Boniface: Murdered near Dokkum in 754

At about the age of 80, Boniface traveled to Utrecht to dedicate himself once again to the mission among the Frisians. But the mission did not go as planned. On June 5, 754, he was ambushed on his way to a baptismal feast in Dokkum. He tried to defend himself by catching the sword blows with a book, but to no avail. We learned in school: 754 Boniface murdered near Dokkum. What do you know about Boniface?

Boniface's life story

Saint Boniface is also known as the Apostle of the Germans and the Architect of Christian Western Europe. The cleric founded a large number of monasteries. Not everyone was happy with his work. According to tradition, Boniface was murdered by pagan Frisians near Dokkum on June 5, 754.

According to the priest Willibald, who wrote a hagiography about him, Boniface was born around the year 672 near Exeter, in southwest England, under the name Winfrid or Wynfrith. He is said to have been of noble descent and, against his father's wishes, to have chosen a life as a monk at the age of seven. He became a priest at the age of thirty.

In 716, Boniface left England to undertake an initial mission to Frisia. However, upon arriving in the Low Countries, it became clear that traveling to Frisia was not a good idea due to political circumstances. Not long afterward, he traveled to Rome, where the Pope commissioned him to Christianize the Germanic peoples in the area east of the Rhine. At the same time, he received his new name: Boniface, which means something like 'he who does good'. He subsequently set to work as a missionary bishop in Thuringia. Boniface quickly made a name for himself in these areas. The missionary also proceeded rigorously. In various regions, he had pagan sanctuaries destroyed in order to subsequently establish new churches and monasteries there. Later, he also worked in Hesse and was eventually even appointed Archbishop of Mainz. In Utrecht, the Anglo-Saxon missionary worked for two years alongside Willibrord, the most famous missionary in the Netherlands. After his death in the year 744, Boniface took the diocese of Utrecht under his care.

 

Murder in Dokkum

In 754, the approximately eighty-year-old Boniface finally traveled to Friesland with 52 other missionaries in an attempt to Christianize the Frisians. Along the way, he had sacred trees cut down, among other things, and baptized Frisians who converted to the Christian faith. That not all Frisians held the bishop in high regard became apparent on June 5, 754. On his way to a baptismal ceremony, the archbishop was ambushed and murdered near Dokkum that day. About fifty of his followers, including Bishop Eoban of Utrecht, also lost their lives.

According to some sources, Boniface was reading from the Bible at the moment of the robbery. It is unclear whether the robbers were after loot or if they were religiously inspired. After his death, the missionary was soon canonized. However, it is not certain whether Boniface was actually killed on June 5. He may have died somewhat later.

Boniface's body was transferred to the monastery of Fulda, which he himself had founded ten years earlier. The book with which, according to tradition, the archbishop tried to defend himself during the attack is also kept there. Traces of sword blows are said to still be visible on this so-called Codex Ragyndrudis.

 

place of pilgrimage

From the late nineteenth century onwards, Dokkum became a place of pilgrimage due to the martyrdom of Boniface. All sorts of bones of the saint also suddenly surfaced, although they later all turned out to be fake. In iconography, Boniface is often depicted with a holy book through which a sword or dagger has been thrust. Despite the death of the archbishop, the Christianization of the Low Countries continued unabated. By the end of the eighth century, from an institutional point of view, it was even complete.

 

Christianity before Boniface

It is sometimes claimed that the Christian faith was introduced to the Low Countries by Boniface and Willibrord. In reality, however, this happened centuries earlier, during the last decades of Roman rule. At the end of the fourth century, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, who also ruled over part of the Low Countries, had even declared Christianity the state religion. He also enacted various laws against paganism. The basilica on the tomb of Saint Servatius in Maastricht grew into a place of pilgrimage during this period. However, with the retreating Romans, Christianity was pushed further and further south. Therefore, when Boniface and Willibrord arrived in the Low Countries, there was plenty of missionary work for them to perform.

 

Source: Historiek

 

<strong> More info: </strong>

Bonifatius Wiki: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonifatius_(saint)

More about Boniface:

https://isgeschiedenis.nl/personen/bonifatius

https://www.noviomagus.info/bonifatius.htm