Willibald

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Saint Willibald (born in Wessex, died 787 or 781 in Eichstätt) was an 8th century bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. His travels to Rome, Asia Minor, and Jerusalem were recorded in preserved manuscripts written by Huneberc, an Anglo-Saxon nun from Heidenheim. In the 720s he was taken prisoner by the Saracens, who first took him to be a spy, but was later released when that allegation was disproven. His experiences provide a first hand account of the regional conflicts between the Christians and the Saracens.

He was the brother of Saint Walburga and settled in Monte Cassino (730-740 C.E.). He was sent to Germany by Pope Gregory III to assist Saint Boniface.

His feast day is 11 July.

[edit] References

• Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey and Evaluation of Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian Writings on Early Islam (Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam) Robert G. Hoyland
• The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany: Being the Lives of S.S. Willibrord, Boniface, Strum, Leoba and Lebuin, together with the Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald and a Selection from the Correspondence of St. Boniface (Also Includes the first biography of St. Boniface.) C. H. Talbot
• Medieval Sourcebook: Huneberc of Heidenheim: The Hodoeporican of St. Willibald, 8th Century
• Willibald von Eichstätt in the German Wikipedia