Ansfried of Utrecht: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Huy 051027 (38).JPG|thumb|right|St. Ansfridus. Small fine bronze of the fountain "Li bassinia" ([[Huy]]).]] |
[[File:Huy 051027 (38).JPG|thumb|right|St. Ansfridus. Small fine bronze of the fountain "Li bassinia" ([[Huy]]).]] |
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==Life== |
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Ansfried was apparently from Leuven and the nephew of Ansfried, Count of Toxandria.<ref name=Fichtenau>[https://books.google.com/books?id=to2D97xD1f4C&pg=PA190&dq=Ansfried+of+Utrecht&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5SaJVNXVAcyXNpvegIgN&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBzgU#v=onepage&q=Ansfried%20of%20Utrecht&f=false Fichtenau, Heinrich. ''Living in the Tenth Century: Mentalities and Social Orders'', University of Chicago Press, 1993 ISBN 9780226246215]</ref> The young Ansfried studied secular and clerical subjects under another uncle, Robert, Archbishop of Trier, before attending the cathedral school at Cologne. In 961, Otto I took Ansfried into his personal service and made him his swordbearer. When Otto was in Rome the following year to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor, he directed Ansfried to keep close at hand with the sword as a precaution against any unforeseen eventualities.<ref name=Leyser>[https://books.google.com/books?id=M3ivAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA149&lpg=PA149&dq=Ansfried+of+Utrecht&source=bl&ots=B0Y8YSToUY&sig=Uk6jCeqRXXTMOdryWhzXxzDMdVA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NwKJVOnSJMabgwTlgILIBQ&ved=0CCUQ6AEwATge#v=onepage&q=Ansfried%20of%20Utrecht&f=false Leyser, Karl. ''Communications and Power in Medieval Europe: The Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries'', Bloomsbury Publishing, 1994, ISBN 9780826446954]</ref> Karl Leyser describes this as a valuable lesson in practicality. |
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Because of his Christian commitment, he was highly respected and an important knight of the emperor's circle, holding rich possessions along the Meuse, in Brabant and Gelderland. In 985, [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto III]] granted Ansfried the right to mint coins at Medemblik,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ztG4wu93m-8C&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=Ansfried+of+Utrecht&source=bl&ots=C-5eH5H9I6&sig=W6_GDFRWag3f4qFbZABLRP9UY24&hl=en&sa=X&ei=URmJVN3uJoOlNu2vgFg&ved=0CCwQ6AEwBDgy#v=onepage&q=Ansfried%20of%20Utrecht&f=false Henstra, Dirk Jan. ''The Evolution of the Money Standard in Medieval Frisia'', Uitgeverij Verloren, 2000, ISBN 9789036712026]</ref> on the north-south shipping route through the Vlie, as well as, the income from tolls and tax collecting.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3fz05KJb5B4C&pg=PA23&dq=Ansfried+of+Utrecht&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qiuJVIKrEIP7ggSn1IPABg&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAzge#v=onepage&q=Ansfried%20of%20Utrecht&f=false Lodewijckx, Marc. "Bruc ealles well: archaeological essays concerning the peoples of North-West Europe in the first millennium AD'', Leuven University Press, 2004 ISBN 9789058673688]</ref> |
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[[File:Abdijkerk Thorn - Ramen H-Ansifridus H-Hilsonidis.jpg|thumb|right|Ansfridus and Hilsondis. Stained glass windows in the abbey of Thorn, 1956.]] |
[[File:Abdijkerk Thorn - Ramen H-Ansifridus H-Hilsonidis.jpg|thumb|right|Ansfridus and Hilsondis. Stained glass windows in the abbey of Thorn, 1956.]] |
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He was married to Heresuint or Hilsondis. They had one child, Benedicta. He founded a Romanesque abbey church on his wife's estate at [[Thorn Abbey|Thorn]] under the patronage of St. [[Saint Michael in the Catholic Church|Michael]]. The abbey itself had a double cloister that housed both man and women. Ansfried planned it as a place of retirement for him and his family after he left public service. Under his control, the abbey and lands, of about 1.5 kilometers square, was [[Imperial immediacy| reichsunmittel]], making it subject only to the Emperor. Hereswitha was to be the first abbess but died on her way there; and Benedicta took her place.<ref name=Akker>[http://www.heiligen.net/heiligen/05/03/05-03-1010-ansfried.php van der Akker SJ, Dries. "Ansfried of Utrecht", Heiligen.net]</ref> |
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After his wife's death, Ansfried wanted to become a [[monk]]. However, in 995, Emperor Otto III and Bishop [[Notker of Liège]] persuaded the reluctant Ansfried to assume the then vacant see of Utrecht. Ansfried objected that as he had borne weapons as a knight, he was unworthy of the office; but the emperor prevailed. He was ordained priest and consecrated eighteenth [[Bishop of Utrecht]] in the same ceremony.<ref name=Akker/> |
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In 1006 Bishop Ansfried founded the abbey of [[Heiligenberg (Leusden)|Heiligenberg]], also under the patronage of St. Michael. Toward the end of his life he became increasingly weakened, and retired as a monk to St. Peter's in Utrecht,<ref name=Akker/> where he cared for the sick, although almost blind himself. |
