Bertarius of Verdun (Bertarius Virdunensis)
(Deeds of the Bishops of Verdun)
D. G. Waitz, Preface
Several monks of different periods wrote the history of the bishopric of Verdun, the first of whom had left behind an account of these bishops and of his own time, a fragment of which, preserved by Wassebourg, I have deemed worthy of being inserted here.
are to be included. Bertarius, a priest and canon of Saint-Vanne, was connected to Bishop Hatto, who presided over the Church of Verdun in the years 846-878, and was educated by Hatto's successor Berharius 'in both secular and sacred literature,' and was also an intimate of Dado, who succeeded him. For when in his time the principal church of Verdun was burned and the books and Lives of the saints were consumed, Bertarius, though afflicted by illness and sorrow, undertook to compose a brief History of the bishops, which he dedicated to Dado. Since Dado was elected bishop in the first days of the year 880, the thirty-seventh year in which that fire had occurred falls in the year 916 or 917, and it is likely that shortly thereafter Bertarius wrote his History, which however he did not extend beyond the times of King Arnulf.
Lacking richer sources, he could present only the briefest account of the affairs of Verdun, since he seems either not to have known or to have scorned the legends that we read in later writers about the first bishops of Verdun. He did, however, consult several older Lives of saints -- of Dionysius, Servatius, Lupus of Troyes, and Maximinus of Micy. He himself cites the 'Gesta Francorum,' but by this name he indicated not the work commonly so inscribed, in which these things are not at all found, but the History of Gregory of Tours. But he also diverges from this in certain respects, and did not repeat everything that Gregory relates about the bishops of Verdun, so that, although he occasionally transcribed Gregory's very words, he seems to have held his narrative in memory rather than to have consulted the book. He inserted into his work the poems of Fortunatus addressed to Bishop Agericus. He also appears to have had at hand a catalogue of bishops, but he sorely missed their Lives, which he had heard existed; he also frequently consulted charters preserved in the churches.
What was done in the time of Hatto, Bertharius, and Dado, he saw himself, but even these things he touches upon most briefly, contenting himself with only a few lines about Dado, perhaps moved by the fact that Dado himself contributed very many things to this Church, which now
"In the year of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ eight hundred and ninety-three, in the fifth year of the reign of the most glorious lord King Arnulf, and the thirteenth of our ordination, in the ninth indiction, I, Dado, bishop of the Church of Verdun, began to consider in my mind the various vicissitudes of the present age, and to bring to memory the deeds of the earlier pontiffs, and to investigate them diligently and profitably from the faithful of our Church. For this reason I have noted down in writing the deeds of the orthodox prelates, so that their memory may be with us eternally, whose names we believe to be written eternally in heaven.
"Lord Hatto, our predecessor, therefore lived in the times of Emperor Lothair, and likewise of Lothair his son, and continued until the first year of King Charles. This venerable pontiff contributed many things worthy of remembrance to the Church; of which we have deemed it fitting to commit a few to writing. For he obtained from King Lothair properties lying in many places, that is, in the county of Verdun, Abereville, etc. This same venerable bishop also began this new basilica; but it was honorably completed by his successor, namely our uncle lord Bishop Berhardus. He also took up the governance of this church in the times of King Charles, and governed it successfully until the time of King Louis the German. For, to recall a few of his happy deeds, this renowned pastor lord Berhardus, namely our uncle, was most fervent in ecclesiastical disciplines beyond what could be believed or done, and diligently loving both the episcopal ministry and the religious life, they bear eternal testimony to his zeal. He gave, etc. In the basilica of Saint Peter and Saint Vanne he also established eight canons, and gave them the properties that belong to that Church, as he then held them in his lordship, as well as the tithe of rams, which are received for our use from the Brasensis hundred at the proper times. He also gave for that altar one priestly vestment adorned with gold, namely a paten, that is, of brocade with drops, etc. He also placed one pallium upon the grave of that holy patron, etc.
