- Agobard
Infobox Saint
name=Saint Agobard
birth_date=c. 769
death_date=840
feast_day=6 June
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birth_place=Spain cite web | last = Jones | first = Terry | title = Agobard | work = Patron Saints Index | url=http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintabx.htm | accessdate = 2007-03-18]
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titles=Archbishop
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issues=Agobard (c. 769 – 840) was a
Carolingian prelate andArchbishop of Lyon .We know nothing of his early life nor of his descent. In 813 he became
coadjutor toLeidrad , Archbishop of Lyon. On Leidrad's death in 816 he succeeded him in as bishop. Agobard pursued the same vigorous policy as his predecessor, who had been one ofCharlemagne 's most active agents in the reformation of the Church. Agobard occupies an important place in theCarolingian Renaissance ; he wrote extensively not only theological works but also political pamphlets and dissertations. His writings reveal a clear intellect and independent judgment.In his writings against popular superstitions, he denounced the
trial by ordeal of fire and water, the belief inwitchcraft , and the ascription of tempests to magic, maintained the Carolingian opposition to image-worship, but carried his logic farther and opposed the adoration of the saints. In his purely theological works Agobard was strictly orthodox. He denied the verbal inspiration of Scripture. He also wroteanti-Jewish pamphlets in which he refers to Jews as "sons of darkness".As many clerics, Agobard was a proponent of the unity of the
Frankish Empire . Hence, he opposed the Empress Judith's initiatives on behalf of her sonCharles the Bald and supported the rebellion of Charles' half-brothers Lothair and Pepin against their father, the EmperorLouis the Pious . Deposed in 835 by theCouncil of Thionville , he made his peace with the emperor and was reinstated in 837.Agobard was reverenced as a saint in Lyons, and although his canonization is disputed his life is given by the
Bollandist s, "Acta Sanctorum ", Jun. ii.748. Agobard was the first owner of theCodex Agobardinus , a collection of the works ofTertullian .References
Agobard's works were lost until 1605, when a manuscript was discovered in Lyons and published by
Papirius Masson , and again byBaluze in 1666. For later editions seeAugust Potthast , "Bibliotheca Historica Medii Aevi". The life of Agobard in Ebert's "Geschichte der Litteratur des Mittelalters" (1880), Band ii., is still the best one to consult. For further indications seeA. Molinier , "Sources de l'histoire de France", i. p. 235.Notes
External links
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=902&letter=A Jewish Encyclopedia article]
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* [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/30_10_0779-0841-_Agobardus_Lugdunensis.html Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes]
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