Saint of the Day Online - St. Grimbald

Saint of the Day for Friday, July 7, 2017

Saint Name: Saint Grimbald
Place: France 
Birth: 820
Death: July 8, 901
Feast: July 7

Saint Grimbald who was born on 820 was a 9th-century Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Saint Bertin near Saint-Omer, France.

Benedictine abbot also called Grimwald, invited to England by King Alfred in 885. Grimbald arrived in England and declined the see of Canterbury, preferring to remain a monk. He became the Abbot of New Minster Abbey at Winchester appointed by King Edward the Elder. Grimbald is credited with restoring learning to England.

According to the Vita Prima, King Alfred met Grimbald before his reign, and after his coronation invited Grimald to England around 892. Invited for his linguistic and compositional ability, Grimbald was one of the several scholars who had been invited to the English court by Alfred to assist him in his literary pursuits, and was amongst the most prominent. In fact, in the Introduction of his translation of Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care, Alfred mentions the help he received from Grimbald in composing Latin. Although it is said that during Grimbald's life he refused King Alfred's offer of appointment to the see of Canterbury, after Alfred's death he accepted appointment as abbot to a yet unbuilt monastery, New Minster, in Winchester by King Edward. Grimwald died at New Minster on 8 July, 901. He was venerated as a saint and confessor, and some altars were dedicated to him. He also figures in a number of legendary tales of Oxford.