(349¹) Preface. (349²) Hugo Flaviniacensis, in Labbeus I, p. 123. (349³) Chapters 2, 3. (349⁴) Chapter 19. (349⁵) Wassebourg, First Volume of the Antiquities of Belgic Gaul, f. 174. (349⁶) Preface. (349⁷) Dado himself numbers the year 893 as the 13th of his ordination; cf. below. (350) 'In your time for thirty-six years... many prosperous things came to us; but now... our principal church was consumed by fire.' Preface.
"We also, who by divine disposition succeeded him and in the time of lord King Louis took up the governance of this Church after our uncle, and after his death received lord Charles his brother as emperor, and have now come to the time of the most glorious lord King Arnulf, grandson of those rulers, have deemed it most salutary to add to this work whatever I have been able to add, with the Lord's help, to the church entrusted to me in properties and households, and in all ecclesiastical ornaments. He gave, etc. All these things lord Emperor Charles delegated to the above-mentioned church with solemn formality, and granted them to be held in perpetuity. The most glorious King Arnulf also gave as a possession, by the command of his authority, to the above-mentioned church the abbey called Montfaucon, which is built in honor of Saint Germanus and is situated in the county of Doulens, with all things pertaining to it," etc.
Since the catalogue of the bishops of Verdun, to which Dado is said to have added these things, appears to be lost, the brief historical compendium of Bertarius is all the more valuable. Laurentius found only a few things to add to that work in his own time. Hugo of Flavigny, taking Bertarius's narrative as his foundation, indeed collected much from all quarters and handed down to posterity a richer harvest of Verdun's affairs, but for the most part he patched together things that were false, fabulous, and unworthy of the name of history. The author of the Life of Saint Paul also praises Bertarius as an authority of no contemptible antiquity, but also accuses him of negligence, since he did not write down everything he had learned. -- In what year Bertarius died is not certain. Perhaps he was still alive even under Barnoinus, who assumed the bishopric in the year 925.
For we read in Wassebourg the following beginning of the polyptych of Verdun composed in his time: "To the brothers of the church of Verdun serving Christ under canonical authority in the house of the blessed Virgin, continual salvation. Since many tribulations in our times weighed heavily upon this bishopric of Verdun, two most monstrous calamities above all, brought on by our wicked merits, cast it down from its proper state. One of these occurred when, in the time of Bishop Dado of venerable memory, a hateful fire consumed nearly the entire city and leveled the church of Saint Mary to the ground. And, alas! the flame consumed all the ecclesiastical ornaments, together with the archive and the privileges of the apostolic see and the decrees of the bishops and the instruments and writings of ecclesiastical properties, commonly called 'pulegii.' To crown this great evil, when the nephew of lord Dado, the venerable Bishop Barnoinus, succeeded in that same place, in the first year of his ordination the most cruel race of the Hungarians attacked the bishop without warning, and having burned nearly all the estates, put to death or consigned to captivity the people found outside the fortified towns.
Pressed by these two grave calamities, the venerable and elder canons of the same church assembled together, namely Ewenardus the provost, Bertarius the dean, with the archdeacon Leutfredus and Odilo, and with a few villagers who had survived the aforesaid devastation in the brothers' estates, and deemed it worthwhile, by diligent investigation, to compile this polyptych concerning the properties of the canons for the common benefit of those present and future, lest the ancient institution and the revenues and rents of the estates be wholly abolished through ignorance. 'Pulegium,' however, as it seems to me, signifies nothing else or sounds in Latin as nothing other than 'public law' or 'popular law.' If anyone has commented on this more correctly, I, Sarovardus the chancellor, obeying the commands of my superiors who appointed me to this work, humbly defer to his understanding."
If the Bertarius the dean mentioned here is the same person as the historian, whom we have already seen to have been an adult in the time of Hatto, he must have died an old man. He was buried in the cemetery of Saint Vanne.
