Sigehard von St. Alban from 1298, who names the pre-Bonifatian bishops of Mainz who were reburied by Archbishop Hildebert von St. Hilarius in St. Alban.

literature

• Eugen Ewig : The oldest Mainz bishops' graves, the list of bishops and the legend of Theonest. In: Eugen Ewig: Late Antique and Franconian Gaul. Collected Writings (1952–1973). Edited by Hartmut Atsma , Vol. 2, Munich 1979, ISBN 3-7608-4653-X , pp. 171-181.
• Eugen Ewig : The oldest Mainz patronage and the early history of the Mainz diocese. In: Eugen Ewig: Late Antique and Franconian Gaul. Collected Writings (1952–1973). Edited by Hartmut Atsma , Vol. 2, Munich 1979, ISBN 3-7608-4653-X , pp. 154-170.
• Friedhelm Jürgensmeier : The diocese of Mainz. From Roman times to the Second Vatican Council. 2nd Edition. Verlag Josef Knecht, Frankfurt am Main 1989, ISBN 3-7820-0570-8
• Hans Werner Nopper: The pre-Bonifatian Bishops of Mainz. A critical examination of the sources on the beginnings of the diocese of Mainz and the reliability of the lists of bishops. Self-published, Mülheim an der Ruhr (Books on Demand, Norderstedt) 2002, ISBN 3-8311-2429-9 .

Remarks

1. ^ Gregor von Tours: Historia Francorum IX.29, Bruno Krusch / Wilhelm Levison (eds.): MGH SRM 1,1, Hannover, 1951, pp. 447, 12f.
2. ^ Quoted from Nopper: The pre-Bonifatian Bishops of Mainz. P. 104
3. ↑ Eugen Ewig: The oldest Mainz patronage and the early history of the Mainz diocese. P. 163 ff.
4. ↑ Report: ActaSS June IV, 63.8 F

predecessor	Office	successor
Sidonius	Bishop of Mainz 6./7. century	Leudegasius