Monegund: The vita of a unique saint

This paper argues that Saint Monegund was unique amongst her sixth century saintly Frankish peers in regards to the topoi at play within her vita. However, she is representative of a diverse form of Christianity extant prior to the Carolingian reforms. Using fifth century vitae to establish the topoi which would have been available to sixth century hagiographers, the study compares sixth century Roman and Frankish vitae to determine the ways in which Monegund differs. Sixth century spiritual expression as found in Gregory of Tours' Glory of the Confessors and History of the Franks is then used to show that, while Monegund's vita is unique, her ability to choose her own mode of spiritual expression is not.