A monk of Saint-Vanne continued the History begun by Bertarius up to the year 1047, when Bishop Theodoric was in office. He seems to have known almost nothing about the early decades of the tenth century, but afterwards he presented the affairs of Verdun, though not copiously and in a continuous narrative, with a sufficiently accurate account, and related what he had heard from others or seen himself, employing a florid style of speaking, but like Bertarius he almost entirely neglected to note the dates of events. He nowhere indicates that he had written sources besides charters granted to the churches, and it is unlikely that other monuments of Verdun's history existed in his time. Laurentius later took up his narrative, Hugo of Flavigny partly copied and partly augmented it. The author of the Life of Saint Richard the abbot also seems to have drawn much from this work. For since he himself never saw Richard, but says he will write 'what we have learned from the faithful narration of those who saw these things and knew them most certainly,' he seems to have lived after Richard's time; but the writer of the continuation put an end to the History only two years after Richard's death, so that he could not have used that Life.
In editing this work I have used the manuscript.
(367) What he copied from that author, whose 'memorial antiquity' procured great authority for him, is found in Bertarius chapter 4. (368) 'That these things are so, the authority and not contemptible antiquity of the man himself seems to lend sufficient credibility for believing it. But since he himself continues (ch. 8) that he has read and seen depicted many things which were not written down through negligence, he too is convicted of the charge of negligence, since he neglected to write down for the edification of posterity what he had read or seen depicted.' -- Mabillon, Acta II, p. 273. (369) So Wassebourg f. 174. (370) Hugo Flaviniacensis, p. 123.
1) Verdun manuscript no. 3, parchment, maximum folio, formerly of Saint-Vanne of Verdun, into which 6 folios from the late twelfth century have been inserted, and folios 159-162 contain the History of Bertarius and his continuator joined together and distinguished by no title. This excellent book, communicated to me by the most distinguished librarian of the city of Verdun, Clouet, and his son, a most learned and gracious man, professor at the gymnasium and seminary, who favored my labors with the greatest liberality and singular courtesy, I myself, stationed at Verdun, most carefully collated with the printed editions and restored the genuine text from it.
2) Verdun manuscript no. 36, parchment, thirteenth century, small folio, f. 416 ff. contains the same work of Bertarius and his continuator, but greatly altered and corrupted with errors and mistakes, so that it could scarcely be used for emending individual passages in a few places. The manuscript, which appears to have belonged to the monastery of Saint Paul, adds at the end certain things about the church of Saint Agericus, which had been taken from that monastery, and which I did not wish to omit.
D'Achery was the first to publish Bertarius's History, which was frequently cited by Wassebourg, in his Spicilegium vol. XII, p. 231, having been copied from the Vanne manuscript by Bartholomew Senocq of Verdun and transmitted to him, and he appended the continuation to it. From there Calmet (History of Lorraine, vol. I, Proofs, p. 191) and de la Barre in the second edition of the Spicilegium (II, p. 234) reproduced both works. A French translation, made by J.-J. Cajot, appeared at Verdun in 1775.
Here Begins the Excerpt of Lord Bertarius the Priest on the Deeds of the Pontiffs of the Holy Church of Verdun, Addressed to Lord Dado, Bishop of the Same See
To my most reverend and most holy lord, lord Dado, illustrious bishop of the Church of Verdun, Bertarius your priest, devoutly praying for you, wishes eternal happiness in Christ.
Since in your time, for thirty-six years, by your good zeal and illustrious reputation, many prosperous things came to us, but now, our sins demanding it, our principal church was consumed by fire, and the books and memorials of our holy Fathers were for the most part committed to those same flames, lest the sacrosanct memory of your predecessors, their venerable zeal and holy works, be entirely consigned to oblivion: though afflicted by illness and sorrow, I have deemed it fitting to comprehend in brief discourse what I have read and heard from the faithful about your holy predecessors, something pleasing indeed to you, and useful to posterity.
1. Saint Sanctinus, First Bishop
1. We read that in this church, which is built in honor of the holy Mother of God, thirty bishops have already preceded, of whom the first is called Saint Sanctinus. About whom we have endeavored to note here what we think. For we read that Saint Dionysius sent Sanctinus, bishop of the Church of Meaux, and Antoninus the priest, with the accounts of his passion, to Rome to Saint Clement, and that their journey passed through this city, and that on the way there and back they were the first to preach the word of God here. And they report that for this reason he is placed first in the order of bishops of this Church. It is also read in the Life of Saint Servatius the bishop, where the deposition of the archbishop of the Church of Cologne is discussed, that Sanctinus, bishop of the city of the Nails, was present. Where his body is buried, however, we have found nowhere recorded, except at Meaux.
