Hugh of Anzy le Duc

Saint Hugh of Anzy le Duc was a French saint of the 9th and 10th centuries. He is also known by the name of Hugh of Autun. His birthdate is unknown. He was a native of Poitiers in France. He died in the year 930.

He was a friend of Berno of Cluny, the first abbot of the Benedictine monastery at Cluny. His feastday is on April 20.

Relationship to the Founding of Cluny

There is a contested medieval story which holds Hugh of Anzy le Duc as one of the agents that helped found Cluny. This story is below.

In the 6th century, when Benedict of Nursia was still alive and running his monastery at Monte Cassino, some important people in Gaul sent messengers to St Benedict asking him to send monks to Gaul to give instruction on how to be monks. Benedict then sent twelve monks, including Saint Maurus who was their leader. Maurus and the other eleven went to Anjou where they founded Glanfeuil Abbey, over which Maurus became abbot. This monastery prospered and the number of monks grew larger over time. However, at some point, Viking raiders came and attacked, thus forcing the monks to abandon the monastery and go further south. They created another monastery named St Savin's in Poitiers. This monastery also flourished and grew in size; the Frankish kings gave their favour to this monastery.

One of the monks, named Badillo, came from St Savin's went to a ruined abbey named after St Martin of Tours in Autun. He restored it and persuaded 18 of the monks from St Savin's to come to the restored monastery of St Martin in Autun. Hugh of Anzy le Duc was one of those monks who came to the new restored monastery at Autun. All of these monks, of course were Benedictine and followed the Rule of St Benedict.

Hugh later became prior and then abbot at this monastery of St Martin in Autun. Under Hugh's leadership, the monastery increased greatly in size and many men came to Autun to take vows. During this time, however, monastic life in Gaul and Germany was not in a good state. This was partly because Viking raids had caused so many monks to abandon their monasteries and many monasteries that continued to exist abandoned the Rule of St Benedict, and became like family fiefdoms.

The monastery at Baume needed reform, and so Hugh sent Berno of Cluny, who was one of the monks at Autun, to go and reform this monastery. Berno then became abbot at Baume, and later in life he would found the monastery at Cluny, while Hugh was still alive.

This story is contradicted by other accounts that claim Berno was never a monk at Autun and he became abbot of Baume after first being abbot of Gigny.

Sources

• Lucy Margaret Smith, The early history of the monastery of Cluny, Oxford University Press, 1920