Saint Boniface

Saint Boniface, also known as Saint Boniface of Mainz or Boniface the Apostle of the Germans, was a Christian missionary and martyr who lived in the 7th and 8th centuries. He is considered one of the most important figures in the Christianization of Germanic tribes in what is now Germany.

Saint Boniface was born in the year 672 or 675 in Crediton, Devon, in the Kingdom of Wessex, which is in present-day England. 

His original name was Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth meaning "friend of peace". He was given the name of Boniface by the Pope when he was sent to evangelize the Germans.

Winfrid was of a respected and prosperous family - his mother was a British chieftain’s daughter and his father a Saxon war leader.

A notable scholar, he was educated at a monastery in Exeter and at Nursling near Winchester.

It was somewhat against his father's wishes that Winifred devoted himself at an early age to the monastic life. He received his theological training in the monasteries of Exeter and Nutcell, and at the age of thirty became a priest.

Early in his career, before he left for the continent, Boniface wrote an Ars Grammatica, a grammatical treatise presumably for his students in Nursling where he was an Abbot.  Ars Grammatica is a short treatise on Latin grammar that is based on the works of Donatus and Priscian. It is a clear and concise introduction to Latin grammar and it was used by students for centuries.

Boniface was a prolific writer and produced a number of works on theology, history, and grammar. They include a treatise on verse, the Caesurae uersuum, and a collection of twenty acrostic riddles, the Enigmata, influenced greatly by Aldhelm and containing many references to works of Virgil (the Aeneid, the Georgics, and the Eclogues).

Boniface first left for the continent in 716 and traveled to Utrecht, where he joined Willibrord, who was known as the "Apostle to the Frisians." Willibrord had been working in Frisia since 690 and he had made some progress in converting the pagan Frisians to Christianity. Boniface stayed with Willibrord for a year and he learned a lot about missionary work.

In 719, Boniface traveled to Rome seeking papal approval and support for his missionary work in Germany. Pope Gregory II provided him with a papal commission and his blessing for this mission. 

Saint Boniface then spent several years in various parts of the Frankish Empire, including Germany, working to convert the Germanic peoples to Christianity and establish churches and monasteries.  He would never return to England, though he remained in correspondence with his countrymen and kinfolk throughout his life.

In 732, Saint Boniface made another trip to Rome where he reported on his missionary work. During this visit, Pope Gregory III conferred upon him the pallium and appointed him as an archbishop with jurisdiction over the region that is now Germany. This event marked a significant step in the organization of the Christian Church in the Germanic territories and solidified Saint Boniface's role as a leading figure in the Christianization of the region.

While preaching to some German Druids, Boniface laid his axe to a tree which they worshiped to prove that God's power was superior to Thor's. Boniface started to chop the oak down, when suddenly a great wind, as if by miracle, blew the ancient oak over. When the god did not strike him down, the people were amazed and converted to Christianity.

Saint Boniface felling Donar's Oak

Boniface lobbied the Pope for several years to place horseflesh into the forbidden category as he regarded it as a pagan residue that was tinged with barbarism. His campaign was successful and horseflesh became a food specifically outlawed for Christians.

Boniface was one of the first people to recruit women into mission work on a large scale. He bought over nuns from Britain to teach education and domestic science.

Having aggressively defied their gods, demolished their shrines and cut down their trees, Boniface was massacred on June 5, 754 by pagan Saxons near Dokkum, West Friesland (now in the Netherlands). This happened because his patron Charlemagne (with those policies he did not uniformly agree) had brutally suppressed the Saxons on many occasions. However their motive appears to have been robbery rather than religion.

Saint Boniface by Cornelis Bloemaert, c. 1630

Boniface was laid to rest in the Church of our Saviour in the monastery at Fulda. His tomb became a place of pilgrimage unable to accommodate the constant strain of pilgrims so the Ratgar Basilica was built at the beginning of the 9th century to accommodate his tomb. The tomb of St Boniface now lies in the Fulda Cathedral crypt. (The cathedral was built in the early 18th century on the foundation of Ratgar Basilica).

Through his efforts to reorganize and regulate the church of the Franks, Boniface helped shape Western Christianity, and many of the dioceses he proposed remain until today.

Saint Boniface is the patron saint of Germany. He is celebrated for his significant role in spreading Christianity throughout the Germanic territories during the early Middle Ages and for his contributions to the Christianization of the region.