(379) Cf. Hincmar's letter concerning Saint Dionysius, in Surius V, p. 660, where however it is not stated that Sanctinus came to Verdun. Calmet I, p. XL, mentions another legend in which these things are related. (380) This Life appears to have been lost. See the remarks of J. Bollandus, Acta SS. May, III, p. 210.
2. Saints Marus, Salvinus, and Arator
2. After him we read that there were Saint Marus, and Saint Salvinus, and Saint Arator. The frequent miracles at their tombs demonstrate their merits. Indeed, their monuments were divinely revealed to Saint Agericus, and by him honorably and most holily arranged. For about these men we can report very many things that we have seen with our own eyes. For in the time of the younger King Lothair and of lord Hatto, bishop of our city, relics were taken from these most holy men, and in our times were carried to the monastery of Tholey, which is subject to this Church. God is witness of my conscience that I cannot bring to memory all the things which, from childhood to maturity, I saw divine clemency work at their tombs through the merits of these saints: how many blind were given sight, how many deaf were healed, how many lame were raised up, how many demoniacs were freed, how many sick were cured of various illnesses, I am utterly unable to encompass in writing; some things, however, I shall gather in brief.
Two cripples, having entered their church for the purpose of prayer, were immediately raised up through the merits of these saints. A certain woman, named Emma, deprived of the light of this world for many days, was there given sight in my presence. Likewise another woman, who was mute, after the completion of Matins began to speak in my hearing. A certain man also, crippled for forty years and lying for many years in the portico of the church of Saint Stephen at Metz, was brought on a cart and carried to the tombs of these saints. In the first part of the night he began to cry out, and continuing to cry out until Matins, he deserved to obtain his health. To witness this miracle we came with lord Bishop Hatto on the same day, and together with him we saw his thigh with his leg stripped of flesh up to the buttocks, as if he had had nothing but bones; and he who had barely come in a vehicle, now an old man and full of days, returned home on foot and in good health.
3. Saints Pulchronius, Possessor, and Firminus
3. After these came the saints Pulchronius, Possessor, and Firminus; of whose memory we know nothing else except that from the earliest times their merits were pleasing to God, and they are numbered among the citizens of the saints. It is also read in the Life of Saint Lupus, bishop of Troyes (c. 450), that Pulchronius, a man of wonderful holiness, shone as bishop of the Church of Verdun with such a grace of healing that, with his hands bound behind his back, he would command demoniacs, and they would recover their senses more quickly than they could fall headlong from the convulsions of their bodies. Certainly when relics were taken from the aforesaid saints in the time of lord Bishop Hatto, then also the tombs of these men were found, honorably and reverently as befits saints, beneath the monument of the blessed Vanne. The portion of their bodies seen by some sufficiently shows that their souls enjoy eternal joy in blessed happiness.
4. Saint Vanne (c. 500)
4. In the time therefore of the blessed Firminus (c. 500), the inhabitants of this city rebelled against Clovis, king of the Franks, who had been baptized by the blessed Remigius. When they were being besieged by him, and that same most holy pontiff had meanwhile died, the blessed Euspicius, a priest of this Church, went out and obtained from the king peace and safety for his fellow citizens. Afterwards, when the aforesaid king wished to have him made bishop of this city, and he utterly refused, the most blessed Father Vanne, his nephew, was ordained bishop here. Saint Euspicius, however, with his other nephew, namely the blessed Maximinus who was joined to the most holy Father Vanne by the closeness of brotherhood, at the request of the same king went with him to Orleans and there, leading a monastic life, died in peace. Saint Maximinus, later made abbot at Orleans, shines with an abundance of miracles.
