The Annals of St. Bertin

In Saint-Omer in France there was a Benedictine abbey called the Abbey of St. Bertin, founded in 638 and existing right up to the late 18th century. It was closed during the French Revolution, ordered demolished in 1830 (except for the tower), and then damaged due to World War II.

A record of several decades was found in the abbey. It is not assumed that it was written in the abbey. The current hypothesis is that the record was made in the court of Louis the Pious and continued during the reign of his son, Charles the Bald. Proposed authors are Prudential of Troyes, followed by Hincmar of Reims, who has been mentioned several times in this blog, such as here. The fact that the Annals (beginning with the year 830) end in 882 when Hincmar was forced to flee Reims (and died) in the face of a Viking invasion lends weight to this theory.

Although a mere 50 years of events, they are a primary source for happenings in the West Frankish territory and the time of King of West Francia, Charles the Bald. These Annales Bertiniani ("Annals of St. Bertin") are the source for yesterday's story of Pope Adrian II and his wife.

The Annals include papal letters and quotations from acts coming out of church councils. They deal largely with the relations (conflicts) between the Church and the Carolingians and with hostile actions from neighbors. They contain one of the earliest mentions of the Kievan Rus, men who accompanied emissaries from Constantinople. (Remember that the Rus were the source for the so-called Varangian Guard employed by Byzantine emperors.)

Situated as it was on the extreme northern edge of France, the Abbey was a target for invasions from the north. Scandinavian groups engaged in routine spring voyages for plunder. Abbeys and monasteries, known to be filled with unarmed men and donations, faced constant raids by these groups later called Vikings.

Other sources for the 9th century are the Annals of Xanten, the Annals of Fulda, and the Chronicle of Regino of Prüm, which overlaps Bertin and continues until 906. Regino is an interesting character, and we'll turn to him and his writings next.

Saint-Omer

In researching the life of Lambert of Saint-Omer, I realized that the town after which he was named had some interesting history. The town sprang up around the Abbey of Saint Peter, founded in the 7th century by Omer (or Audomar), the bishop of Thérouanne. The abbey's name changed in honor of its second abbot, who became St. Bertin.

The abbey started as a simple small house on a hillock in a marshy area, from which Bertin would go out and preach to the pagan Morini, a coastal tribe in northern France. A converted nobleman gave to bishop Omer a tract of land called Sithiu, which Omer turned over to Bertin for the abbey. Their numbers grew, and eventually a new abbey was built on the site which became surrounded by a town named Saint-Omer. (There were a few abbeys built over the years as their numbers grew. The most recent one was ordered demolished in 1830; its ruins can be seen in the illustration.)

So near the northern coast made Saint-Omer vulnerable to Vikings, who ravaged the place in the 860s and 880s, but the town rebuilt with strong walls. Saint-Omer became part of Flanders when Arnulf of Flanders conquered the county in 932. In 1127, its importance as a commercial center (thanks to its growing textile industry) earned it the first charter in West Flanders with city rights.

Saint-Omer became part of France (again) when Philip II of France (1165 - 1223) forced Count Ferdinand of Flanders to sign the Treaty of Pont-à-Vendin. Despite this, battle over that part of France continued. Ferdinand's alliance with King John of England and Emperor Otto IV did not help, and Saint-Omer remained within French boundaries, though it continued to be a significant part of the Flanders economy. Saint-Omer did not become permanently a French town until 1678.

Besides Lambert, another famous son of Saint-Omer was Godfrey of Saint-Omer, one of the founding members of the Knights Templar. The symbol of the Templars—two men riding a single horse, representing their vow of poverty—is supposedly because the first Grand Master, Hugues de Payen, and Godfrey were so poor that the two men had to share a horse.

I mentioned above that Saint-Omer was the first in the county to gain "city rights." What did that entail? I'll tell you tomorrow.