Saint Leodegar of Poitiers

During the 7th century, the four Frankish kingdoms were reunited under the rule of a single king. Custody of this crown nevertheless required much bloody infighting, as families from the four territories vied for power above all. But these nobles, sometimes mere children, were really more like figureheads: far more ambitious and despotic were their business managers.

One such power-behind-the-throne was a man called Ebroin. He was eying, for Neustria, a takeover of Burgundy, then home to a bishop called Leodegar, or Léger. Ebroin considered Leodegar’s spiritual advisement to the local nobility an obstacle, so when he had the opportunity, he drilled out the saint’s eyes and cut off his lips and tongue.

Remarkably, Leodegar survived this attack, and though he was confined to a castle for the rest of his life, he still preached there with great zeal, as if he’d never been injured, saving many souls of his fellow condemned.

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