I have heard from many that they have seen a written Life of the most blessed Vanne, but until now it has not been seen by us. The basilica, indeed, where the aforesaid saints rest, was anciently built in honor of Saint Peter the Apostle, and because of its ancient dignity it also contains many bishops' tombs, and therefore it is greatly to be venerated by all the faithful.
5. Bishop Desideratus (c. 520)
5. (c. 520) After him there was Bishop Desideratus, in whose time, as we read in the Deeds of the Franks, as famine grew worse, the citizens of this city were in the greatest affliction. Having gone to King Theoderic and borrowed five hundred gold coins from his treasury, he distributed them to his citizens on the condition that they should trade with them in various places, and live from their profits, and when the need had passed, return the aforesaid sum to the royal treasury. When this was done, they were both rescued from the hardship of famine and made wealthy.
And when the bishop wished to return the aforesaid gold coins to the king, the king, giving thanks to the Lord that his citizens had been rescued from such pitiable misery by means of the royal treasury, ordered him to return the aforesaid gold coins to them, by the increase of which they became merchants and remain so to this day.
(381) Cf. Calmet I, p. XXXV-XLV. (382) Tholey near Saint-Wendel. (383) See Acta SS. July VII, p. 70. (384) The entire chapter is drawn from the ancient Life of Saint Maximinus of Micy, sections 5-10, in Mabillon, Acta SS., I, p. 582. (385) No older Life has been published, so far as I know. (386) Gregory of Tours III, 34, who however says that King Theodebert gave seven thousand gold coins. (387) Cf. Liutprand VI, 6; Richer III, 103.
6. Saint Agericus (c. 550)
6. (c. 550) After his death, Saint Agericus was ordained bishop in this Church from among the citizens of this city. In his time, when King Childebert wished to hold a council in this city, out of love for him he kept him at Metz (c. 590), where Egidius, archbishop of the Church of Rheims, was deposed. A certain very noble man, who for his crimes should have been deprived of life by the king, was saved by the petition of the aforesaid bishop; and on account of this that man gave to the brothers what we possess at Arcus and at Mantua. Again, when the aforesaid king was traveling through Verdun, and the aforesaid holy bishop had only a little wine in one vessel, and almighty God through his merits so multiplied it that the king with all his company had full sufficiency from it, more wine was found in that vessel at the end than at the beginning:
the king, terrified by such a miracle, learned that this Church did not have a place from which to gather wine. Therefore he gave to this Church two estates on the Moselle and Moulin, and whatever lies between Luce and Bage, and all that we hold below Trier. He also added Marcey, and Sampigny, and Commenias, and the estate of Mercast, and the estate of Hairici, and the estates contiguous to this city, Charny and Neuville, and many other places which it would be burdensome to enumerate here, which the king and his vassals handed over to this Church to be held out of reverence for such a great man.
How great was the veneration this man enjoyed in those times is shown by Saint Fortunatus in the verses which he composed in his praise, which we have deemed it fitting to insert here. For, when this same Fortunatus was in Italy and was suffering excessive pain in his eyes, he came to a certain monastery built in honor of Saint Martin, and it seemed good to him to anoint his eyes with the oil that was in the lamp before the altar under the name of Saint Martin. When he did this, he immediately received his health through the merits of Saint Martin. Afterwards, burning with the desire to visit the tomb of Saint Martin, he came from Italy to Gaul, and his journey was through Verdun. And being received by Saint Agericus kindly and with charity, what he saw in him he expressed in sacred writings.
Verses of Fortunatus
O city of Verdun, though you are enclosed in a narrow circuit,
Enlarged by the merits of your bishop, you are pleasing.
Greater glory shines forth in your narrow compass,
Agericus, which your honor has all the more increased.
You have sown very many seeds of great praises,
Which you will harvest, ripe with the fruitfulness of your works.
In the present time you bestow sustenance upon the needy,
Whence the future day will multiply your wealth a hundredfold.
You unlock the inner chambers of hidden doctrine, O pastor;
Not with feasts alone but also with your mouth you feed your flocks.
You renew old temples more preciously and found new ones;
More beautiful is the Lord's house with you as servant:
You fill the excellent fonts of holy baptism;
So piously you act, filled from the divine font.
