Saint Fris, also known as Fris de Bassoues, Latin Frisius or Frisus, also Frix, or Fritz, is a warrior saint venerated in the region Aquitaine, département Gers, in France. Saint Fris was considered the defender of Aquitaine against the Saracens. The legend regards him as a knight of Frisian descent, allegedly a son of King Radbod of Frisia. His shrine is located in the Basilica Saint-Fris de Bassoues.
The name of Saint Fris has been known since the 11th century. His popularity peaked in the 16th century and experienced a revival after the mid-19th century. Since 2001 Saint Fris is the patron saint of the newly established parish of Saint-Fris-d'Anglès (Bassoues, Montesquiou). His present cult is largely restricted to four parishes in the region of Astarac.
The medieval legend of Saint Fris is not supported by historical sources. It may well have been inspired by troubadour songs and chansons de geste about legendary Frisian kings rather than having been derived from religious hagiography. The basilica of Saint-Fris is situated on the , one of the 12th-century pilgrims' ways to Santiago di Compostela, which may have contributed to the popularity of the Saint's cult.
Hagiographers of the 17th century subsequently placed the legend in a historical context. The saint is discussed in the compendium Acta Sanctorum on June 24 (Antwerp 1695), but is absent from most other reference works. The ecclesiastical compendium Bibliotheca Sanctorum concluded in 1964 that, due to the lack of sources, doubts remain about the sainthood of Saint Fris.Gian Domenico Gordini, 'Frisio (fr. Fritz), santo, martire di Bassoues in Aquitania', in: Filippo Caraffa et al. (ed.), Bibliotheca Sanctorum 5 (Rome 1964), col. 1279-80.
Legend
The character of Fris is surrounded by legends, of which it is difficult to determine whether they are based on actual events or on literary imagination. According to the ecclesiastical tradition Fris, probably meaning 'the Frisian', was a commander of a Frankish army during the rule of the Mayor of the Palace Charles Martel. He was killed in battle in the year AD 732.
Following to the same legend, Fris was the son of the King of Frisia. An inscription on an early 16-century portal depicts the saint as a knight on a horse, accompanied by the text: Sanctus Frisius, filius regis Frisiae – Sancte Frisi, ora pro nobis ("Saint Fris, son of the King of Frisia – Saint Fris, pray for us").Bénac, Les Saints d’Auch, p. 87. As a sign of his royal descent, his helmet is depicted with a crown, whereas he holds a scepter in his hand. It is assumed, moreover, that Fris was not a baptismal name, but a reference to the saint's origins. The history of Saint Fris is largely based on a report by archbishop in 1623, on a manuscript lost in the early 17th century as well as on local traditions.
Jesuit scholars from the 17th-century Bollandist Society, who corresponded 1691 with the canons of Bassoues, inferred that Fris might be a son of King Radbod, and a nephew of the Frankish statesman Charles Martel. The canons, who preserved some memories of the manuscript, later communicated their knowledge to the archbishop's vicar general, the abbot (1681–1764). According to d'Aignan du Sendat it was in his time "a generally accepted belief" that Fris was the son of Radbod.Guilhempey, Histoire de Bassoues, p. 5.
According to the Life of Wulfram of Sens (Vita Vulframni), written around 800, King Radbod indeed had a son that was baptized and named after his father, but he died after a few days, still wearing his white baptismal garment.Han Nijdam and Otto S. Knottnerus, 'Redbad, the Once and Future King of the Frisians', in: Simon Halink (ed.), Northern Myths, Modern Identities: The Nationalisation of Northern Mythologies Since 1800, Brill, Leiden 2018, pp. 87-114, p. 98 . The Annals of Metz, also dated around 800, claim that Grimoald (the son of the Mayor of the Palace Pippin of Herstal) had a son by his concubine, who was named Theudoald. The theud- or thiad- component of his name, however, may imply he actually was the son of Radbod's daughter named Theudesinda or Thiadsvind.Ian Wood, 'Franks and Frisians'. in: John Hines and Nelleke IJssennagger-van der Pluijm (eds.), Frisians of the Early Middle Ages, Woodbridge, NJ 2021, pp. 203-222, p. 211. The marriage between Grimoald and Theudesinda AD 711 is historical. All things considered, the true identity of the saint remains matter of speculation.The names of Radbod's sons are not mentioned in contemporary sources. 16th-century historiography invented three baptized sons of Radbod: Melcher (the son who died after baptism), Adelgil the Second and Poppo. Only the last one is historical. It is quite possible that the clerics of Bassoues and Auch got acquainted with these ideas. Cf. Ludovico Guicciardini, Description de touts les Pays-Bas, autrement appellez la Germanie Inférieure ou Basse Allemagne, Amsterdam 1609, p. 223.
Battle of l'Étendard
In the year AD 732, the Umayyad Caliphate advanced into the region Aquitaine. This led to the great Battle of Tours in October that year, in which Charles Martel earned his nickname martelles ("the hammer"). According to the legend, Charles at first endorsed Fris to push forward in order to challenge the Umayyad forces led by Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi. It came to a confrontation in June 732. The first battle took place near Lupiac and was undecided. But Fris regrouped his forces on a hill near La Tapia (present-day Bassoues), at the , the main transhumance route from Bordeaux into the Pyrenees, where it crosses the 12th-century to Santiago de Compostela. On this plateau, on June 24, he planted his standard and confronted the Umayyads a second time. This is the reason why the battle is called the Battle of l'Étendard ('standard' or 'banner'), which is said to have taken place near the Moulin de l'Étendard (west of Bassoues). The latter battle was won by the Franks, but at the loss of Fris's life. He was hit by an arrow in his thigh, and was carried from the battlefield by his horse. He died at the banks of the rivulet and was buried on the spot (near the Pont du Chrétien).The modern name Pont du Chrétien may have been derived from an older Pont du Crestian or Crestias ("Bridge of the Cagot(s) or untouchables"). Gilbert Loubais, L'énigme des cagots. Histoire d'une exclusion, Bordeaux 1995. The bridge is part of the pilgrims' way to Compostela. Statues of Fris often show him as a standard bearer. In the Frisian tradition, their legendary leader Saint Magnus or Magnus Forteman, whose remnants were said to have been rescued from the Saracenes, is often depicted as a standard bearer as well.
