Saint Fridolin of Säckingen

Saint Fridolin of Säckingen, also known as Fridold or Fredelinus, is a legendary Irish missionary, apostle of the Alamanni and founder of Säckingen Abbey on the Upper Rhine. He is also the patron saint of the Swiss canton of Glarus. His oldest Vita is dated to the 10th or 11th century. Later tradition places the beginning of his mission during the reign of Clovis I (r. 509 – 511), and his death during the reign of Theudebert I (r. 533–548). The date of his death is traditionally given as 6 March in either 538 or 540. Modern historiography has tended to place the founder of Säckingen Abbey in the 7th rather than 6th century, tentatively assuming the existence of a historical Saint Fridolin under Clovis II (r. 639–657) rather than Clovis I. The earliest known reference to Fridolin is found in the records of a priest Hatto, towards the end of the 9th century. He made an inventory of the abandoned monastery from fear of the Normans. His list includes a Codex edged with silver and ivory, containing the Vitae of St. Fridolin, St. Hilarius, and St. Arnulphus. A surviving Vita of Fridolin was written by one Balther (Baltherus), a monk of Säckingen, apparently dated to the 10th century. Balther's life does not provide historical or chronological context, and includes a great number of miracles and visions. Balther claims to have derived his information from a biography which he discovered in the monastery of "Helera" on the Moselle, also founded by Fridolin. He had not had enough parchment or ink to copy the biography, Balther claims, and so he had instead learned it by heart. The reliability of Balther's Vita of Fridolin is the topic of scholarly debate. Johann Peter Kirsch suggests that Balther relied on an earlier verbal tradition for the information recorded in his work. On the other hand, historian Gerold Meyer von Konau dismisses Balther this as entirely untrustworthy, and considers the Vita a forgery of the mid-11th century.