This bright hall radiates with sincere serenity,
And, if the sun should flee, here the risen day remains.
To the new temples eager peoples throng from every side.
And you bestow God upon the peoples all the more in love.
The destitute has found you as consolation, the naked as clothing,
And alone you remain food and drink for all.
Happy you who by your merits, lover of eternal light,
In so brief a time prepare things that shall not die!
As Phoebus suspends his exalted chariot in the sky
And, pure, scatters his fiery radiance everywhere,
With outpoured rays he claims the whole world for himself,
Filling mountains and plains, holding depths and heights;
So you, O bishop, flash with the splendor of your soul alongside the sun.
He shines with his rays, and he with yours,
O holy Agericus, by whose cultivating sermon
The harvests of the Church are pleasing in their fruitfulness,
Barren in earthly things, fruitful in heavenly ones,
Spurning human things, rich as you go to the heavens,
Pure, you repel the wanton enticements of the world,
From whom the bitter love of the flesh has stolen nothing.
Slippery sin perishes and the mind does not rejoice in crime,
Since you see your limbs free from offenses.
Dwelling in holy temples, you are so pure
That your heart, O Father, is a holy temple of God.
Christ chooses to be hidden in such a vessel;
He possesses the house which He has purified for Himself.
There is no deceit on your lips, nor fierce clouds of the mind:
With sincere souls the day blooms on your face.
You pour back a river of learned speech from a springing font,
And you nurture barren minds with your irrigating voice.
You open the lofty mysteries of heaven to the earth;
Through you one knows, fears, prays to, and loves the Lord more.
With divine teaching, O eloquent bishop, you triumph,
Giving, O pastor, warnings lest error oppress your sheep.
You refresh with delights which heaven, fields, and water supply,
And it satisfies the peoples: here food, there faith.
The poor man receives help, the sad man hope, the naked man clothing;
All that you have, you make to be for all.
Here may long health remain for you, and future blessedness besides,
And long, O pastor, may you offer prayers for your flock.
7. Buciowaldus, Caramerus, and Ermenfridus (c. 588)
7. (c. 588) After Saint Agericus, a certain abbot Buciowaldus sought the bishopric, but because he was proud, he obtained nothing. The royal authority decreed that Caramerus the referendary should become bishop with the consent of the citizens. After Caramerus was Ermenfridus. Of these we have no other record except that they are found in the order of bishops.
8. Saint Paul (c. 660)
8. (c. 660) After Ermenfridus, Saint Paul was drawn from the monastery of Tholey, who was the brother of Saint Germanus, bishop of Paris, and was consecrated bishop in this Church. His memory is eternal. For Grimo the deacon, nephew of King Dagobert, who is also called Adalgisus, having been reverently raised from infancy by Saint Paul, out of love for that bishop, he handed over his own property, that is the monastery of Tholey, to Saint Mary at Verdun, by his own written deed and that of many of the faithful, to be held in perpetuity, and he strengthened and confirmed it with all authority. The same Grimo also delegated the estate of Fraisne for the sustenance of our brothers out of his piety. Saint Paul purchased Basonisvillare from his own revenues. Indeed, he made a charter of privileges for our canons concerning the older estates, and confirmed it with his own hands and those of other bishops under divine attestation.
About the miracles of our holy Father, we have heard this remarkable thing. When he was still leading a monastic life and had the obedience of the brothers' bakehouse, and feared that the brothers might not have bread at the appointed hour, after the fire had been cast out of the oven, he himself entered inside and cleaned the oven with his cowl, and arranged the bread there to be baked, and coming out unharmed, he distributed the holy bread to the brothers in the refectory at the appointed time.
I have read and seen depicted many miracles which he performed while living in the bishopric, and which, after his death, resting in the basilica of Saint Saturninus, he performed with God's cooperation. For he gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the ability to walk to the lame, and cured the sick of various infirmities. And what more? He expanded this Church in temporal goods. And almighty God causes his soul to rejoice without end in eternal glory with all the saints.
