FtJLCRAN
31.3
FULDA
faith to reason. In 1007 Fulbert succeeded the de-
ceased Rudolph as Bishop of Chartres and was conse-
crated by his metropolitan, Archbishop Leutheric of
Sens. He owed tlie episcopal dignity chiefly to the
influence of King Robert of France, who had been his
fellow student at Reims. As bishop he continued to
teach in his school and also retained the treasurership
of .St. Hilary. When, about 1020, the cathedral of
Chartres burned down, Fulbert at once began to
rebuild it in greater splendour. In this umlertaking
he was financially assisted bj' King Canute of Eng-
land, Duke William of Aquitaine, and other European
sovereigns. Though Fulbert was neither abbot nor
monk, as has been wrongly asserted by some histor-
ians, still he stood in friendly relation with Odilo of
Cluny, Richard of St. Vannes, Abbo of Fleurj-, and
other monastic celebrities of liis times. He advo-
cated a reform of the clergj', severely rebuked those
bishops who spent much of their time in warlike expe-
ditions, and inveighed against the practice of granting
ecclesiastical benefices to laymen.
Fulbert's literary productions include 140 epistles, 2 treatises, 27 hymns, and parts of the ecclesiastical Office. His epistles are of great historical value, espe- cially on accomit of thelight they throw on the liturgj- and discipline of the Church in the eleventh century. His two treatises are in the form of homilies. The first has as its subject: "Misit Herodes re.x manus, ut aflligeret quosdam de ecclesia" etc. (Acts, xii, 1); the second is entitled "Tractatus contra Juda-os" and proves that the prophecy of Jacob, "Non auferetur sceptrum de Judii" etc. (Gen., xlix, 10), had been ful- filled in Christ. Five of his nine extant sermons are on the Blessed Virgin Mary, towards whom he had a great devotion. The life of St. Aubert, Bishop of Cambrai (d. CG7), which is sometimes ascribed to Ful- bert, was probably not written bj' him. Fulbert's epistles were first edited by PapLre le Masson (Paris, 1585). His complete works were edited by Charles de Villiers (Paris, IGOS), then inserted in "Bibl. magna Patrum" (Cologne, 1018), XI, in " Bibl. maxima Patr. ' ' (Lyons, 1677), XVIII, and with additions, in Migne, P. L., CXLI, 189-368.
Pfister, De Fulberii Camotensis episcopi vitd el operibus (Nancy, 1SS6>; Hisloire litteraire de la France, \^I, 261-279. reprinted in P. L.. CXLI, 167-184. For a critical valuation of his epi-stles see Werner, Gerhert von Aunllac (Vienna, ISSl), 273-2S6.
Michael Ott.
Fulcran, S.uxt, Bishop of Lodeve; d. 13 February, 1000. According to the biography which Bernard Gui- donis, Bishop of Lcnleve (d. 1331), has left us of his saintly predecessor. Fulcran came of a distinguished family, consecrated himself at an early age to the service of the Church, became a priest, and from his youth led a pure and holy life. When in 949 Theo- derich. Bishop of Lodeve, died, Fulcran, notwithstand- ing his unwillingness, was chosen as his successor and was consecratetl by the Archbishop of Xarbonne on 4 Februarj' of the same year. He was untiring in his efforts to conserve the moral life within his diocese, especially among the clergy and the religious orders; he rebuilt many churches and convents, among them the cathedral dedicated to St. Genesius and the church of the Holy Redeemer with the Benedictine mona.stery attached to it. The poor and the sick were the objects of his special care; for tlieir support he foimded hospi- tals and endowed others already existing. The follow- ing anecdote from his life is worthy of mention. A bishop of Gaul had fallen away from the Faith and had accepted Jewish teachings. When the news reached Fulcran, he exclaimed in an excess of zeal: " This bishop should be burned ! " Shortly afterwards the renegade prelate was actually seized by his incensed flock and delivered up to death by fire. Fulcran was then filled with remorse that by his utterance lie should have been the cause of the apostate's death,
and, after doing severe penance, he made a pilgrimage
to Rome, there to receive absolution for his supposed
guilt. After his death he was buried in the cathedral
of Lodeve and honoured as a saint. His body, which
had Ijeen preserved intact, was burnerl by the Hugue-
nots in 1572, and only a few particles of his remains
were saved. He is the second patron of the Diocese of
Lodeve, and his feast falls on 13 February.
