Fructuosus of Braga
Encyclopedia
- For the martyr-saint of Tarragona, see FructuosusFructuosusSaint Fructuosus of Tarragona was a bishop and Christian saint and martyr, the outstanding name in the early history of Christianity in Hispania. He was bishop of Tarragona and was arrested during the persecutions of Christians under the Roman Emperor Valerian . Along with him were two deacons,...
.
Saint Fructuosus of Braga was the Bishop of Dumio and Archbishop of Braga
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Braga
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Braga is an Archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Portugal.Its suffragans are the diocese of Aveiro, diocese of Bragança-Miranda, diocese of Coimbra, diocese of Lamego, diocese of Porto, diocese of Viana do Castelo, diocese of Vila Real,...
, a great founder of monasteries, who died April 16, 665. He was the son of a Visigothic dux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
in the region of Bierzo and he accompanied his father at a young age on certain official trips over his estates. Fructuosus was a disciple of Bishop Conantius of Palencia.
St Fructuosus' relationship with the kings of his time was not always happy one. In 652, he wrote what was apparently a second letter to King Recceswinth asking for the release of political prisoners held from the reign of King Chintila
Chintila
Chintila was Visigothic King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia from 636. He succeeded Sisenand in a time of weakness and reigned until his death....
, some of whom had languished in prison until the reign of King Erwig
Erwig
Erwig was a king of the Visigoths in Hispania . He was the only Visigothic king to be a complete puppet of the bishops and palatine nobility....
. In 656, he undertook to plan for a voyage to the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
. However, according to the new laws enacted by King Chindasvinth
Chindasuinth
Chindasuinth was Visigothic King of Spain, from 642 until his death. He succeeded Tulga, from whom he usurped the throne in a coup; he was "officially" elected by the nobles and anointed by the bishops 30 April 642....
, it was illegal to leave the kingdom without royal permission. One of the few disciples privy to his plans had given him up to authorities and Fructuosus was subsequently arrested and imprisoned. He was later present at the Eighth Council of Toledo
Eighth Council of Toledo
The Eighth Council of Toledo commenced on 16 December 653 in the church of the Holy Apostles in Toledo. It was attended by fifty two bishops personally — including the aged Gavinio of Calahorra, who had assisted at the Fourth Council — and another ten by delegation, ten abbots, and the archpriest...
in 653, in place of Bishop Riccimer of Dumio. It was at this Council that St Fructuosus raised the issue of political prisoners once again.
After the death of Bishop Riccimer, Fructuosus succeeded him in the See
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of Dumio. At the subsequent Tenth Council of Toledo
Tenth Council of Toledo
The Tenth Council of Toledo was summoned to meet on 1 December 656 by King Reccesuinth. In November 655, the bishops of Carthaginiensis had held a provincial synod in Toledo, the Ninth Council of Toledo...
(656), the clergy of Dumio complained that Riccimer's will, which dispensed church rents to the poor and freed the episcopate's slaves, had impoverished the See. The Council agreed that, by not providing compensation, Bishop Riccimer had obviated his duty and the acts of his will were rendered invalid. They gave the job of correcting the problem to Fructuosus and commanded him to take moderation in the case of the slaves. At the same Council, Archbishop Potamius of Braga was remanded to a monastery for licentiousness and his archdiocese was given to St Fructuosus on December 1, 656.
St Fructuosus dressed so poorly as to be mistaken for a slave and he even received a beating from a peasant, from which he was only saved by a miracle (according to the monastic chroniclers). He founded his greatest monastery at Nono
Nono
Nono can refer to:places:* Nono, Argentina, a municipality in the Province of Córdoba* Nono, Ecuador, a parish in the municipality of Quito in the province of Pichincha* Nono, Ethiopia, a town in the Nono, Illubabor woreda in the Oromia Region...
and attracted such a number of monks that the local dux complained to the king that he had lost too much of his military levy. His monastery at Compludo was known for its unusually severe Rule. In this monastery, monks were required to reveal all their thoughts, visions and dreams to their superiors. They were subjected to bedtime inspections throughout the night. Monks were forbidden to look at each other. Punishments here were also unusually harsh and included flogging and imprisonment within the monastery on a diet of six ounces of bread for three to six months.
His Vita
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
is one of the chief sources for writing the history of his age. From the 16th to the mid 20th century the authorship of the Vita Fructuosi was wrongly attributed to Valerio of Bierzo
Valerio of Bierzo
Valerio of Bierzo was an ascetic hermit and monk from the Bierzo region of Visigothic Spain. A number of his writings still survive, including three short autobiographical works in which he complains about his many sufferings.-Life:Valerio was a member of the Visigothic aristocracy...
. It is now accepted to have been written by an anonymous monastic disciple.
Saint Fructuosus' feast day is observed on April 16. His relics, which for a time were in the Cathedral of Braga
Braga
Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
, were later transferred to the Shrine of Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
in the year 1102.
Sources
- Thompson, E. A. The Goths in Spain. Clarendon Press: OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, 1969. - Iberian Fathers. Writings of Braulio of Saragossa, Fructuosus of Braga, translated by Claude W. Barlow Catholic University of America PressCatholic University of America PressThe Catholic University of America Press, also known as CUA Press, is the academic publishing house of the Catholic University of America. Founded on November 14, 1939, and incorporated on July 16, 1941, the Press is a founding member of the Association of American University Presses...
(1969)