The Legend Of Sainte Radegonde, Protector of Poitiers In France

Last updated on August 11th, 2024 at 01:31 pm

One of the many things I love about living in France is discovering the history and stories of the people who lived here centuries ago.

And Sainte Radegonde, born in Thuringia, now part of modern-day Germany, who lived in the 6th century, has a story worth telling. 

From being abducted by the Franks at the tender age of eleven and forced into marriage to King Clotaire I to fighting dragons and becoming a nun, her life was no picnic.

But who was the woman behind the story, and why is she still celebrated today as the ‘Protector of Poitiers’?

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Who Was Sainte Radegonde?

Born around 520, Radegonde was the daughter of Berthar, King of Thuringia, along with his two brothers, Baderic and Hermanfred. Unfortunately, as so often happened during those times, the three brothers were rivals. They shared the kingdom of Thuringia between them, which had been their father’s wish when he died.

Baderic and Hermanfred plotted between them to murder Radegonde’s father, leaving a fifty-fifty split of the kingdom. With no family left, Radegonde and her brother fell under the care of their two uncles. 

But the bloodshed didn’t stop there. Not content to share the land with his brother, Hermanfred teamed up with Thierry, the son of Clovis, King of Metz, to assassinate Baderic.

However, Hermanfred did the dirty on Thierry and reneged on the deal they’d made to share the kingdom between them.

Thierry, not happy at all with being duped, joined forces with his brother Clotaire to take revenge and defeated the Thuringian army in 531. Clotaire then took eleven-year-old Radegonde and her brother hostage as spoils of war. And so they began a new life as their father’s lands were ravaged and destroyed.

Despite being held prisoner by Clotaire in his royal villas in Athis, near Péronne, Radagonde was well educated. Here, she learned about the lives of the Saints and studied the gospel, among other things.

When Clotaire’s wife died, he decided he’d marry Radegonde, but as you can imagine, she wasn’t so keen. Why on earth would she want to marry a man who had destroyed her kingdom and killed her family?

As was often the case in those days, Radegonde had little choice in the matter. Although she tried running away from him, it didn’t take his troops long to find her and bring her back to Soissons.

Resigning herself to her fate, she saw this as her path forward and dedicated herself to softening her power-hungry husband, saving many lives in the process. 

She’d been married for nearly ten years before disaster struck again, this time involving her brother.

As the last remaining heir to the Thurungian dynasty, Clotaire saw him as a threat and had him killed. This was a step too far for Radagonde, so she took flight and ran for her life, heading towards a town called Saix.

The Miracle Of The Oats

But Clotaire didn’t want to let her go, so he sent his troops after her, and this is where she performed her first miracle. The legend says that when Radegonde heard the soldiers approaching, she ran into a field of oats and asked the harvesters to cover for her. 

They agreed that if asked, they would tell the soldiers they hadn’t seen anyone in the field since the seeds had been sown.

And then the miracle occurred. Before their eyes, the oats started growing, sprouting tall all around them, allowing Radegonde to hide and stay safe.

When the soldiers arrived and asked the harvesters if they’d seen her, they stuck to the story, and Radegonde escaped their clutches.

The First Abbey For Women In France

Unfortunately, Clotaire wasn’t a man who gave up quickly, so Radegonde sought refuge with Medard, the Bishop of Noyon. To keep her safe, he threatened Clotaire with ex-communication from the church, which luckily worked, leaving Radegonde free to embrace a more religious life.

In 552, Radagonde founded the first abbey for women in France, Sainte-Marie of Poitiers, which was no mean feat for a royal refugee. 

Not wishing to be the abbess, she handed the reigns over to her close friend and former lady-in-waiting from the court, Agnes.

So great was her power of persuasion that she convinced the Bishop of Paris to travel to Poitiers for Agnes’s inauguration as Abbess. This journey was a long one in those days, not a couple of hours of train ride.

She also played an essential role in keeping the peace among the Merovingian Kings. Having learned her craft by doing a similar role for her husband, she was adept at keeping them from slaughtering each other and their rivals.

She became known for her charity, piety, and courage in using her power to serve her faith. She is said to have used her money to liberate prisoners, care for lepers, save sailors in danger, and more.

Radegonde lived out her days performing many small miracles, healing the sick, and helping those in need. Perhaps the biggest miracle of all was receiving a holy relic from none other than the Holy Roman Emperor in Constantinople, Justinian.

She wrote to him asking him to send her a small piece of the Holy Cross. Not only did he receive her request, but he also granted it. This led to the abbey being renamed Abbey of the Sainte-Croix, which it still goes by today.

The Church of Sainte Radegonde

When she died on August 13th, 587, she was buried near the Abbey but outside the city’s walls, which was the custom at the time.

The church where she is buried, Sainte-Marie-horsles-Murs, was one she’d initially built to house the tombs of the nuns from the abbey and is still standing today. It has since been renamed the Church of Sainte Radegonde.

After their deaths, Radegonde and Abbess Agnes were canonized as saints, and their tombs now lie in the crypt. The sarcophagus of Radegonde stands on a plinth as you go down the stairs to the crypt. Unfortunately, during the wars of religion, the tomb was desecrated, and Radegonde’s remains were burnt. 