9. Gisloaldus, Gerebertus, Armoinus, and Agrebertus
9. After him came the bishops Gisloaldus, Gerebertus, Armoinus, and Agrebertus. (c. 618) In his time Saint Crodingus built the monastery of Beaulieu and placed it under the authority of our Church.
10. Bishop Bertalamius (c. 710)
10. After him Bishop Bertalamius. (c. 710) Through his zeal and diligence, Mactigisilus and his wife Hechia gave to our Church the estate of Tilly and the lake and Cassepierre, and to our brothers the estate of Fromesy, and very many other things for the remedy of their souls.
11. Bishops Abbo and Peppo (c. 716)
11. (c. 716) After him Bishop Abbo and then Bishop Peppo. In his time there arose a considerable sedition between Charles the First, who is called Charles Martel, and Rainfridus, prince of the Franks. And because Peppo favored the party of Charles during the sedition, he obtained by purchase, together with Charles and a certain noble vassal of his, the estate of Clermont with all its dependencies. After God had consolidated the kingdom of the Franks for Charles, he also gave to our Church Pierrepont and confirmed it to us by his written deed. But Merle and Cassepierre, because his soldiers had seized them, he retained, and Cassepierre is still retained.
12. Bishops Voschisus, Agroinus, and Madelveus (c. 725)
12. (c. 725) After him came Bishop Voschisus and Bishop Agroinus. And after him the bishopric was vacant for many days. (c. 735) Then came lord Bishop Madelveus, who was from the household of this Church, and was a holy and just man. It is reported that through his diligence and zeal he obtained by precaria Vaneau and the court of Warnunsi and Rembecourt, and many other things, as I myself have read in charters confirmed by his hand.
(c. 750) In his time also the house of this Church was burned, our sins requiring it. And on account of this he traveled through Gaul and Italy and then through Greece and Joppa, with great difficulty of the roads, and reached Jerusalem, and from the patriarch of that place he obtained relics of many saints, and brought them to Verdun with a crystal chalice of wonderful workmanship, and reverently placed them in our principal Church. The relics that had been in the older Church he placed in the right part of the altar of Saint Mary in an underground crypt.
For he lived from the time of King Pippin until the time of Charlemagne, and he died in the nearby estate called Neuville. When he was being carried from there to Saint Peter's or to Saint Vanne's, it is reported that upon the cross, in the sight of all, two doves white as snow came and sat on it until his body had been committed to burial. Indeed, he established many good things in this Church. For he built churches very well in this city, and reverently ordered the clergy and people of this Church, and proved himself an outstanding father and bishop of this Church.
He also frequently visited the properties which are anciently subject to this Church in Aquitaine, that is, the abbey of Saint Amantius situated in Rodez, and Maderniacum and Puliniacum, and he carried with him the deeds of our aforesaid pontiffs, so that through their merits he might more freely possess those properties situated at a distance. And for this reason they say that the miracles of Saint Agericus are recorded at Marseilles. And the Life of Saint Vanne and of Saint Paul are reported to be found in the neighboring places beyond the Loire. His body, wonderful to tell, was found intact after forty years, and was reverently reinterred where it now lies.
13. Amalbertus the Co-bishop (c. 770)
13. After him the bishopric of this Church was vacant for twelve years. (c. 770) But a certain servant of God named Amalbertus, made co-bishop according to the custom of that time, governed that Church, and in a certain oratory dedicated to all the apostles he led a quasi-solitary life.
And then this Church lost Beaulieu, and Tilly, and Stagnum, and Merle, and Cassepierre, and very many other things. For this was in the time of Charlemagne.
14. Bishop Peter (774)
14. After him came Peter, an Italian. For when the army of the Franks was around Pavia (774) and was besieging it, the city was, as they say, betrayed by him, and on account of this he was honored by Charlemagne with this bishopric. He held the bishopric for twenty-five years, and suffered many adversities in it. Indeed, they even accused him of disloyalty to the emperor, and on account of this he did not dare to see the emperor for twelve years. But having been properly cleared by the sons of this Church before the prince, (794) he afterwards approached his presence. He made many useless precaria grants, and in his days many properties were taken away from this Church.
