Queen Bathilde
Queen in Neustria Bathilde, Female 1 January 629 - 30 January 680
Born, East Anglia, Britain.
Died, Monastere de Chelles, Ile-de-France, France.
Married to Ii Franks. Mother of Ii Franks and Iii Franks. Daughter of Sisoigne d' Ascanie.
[3173266.ged]artyrologyse ts her feast as January 26.on by birth, in 641 she was captured by Danish raiders and sold to Erchinoald,the c hief officer (mayor) of the palace of Clovis II, King of theFranks. She q uickly gained favor, for she had charm, beauty, and agraceful and gent le nature. She also won the affection of herfellow-servants, for she wou ld do them many kindnesses such ascleaning their shoes and mending the ir clothes, and her bright andattractive disposition endeared her to th em all.e her hiswif e, but Bathild, alarmed at the prospect, both by reason of hermodesty a nd of her humble status, disguised herself in old and raggedclothes, a nd hid herself away among the lower servants of the palace;and he, not fi nding her in her usual place, and thinking she hadfled, married another w oman.elf, forwhen s he had discarded her old clothes and appeared again in herplace, he notic ed her grace and beauty, and declared his love forher. Thus in 649, the 1 9-year-old slave girl Bathild became Queen ofFrance, amidst the applau se of the court and the kingdom. She boreClovis three sons: Clotaire II I, Childeric II, and Thierry III--allof whom became kings. On the dea th of Clovis (c. 655- 657), she wasappointed regent in the name of her el dest son, who was only five,and ruled capably for eight years with Sai nt Eligius as her adviser.e suddenlyto h igh place and fortune, she never forgot that she had been aslave, and d id all within her power to relieve those in captivity. Weare told that "Q ueen Bathild was the holiest and most devout ofwomen; her pious munificen ce knew no bounds; remembering her ownbondage, she set apart vast sums f or the redemption of captives."Bathild helped promote Christianity by sec onding the zeal of SaintOuen, Saint Leodegardius, and many other bishops.liged tosell t heir children as slaves to meet the crushing taxes imposed uponthem. Bath ild reduced this taxation, forbade the purchase ofChristian slaves and t he sale of French subjects, and declared thatany slave who set foot in Fr ance would from that moment be free.Thus, this enlightened women earned t he love of her people and was apioneer in the abolition of slavery.intWilfrid), a sserts that Queen Bathild was responsible for thepolitical assassinati on of Bishop Saint Annemund (Dalfinus) of Lyonsand nine other bishops. Wh at actually happened is obscure, and it isunlikely that Bathild was guil ty of the crime., andChelles, wh ich became civilized settlements in wild and remote areasinhabited on ly by prowling wolves and other wild beasts. Under herguidance forests a nd waste land were reclaimed, cornland and pasturetook their place, and a griculture flourished. She built hospitals andsold her jewelry to supp ly the needy. Finally, when Clotaire came ofage, she retired to her own r oyal abbey of Chelles, near Paris, whereshe served the other nuns with hu mility and obeyed the abbess likethe least of the sisters.y. Deathtouch ed her with a gentle hand; as she died, she said she saw aladder reachi ng from the altar to heaven, and up this she climbed inthe company of ang els.d manycontac ts with Anglo-Saxon England, which led to the spread of hercultus to t he British Isles (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines,Bentley, Butler, Coul son, Delaney, Farmer, Gill, Husenbeth, White).r nun beforet he altar of the Virgin, two angels support a child on a ladder (theladd er implies the pun âechelle-Chelles) and also the vision she issaid to ha ve had at her death. She might also be shown: (1) holding abroom; (2) giv ing alms or bread; (3) seeing a vision of the crucifiedChrist before he r; or (4) holding Chelles Abbey, which she founded(Roeder, White).
Sources
- Stubbs, Michael.ged - provided by LifeTimes Research
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