Theobald of Provins

Theobald of Provins (French: Saint Thibaut, Thibault, Thiébaut) (1033–1066) was a French hermit and saint. He was born at Provins to the French nobility, his father being Arnoul, Count of Champagne.[3] He was named after his uncle, Theobald of Vienne, also considered a saint.[4]

Saint Theobald of Provins OSB Cam
Equestrian statue of St. Theobald by Jean de Joigny (Church of Saint-Thibault de Joigny).
Born	1033 Provins, County of Champagne
Died	(1066-06-30)June 30, 1066 Sajanega, County of Sossano
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church (Provins & Camaldolese Order)
Canonized	1073, Rome, Papal States, by Pope Alexander II
Feast	June 30
Attributes	depicted as a hermit or as a knight[1]
Patronage	Provins; farmers; winegrowers; shoemakers; beltmakers;[1] charcoal-burners;[2] bachelors; invoked against fever; afflictions associated with the eyes; dry cough; infertility; panic attacks[1]

As a youth, Theobald admired the lives of hermits such as John the Baptist, Paul the First Hermit, Anthony the Abbot and Arsenius the Great. He would visit a local hermit named Burchard, who lived on an island in the Seine.[4]

Theobald refused to get married or to begin a career either in the army or at court. When war broke out between his cousin Odo II, Count of Blois, and Conrad the Salic over the Burgundian crown, Theobald refused to lead troops to help his cousin and convinced his father to let him become a hermit.[4]

Theobald left home with a friend named Walter to become a hermit at Suxy in the Ardennes.[5] They then traveled to Pettingen, where they worked as day laborers.

The two friends became pilgrims on the Way of St. James and afterwards returned to the Diocese of Trier. They then made a pilgrimage to Rome and planned to go to the Holy Land by way of Venice. However, Walter fell ill near Salanigo, near Vicenza, where they decided to settle. After Walter died, Theobald joined a group of hermits who had gathered in the area under the guidance of the founder of the Camaldolese, Romuald. The Bishop of Vicenza eventually ordained Theobald a priest. His background, however, was soon discovered and his parents came to visit him.[4]

Theobald's mother, Gisela, received the permission of her husband to stay with their son and became a hermit herself near this place of retreat. Theobald died from an illness in which the skin of every limb was covered over in blotches and ulcers.[4]

Shortly before he died, Theobald made his profession of religious vows to the prior of his Camaldolese community, who had been summoned for this purpose when it was realized how close Theobald was to death.[2]