Emmeram of Regensburg
Encyclopedia
Saint Emmeram of Regensburg (also Emmeramus, Emmeran, Emeran, Heimrammi, Haimeran, or Heimeran) was born in Poitiers
and was a Christian bishop
and a martyr
. He died circa 652 and is buried in St. Emmeram's
in Regensburg
, Germany
. His feast day in the Catholic
calendar of saints
is 22 September.
. Arbeo of Freising
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 Aquitaine
. 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 Bavaria
, he decided to journey to Ratisborn (Regensburg
) some time after the year 649 to the court of the Agilofing, Theodo I, Duke of Bavaria. He supposedly journeyed up the Loire
, crossed through the Black Forest
and then followed the Danube
to Regensburg. Theodo welcomed Emmeram to his court, where Emmeram labored for three years carrying out missionary
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 Rome
. 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 Munich
suburb of Aying
) on the old Roman road between Salzburg
and Augsburg
on the Via Julia Augusta
. 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 Peter
.
describes how he was bound to a ladder
, and was hacked to pieces, starting with his finger tips. Later his eye
s were put out and his nose
was cut off. Still living, he asked for water
. 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 intervention
. At this Emmeram was beheaded. As proof of Emmeram's innocence, a ladder was lowered to bear him to Heaven
. As they carried his body to Aschheim, a wondrous light shone from his body.
A text printed in Munich
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 Freising
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 Isar
. When the raft reached the Danube
, it miraculously floated upstream to Regensburg
, 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 altar
in 1645 and moved to St. Emmeram's Abbey
. The church, now a basilica minor
, houses his leg bones
in a silver
reliquary
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. Lorenz
in Oberföhring
has a side altar dedicated to St. Emmeram. In the church of Saints Peter
and Paul
in Aschheim, a plaque
memorializes the first grave of Emmeram with an inscription.
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
and was a Christian bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
and a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
. He died circa 652 and is buried in St. Emmeram's
St. Emmeram's Abbey
St. Emmeram's Abbey , now known as Schloss Thurn und Taxis, Schloss St. Emmeram, and St...
in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg 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...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. His feast day in the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
calendar of saints
Calendar of saints
The 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 feast day of said saint...
is 22 September.
Life
What we know of Emmeram comes to us second handSecondary source
In 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 being discussed; a primary source can be a person with direct...
. Arbeo of Freising
Arbeo of Freising
Arbeo 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 Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 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. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
. 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 Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, he decided to journey to Ratisborn (Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg 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 Loire
Loire
Loire 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 after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
, crossed through the Black Forest
Black Forest
The 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 Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
to Regensburg. Theodo welcomed Emmeram to his court, where Emmeram labored for three years carrying out missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
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 Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. 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 Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
suburb of Aying
Aying
Aying 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
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
and Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university 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 Augusta
Via Julia Augusta
The Via Julia Augusta is the name given to the Roman road formed by the merging of the Via Aemilia Scauri with the Via Postumia. The road runs from Placentia to Arelates through Derthona , Vada Sabatia , Albingaunum and Album Intimilium .It was begun in 13 BC by Augustus, and originally stopped...
. 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 Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
.
Veneration
The prevalent legend of Emmeram's tortureTorture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
describes how he was bound to a ladder
Ladder
A 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 . Rigid ladders are usually...
, and was hacked to pieces, starting with his finger tips. Later his eye
Human eye
The human eye is an organ which reacts to light for several purposes. As a conscious sense organ, the eye allows vision. Rod and cone cells in the retina allow conscious light perception and vision including color differentiation and the perception of depth...
s were put out and his nose
Human nose
The visible part of the human nose is the protruding part of the face that bears the nostrils. The shape of the nose is determined by the ethmoid bone and the nasal septum, which consists mostly of cartilage and which separates the nostrils...
was cut off. Still living, he asked for water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
. 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 intervention
Divine Intervention
Divine intervention is a term for a miracle caused by God's/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 Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. As they carried his body to Aschheim, a wondrous light shone from his body.
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
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 Freising
Arbeo of Freising
Arbeo 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 Isar
Isar
The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria and Bavaria, Germany. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; 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 Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, it miraculously floated upstream to Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg 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 altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
in 1645 and moved to St. Emmeram's Abbey
St. Emmeram's Abbey
St. Emmeram's Abbey , now known as Schloss Thurn und Taxis, Schloss St. Emmeram, and St...
. The church, now a basilica minor
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
, houses his leg bones
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
in a silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic 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...
reliquary
Reliquary
A 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. Lorenz
Saint Lawrence
Lawrence of Rome was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome who were martyred during the persecution of Valerian in 258.- Holy Chalice :...
in Oberföhring
Boroughs of Munich
Since the administrative reform in 1992, Munich is divided into 25 boroughs or Stadtbezirke:-References:Source:...
has a side altar dedicated to St. Emmeram. In the church of Saints Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
and Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
in Aschheim, a plaque
Commemorative plaque
A 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 WikipediaExternal links
- Arnoldus Emmeramensis, De Miraculis Et Memoria Beati Emmerammi Libri Duo. by Migne Patrologia Latina