Charles the Good, Count of Flanders and son of King Canute of Denmark, was assassinated by rebellious subjects in Bruges. His relics, kept at the Cathedral of Bruges, were subject to several translations over the centuries. Although his public cult has ceased, he is honored as blessed and martyr on March 2.
Guided reading
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RELICS, CULT, ICONOGRAPHY.
Funeral and first translations
After the capture of the church of Saint-Donatian by Louis the Fat, the intact body of Charles was exposed and then transferred to Saint-Christophe for his funeral.
When the church of Saint-Donatian in Bruges, where the assassins of Charles had taken refuge as if in a fortress, had been taken by storm by Louis the Fat, haste was made to render to the relics of the blessed Charle bienheureux Charles Count of Flanders, martyr for justice and protector of the poor. s the honors that had been lacking until then. On April 20, the body was raised, which was not at all decomposed, although it had been there for seven weeks. According to the custom of the country, it was sewn into a deer skin and exposed on a platform in the middle of the choir. On the 21st, it was transferred to the church of Saint-Christophe, where the funeral mass was sung in the presence of King Louis the barons flamands County ruled by Charles the Good. Fat, the Flemish barons, and the people. The church of Saint-Donatian was reconciled and puri fied a few days later Simon, évêque de Noyon Bishop who purified the church of Saint-Donatien. by Simon, Bishop of Noyon; on the 25th, the body of the blessed Charles was brought back there.
History and preservation of the relics
The relics underwent several translations between 1606 and 1827, eventually being deposited in the Cathedral of Bruges.
Philip of Rodnan IV, Bishop of Bruges, performed the exhumation of the body in 1606 and placed it in a reliquary which was set upon the altar of Our Lady. These relics were transferred first to a chapel dedicated to Blessed Charles (January 19, 1782), then to the treasury of the chapter of the Cathedral of Bruges. They are kept today in a chapel of this church, where one reads, near the reliquary, this inscription: Ossa sanctissimi principis Caroli Boni, S. Can uti regis Danix filii, Flan S. Canuti regis Danix filii King of Denmark and father of Charles the Good. drix comitis XIII, nefandis S. Donatiani Basilicae vastatium feliciter substracta, Brugensium pietate erga optimum principem post annos 700 ab ejus morte non imminuta, nec imminuenda unquam, hic denuo recondita. 1827.
It is claimed that the inspection of the bones explains the exaggeration of the Flemish chroniclers who claimed that Blessed Charles had a height of nine feet.
Liturgical recognition and miracles
Although his public cult has ceased, Charles is recognized as blessed and a martyr in various martyrologies, and healings of lepers are attributed to him.
Various laments were composed, either in Flemish or in Latin, shortly after the death of Charles: they can be seen in the Bollandists.
T he chapter o Bollandistes A society of Jesuit scholars who publish the Acta Sanctorum. f Bruges, in 1610, decided that, each year, on March 2, a solemn mass of the Holy Trinity would be celebrated, at the cathedral, in honor of the Blessed Charles the Good.
Lepers, to obtain their healing, would drink from the skull of the Blessed one.
No public cult is rendered to him today.
Several martyrologies qualify Charles the Good as Saint and Martyr. He is inscribed on March 2 as Blessed in the martyrologies of Melanus, Gallasini, Canisius, Willotius, Greven, Du Saussay, etc., and in the ancient spiritual Calendars of the diocese of Amiens.
Iconography and attributes
The Blessed is represented with regalia, a sable lion, and sometimes a dog symbolizing his fidelity.
Charles the Good is ordinarily represented being massacred by his rebellious subjects. At the Cathedral of Bruges, an ancient painting on wood depicts him full-length. For a long time, his statue has no longer been seen there.
He appears on March 2nd in the engravings of Sébastien Leclerc; in volume IV, f° 24, of the Collection of Saints at the Cabinet des estampes (National Library), and in the Iconographia sancta, donated by M. Guénébault to the Mazarine Library (no. 4778).
His image was engraved by Balthasar in the Genealogies of the Foresters and Counts of Flanders (page 79). He wears the scepter and the royal mantle trimmed with ermine. A dog, which is at his side, symbolizes his vigilance and his fidelity.
A manuscript of the National Library, the Ancient Chronicles of Flanders (no. 8308), contains a miniature representing the assassination of Charles the Good.
On his seals, he is depicted on horseback, dressed in a coat of mail, holding a shield in his left hand and a swor d in his right, with th Karolus, comes Flandrix Count of Flanders, martyr for justice and protector of the poor. is legend: Karolus, comes Flandrix et filius regis Dacie. This is the title he ordinarily took in his charters.
Charles the Good bore or, a lion sable, langued and armed gules.
Material relics and sources
A blood-stained tile is preserved at the Bruges museum; the account relies mainly on the works of M. Corblet.
A tile from the pavement of the gallery where this prince was assassinated, and upon which, it is asserted, his blood splashed, is preserved in the diocesan museum of Bruges.
We have borrowed almost the entirety of this ac M. Corblet Author of the Hagiographie d'Amiens and primary source for the text. count from M. Corblet, the eminent author of the Hagiography of Amiens.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Assassinated by rebellious subjects
- Exhumation of the body on April 20 by Louis the Fat
- Transfer to Saint-Christophe church on April 21
- Reconciliation of Saint-Donatien church on April 25
- Exhumation of the body in 1606 by Philippe de Rodnan IV
- Translation of relics in 1782 and 1827
Miracles
- Preservation of the body without decomposition for seven weeks
- Healing of lepers drinking from his skull
Quotes
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Ossa sanctissimi principis Caroli Boni, S. Canuti regis Danix filii, Flandrix comitis XIII
Inscription on the reliquary (1827) -
Karolus, comes Flandrix et filius regis Dacie
Legend of the seals