Fulbert of Chartres

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Saint Fulbert of Chartres
Born 952-970
Died 10 April 1028
Honored in Roman Catholic Church
Feast 10 April
Controversy Fulbert was never canonized, but permission was granted by Rome to celebrate his day in Chartres and Poitiers

Fulbert of Chartres (French: Fulbert de Chartres; 952-970 –10 April 1028) was the bishop of the Cathedral of Chartres from 1006 till 1028. He was a teacher at the Cathedral school there, he was responsible for the advancement of the celebration of the Feast day of “Nativity of the Virgin”, and he was responsible for one of the many reconstructions of the Cathedral. Most of the information we have about him is found in the letters he wrote from 1004–1028, to both secular and religious figures of the day.

Life

There is no conclusive evidence as to the exact date or location of Fulbert’s birth, the sources vary from 952-970.[1] As to his place of birth the majority of information places it in northern France, possibly Picardy,[1] although some say northern Italy.[2] The sources do agree however that he was of humble birth.[3] Information from several sources place him at the Cathedral school in Rheims in the 980’s,[4] where one of his fellow students was the future King Robert II (the Pious) of France.[5] In the early to mid 990’s Fulbert arrived in and began his involvement with the Cathedral school there. His position is variously described as schoolmaster or assistant at the school.[6] He also assumed some minor ecclesiastical roles in the Cathedral but he was not a monk.[6] In 1004 he became deacon and in 1006 he was appointed the Bishop of Chartres.[7] He remained as Bishop until his death on 10 April 1028 or 1029, again the sources vary, but the majority seem to settle on 1028.[8] There is some dispute over Fulbert’s “Sainthood”, which rises from his contemporaries describing him as having a saintly nature, and this was carried on by others after his death. Fulbert was never officially canonized by the Church, but permission was given by Rome for the diocese of Chartres and Poitiers to celebrate his life on 10 April.[9]

Writings

Letters

Of the writings that can be verifiably attributed to Fulbert, the bulk consists of his letters. His most famous letter was to Duke William V of Aquitaine on the duties of a Lord and a Vassal. He also wrote to fellow churchmen on a variety of liturgical issues including, the appointment of Bishops, excommunication, and obedience. His letters also include correspondence about the mundane issues of everyday life such as thanking people for medicine and setting up meetings. These letters provide insight into a variety of issues in the late tenth and early eleventh century France.[10]

Poems

Fulbert wrote approx. 24 poems which have been described a sometimes as humorous, such as his poem about the monk in the desert[11] or lovely when describing his “Ode to the Nightingale”.[12]

Hymns

Most of Fulbert’s hymns were written to glorify the Virgin.[13] He also wrote “Chorus Novae Jerusalem” (Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem), to be sung at Easter services.[14]

Sermons

Fulbert’s most famous sermon is “ Approbate Consuetudinis” in which he provides the information in regards to the importance of the celebration of the “Feast of Mary’s Nativity”.[15]

Theological Contributions

Like the recent millennium change, the one during Fulbert’s lifetime also created a fear of the end of the world. The veneration of the Virgin Mary was already established in the Church, and Fulbert would use this as teaching on her importance. The results were twofold, it helped to ease the peoples fears and greatly expanded the Marian Cult and Chartres’s position in it. Chartres was already involved due to its being the holder of a sacred relic of Mary’s, the “Sancta Camisia”, (Holy Tunic), which has been variously described as being worn by Mary during the Annunciation[2] or during the birth of Christ.[16] This tunic was already the subject of a miracle, it was used by an earlier Bishop of Chartres, Gauscelinus, in 911 to ward off the invading Normans.[17] Fulbert expanded on the theme of miracles involving Mary especially ones where she had interceded between sinners and God, in this way the people could pray for Mary's intercession on their behalf, with God, in the perceived coming apocalypse.[18] Fulbert himself was involved in one of these miracles, when he was gravely ill Mary had healed him with a drop of her milk because of his devotion to her. This also served to give Mary the image of not only the mother of Christ, but for all who believed in her, their mother too.[19] All of these things led to Fulbert’s ultimate goal of promoting a special feast day to celebrate Mary’s Nativity.[20]

