Hermenegild

Saint Hermenegild
El Triunfo de San Hermenegildo by Francisco Herrera the Younger (1654)
Martyr
BornToletum, Visigothic Kingdom
Diedc. 13 April 585
Hispalis, Hispania
Venerated inCatholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
FeastApril 13
Attributesaxe, crown, sword, and cross [1]
PatronageSeville, Spain

Saint Hermenegild or Ermengild (died 13 April 585; Spanish: San Hermenegildo; Latin: Hermenegildus, from Gothic 𐌹𐍂𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌰𐌲𐌹𐌻𐌳𐍃 *Airmana-gild, "immense tribute"), was the son of King Liuvigild of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. He fell out with his father in 579, then revolted the following year. During his rebellion, he converted from Arianism to Chalcedonian Christianity. Hermenegild was defeated in 584 and exiled.[2] His death was later celebrated as a martyrdom due to the influence of Pope Gregory I's Dialogues, in which he portrayed Hermenegild as a "Catholic martyr rebelling against the tyranny of an Arian father."[3]

  1. ^ Stracke, Richard (2015-10-20). "Saint Hermenegild: The Iconography". Christian Iconography.
  2. ^ Heather, Peter (1998). The Goths. Wiley. pp. 280–282. ISBN 978-0-631-20932-4.
  3. ^ Markus, Robert Austin (9 October 1997). Gregory the Great and His World. Cambridge University Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-521-58608-5.