Ardo Smaragdus

Saint Ardo Smaragdus
Died	March 843 Aniane, Hérault, France
Feast	7 March[1]

Ardo Smaragdus (died March 843 AD) was a hagiographer. He entered the monastery of Aniane in Hérault as a boy, probably as an oblate,[2] and was brought up by Benedict of Aniane. He was ordained a priest and made head of the monastery school.[3]

In 794, he accompanied Benedict to the Council of Frankfurt. and in 814, he replaced Benedict as abbot after the latter joined the imperial court at Aix-la-Chapelle.[3]

Smaragdus wrote a life of Benedict in 822, one of the most reliable hagiological productions of that period. He himself was honored as a saint at his monastery after his death.[3]

References

1. "Saint Ardo of Aniane". 6 March 2010.
2. Kramer, Rutger. "Caesar et Abba Simul: Monastic Reforms between Aachen and Aniane." Rethinking Authority in the Carolingian Empire, Amsterdam University Press, 2019, pp. 169–214
3. Ott, Michael. "Ardo Smaragdus." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 23 September 2021 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Ardo Smaragdus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Editions

• Ardo Smaragdus, Vita, Migne's Patrologia Latina, 103:353 sqq.;
• Cabaniss, Allen, trans. Benedict of Aniane: The Emperor's Monk, Ardo's Life. Foreword by Annette Grabowsky and Clemens Radl. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications, 2008. Pp. 112.