To gain popular support for this feast, Fulbert wrote his famous sermon “Approbate Consuetudinis” in which he outlines Mary’s miracles. He also brings in the evidence of Mary’s family linage which can be traced back to King David.[21] In his sermon Fulbert used the symbolism of the “Stirps Jesse” (Tree of Jesse) to help explain Mary’s familial relationship to the great men of the past and how it was determined, as described in scripture, that she would be the one to whom Christ would be born.[22] This again served to enhance her importance to the world and convince people of the need to celebrate her birth. This sermon led to a number of liturgical changes throughout the next few centuries in Europe. The sermon itself, or variations of it, and the chants associated to it, were to become part of the service for the feast day of Mary’s Nativity on Sept. 8.[23] By promoting the Feast day of Mary’s Nativity, Fulbert was able to advance the importance of Mary and therefore the cult of her veneration grew. This in turn enhanced the importance of the Cathedral of Chartres as a centre for Marian devotion, and also gave the people a spiritual symbol for them to turn to in their time of need at the turn of the millennium.[24]

Ecclesiastical Reform

During his time in Chartres Fulbert played an important role in the development and spread of the ideas that led to the Gregorian church reforms of the eleventh century, under Pope Gregory VII.[25] These reforms concerned the division between the powers of the church and state, especially in the appointment of new Abbots and Bishops. In the eleventh century the secular rulers had a habit of appointing who they wanted to fill vacant church positions. Fulbert and some of his students such as Abbot Albert of Marmoutier routinely wrote that it was up to the clergy and the citizens of the diocese involved to vote for a replacement.[26] The authority for this could be found in the rulings from the First Council of Nicaea (325) and the Council of Antioch (264-272).[27] These reforms also stated that the Church was in charge of disciplining the clergy not the state. The issue of simony (the buying of church offices) and immoral clerics was also addressed by Fulbert.[28] Although the reforms were issued by Pope Gregory VII, some of the ideas that came from Fulbert which were then disseminated through his students writing can be found in them.[25]

Architectural contributions

After the Cathedral in Chartres burned in 1020, Fulbert devoted his energies to raising funds for its rebuilding, and it was completed in 1037, nine years after his death.[29] In 1194 the Cathedral was again almost completely destroyed by fire, only the crypt, some of the west facade and two towers remained.[30] The crypt has been incorporated into all subsequent reconstructions.[31]) The construction of the Gothic style Cathedral that stands to-day began after this. It is in this Cathedral that we see Fulbert’s influences that resulted from his promotion of the Feast day of Mary’s Nativity and the cult of the Virgin Mary. The sculptures around the three portals depict the life cycle of Mary and he is the central figure in the Royal Portal.[32] Inside one of the stained glass windows depicts the Tree of Jesse, which traces Mary’s and Christ’s family, again a reference to Fulbert’s teachings in regards to the Feast of Mary’s Nativity.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mac Kinney, p. 5 and Behrends, p. xvi
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wellman, p. 136
  3. ↑ Behrends, p. xvii
  4. ↑ Fassler, p. 403
  5. ↑ Mac Kinney, p. 6
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Behrends, p. xvii, Wellman, p. 136
  7. ↑ Mac Kinney, p. 7
  8. ↑ Behernds p. xxi esp. footnote 17, Butler p. 63
  9. ↑ Mac Kinney p.40-41 esp. footnote 142
  10. ↑ Behernds, p. 1-239
  11. ↑ Behernds, p. xxv
  12. ↑ Schulman, p. 152
  13. ↑ Butler, p. 64
  14. ↑ The Book of Common Praise, p. 122, Hymn #169
  15. ↑ Fassler, p. 406
  16. ↑ Fassler, p. 404
  17. ↑ Wellman, p.136
  18. ↑ Wellman, p. 138-40
  19. ↑ Wellman, p. 140
  20. ↑ Fassler, p. 405
  21. ↑ Fassler, p. 406
  22. ↑ Fassler, p. 410
  23. ↑ Fassler, p. 433
  24. ↑ Wellman, p. 146
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Ziezulewicz, p. 401
  26. ↑ Ziezulewicz, p. 385
  27. ↑ Ziezulewicz, p. 393
  28. ↑ Behrends, p. xix
  29. ↑ Wellman, p. 136-37
  30. ↑ Frankl, p. 33
  31. ↑ Spitzer, p. 144-45
  32. ↑ Spitzer, p. 132