The idea that Frisians were fighting in the Frankish armies against the Saracens is not far-fetched. Frisian as well as Saxon contingents were deployed against the Danes, Slavs and Avars, which brought them as far as the River Danube in modern Hungary.Flierman, Robert, 'Mirror Histories: Frisians and Saxons from the first to the ninth century AD', in: John Hines and Nelleke IJssennagger-van der Pluijm (eds.), Frisians of the Early Middle Ages, Woodbridge, NJ 2021, pp. 223-238.
Another interesting aspect is that Fris is depicted as riding a horse. Allegedly, Fris was part a cavalry unit, possibly a small vanguard suited to observe the movements of the Umayyad army and to design an effective strategy. During the Late Middle Ages, Frisians were well-known horse breeders, exporting their horses all over Europe. Frisian horses are often mentioned in the chansons de geste. In the epos La Chevalerie Ogier de Danemarche, none other than the illustrious Charlemagne rides a ceval Frise ('Frisian horse'). What is more, Friesian horses were renown as chargeurs (‘war horses’) throughout the Middle Ages, and centuries after.Jorieke Savelkouls, 'The Friesian Horse and the Frisian Horse: The (Re)invention and the Historicity of an Iconic Breed', in: De Vrije Fries 95 (2015), pp. 9-42. Knights on horseback, moreover, were part of the traditional iconography of the High Middle Ages.Cf. René Crozet, 'Le thème du cavalier victorieux dans l'art roman de France et d'Espagne', in: Príncipe de Viana 32 (1971), pp. 125-143.
However, it may well be that the stories involved originated much later, in the wake of the Crusades, when King Radbod ("Raimbaud") and his fictitious successor (who was supposed to have been buried in Belin-Béliet (Gironde)) featured in chivalric romances such as the Chanson de Roland and the fictiuous Historia Caroli Magni. In these stories contemporary Crucade and Camino propaganda was projected back into the time of the Carolingians. The character of the soldier-saint (le soldat guerrier) was quite popular during this period and frequently appeared in troubadour songs.Esther Dehoux, '"Con avès non, vasal al ceval blanc ?". Sur quelques apparitions des saints guerriers lors de combats, notamment dans la Chanson d'Aspremont', in : L'epopea normanna e il territorio, actes du colloque de Reggio de Calabre (26-27 mai 2006), Reggio de Calabre 2007, p. 23-114. Esther Dehoux, Saints guerriers. Georges, Guillaume, Maurice et Michel dans la France médiévale (XIe–XIIIe siècle), Rennes 2014.
Cult of Saint Fris
According to legendary tradition, the sarcophagus of Saint Fris was discovered some two centuries after his death by peasants from a nearby farm witnessing strange behavior of one of their cows. The cow refused food and preferred to lick a large stone hidden in the bushes. In spite of this she was healthier and fatter than the rest of the herd. After moving the stone, the herdsman unearthed a sarcophagus containing the saint's preserved body with armor and weaponry. Shortly thereafter, the villagers furnished a chapel behind the altar of their parish church, dedicated to Saint Fris. When they planned to transfer the shrine, they discovered that all draft oxen refused to pull the loaded wagon, except for the cow that had been licking the stone, which completed the heavy task without any difficulty.
From this time onward all kinds of miracles took place. The village of Bassoues became a place of pilgrimage. As is often said to happen during the transfer of relics (translatio) a fresh water well sprang up from the place where the body of Saint Fris had been buried. In the nearby hamlet of Andréou the dough that irreverently had been moistened with water from the well turned to blood. A leper house or crestias, mentioned in 1283 and 1295, was probably located near the fountain.Joseph Duffour, Livre rouge du chapitre métropolitain de Sainte-Marie d'Auch, Paris and Auch 1907, p. 442 (Archives historiques de la Gascogne, 2nd ser., vol 11). The parish church of Bassoues also has a 15th-century font for the lepers or untouchables. A 17th-century report states that villagers carried beneficial water from the well to patients who were confined to their houses. In 1890, at the initiative of the local priest Father A. Blajan, the original fountain on the hill was replaced by a chapel, accompanied by a small bathhouse for pilgrims.
His veneration is associated with curing epilepsy and other chronic diseases. In the Middle Ages he may have been the patron of lepers and other intouchables. His skull played a role in major ceremonies such as the consecration of the Auch Cathedral 1121. The rest of his body was kept in a plain sandstone sarcophagus in the .Laurent Marsol, Patrimoine vivant du Diocèse d'Auch, Hallennes-lez-Haubourdin 2016, p. 71-72. Bénac and others wrongly suggest that the shrine is made of marble or granite. Jean-Marie Bénac, Les Saints du calendre diocésain d’Auch, Auch 1916-1923, vol. 1, pp. 67-102. Louis-Clément Brugèles, Chroniques ecclésiatiques du diocèse d‘Auch, Toulouse 1746, p. 383-385.