{{short description|7th-century Frankish bishop and Catholic saint}} {{Infobox saint|name=St. Nivard|image=Berchaire_Nivard_Hautvillers_07111|200px|caption=Stained glass window in Hautvilliers Abbey depicting St Berchaire and St Nivard|titles=Bishop of Rheims ca. 649 - 673|death_date=September 1, 673|death_place=Hautvillers, Marne, Grand Est, France|resting_place=Abbey of St Peter, Hautvillers|resting_place_coordinates=49.0819°N 3.9412°E|feast_day=1 September (Catholic)|honored_in=Roman Catholicism}}
'''Nivard''' (Latin: ''Nivardus/Nivo;'' Spanish: ''Nivardo;'' died 1 September 673) was the Bishop of Reims during the Merovingian Dynasty from approximately 649 until 673. He was later venerated as a medieval Catholic Saint.<ref name=":0">Duchesne, Louis (1915). ''Fastes épiscopaux de l'ancienne Gaule, Tome III''. Paris: E. de Boccard. pp. 84-85</ref>
== Life == Most of what is known about Nivard comes the Frankish priest and chronicler Flodoard and other ecclesiastical sources.<ref name=":1">Sot, Michel. La fonction du couple saint évêque/saint moine dans la mémoire de l'Église de Reims au Xe siècle. In: Les fonctions des saints dans le monde occidental (IIIe-XIIIe siècle) Actes du colloque de Rome (27-29 octobre 1988) Rome : École Française de Rome, 1991. pp. 225-240. (''Publications de l'École française de Rome'', 149)</ref> Born into a Merovingian noble family, Nivard was the brother-in-law of the Frankish King Childeric II and was educated at the court of King Dagobert I in Metz.<ref name=":2">Sainte-Marthe, Denis de (1751). ''Gallia christiana, in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa'' (in Latin). Vol. Tomus nonus (9): de provincia Remensi. Paris: ex Typographia regia. pp. 21-22.</ref><ref name=":3" />
He was ordained in the court of Clovis II and served as bishop during the reigns of Clotarius III, Childebert the Adopted, and Childeric II for an unspecified length of time until his death in 673.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cerf |first=Charles |title=Histoire et description de Notre-Dame de Reims, Volume 1 |year=1861}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> It is presumed he assumed the bishopric following the death of his predecessor Lando in 649, but most sources only list him as serving from sometime before 667.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Holweck |first=Frederick George |title=A biographical dictionary of the saints, with a general introduction on hagiology |publisher=Gale Research Co. |year=1969 |publication-place=Detroit |page=746 |archive-url=}}</ref>
Nivard was known primarily for his generosity, wealth and commitment to living modestly. In the ''Gallia christiana, in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa,'' he is described as having "been converted first in the king's court as a man of illustrious character," and credited with expanding the property of church by securing houses, land and slaves.<ref name=":2" /> Nivard is remembered well by Flodoard for enriching the church of Reims and obtaining a royal privilege of immunity from certain taxes.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Dana |date=2012-09-30 |title=Dom Pérignon Restores the French Monastery Where Champagne Was Invented |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/dom-perignon-restoration-abbey-d-hautvillers |access-date=2025-09-24 |website=Architectural Digest |language=en-US}}</ref>
He is often credited with rebuilding Hautvilliers Abbey around the year 650 alongside St Berchaire.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 August 2022 |title=Saint Nivard of Rheims |url=https://catholicsaints.info/saint-nivard-of-rheims/ |website=Catholic Saints}}</ref> Nivard also later built the monastery of Saint-Basle de Verzy at his own expense in 664 alongside multiple other churches and houses. Religious scholars credit him with instituting a unique privilege of immunity which recognized the right of the monks in Saint-Basle de Verzy and Hautvilliers to freely elect their abbot.<ref>{{Citation |title=Abbaye Saint-Basle de Verzy |date=2025-04-04 |work=Wikipédia |url=https://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abbaye_Saint-Basle_de_Verzy&oldid=224524285 |access-date=2025-09-25 |language=fr}}</ref><ref name=":1" />
Nivard would later be buried at Hautvilliers Abbey after his death on September 1, 673.<ref name=":0" />
== Veneration as a Saint == [[File:Nivard choisi l'emplacement 0131.JPG|thumb|St Nivard and St Bercharius choosing the location of the abbey of ''Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers -'' Claude Charles'', "Saint Nivard donnant les plans du monastère d'Hautvillers"(1715)'' ]] St Nivard was venerated as a saint before the Catholic church adopted modern investigations performed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
According to legend'','' St. Nivard and St Berchaire chose the site for the Hautvilliers Abbey after dreaming of a dove descending from heaven and landing upon a tree. Saint Nivard was later buried at the abbey upon his death and his relics are still held there.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Comte de Montalembert |first=Charles Forbes |title=The Monks of the West, from St. Benedict to St. Bernard |publisher=J.C. Nimmo |year=1896 |volume=2 |pages=363}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Abbaye d’Hautvillers - Union des Maisons de Champagne |url=https://maisons-champagne.com/en/houses/heritage/epernay-and-surrounding-area/article/abbaye-d-hautvillers |access-date=2025-09-24 |website=maisons-champagne.com}}</ref> Folklore about Saint Nivard was later referenced and played upon by the 14th century poet Eustache Deschamps in some of his narrative works.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sautman |first=Francesca Canadé |title=Eustache Deschamps: French Courtier-Poet, His Work and His World |publisher=AMS Press, Inc. |year=1998 |editor-last=Sinnreich-Levi |editor-first=Deborah |location=New York |pages=195-207}}</ref>
In most of his iconography he is depicted beside St Berchaire building the abbey of ''Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers'' or dreaming of a dove.<ref>Songe de saint Nivard, manuscript illumination (France, Paris. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des manuscrits, NAF 15944 f.148v)</ref>
Saint Nivard is recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church, and his feast day is September 1st.
== See also ==
* Hautvilliers Abbey * Bercharius of Hautvilliers * Abbaye Saint-Basle de Verzy (French) * Archdiocese of Reims * Règle de saint Colomban (French)
== References == <references />
==External links== *[http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4870 Catholic Online: Nivard] *[https://catholicsaints.info/saint-nivard-of-rheims/ Catholicsaints.info: St Nivard of Rheims]
{{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{s-bef|before=Lando}} {{s-ttl|title=Bishop of Rheims|years=ca. 657–673}} {{s-aft|after=Rieul of Reims}} {{s-end}} {{authority control}}
Category:7th-century Frankish bishops Category:Bishops of Reims Category:7th-century Frankish saints
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