Saint Emmeram of Regensburg (also
Emmeramus,
Emmeran,
Emeran,
Heimrammi,
Haimeran, or
Heimeran) was born in
PoitiersPoitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne département and of the Poitou-Charentes région...
and was a Christian
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
and a
martyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
. He died circa 652 and is buried in
St. Emmeram'sSt. Emmeram's Abbey , now known as Schloss Thurn und Taxis and St. Emmeram's Basilica, was a Benedictine monastery founded in about 739 in Regensburg in Bavaria at the grave of the itinerant Frankish bishop Saint Emmeram.- Abbey :When the monastery was founded in about 739, the bishops of...
in
RegensburgRegensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. His feast day in the
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
calendar of saintsThe calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as that saint's feast day...
is 22 September.
Life
What we know of Emmeram comes to us
second handIn library and information science, historiography and other areas of scholarship, a secondary source is a document or recording that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere. A secondary source contrasts with a primary source, which is an original source of the information...
.
Arbeo of FreisingArbeo of Freising was Bishop of Freising.He was a member of the Benedictine Order. At first a priest and notary under Bishop Joseph of Freising, he became in 763 abbot of the newly-founded monastery of Scharnitz...
wrote a biography of Emmeram in 750, the
Vita Sancti Emmerami, some 100 years after the saint's death. The literature tells the story of Emmeram, born into a noble family in
AquitaineAquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 26 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. In the Middle Ages it was a kingdom and later a duchy, with boundaries considerably larger...
. According to some, he became bishop of Poitiers, though his name does not appear on the rolls. There is speculation that he held the office briefly between the death of Dido and the ascension of Ansoaldus. Having heard of idolatry in
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, he decided to journey to Ratisborn (
RegensburgRegensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
) some time after the year 649 to the court of the Agilofing, Theodo I, Duke of Bavaria. He supposedly journeyed up the
LoireLoire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when the original department of Rhône-et-Loire was split....
, crossed through the
Black ForestThe Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
and then followed the
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
to Regensburg. Theodo welcomed Emmeram to his court, where Emmeram labored for three years carrying out
missionaryA missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who proselytizes. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith;...
work. During this time he gained a reputation as a pious man.
As the story goes, Uta (or Ota), the daughter of the duke, confided to Emmeram that she was expecting a child out of wedlock. According to Arbeo, the father was one Sigipaldus from her father's own court. Moved with compassion, Emmeram advised her to name himself, whom every one respected, hoping to mitigate some of her shame. Shortly thereafter, the legend goes, Emmeram abruptly went on a pilgrimage to
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
. At this point Uta named Emmeram as the father.
When Duke Theodo and his son Lantpert learned of Uta's pregnancy, Lantpert went after the bishop. Lantpert caught up to Emmeram in Helfendorf (now part of the
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
suburb of
AyingAying is a municipality in the district of Munich in Bavaria, Germany. It is known for the Ayinger Brewery....
) on the old Roman road between
Salzburg' is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. Salzburg's "Old Town" with its world famous baroque architecture is one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The city is noted for its...
and
AugsburgAugsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria in Germany. It is a College town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
on the
Via Julia AugustaThe Via Julia Augusta is the name given to the Roman road formed by the merging of the Via Aemilia Scauri with the Via Postumia, running from Placentia to Arelates through Derthona , Vada Sabatia , Albingaunum and Album Intimilium .It was begun in 13 BC by Augustus, and originally stopped at La...
. Lantpert and his followers tied Emmeram to a ladder and proceeded to torture and cut Emmeram to pieces. The day of his martyrdom is also his name day, 22 September. His companions Vitalis and Wolflete found him still alive, lying in his own blood and tried to bring him quickly back to Aschheim, where at that time stood a walled church of the
Apostle PeterSimon Peter , Pétros “Rock”, Kephas in Hellenized Aramaic) was a leader of the early Christian Church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Peter was the son of John, and was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee...
.