    Bibliography

    Behrends, Frederick. ed. and trans. The Letters and Poems of Fulbert of Chartres. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1976.

    Committee of the General Synod, compilers, The Book of Common Praise; Being the Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1962.

    Fassler, Margot. “Mary’s Nativity, Fulbert of Chartres, and the Stirps Jesse: Liturgical Innovation Circa 1000 and its Afterlife,” Speculum 75 (April 2000): 389-434.

    Frankl, Paul. “The Chronology of Chartres Cathedral,” The Art Bulletin 39 (Sept., 1957): 33-47.

    Hallam, Elizabeth. Capetian France 987-1328. London: Longman Group Limited, 1980.

    Hilberry, Harry H.. “The Cathedral at Chartres in 1030,” Speculum 34 (Oct., 1959): 561-572.

    Mac Kinney, Loren C.. Bishop Fulbert and Education at The School of Chartres. Notre Dame: The Mediaeval Institute University of Notre Dame, 1957.

    Nemerkényi, Elöd. “Latin Grammar in the Cathedral School: Fulbert of Chartres, Bonipert of Pécs, and the Way of a Lost Priscian Manuscript,” Quidditas: Journal of the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association 22(201): 39-54. http://humanities.byu.edu/rmmra/

    Ott, Michael, “Fulbert of Chartres,” in The Catholic Encyclopaedia. Vol 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. Accessed on line Sept. 8, 2008. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06312a.htm.

    Peters, Edward, “The Death of the Subdean: Ecclesiastical Order and Disorder in Eleventh-Century Francia,” in Law, Custom, and the Social Fabric in Medieval Europe: Essays in Honor of Bryce Lyon, ed. Bernard S. Bachrach and David Nicholas, Kalamazoo Michigan: Western Michigan University, 1990. 51-71.

    Schulman, Jana K., ed. “Fulbert of Chartres,” The Rise of the Medieval World 500-1300: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press: Westport Conn., 2002. 152-3.

    Spitzer, Laura, “ The Cult of the Virgin Mary and Gothic Sculpture: Evaluating Opposition in the Chartres West Facade Capital Frieze,” Gesta 33 (1994): 132-150.

    Thurston, Herbert. S. J.. and Donald Attwater, ed., Butler’s Lives of the Saints: Complete Edition. New York: P. J. Kenedy and Sons, 1963, 63-64.

    Warren, F. M.. “The Presidents Address: A Plea for the Study of Medieval Latin”. PMLA 23 Appendix. Proceedings of the Twenty-sixth Annual Meeting of the Modern Language Association of America 1908, (1908): xlvii-lxxii.

    Wellman, Tennyson. “Apocalyptic Concerns and Mariological Tactics in Eleventh-Century France,” in The Year 1000; Religious and Social Response to the Turning of the First Millennium, ed. Michael Frassetto Palgrave Macmillan: New York, 2002. 133-163.

    Ziezulewicz, William. “ The School of Chartres and Reform Influences Before the Pontificate of Leo IX,” The Catholic Historical Review. 77 (July 91): 383-402.

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