Claudius of Besançon
Encyclopedia
Saint Claudius of Besançon , sometimes called Claude the Thaumaturge (ca. 607 - d. June 6, 696 or 699 AD), was a priest
, monk
, abbot
, and bishop
. A native of Franche-Comté
, Claudius became a priest at Besançon
and later a monk. Georges Goyau
in the Catholic Encyclopedia
wrote that “The Life of St. Claudius, Abbot of Condat, has been the subject of much controversy.” Anglican Henry Wace has written that "on this saint the inventors of legends have compiled a vast farrago of improbabilities."
Nevertheless, Wace did not find reason to doubt that Claudius had come from the nobility
. According to a long tradition from Salins-les-Bains
, Claudius was born in the castle of Bracon
near Salins, of a Gallo-Roman family named Claudia. This family had produced another Saint Claudius in the 6th century.
One of his biographers, Laurentius Surius
, writes that Claudius was entrusted to tutors at a young age and that in addition to studying academic subjects, Claudius spent hours reading devotional works, particularly the lives of the saints. Until the age of twenty, he served as a border guard
, but in 627 he was appointed as a canon
by Donatus (Donat), bishop of Besançon. Donatus had written regulations for his canon priests; Claudius followed them assiduously. He became famous as a teacher and ascete
, eating only one frugal meal per day.
After serving as a priest at Besançon, Claudius entered the abbey of Condat, at Saint-Claude, Jura
(which was named after him after his death), in the Jura mountains
. He was then elected to succeed as the twelfth abbot at Condat at the age of 34 in 641 or 642, during the pontificate of Pope John IV
. He brought the Benedictine Rule to Condat. He obtained support from Clovis II
(whose wife, Balthild
, had persuaded him to do so), obtaining from the monarch an annuity. Under Claudius' rule, the abbey thrived. Claudius had built new churches and reliquaries, and fed the poor and the pilgrims in the area.
On the death of Saint Gervase (Gervasius), bishop of Besançon, the clergy of that city elected Claudius as their archbishop in 685. He thus served, rather reluctantly, as 29th bishop of Besançon, according to the episcopal catalogues.
However, upon seeing that discipline had become lax at Condat, Claudius decided to abdicate his see and return as abbot at Condat." He then died in 696 or 699.
mentions Claudius in his Martyrologium as an intercessor, with the words VII idus junii, depositio beati Claudii, episcopi. His body
, said to have been in an incorruptible
state, and which had been hidden during the Arab invasions
, was rediscovered in 1160, and visited in 1172 by St. Peter of Tarentaise. The relics were solemnly carried throughout Burgundy before being brought back to Condat. However, a document from the ninth century does state that his body was already kept in the abbey of Saint-Claude (Saint Oyend, Oyand).
The town of Saint-Claude was originally named Saint-Oyand or Saint-Oyend after Saint Eugendus. However, when Claudius had, in 687, resigned his Diocese of Besançon
and had died, in 696, as twelfth abbot, the number of pilgrims who visited Claudius' grave was so great that, since the thirteenth century, the name "Saint-Claude" came more and more into use and superseded the other name. Saint-Claude Cathedral, in the town, was dedicated to him.
Claudius's relics were burned in March 1794, during the French Revolution
.
Queen Claude of France, first wife to Francis I, was named after him.
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
, abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
, and 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...
. A native of Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
, Claudius became a priest at Besançon
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
and later a monk. Georges Goyau
Georges Goyau
Georges Goyau was a French historian and essayist specializing in religious history.-Biography:He was born in Orléans, where he went to school before moving on to Lycée Louis-le-Grand and then École Normale Supérieure both in Paris. Then he became lecturer at the French School of Rome, an...
in the Catholic Encyclopedia
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
wrote that “The Life of St. Claudius, Abbot of Condat, has been the subject of much controversy.” Anglican Henry Wace has written that "on this saint the inventors of legends have compiled a vast farrago of improbabilities."
Nevertheless, Wace did not find reason to doubt that Claudius had come from the nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
. According to a long tradition from Salins-les-Bains
Salins-les-Bains
Salins-les-Bains is a commune in the Jura department in Franche-Comté in eastern France.Salins owes its name to its saline waters, used for bathing and drinking. There are also salt works and gypsum deposits. In 2009 the historic saltworks were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites...
