St. Arnulf, Bishop of Metz (582-640)

St. Arnulf, Bishop of Metz (580 AD - 640 AD)

Saint Arnulf of Metz (c. 582, Lay-Saint-Christophe - 640) was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia, who retired to the Abbey of Remiremont.

Bishop of Metz Arms

Arnulf was born to an important Frankish family at an uncertain date around 582. His father was Baudgise II or Baudegisel II of Aquitaine (d. 588), Palace Mayor and Duke of Sueve. During the 7th century, the position of Mayor of the Palace was a very powerful one in the kingdom of the Franks under the Merovingian dynasty. His mother was Oda de Savoy.

In his younger years he was called to the Merovingian court of king Theudebert II (595-612) of Austrasia and sent to serve as dux (duke) at the Schelde. The Schelde is a long river of strategic and commercial importance. It flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands. Later he became bishop of Metz. During his career he was attracted to religious life, and he retired to become a monk and hermit. After his death he was canonized as a saint. In French he is also known as Arnoul or Arnoulf. In English he is also known as Arnold.

St. Arnulf as a Hermit

Austrasia comprised parts of the territory of present-day France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Netherlands. The Merovingian dynasty ruled Austrasia from about 481 AD to about 751AD.

Map of Austrasia

Arnulf gave distinguished service at the Austrasian court under Theudebert II. After the death of
Theudebert in 612, he was made bishop of Metz. The rule of Austrasia came into the hands of Brunhilda, the grandmother of Theudebert, who ruled also in Burgundy in the name of her great-grandchildren. In 613 Arnulf joined his politics with Pippin of Landen, and led the opposition of Frankish nobles against Queen Brunhilda. The revolt led to her overthrow, torture, and eventual execution, and the subsequent reunification of Frankish lands under Chlothachar II.

Chlothachar later made his son Dagobert I king of Austrasia and he ruled with the help of his adviser Arnulf. Not satisfied with his position as a bishop, he was involved in the 624 murder of Chrodoald, an important leader of the Frankish Agilolfings family and a protégé of Dagobert.

From 623 (with Pippin of Landen, then the Mayor of the Palace), Arnulf was an adviser to Dagobert I. He retired around 628 to a hermitage at a mountain site in the Vosges, to realize his lifelong resolution to become a monk and a hermit. His friend Romaric, whose parents were killed by Brunhilda, had preceded him to the mountains and together with Amatus had already established Remiremont Abbey there. Arnulf settled there, and remained there until his death twelve years later.

Arnulf was married ca 596 to a woman whom later sources give the name of Dode or Doda, (born ca 584), and had children. Chlodulf of Metz was his oldest son, but more important is his second son Ansegisel, who married Begga daughter of Pepin I, Pippin of Landen. Arnulf is thus the male-line grandfather of Pepin of Herstal, great-grandfather of Charles Martel and 3rd great grandfather of Charlemagne.

Arnulf was canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. In iconography he is portrayed with a rake in his hand.

St. Arnulf, Bishop of Metz

Over the years, there has been considerable controversy about St. Arnulf’s parentage. Earlier it was thought that his father might be Arnoald (560 AD-611 AD), a Bishop of Metz. More recent theory suggests that his father was Baudgise II (Baudegisel) of Aquaitaine. I have chosen to pursue that genealogy trail in my research. I have located a tree on Ancestry (Morgan Family Tree), which traces St. Arnulf’s line back to about 20 AD.

One resource states that “ This person (St. Arnulf) is on "The Royal Line" chart going back to Joseph of Arimathea and Zarah of the Bible.”

St. Arnulf is my wife, Virginia’s 34th great-grandfather. The Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne I (742 AD-813 AD) is her 38th great-grandfather. They are among the many historically significant figures in her ancestry.

Charlemagne I, Holy Roman Emperor

Note: The primary resource used was Wikipedia.