Lullus
Encyclopedia
Saint Lullus (born about 710 in Wessex
, died 16 October 786 in Hersfeld
) was the first permanent archbishop of Mainz, succeeding Saint Boniface, and first abbot of the Benedictine Hersfeld Abbey
.
in Wiltshire
. During a pilgrimage to Rome in 737 he met Saint Boniface and decided to join him in his missionary work in northern Germany. In 738, Lullus joined the Benedictine order and the monastery of Fritzlar
, founded by Boniface in 732, where abbot Saint Wigbert
was his teacher. He became deacon in 740, and was ordained priest by Boniface in 747. In 752 he became auxiliary bishop under Saint Boniface. King Pippin
confirmed him one year later as bishop of Mainz
and in 754 he became archbishop, as Saint Boniface resigned and appointed Lullus his successor . Lullus became the first regular archbishop of Mainz when Pope Hadrian I granted him the pallium in about 781. He then greatly expanded his bishopric by absorbing those of Büraburg
(near Fritzlar) and Erfurt
.
monastery
of Hersfeld Abbey
, which he succeeded in having placed under Charlemagne
's Carolingian dynasty protection in 775.
Lullus's chief accomplishment was the completion of Saint Boniface's reform of the church in the Frankish Carolingian Empire
and the successful conclusion of the Christianization
of the Germans in Hesse
-Thuringia
. But while Boniface had looked for a close link to Rome, Lullus sought a better understanding with the Frankish kings.
Lullus died on 16 October 786 in Hersfeld Abbey at Bad Hersfeld
, in the church in which he was buried. He was canonized on 7 April 852.
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
, died 16 October 786 in Hersfeld
Bad Hersfeld
The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld is the district seat of Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast of Kassel....
) was the first permanent archbishop of Mainz, succeeding Saint Boniface, and first abbot of the Benedictine Hersfeld Abbey
Hersfeld Abbey
Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse , Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda.-History:...
.
Monk to archbishop
He was monk in the Benedictine monastery of Malmesbury AbbeyMalmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, was founded as a Benedictine monastery around 676 by the scholar-poet Aldhelm, a nephew of King Ine of Wessex. In 941 AD, King Athelstan was buried in the Abbey. By the 11th century it contained the second largest library in Europe and was...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. During a pilgrimage to Rome in 737 he met Saint Boniface and decided to join him in his missionary work in northern Germany. In 738, Lullus joined the Benedictine order and the monastery of Fritzlar
Fritzlar
Fritzlar is a small German town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. It can reasonably be argued that the town is the site where the Christianization of northern Germany began and the birthplace of the German empire as a political entity.The...
, founded by Boniface in 732, where abbot Saint Wigbert
Wigbert
Saint Wigbert, born in Wessex around 670, was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine monk from the monastery of Glastonbury and a missionary and disciple of Saint Boniface who traveled with the latter in Frisia and northern and central Germany to convert the local tribes to Christianity...
was his teacher. He became deacon in 740, and was ordained priest by Boniface in 747. In 752 he became auxiliary bishop under Saint Boniface. King Pippin
Pippin the Younger
Pepin , called the Short or the Younger , rarely the Great , was the first King of the Franks of the Carolingian dynasty...
confirmed him one year later as bishop of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
and in 754 he became archbishop, as Saint Boniface resigned and appointed Lullus his successor . Lullus became the first regular archbishop of Mainz when Pope Hadrian I granted him the pallium in about 781. He then greatly expanded his bishopric by absorbing those of Büraburg
Büraburg
Büraburg is a prominent hill with historic significance, overlooking the Eder river near the town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse .In 723 AD the Anglo-Saxon missionary Winfrid – later called St...
(near Fritzlar) and Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
.
Carolingian era
From 769 onward, Lullus promoted the establishment of the Carolingian styleCarolingian architecture
Carolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian family dominated west European politics...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Hersfeld Abbey
Hersfeld Abbey
Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse , Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda.-History:...
, which he succeeded in having placed under Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
's Carolingian dynasty protection in 775.
Lullus's chief accomplishment was the completion of Saint Boniface's reform of the church in the Frankish Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...
and the successful conclusion of the Christianization
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
of the Germans in Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
-Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
. But while Boniface had looked for a close link to Rome, Lullus sought a better understanding with the Frankish kings.
Lullus died on 16 October 786 in Hersfeld Abbey at Bad Hersfeld
Bad Hersfeld
The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld is the district seat of Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast of Kassel....
, in the church in which he was buried. He was canonized on 7 April 852.