The Chemise of St. Bathildis
by Kristen West McGuire
At a museum near Paris, a linen funeral garment dating to the 7th century is on display. The owner was Saint Bathildis, a slave girl who became Queen of the Franks, and then retired to a monastery. How did this happen?
Historians believe she was born around 630AD, a member of the Saxon tribe. Danish pirates captured her and sold her to a prominent official in Neustria (northern France), Erchinoald. The myth relates that she was cheerful, beautiful, humble, and trustworthy. When Erchinoald’s wife died, he sought to marry her but she hid until he finally married someone else instead.
When King Clovis II decided to marry Bathildis, she was unable to hide. Kings wanted heirs, not meddling in-laws. Therefore, the Merovingian despots deemed it prudent to marry lowly slaves. This assured the king of future heirs, within his exclusive control.
Known for his violence and debauchery, it is unlikely that Bathildis consented to the marriage offer of King Clovis. However, her consistent piety and Christian witness moved him. He instructed the priest Genesius (later the bishop of Lyons) to assist her in giving alms and serving the poor, which contributed to the stability of the kingdom. King Clothar II died in 657, leaving three sons by Bathildis as heirs.
Bathildis was crowned Queen Regent for her son, Clothar III. Her generosity won friends among the bishops, supporting many convents and monasteries. She managed to unite Burgundy with Neustria by putting her second son Childeric II on that throne.
As queen, Saint Bathildis was known for outlawing such evil practices as infanticide, slavery, and simony (paying to receive the office of a bishop). Violence often ended the lives of kings. Unsurprisingly, both Clothar III and Childeric II were killed in 663.
Sometime between 663-667, Bathildis “retired” to the convent at Chelles that she endowed during her reign, possibly due to coercion from jealous nobles. She died in 680 and was buried at Chelles. Several centuries later, her grave was moved and the chemise was removed as a relic and cared for by the nuns.
The neckline’s embroidery in multi-colored silk was meant to look like jewelry at her neck, and many of the medallions stitched below it evoke the finest Byzantine artwork. The picture reproduced here is part of a larger collection of photos by Genevra Kornbluth of this lovely garment. I highly recommend reviewing them at her website, here. Those stitches are 1300+ years old!
Her hagiography, the Vita S. Bathildis, can be read in English in Sainted Women of the Dark Ages, by Joanne McNamara and John E. Halborg (Duke University Press, 1992). (Link includes an affiliate fee that supports SMMP.)
