Modestus (Apostle of Carinthia)
Encyclopedia
Modestus called the Apostle of Carinthia, Apostle of Carantania, was most probably an Irish
monk and the evangelizer of the Carantanians, an Alpine Slavic people in the south of present-day Austria
and north-eastern Slovenia
, which were among the ancestors of present-day Slovenes.
Upon the request of Prince Cheitmar or Hotimir of Carantania to evangelize
his people, Modestus was dispatched around the year 755 by bishop Vergilius of Salzburg
, together with four priests and a deacon "and other inferior clerks" as a missionary with the rank of "choroepiskopos", i.e. a bishop responsible for the people in the countryside without a diocese, to the Carantanians. According to sources, he built three Christian churches there: "ad Udrimas" (probably in the Judenburg
area in present-day Styria), at "Liburnia", corresponding to the former Roman
bishop seat of Teurnia
, today's Sankt Peter im Holz near Spittal an der Drau
, and a church of the Virgin Mary in an unnamed place, most probably located near the centre of the Slav principality at Karnburg , which would make it Maria Saal
on the Zollfeld plain.
His church was thus in the immediate vicinity of the area that has served as a political and cultural centre of the region through the ages, close to:
Modestus spent the remainder of his obviously very active life in the area. The most likely year of his death was 763, although other dates also appear in sources. No traces of his church of St.Mary have been discovered. His alleged tomb is shown in the present Gothic church of Maria Saal, which was built six centuries later, replacing an earlier Romanesque church probably from the 12th century. Due to his success in converting the pagan Carantanian Slavs to Christianity, Modestus was honoured by the popular denomination "Apostle of Carinthia". His missionary work was described in the "Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum
" written in Salzburg
around 870, as a memorandum
of the archbishops of Salzburg
in a court hearing before Emperor Louis the German
against bishop Method, the apostle of the Slavs in Pannonia
and Moravia
, at Ratisbon, in 870. In the document, the Archdiocese of Salzburg emphasized the achievements of Modestus as an argument of their merits in converting the Slavs.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
monk and the evangelizer of the Carantanians, an Alpine Slavic people in the south of present-day Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and north-eastern Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, which were among the ancestors of present-day Slovenes.
Upon the request of Prince Cheitmar or Hotimir of Carantania to evangelize
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
his people, Modestus was dispatched around the year 755 by bishop Vergilius of Salzburg
Vergilius of Salzburg
Vergilius of Salzburg was an Irish churchman, an early astronomer and bishop of Salzburg. His obituary calls him the geometer.-Biography:...
, together with four priests and a deacon "and other inferior clerks" as a missionary with the rank of "choroepiskopos", i.e. a bishop responsible for the people in the countryside without a diocese, to the Carantanians. According to sources, he built three Christian churches there: "ad Udrimas" (probably in the Judenburg
Judenburg
- People :* Renate Götschl* Egon Haar * Herbert Hufnagl, journalist * Gernot Jurtin* Christian Muthspiel, jazz musician, painter* Kurt Muthspiel, composer * Wolfgang Muthspiel* Christian Pfannberger* Walter Pfrimer* Georg Pichler...
area in present-day Styria), at "Liburnia", corresponding to the former Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
bishop seat of Teurnia
Teurnia
Municipium Teurnia was a Roman city in western Carinthia. In late antiquity it was also a bishop's see, and towards the end of Roman times it was mentioned as the capital of the province of Noricum mediterraneum...
, today's Sankt Peter im Holz near Spittal an der Drau
Spittal an der Drau
Spittal an der Drau is located in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia and the administrative centre of the federal state's second largest district, Spittal an der Drau. It lies between the Lurnfeld area and the Lower Drava Valley. The city consists of the seven...
, and a church of the Virgin Mary in an unnamed place, most probably located near the centre of the Slav principality at Karnburg , which would make it Maria Saal
Maria Saal
Maria Saal is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is located in the east of the historic Zollfeld plain , the wide valley of the Glan river. The municipality includes the cadastral communes of Kading, Karnburg, Möderndorf, Possau and St...
on the Zollfeld plain.