, Claudius was born in the castle of Bracon
Bracon, Jura
Bracon is a commune in the Jura department in Franche-Comté in eastern France.Local tradition holds that St. Claudius of Besancon was born here in the 7th century.-References:*...
near Salins, of a Gallo-Roman family named Claudia. This family had produced another Saint Claudius in the 6th century.
One of his biographers, Laurentius Surius
Laurentius Surius
Laurentius Surius, translating to Lorenz Sauer, was a German Carthusian hagiologist and church historian.-Biography:...
, writes that Claudius was entrusted to tutors at a young age and that in addition to studying academic subjects, Claudius spent hours reading devotional works, particularly the lives of the saints. Until the age of twenty, he served as a border guard
Border guard
The border guard, frontier guard, border patrol, border police, or frontier police of a country is a national security agency that performs border control, i.e., enforces the security of the country's national borders....
, but in 627 he was appointed as a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
by Donatus (Donat), bishop of Besançon. Donatus had written regulations for his canon priests; Claudius followed them assiduously. He became famous as a teacher and ascete
Asceticism
Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals...
, eating only one frugal meal per day.
After serving as a priest at Besançon, Claudius entered the abbey of Condat, at Saint-Claude, Jura
Saint-Claude, Jura
Saint-Claude is a commune in the Jura department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France.The town was originally named Saint-Oyand after Saint Eugendus. However, when St...
(which was named after him after his death), in the Jura mountains
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
. He was then elected to succeed as the twelfth abbot at Condat at the age of 34 in 641 or 642, during the pontificate of Pope John IV
Pope John IV
Pope John IV was elected Pope of the Catholic Church, after a four-month sede vacante, December 24, 640.Pope John was a native of Dalmatia . He was the son of the scholasticus Venantius. At the time of his election he was archdeacon of the Roman Church, an important role in governing the see...
. He brought the Benedictine Rule to Condat. He obtained support from Clovis II
Clovis II
Clovis II succeeded his father Dagobert I in 639 as King of Neustria and Burgundy. His brother Sigebert III had been King of Austrasia since 634. He was initially under the regency of his mother Nanthild until her death in her early thirties in 642...
(whose wife, Balthild
Balthild
Saint Balthild of Ascania , also called Bathilda, Baudour, or Bauthieult, was the wife and queen of Clovis II, king of Burgundy and Neustria . Two traditions, independent and conflicting, trace what Wilhelm Levison accounted "truly an extraordinary career for an English slave sold to the Continent"...
, had persuaded him to do so), obtaining from the monarch an annuity. Under Claudius' rule, the abbey thrived. Claudius had built new churches and reliquaries, and fed the poor and the pilgrims in the area.
On the death of Saint Gervase (Gervasius), bishop of Besançon, the clergy of that city elected Claudius as their archbishop in 685. He thus served, rather reluctantly, as 29th bishop of Besançon, according to the episcopal catalogues.
However, upon seeing that discipline had become lax at Condat, Claudius decided to abdicate his see and return as abbot at Condat." He then died in 696 or 699.
Veneration
After his death Claudius became one of the popular saints of France. In the 9th century, Rabanus MaurusRabanus Maurus
Rabanus Maurus Magnentius , also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, the archbishop of Mainz in Germany and a theologian. He was the author of the encyclopaedia De rerum naturis . He also wrote treatises on education and grammar and commentaries on the Bible...
mentions Claudius in his Martyrologium as an intercessor, with the words VII idus junii, depositio beati Claudii, episcopi. His body
Body
With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
, said to have been in an incorruptible
Incorruptibility
Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that supernatural intervention allows some human bodies to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness...
state, and which had been hidden during the Arab invasions
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
, was rediscovered in 1160, and visited in 1172 by St. Peter of Tarentaise. The relics were solemnly carried throughout Burgundy before being brought back to Condat. However, a document from the ninth century does state that his body was already kept in the abbey of Saint-Claude (Saint Oyend, Oyand).
The town of Saint-Claude was originally named Saint-Oyand or Saint-Oyend after Saint Eugendus. However, when Claudius had, in 687, resigned his Diocese of Besançon
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
and had died, in 696, as twelfth abbot, the number of pilgrims who visited Claudius' grave was so great that, since the thirteenth century, the name "Saint-Claude" came more and more into use and superseded the other name. Saint-Claude Cathedral, in the town, was dedicated to him.
Claudius's relics were burned in March 1794, during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
Queen Claude of France, first wife to Francis I, was named after him.