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Upon his death, Ansfried was buried in the Cathedral of Saint Martin in Utrecht. |
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==Veneration== |
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His feast day was 3 May but was later moved to 11 May. |
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===Patronage=== |
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St. Ansfried is the patron saint of Amersfoort. |
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===Iconography=== |
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Ansfried is portrayed holding a small church building (as a founder); as a knight with weapons at his feet, because he renounced the knighthood; with a bishop's miter and staff; or as a Benedictine monk. |
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The stained glass windows in St. John's Cathedral in Den Bosch depicting the seven sacraments. The sacrament of Holy Orders portrays St. Ansfried. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht|Archbishop of Utrecht]] |
*[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht|Archbishop of Utrecht]] |
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==Notes== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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Revision as of 05:37, 11 December 2014
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2014) |
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Saint Ansfried (Ansfrid, Ansfridus) of Utrecht (died 3 May 1010 near Leusden) was Count of Huy and the sword-bearer for Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. He became Bishopof Utrecht in 995.
Life
Ansfried was apparently from Leuven and the nephew of Ansfried, Count of Toxandria.[1] The young Ansfried studied secular and clerical subjects under another uncle, Robert, Archbishop of Trier, before attending the cathedral school at Cologne. In 961, Otto I took Ansfried into his personal service and made him his swordbearer. When Otto was in Rome the following year to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor, he directed Ansfried to keep close at hand with the sword as a precaution against any unforeseen eventualities.[2] Karl Leyser describes this as a valuable lesson in practicality.
Because of his Christian commitment, he was highly respected and an important knight of the emperor's circle, holding rich possessions along the Meuse, in Brabant and Gelderland. In 985, Otto III granted Ansfried the right to mint coins at Medemblik,[3] on the north-south shipping route through the Vlie, as well as, the income from tolls and tax collecting.[4]
He was married to Heresuint or Hilsondis. They had one child, Benedicta. He founded a Romanesque abbey church on his wife's estate at Thorn under the patronage of St. Michael. The abbey itself had a double cloister that housed both man and women. Ansfried planned it as a place of retirement for him and his family after he left public service. Under his control, the abbey and lands, of about 1.5 kilometers square, was reichsunmittel, making it subject only to the Emperor. Hereswitha was to be the first abbess but died on her way there; and Benedicta took her place.[5]
After his wife's death, Ansfried wanted to become a monk. However, in 995, Emperor Otto III and Bishop Notker of Liège persuaded the reluctant Ansfried to assume the then vacant see of Utrecht. Ansfried objected that as he had borne weapons as a knight, he was unworthy of the office; but the emperor prevailed. He was ordained priest and consecrated eighteenth Bishop of Utrecht in the same ceremony.[5]
In 1006 Bishop Ansfried founded the abbey of Heiligenberg, also under the patronage of St. Michael. Toward the end of his life he became increasingly weakened, and retired as a monk to St. Peter's in Utrecht,[5] where he cared for the sick, although almost blind himself.
Upon his death, Ansfried was buried in the Cathedral of Saint Martin in Utrecht.
Veneration
His feast day was 3 May but was later moved to 11 May.
Patronage
St. Ansfried is the patron saint of Amersfoort.
Iconography
Ansfried is portrayed holding a small church building (as a founder); as a knight with weapons at his feet, because he renounced the knighthood; with a bishop's miter and staff; or as a Benedictine monk.
The stained glass windows in St. John's Cathedral in Den Bosch depicting the seven sacraments. The sacrament of Holy Orders portrays St. Ansfried.
See also
Notes
- ^ Fichtenau, Heinrich. Living in the Tenth Century: Mentalities and Social Orders, University of Chicago Press, 1993 ISBN 9780226246215
- ^ Leyser, Karl. Communications and Power in Medieval Europe: The Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries, Bloomsbury Publishing, 1994, ISBN 9780826446954
- ^ Henstra, Dirk Jan. The Evolution of the Money Standard in Medieval Frisia, Uitgeverij Verloren, 2000, ISBN 9789036712026
- ^ Lodewijckx, Marc. "Bruc ealles well: archaeological essays concerning the peoples of North-West Europe in the first millennium AD, Leuven University Press, 2004 ISBN 9789058673688
- ^ a b c van der Akker SJ, Dries. "Ansfried of Utrecht", Heiligen.net
External links
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