Re-creating a Patron for the Ninth Century: Geography, Sainthood, and Heiric of Auxerre’s Miracula sancti Germani

As an act of veneration and celebration, Heiric of Auxerre in the 870s compiled the story of Saint Germanus, a fifth-century bishop and the patron of his monastic community. On the surface the Miracula sancti Germani follows conventional hagiographical patterns. Yet a closer analysis reveals that the Miracula’s author also sought to demonstrate the continuing and influential role of this saint in the Carolingian world. Through a deliberate and calculated use of geography, Heiric selected specific locations to highlight a new sphere of influence, one that reached beyond that of the accepted boundaries of Auxerre and responded to contemporary political and ecclesiastical anxieties. He crafted a sacred topography that spoke to both the spiritual needs of the community (lay and ecclesiastical) and the temporal concerns of the ninth-century Carolingian world.