Fridolin of Säckingen

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 Fridolin under Clovis II (r. 639–657) rather than Clovis I.

Source 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 Saint Fridolin, Saint Hilarius, and Saint 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 dismisses Balther this as entirely untrustworthy, and considers the Vita a forgery of the mid-11th century.

Consequently, very little can be said about the historical individual. Fridolin appears to have been an Irish missionary among the Alamanni along the Upper Rhine, who at the time were under Merovingian rule, and he went on to found Säckingen Abbey. Strasbourg and Coire, founding churches in every district in honour of Saint Hilarius.

Veneration The existence of monasteries dedicated to Hilarius of Poitiers in Ediger-Eller, Dillersmünster, Strasbourg and Chur as well as Säckingen points to a trend of veneration of Hilarius in the 7th century, when the Alamanni were effectively Christianised. Fridolin would have been a representative of this movement. Fridolin's own relics are venerated in Säckingen. His cult is attested from the late 9th century, although his name is missing from the list of saints by Notker Balbulus (d. 912). Petrus Damiani (c. 1060) refers to the saint as Fredelinus.

Iconography Fridolin's iconography is strongly influenced by the later Ursus legend, recorded in the 13th century, his attribute being the skeleton of Ursus. The veneration of Fridolin in Glarus can be traced to the valley having been owned by Säckingen Abbey, presumably since the 9th century.