Berxakb GciDON-is. Vila Fulcranni in Speculum Sanclorale in Ada S., Feb.. II, 710-17; Testamentxtm S. Fulcranni. ibid., appendix, 897-900; de Bosquet, Vie de saint Fulcran, eveque de Lodeve (Paris, 1651; new ed.. Lodeve, 1836); Bec, Vie de Saml Fulcran (Lodfeve, 183.8); Boutt, Vie de Saint Fulcran (Montpellier, 1865); Reynis, Les reliques de Saint Fulcran de Lodeve fLodftve, 1861 ■■
J. P. KmscH.
Fulda, Diocese of (Fdldensis). — This diocese of the German Empire takes its name from the ancient Benedictine abbey of Fulda. To systematize the work of evangelizing Germany. St. Boniface organized a hierarchy on the usual ecclesiastical basis; in Bava- ria the Dioceses of Salzburg, Freising, Ratisbon, and Pa.ssau; in Franconia and Thuringia, Wurzburg, Eichstatt, Buraburg near Fritzlar, and Erfurt. To facilitate missionary work farther north, especially among the Saxons, he sought a suitable spot for the location of a monastery-. He chose for this mission St. Stumiius, who, after journeying far and wide, found an appropriate place in the great forest of Buchonia, in the district of Grabfekl on the Fulda. Boniface sanctioned this choice of a location, and petitioned Carloman, to whom the coimtry round about belonged, to grant him the site for a monaaterj'. Carloman j-ielded to the saint's request, and also in- duced the Prankish nobles who had estates in the vicinity to bestow a part of them on the Church. On 12 March, 744, St. Sturmius took solemn possession of the land, and raised the cross. The wilderness was soon cleared, and the erection of the monastery and church, the latter dedicated to the Mo.st Holy Re- deemer, begun under the personal direction of St. Boniface. He appointed St. Stunnius first abbot of the new foundation, which he intended to surpass in greatness aU existing monasteries of Germany, and to be a nursery for priests. The rule was modelled on that of the Abbey of ilonte Cassino, as Sturmius him- self had gone to Italy (748) for the express purpose of becoming familiar with it. To secure absolute au- tonomy for the new abbey, Boniface obtained from Pope Zachary a privilege, dated 4 November, 751, placing it immediately under the Holy See, and remov- ing it from all ej)iscopal jurisdiction. The authen- ticity of this document has frequently been called into question, but on the whole it is considered as well established. (For further details see Tangl in "Mit- teilungen des Instituts fiir osterreichische Geschichts- forschung", 1899; and B. Sepp, "Die Fuldaer Privile- gien frage", Ratisljon, 1908.) In 753 Pepin gave the royal sanction to this exemption from episcopal juris- diction. Boniface showed his love for Fulda when he charged that his remains should be laid to rest there.
L'nder the prudent administration of St. Stunnius (d. 779), the monaster}- soon rose to greater splen- dour; from an early period the tomb of St. Boniface made it a national sanctuan,' for Christian Germany. Great success crowned the agricultural work of the monks, and small colonies which were established in different places gradually became the centres of ^•illages and civil communities. Soon Fulda was the mother-house of a number of smaller monasteries, which were later administered by provosts under the superiorship of the abbot. The gifts of German princes, nobles, and private individuals increased the landed possessions of the abbey so rapidly that they soon extended over distant parts of (jermany; there were estates in Thuringia, Saxony, Hesse, Bavaria, Lorraine, Swabia; possessions along the Rhine, in