15. Bishop Anstrannus (c. 800)
15. After his death they elected as their bishop from the king's palace Anstrannus, his cantor, an energetic man, through whose diligence the Brasensis merchants were brought under this Church. (c. 800) He survived five years.
16. Bishop Herilandus (c. 823)
16. Then Herilandus took up this office, a very simple and exceedingly sickly man. In his time also this Church suffered many misfortunes. After twenty-four years of his bishopric he died at Aachen, and he was buried next to Anstrannus in the basilica of Saint Vanne. (c. 823).
17. Bishop Hildinus
17. When he had died, a part of the clergy and people went to Emperor Louis, and asked that lord Hildinus from Alemannia be given to them, a good and holy man, who built many churches in this bishopric and did many good works. But after the battle fought at Fontenoy (841), being held in great hatred by Emperor Lothair, he died in Christ in this city on the octave of Epiphany (847), a man full of all goodness and charity, with great sadness and grief. He was in the bishopric for twenty-four years. Henceforth, what I have seen with my own eyes I am more freely able to set down in writing.
18. Bishop Hatto
18. Lord Hatto was ordained bishop in this Church after him, and on account of the aforesaid hatred of the emperor he found the tunic of Saint Mary torn and rent in many places -- that is, the properties of this Church excessively taken away and alienated. On account of their alienation and the affliction of his people, he exerted himself with all his might against the enemies of this Church, until, by God's mercy, he had the tunic of Saint Mary restored whole and returned to its proper state.
Moreover, he also obtained from the younger King Lothair the estate of Marcelliacum, and Abereville, and Maureium for the use of the brothers, and Mercuringas, and Crasaida, and Walacras, and by precaria grants the estate of Metganis, and Commenarias, and Gaugiacum. And his purpose and his exceeding labor was directed to this: that this Church should be exalted and enjoy peace, which he also accomplished during the days of the life of the younger Lothair. When that king died in the month of August (869), Hatto also died on the Kalends of January (870), and was buried in the basilica of Saint Vanne in the crypt next to the body of lord Bishop Hildinus. He was in the bishopric for twenty-three years. He also began our new church and built it for the most part.
19. Bishop Berhardus
19. After his death lord Berhardus, our most holy Father, was made bishop; he, by the acclamation of the clergy and people, took up the governance of this Church. His purpose and most holy zeal was to bring the basilica that had been begun to completion; which, by God's mercy, he also did. He established great and honorable bells, and smaller ones very good, in that basilica by his own work. He composed with the most fitting beauty pontifical vestments and a Gospel book adorned with gold and gems, a golden thurible and another silver one very fine, and a reliquary where the relics of the saints now are, and he bestowed upon this his church very many other ecclesiastical ornaments.
He made his canons live according to canonical rule, and manfully showed the village priests the way of justice, and instructed boys, among whom I, Bertarius, was one, in both secular and sacred books, by himself and through others, with the greatest charity. He died, however, in the monastery of Tholey, where his body also was laid to rest, on the day before the Kalends of January (year 879, December 22).
20. Bishop Dado
20. By Christ's mercy we now have our lord Dado as venerable bishop, who took up this office in the times of King Louis the German. Together with whom, in the second year of his ordination (881), he also obtained the place of Meinrodus by royal decree for the use of the Church entrusted to him.
21. Charles and Arnulf
21. After Louis, his brother Charles received the monarchy of the whole empire (882), from whom he obtained for his altar the estate of Tilly, which had formerly belonged to this Church. After Charles, Arnulf his nephew received the kingdom (887).
(411) In the annals of this period nothing is read about this matter. (412) These and the following years of the bishops do not agree well with each other, so that it is most difficult to determine them precisely. (413) See the Capitulary of Frankfurt, year 794. (414) D'Achery understood this as brewers (cervisiæ confectores, in French brasseurs). But the Brasensis hundred occurs in the charter of Otto II given to the church of Saint-Vanne of Verdun. (415) That is, bells. (416) The Younger, who reigned from 876-882.