Saint Hathumar

Hathumar (born c. 760; died August 9, 815, in Paderborn) was the first Bishop of Paderborn. Hathumar (Old High German for "famous in battle," Latin: Hatumarus) came from the Saxon nobility. Most likely, following the subjugation of the pagan Saxons and the destruction of the Irminsul, he was handed over as one of twelve Saxon hostages and educated at the Benedictine Abbey of Neustadt am Main near Würzburg. Charlemagne appointed him in 806/807 as the first bishop of the Saxon Diocese of Paderborn, which since 799 had been under the jurisdiction of the Abbey of Neustadt am Main. Under Hathumar, Paderborn Cathedral was completed and dedicated to Mary and the Würzburg martyr Saint Kilian. The convening of the Imperial Diet in 815, which likely presupposed "ordered ecclesiastical conditions," can be considered the culmination of his tenure. He is also credited with the 815 founding of the first Saxon monastery in Hethis, which was relocated to Corvey in 822. Hathumar is buried in the crypt of Paderborn Cathedral. Hathumar’s feast day in the Archdiocese of Paderborn is August 7, celebrated together with his successor, Saint Badurad, and the later Blessed Bishop Meinwerk.