His church was thus in the immediate vicinity of the area that has served as a political and cultural centre of the region through the ages, close to:
- the MagdalensbergMagdalensbergMagdalensberg is a municipality in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in Carinthia in Austria.The municipality comprises 40 villages and hamlets: Christofberg, Deinsdorf, Dürnfeld, Eibelhof, Eixendorf, Farchern, Freudenberg, Gammersdorf, Geiersdorf, Göriach, Gottesbichl, Großgörtschach, Gundersdorf,...
mountain where a large settlement dating from the Celtic NoricumNoricumNoricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
kingdom is being excavated; - the remains of Roman VirunumVirunumClaudium Virunum was a Roman city in the province of Noricum, on today's Zollfeld in the Austrian State of Carinthia. Virunum may also have been the name of the older Celtic-Roman settlement on the hilltop of Magdalensberg nearby....
, capital city of the later Roman province of Noricum, at the foot of Magdalensberg; - the Karnburg complex which served as the political centre of the Slav principality of Carantania, with the Prince's StonePrince's StoneThe Prince's Stone is the reversed base of an ancient Ionic column that played an important role in the ceremony surrounding the installation of the princes of Carantania in the Early Middle Ages...
nearby; - the KaiserpfalzKaiserpfalzThe term Kaiserpfalz or Königspfalz refers to a number of castles across the Holy Roman Empire which served as temporary, secondary seats of power for the Holy Roman Emperor in the Early and High Middle Ages...
of Karnburg, the 9th century CarolingianCarolingianThe Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
seat palatine of the Duke, King and Emperor Arnulf of CarinthiaArnulf of CarinthiaArnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887, the disputed King of Italy from 894 and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor from February 22, 896 until his death.-Birth and Illegitimacy:...
; - the Duke's ChairDuke's ChairThe Duke's Chair, also known as the Duke's Seat , is a medieval stone seat dating from the ninth century and located at the Zollfeld plain near Maria Saal north of Klagenfurt in the Austrian state of Carinthia.-History:...
, symbol of the legal authority in the Duchy of CarinthiaDuchy of CarinthiaThe Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
of the Holy Roman EmpireHoly Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
; - the medieval ducal capital of Sankt VeitSankt Veit an der GlanSankt Veit an der Glan is a town in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is the capital of a district with the same name.-Location:This town is a major point on the Glan River in the north of the Zollfeld Valley....
; - the modern capital of the State of Carinthia, KlagenfurtKlagenfurt-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
.
Modestus spent the remainder of his obviously very active life in the area. The most likely year of his death was 763, although other dates also appear in sources. No traces of his church of St.Mary have been discovered. His alleged tomb is shown in the present Gothic church of Maria Saal, which was built six centuries later, replacing an earlier Romanesque church probably from the 12th century. Due to his success in converting the pagan Carantanian Slavs to Christianity, Modestus was honoured by the popular denomination "Apostle of Carinthia". His missionary work was described in the "Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum
Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum
The Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum, which translates in English as "The Conversion of the Bavarians and the Carantanians", is a Latin history written in Salzburg in the 870s. It describes the life and career of Salzburg's founding saint Rupert , notably his missionary work in Bavaria, and...
" written in 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...
around 870, as a memorandum
Memorandum
A memorandum is from the Latin verbal phrase memorandum est, the gerundive form of the verb memoro, "to mention, call to mind, recount, relate", which means "It must be remembered ..."...
of the archbishops of Salzburg
Archbishopric of Salzburg
The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire, its territory roughly congruent with the present-day Austrian state of Salzburg....
in a court hearing before Emperor Louis the German
Louis the German
Louis the German , also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian, was a grandson of Charlemagne and the third son of the succeeding Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye.He received the appellation 'Germanicus' shortly after his death in recognition of the fact...
against bishop Method, the apostle of the Slavs in Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, at Ratisbon, in 870. In the document, the Archdiocese of Salzburg emphasized the achievements of Modestus as an argument of their merits in converting the Slavs.
See also
- Freising manuscriptsFreising manuscriptsThe Freising Manuscripts are the first Latin-script continuous text in a Slavic language and the oldest document in Slovene.The monuments consisting of three texts in the oldest Slovene dialect were discovered bound into a Latin codex...
- Roman Catholicism in AustriaRoman Catholicism in AustriaThe Catholic Church of Austria, part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, is under the leadership of the Pope, the curia in Rome, and the Conference of Austrian Bishops. The Austrian church is the largest Christian denomination of Austria, with, according to the 2001 census, 5.9 million people...
- Roman Catholicism in SloveniaRoman Catholicism in SloveniaThe Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome....