BERTRAM OF LE MANS, ST.

Bishop; b. near Rouen, France, c. 550; d. June 30 c. 626. The son of a rich land owner, he received the tonsure at Tours and major orders from germain, bishop of Paris, who appointed him archdeacon. In 586 Bertram (or Bertrand) became bishop of Le Mans and, as a loyal supporter of Chlotar II (d. 629), courageously bore imprisonment and harassments during the regime of Theodebert II (d. 612). Upon Chlotar's return to power, Bertram was restored to his see. In 614 he attended the Synod of Paris, and his name appears sixteenth in the list of prelates who signed the acts of the council (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Conciliae 1:191). His last will and testament, dated March 26, 616, bears eloquent testimony to his lifelong fatherly concern for the poor and afflicted of his diocese; its churches, especially that dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul which he erected; and also his own serfs and slaves, whom he manumitted at his death. He was buried in the basilica of SS. Peter and Paul.

Feast: June 30.

Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum June 1:699–714. Analecta Bollandiana 26 (1907) 467–468. h. leclercq, Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie, ed. f. cabrol, h. leclercq, and h. i. marrou (Paris 1907–53) 10.2:1490–1520. p. gams, Series episcoporum ecclesiae catholicae (Graz 1957) 562. l. calendini, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912) 8:930–932. j. l. bau dot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienhereux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes (Paris 1935–56) 6:523–524. e. ewig, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiburg 1957–65) 2:270. j. vandamme, Bibliotheca sanctorum 3:136–137. m. weidemann, Das Testament des Bischofs Berthramn von Le Mans vom 27. März 616 (Mainz 1986).

[h. dressler]