Individual

Go to List of Family Names Go to List of People    < Previous Next >

Birth:          ABT  660 
Death:          29 Sep  722 Reims, France

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leudwinus
Saint Leudwinus, Count of Treves (Leodewin, Liutwin, Ludwin) (c. 660 - † 29. 
September, 722 in Reims) founded an abbey in Mettlach. He was Archbishop of 
Treves and Laon.[1][2] As patron saint of the Mettlach parish, his relics are carried 
through the town by procession at the annual Pentecost celebration.[3] His feast day 
is September 23. He was the son of Saint Warinus, the paternal grandson of Saint 
Sigrada, and nephew of Saint Leodegarius.
Early life[edit]

Leudwinus was born a French nobleman and was a member of one of the most 
powerful clans in Austrasia.[3] His father, Warinus, was Count of Poitiers and Gunza 
of Metz.[3][4] Lambert of Maastricht was his kinsman. His Frankish name is Liutwin.[3] 
Leudwinus spent his early life at the royal court of Austrasia[3] and was styled Count 
of Treves.[3] He received his education from his maternal uncle, Saint Basinus, 
Archbishop of Treves.[3] In 697, Leudwinus signed the Deed of Echternach with his 
uncle.[3]

Marriage[edit]

Initially uninterested in an ecclesiastical career, Leudwinus married Willigard of 
Bavaria. Their children were:[4]
Milo, Count of Treves[3]
Wido, Count of Hornbach[3]
(Possibly) Chrotrude of Treves (Rotrude), who married Charles Martel and became 
Duchess of Austrasia.[3][4]

Mettlach Abbey[edit]

According to legend, the abbey in Mettlach was founded after Leudwinus went 
hunting near Saar. He grew tired and fell asleep under the shade of a tree. As he slept 
the sun changed positions exposing him to its hot rays, but an eagle swept down and 
sat on Leudwinus with its wings spread out. When Leudwinus woke up, his servant 
told him how the eagle had protected him from being burnt by the sun. Coincidentally, 
Leudwinus happened to be napping at the site of the Miracle Eagle near the chapel of 
St. Denis of Paris. Leudwinus saw this as a God-sent sign to establish a Benedictine 
monastery at that site, and it soon developed into a Christian missionary center. At the 
location of the original Dionysius Chapel now stands the parish church of St. Gangolf 
in Mettlach.

When Leudwinus became a widower, he joined the monastery he founded at Mettlach 
as a simple monk.[2]

Bishop of Triers[edit]

In 697, Leudwinus was appointed coadjutor of his uncle Basinus von Trier.[5] In 698, 
he cofounded the Echternack Abbey at Mettlach.[5]

When Archbishop Basinus died on 4 March 705, Leudwinus succeeded him and was 
consecrated Archbishop of Treve.[2][3][5][6] Leudwinus was also appointed bishop of 
Laon.[2][5] This made him one of the most important church dignitaries of the time in 
the Frankish kingdom.

Death[edit]

Leudwinus died on the 29th of September 722 at Reims.[3] He was succeeded as 
Archbishop of Treve by his son, Milo, who brought his father's remains to Treve for 
burial. However, local customs prevented this, so Leudwinus' family decided to let the 
dead saint choose his own place of burial. His coffin was placed on a ship without a 
crew. It sailed by itself first to Moselle, then Saar, and finally docked at Mettlach, 
where the church bells began to ring. Leudwinus was buried in St. Mary's Church at 
the Abbey at Mettlach.[1][3] In 990, St. Mary's Church was replaced by a new 
structure called the Old Tower, the oldest preserved stone building in Saar.

In 1247, Leudwinus' relics were transferred to the newly constructed Leudwinus 
Chapel (Liutwinuskapelle). Some 200 years later, his remains were reburied again in a 
new chapel connected to the abbey church. During the French Revolution, the 
monastery was purchased by the Boch family, who had the building demolished and 
built Liutwinus Cathedral in Mettlach, where the relics of the saint are located today. 
Reports of miracles at Leudwinus' grave in Mettlach have made it a popular pilgrimage 
site over the centuries.[1]

Records from Leudwinus' time as bishop are collected in the Gesta Treverorum.

Feast Day of St. Leudwinus[edit]

Leudwinus' original feast day was September 29, the day of his death. As this is also 
the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, after the Second Vatican Council the 
Feast of Saint Leudwinus was moved to September 23. It is also the feast day of his 
uncle, Saint Basinus.

Parents
____ Warinus (ABT  620 -  677)
____ Kunza (Gunza) (ABT  620 - )

Siblings
____ Leudwinus (Lievin) "Saint" (ABT  660 - 29 Sep  722)

Marriage To ----- ----- (ABT  660 - )
    m.  

Notes

Parents
____ Chrodobertus (Robert) II (ABT  625 - AFT  678)
____ Doda (ABT  625 - AFT  678)

Children by ----- ----- ABT  660 - 
____ Chrotrude (Rotrude) (ABT  690 -  724)
____ Gui (ABT  700 - AFT  722)

Produced by Fzip 1.7 6/20/2017