BERTULF OF RENTY, ST.

Abbot; b. Germany, mid-seventh century; d. Renty, France, Feb. 5, c. 705. It is fairly certain that Bertulf (Bertoul or Bertulphus) founded the Abbey of Renty near Saint-Omer, but little else is known of his life, since his biography dates from the late eleventh century and appears to depend on material that can be traced no farther back than the tenth century. According to this account, he was born a pagan in Germany, went to Gaul, was baptized, and became the economus of a count whose properties at Renty he inherited. He later entered the monastic foundation he had made, became abbot, and died there. His relics were transferred from Renty to Boulogne, then to Harlebeke, Belgium (after 935), and finally (955) to Saint-Pierre-de-Gand. They disappeared during the course of the religious wars of the sixteenth century.

Feast: Feb. 5.

Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum Feb. 1:681–694. j. ferrant, Esquisse historique sur le culte et les reliques de saint Bertulphe de Renty en l'Église d'Harlebeke (Bruges 1898). Analecta Bollandiana 17 (1898) 373–374. l. van der essen, Étude critique et littéraire sur les vitae des saints mérovingiens de l'ancienne Belgique (Louvain 1907) 422–423. e. de moreau, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912) 8:1112–13. a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum, (Metten 1933–38) 1:170–172. r. aigrain, Catholicisme 1:1511.

[p. blecker]