Veneration
The prevalent legend of Emmeram's
tortureTorture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is:In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on others for similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadistic gratification of...
describes how he was bound to a
ladderA ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps. There are two types: rigid ladders that can be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rope ladders that are hung from the top. The vertical members of a rigid ladder are called stringers or stiles...
, and was hacked to pieces, starting with his finger tips. Later his eyes were put out and his
noseAnatomically, a nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which admit and expel air for respiration in conjunction with the mouth....
was cut off. Still living, he asked for
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
. His companion Vitalis answered, "Why do you seek relief, when nothing of you remains but your stubby trunk, undecorated with limbs? I would think you should wish for your death rather than live with such shame." Emmeram answered that one should not attempt to hurry death, rather drag it out, in order to persuade the face of God's mercy through
divine interventionDivine intervention is a term for a miracle caused by a god's active involvement in the human world.Divine Intervention may also refer to:*"Divine Intervention", a 1991 song on Matthew Sweet's album Girlfriend...
. At this Emmeram was beheaded. As proof of Emmeram's innocence, a ladder was lowered to bear him to
HeavenHeaven may refer to the physical heavens, the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond. This is the traditional literal meaning of the term in English...
. As they carried his body to Aschheim, a wondrous light shone from his body.
A text printed in
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
in 1743,
Officium oder Tageszeiten des wunderthätigen bayerischen Apostels und Blutzeugen Christi St. Emmerami, zu täglichen und andächtigen Gebrauch in allen Anliegen und Widerwärtigkeiten etc., states that the cart was accompanied by
Arbeo of FreisingArbeo of Freising was Bishop of Freising.He was a member of the Benedictine Order. At first a priest and notary under Bishop Joseph of Freising, he became in 763 abbot of the newly-founded monastery of Scharnitz...
depicted the place of his death as a
When the misunderstanding of Emmeram's relationship to Uta was revealed, Emmeram was entombed in Aschheim, whereupon legend states that it rained for forty days. Emmeram was exhumed and put upon a raft in the
IsarThe Isar is a river in Tirol, Austria and Bavaria, Germany. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tirol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald, and flows through Bad Tölz, Munich, and Landshut before reaching the Danube near Deggendorf. At 295 km in length, it is the fourth largest river...
. When the raft reached the
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
, it miraculously floated upstream to
RegensburgRegensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
, where Emmeram was interred in the church of St. George. His remains were moved by Bishop Gawibaldus to a church dedicated to the martyr. This church burned down in 1642. Emmeram's bones were found under the
altarAn altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religious purposes, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place. Altars are usually found at a shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
in 1645 and moved to
St. Emmeram's AbbeySt. Emmeram's Abbey , now known as Schloss Thurn und Taxis and St. Emmeram's Basilica, was a Benedictine monastery founded in about 739 in Regensburg in Bavaria at the grave of the itinerant Frankish bishop Saint Emmeram.- Abbey :When the monastery was founded in about 739, the bishops of...
. The church, now a
basilica minorThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building , usually located in the forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC.Basilicas were also used for religious purposes...
, houses his
leg bonesThe femur, or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs...
in a
silverSilver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
reliquaryA reliquary is a container for relics. These may be the physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures...
in the eastern portion under the altar. Bishop Ignaz de Senestrez canonically recognized the relics in 1833. They are displayed every year on 22 September.
At the spot Saint Emmeram died in the year 652, a small chapel was erected in the year 1842. The chapel stands there today. The church of
St. LorenzLawrence of Rome was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome who were martyred during the persecution of Valerian in 258.-History:...
in
OberföhringSince the administrative reform in 1992, Munich is divided into 25 boroughs or Stadtbezirke:
Source:...
has a side altar dedicated to St. Emmeram. In the church of Saints
PeterSimon Peter , Pétros “Rock”, Kephas in Hellenized Aramaic) was a leader of the early Christian Church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Peter was the son of John, and was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee...
and
PaulPaul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, ...
in Aschheim, a
plaqueA commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event....
memorializes the first grave of Emmeram with an inscription.
Sources
St. Emmeram from the
Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon Emmeram von Regensburg article on the
German language Wikipedia
External links