Only a few calcified fragments of bone were saved and put into a lead case, which was placed in the tomb in 1565, which is the one you can now see.

Next to the sarcophagus is Nicolas Legendre’s marble statue of Radegonde, which Anne of Austria donated. If you look, you’ll see she has a scepter, queen’s crown, nun’s veil, and book, the four items used to depict her throughout the ages.

I visited the church on a tour with the Tourism Board of Poitiers. My guide, Valentine, told me some interesting stories about the crypt.

The first was about the power of praying to Sainte Radegonde. For centuries, people have flocked to the tomb to have their prayers answered, but praying alone isn’t enough. 

For Radegonde to hear your prayer, you must walk around the tomb three times and then go underneath it three times. And let me tell you, that isn’t easy. I’ve stood by her tomb, and the space underneath is tiny.

But what really got my attention was how people thanked Radegonde if they believed she had answered their prayers. 

As you look around the church’s walls, you’ll see hundreds of marble plaques, known as ex-votos. These are thank-you notes from happy people who believe their prayers were answered.

This includes some very famous people. Valentine pointed out a plaque from the President of the Republic after World War 1. He believed Radegonde had aided the end of the war.

Another, on the stairs down to the crypt, is from Queen Anne of Austria, thanking Radegonde for her son’s recovery. Louis XIV was gravely ill in 1658, and the Queen prayed to Radegonde to save him, which she did, as he went on to become the Sun King.

However, these plaques aren’t free. The donator creates the marble plaque, and the church is paid a nominal fee for the pleasure.

But that’s not the only way to thank Radegonde. For those unable to afford the marble plaque, you’ll find notes carved onto the crypt’s walls. It’s unbelievable how many there are. And not all of them are old; some were done in the last decade.

As you descend into the crypt and the ambulatory, you’ll see all the inscriptions on the walls. The ambulatory leads to three chapels whose altars are dedicated to Saint Agnes, the first abbess of the Sainte-Croix monastery, Saint Disciole, and Saint Junien.

For those who asked Radegonde for help with their exams, there is another unique way to thank her. If you look behind the crypt gate, you’ll see lots of screwed-up pieces of paper. These are exam papers pushed through as a way to say thank you.

God’s Footstep

On the south side of the church in the nave, you’ll find the  “Pas de Dieu” or “God’s Footsteps”, which came from the Sainte-Croix monastery in Poitiers and was transferred to the church during the Revolution.

Created in the 17th century by Gervais de La Barre, it illustrates the apparition Radegonde is said to have seen one year before her death. The footprint of Jesus remained after the apparition disappeared and can now be seen as a stone footprint.

The Legend of the Dragon

Probably the biggest legend surrounding Sainte Radegonde is the Grand Ghoul, a winged dragon with terrifying jaws that lived at the bottom of the Clain River.

When the water rose, the monster would come to the underground passages of the Saint-Croix abbey, attacking and killing the nuns. 

The village men were too afraid to do anything, so Radagonde came to the rescue.

Instead of using weapons, she brandished a cross at the beast and sprayed it with holy water, and that was the end of him, although the legend still lives on. 

In fact, opposite the church, you’ll see a nightclub aptly named La Grande’Goule.

Feast of Ste Radegone (August 13)

The dragon was a part of the Feast of Sainte Radagone, held on August 13th. A replica was made and carried through the streets of Poitiers as part of the procession.

The townsfolk and those celebrating would throw small cakes at the dragon, but that tradition died out in the 19th century. The dragon, however, still lives on and is now the emblem of Stade Poitevin, the Poitiers football stadium.

The Miracle of the Keys

Even after her death, Radegonde still performed miracles, but she wasn’t alone this time. She joined forces with the Virgin Mary and Saint-Hilaire. 

During the siege of Poitiers in 1202, the city keys were nearly handed over to the English, the attacking force. The mayor’s clerk, bribed with a substantial sum of money, agreed to sneak into the mayor’s office at night to steal the keys. But when he got there, the keys were nowhere to be seen.

When the mayor awoke, he realized the keys were missing. After putting the army on high alert, he made his way to the Notre-Dame-la-Grande church to pray. But when he got there, to his amazement, the keys were dangling from the hands of the statue of the Virgin Mary.

But the story doesn’t end there. The English, thinking they were going mad after having seen apparitions of Sainte-Radegonde, the Virgin Mary, and Saint-Hilaire, started attacking and killing each other. The city of Poitiers was saved thanks to a miracle performed by the three protectors of Poitiers.

Today, when you go into the Notre-Dame-la-Grande church, you’ll see the statue of the Virgin Mary with the keys in her hand, the Notre-Dame-des-Clefs.

You’ll also see a stained glass window depicting the legend, although the Bishop of Poitiers has replaced Saint-Hilaire at the top.

Poitiers is a town steeped in history, but for me, part of the fascination lies in the fact that not one but two great women are part of its legend. Sainte Radegonde and Eleanor of Aquitaine both left their mark, and their stories live on today.