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St. Radegund the Deaconess
VI Century
A princess of Thuringia, St. Radegund was born in 518, and when she was
12, the Franks captured her. At 18, she married King Clotaire I of the
Franks. It was not a happy marriage. Radegund was childless, for which her
unfaithful husband often mocked her. Her husband murdered her brother.
About 555, she left her husband and sought ecclesial permission to become
a nun. She was tonsured at Noyon, and St. Medard of Vermandois consecrated
her a deaconess. She later established a monastery dedicated to the Virgin
Mary at Poitiers. Her nuns followed the rule of Cęsarius of Arles, and the
monastery became a center of learning. Radegund was active in the affairs
of the church and of state; she had a repuation as a peacemaker. She
received from Constantinople a relic of the True Cross, after which the
monastery was rededicated to the Holy Cross. It also held a large
collection of relics. After Radegund died in 587, her cult became popular
in France and in Britain. Jesus College in Cambridge was originally
dedicated to St. Radegund.
--- Karen Rae Keck
Under construction --- far from complete! Read with caution.
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