Reinold (also known as Reinhold of Koln, in German as Reinhold von Köln) was a Benedictine monk who lived in the 10th century. Supposedly a direct descendant of Charlemagne, and the fourth son mentioned in the romantic poem Duke Aymon, by William Caxton.[1] The poem is Caxton's translation of the long French Chanson de Geste, Les Quatre Fils Aymon (The Four Sons of Aymon), where Renaud de Montauban dies in an almost identical manner.[2] He began his religious life by entering the Benedictine monastery of Pantaleon in Cologne, Germany, where he was appointed head of a building project occurring in the abbey. He often joined the stonemasons in their work, at times surpassing them. This led to the unsavoury event of his murder at the hands of the same stonemasons he worked with. Reinold was beaten to death with hammers and his body deposited into a pool near the Rhine. His body was later found through divine means, leading to the attribution of Reinold as the Patron of Stonemasons.
Saint Reinold | |
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| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 7 January |
| Attributes | Benedictine monk |
| Patronage | Stonemasonry |
Notes edit
- ^ St. Reinold Catholic Online
- ^ Corpus of Middle English Prose and Text The right plesaunt and goodly historie of the foure sonnes of Aymon, Caxton, 1489