SAINT BATHILD, QUEEN OF FRANCE (+ 680)

By Vladimir Moss

Our holy Mother Bathild was an Anglo-Saxon slave-girl who was sold into the household of the mayor of the Frankish imperial palace, Erchinoald, in the first half of the seventh century. Being beautiful in body and humble and obedient in soul, she quickly won the favour of the prince, and was nearly always in his presence, even bringing him drinks in his bedroom. She also served the older women in the household, washing their feet, dressing them and helping them in every way.

When Erchinoald's wife died, he wanted to marry the beautiful English virgin. But she hid herself from him, and Erchinoald eventually took a different woman to be his wife. Then Divine Providence, which raises the poor from the dung-hill, arranged that Bathild should attract the attention of the King of France, Clovis II, and in the year 649 they were married. From this marriage three sons were born: Clotaire III, Childeric II and Thierry III.

St. Bathild proved to be an exemplary queen. Using her influence with the king her husband, and with the help of Abbot Genesius (later Bishop of Lyons), she gave great alms to the poor and to the churches of God. And this generosity increased still more after the death of King Clovis in 657, when she became regent of the kingdom during the minority of her son Clotaire. She founded the monasteries of Corbie and Chelles, gave generous alms to many others, and urged hierarchs and abbots to enforce the keeping of the monastic rules. She supported the work of Saints Ouen and Leger, put an end to the simoniac buying of offices in the Church, suppressed the slave-trade of which she herself had been a victim, and redeemed many slaves. In the political sphere, the Austrasians were persuaded to accept her son Childeric as their king, which led to the union of the Franks and the Burgundians.

However, in 667 a plot hatched by Bishop Sigebrandus, which caused her sons to entertain unjust suspicions of her temporarily, led to her retirement to the monastery of Chelles. There she remained in obedience to Abbess Berthille until her death, performing all the humblest tasks and displaying all the virtues to perfection.

Finally, when she had fallen ill with a very painful intestinal disease and was close to death, a beautiful vision was shown to her. She saw a ladder standing in front of the church of the Mother of God, the summit of which touched the heavens; and it was as if Bathild herself was ascending the ladder in the company of the holy angels. The saint now realized that her end was approaching, but she hid this from the abbess for fear that she would fall ill from sadness. And so, having raised her eyes and hands to heaven, her holy soul was released in peace, and a heavenly light covered her bed. This took place in the year 680, very shortly after the death of her god-daughter, a little girl whom she had wanted to accompany her into the next world.

Many miracles were wrought through the intercession of the saint after her death. Once a bishop came to the monastery and brought his child, who was demon-possessed and very violent, to the sepulchre of the saint. The demon cast the child half-dead onto the pavement; but he stood up, crossed himself, thanked God and returned to his parents sane and sober.

According to William of Malmesbury, some of St. Bathild’s relics were deposited at Glastonbury.

St. Bathild is commemorated on January 30.

Holy Mother Bathild, pray to God for us!

(Sources: Life in M.G.H. Scriptores rerum merov., ii, 475-508; David Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978, p. 32; William of Malmesbury, The Early History of Glastonbury, edited by John Scott, The Bodyell Press, Woodbridge, 1981, p. 71)