St. Hubertus
St. Hubertus, * 656 or 658 in Toulouse (?), † 30. May 727 in Tervueren near Liège, Belgium is a Christian saint, the patron of hunters, opticians and metalworkers, and a healer of hydrophobia (rabies).
Born as the eldest son of duke Bertrand of Toulouse, he led a life of courtly pleasures at the court of Neustria and later of Austrasia, where he married Floribanne, the daughter of Dagobert, Count of Louvain. Their son Floribert later became bishop of Liège. When Hubert rode out hunting on Good Friday, he met a hart with a crucifix between its antlers, and a voice admonished him to mend his ways.
After the death of his wife, Hubert gave up his titles to his brother, his money to the poor and went to the archbishop St. Lambert of Maastricht to become a priest. While Hubert was on a pilgrimage to Rome, Lambert was assassinated and the pope, having had a vision, investigated Hubert as his successor (ca. 705). In 721, he moved the episcopate from Maastricht to Liège, and translated the remains of Lambert as well.
Hubert actively aimed for martyrdom and fought the remains of heathendom in the Ardennes (Toxandria), but died peacefully in Fura in 727. He was buried in the collegiate church of St. Peter, Liège.
His bones were exhumed at the 3rd November 743, and translated to Andagium/Amdain, present day St.-Hubert in the Ardennes in in 825, where they disappeared during the French revolution.
The story of the hart is taken from the legend of Eustachius,/Placidus and was only attributed to St. Hubert in the 15th century. It may hark back to older celtic tales where Arawn, Lord of Annuvn (the Underworld) is crowned with antlers.
His feast day is the 3rd of November.
external link
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07507a.htm
Referenced By
Axis (deer) | Cervidae | Christian saint | Deer | Hubert | List of Saints
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