Bishop and Confessor
Eligius was born north of Limoges, Aquitaine, Eligius began to use his position and esteem to which would become part of modern day France, in 588 obtain alms for the poor and to ransom captives of foreign AD. Chlothar II was the King of Neustria, of which tribes and nations who arrived at the slave market in Limoges was a subject. Eligius’ father would send him to Marseilles. As Eligius became more devoted to the faith, Limoges to apprentice as a goldsmith under a man named he began to take on the practice of self-mortification. Abbo. When Eligius was 11 years old in 599 AD, With King Dagobert’s consent, Eligius would send his Aquitaine became split when King Chlothar went to war servants throughout the towns and villages of the against his nephews Theuderic and Theudebert which he kingdom to take down the bodies of executed criminals lost, resulting in northern Neustria being given to his and give them a decent burial. nephews. Eligius began to live a strict monastic life along During this time when Neustria was split, Eligius with a friend Dado, which had been introduced into Gaul came to excel at goldsmithing, and traveled to the palace by saint Columbanus. By 632 AD Eligius began to found at Neustria, where he worked under the royal treasurer monasteries and would introduce this rule into the Babo. In 610, King Chlothar II’s nephews went to war monasteries. with each other. Chlothar supported Theuderic in the war, While cordial to the faith, King Dagobert himself crushing Theudebert in exchange for the return of was not as faithful as his father to Church teaching. He northern Neustria to his control. Theuderic returned the divorced his wife Gormatrude to make his servant land, and then promptly invaded Neustria in 613 AD. Nanthild Queen. The two had a child in 634 AD named Theuderic died of dysentery soon after, and in the Clovis II. When King Dagobert I died in 639 AD, King confusion following his death, Chlothar secured not only Clovis II was only 5 years old and thus the Kingdom was Neustria, but Austrasia and Burgundy. ruled by Queen Nanthild. During her reign, Eligius began Occupying Neustria, Austrasia and Burgundy, to work toward the elimination of simony in the church, Chlothar II became the King of the Franks. With his new where some of its members had engaged in the practice of title and position, Chlothar wished to have a new throne selling holy and sacred items, a grave sin. When Acarius, built for himself. Because of the quality of Eligius’ work, the Bishop of Noyon-Tournai died in 642 AD, at 54 years Babo recommended Eligius to build the throne. old the clergy and the populace unanimously supported King Chlothar was pleased with Eligius’ work, his appointment to the position. Although initially and soon after had him commissioned to work on the unwilling, Eligius submitted himself to the appointment, tomb of Saint Germain, the Bishop of Paris. Afterward, received Holy Orders, and traveled to his new diocese in Eligius became a member of the royal household, and was Noyon-Tournai. appointed by Chlothar as the master of the mint at The majority of the inhabitants of the region were Marseilles. King Chlothar himself remained one of the pagans, and Eligius began to undertake the conversion of few Merovingian Kings that did not practice polygamy, the Germanic tribes along the North Sea coast. Eligius instead remaining faithful to a single wife until her death. founded many monasteries and churches in his diocese, King Chlothar also remained faithful to the Church and and in his own Episcopal City built a nunnery for virgins. its doctrines, remaining an ally of the Catholic Church. A legend has circulated regarding Saint Eligius, King Chlothar died in 629 AD, and was of a horse that refused to be shod and was thought to be succeeded by King Dagobert I. King Dagobert possessed by demons. Eligius reportedly cut off the recognized Eligius’ friendship with his father Chlothar, horse’s foreleg, and while the horse remained standing of and appointed Eligius chief councilor. Eligius reputation three legs and watched, Eligius re-shod the hoof of the spread quickly so that it became common practice for amputated leg, before miraculously re-attaching the leg to ambassadors to first seek out his council and pay their the horse. respects to him before going to the King. Eligius’ Saint Eligius died in December of 660 at the age accomplishments reached so far that he succeeded in of 72. He is the patron Saint of coin collectors, encouraging the Breton Prince, Saint Judicael, to enter a goldsmiths, horses, laborers, locksmiths and pact with King Dagobert including peace between their metalworkers, and his feast day is December 1st. people.