There are several saints or martyrs named Boniface; two of them in connection with viticulture are:
Boniface of Tarsus
Boniface of Tarsus († around 306) was born in Rome and was canonised. The name means "the benefactor". Until the 19th century he was also called Boniface in German. He was not originally a Christian, but was sent to find relics of Christian martyrs in the region around Tarsus and bring them back to Rome. In Tarsus in Cilicia in present-day Turkey, he had to witness the horrors of the persecution of Christians under Emperor Galerius (250-311). Impressed that those tortured to death nevertheless did not waver in their faith, he was baptised and publicly confessed his faith, for which he suffered martyrdom and death by boiling pitch. According to tradition, his companions brought his body back to Rome, where he was buried on the Via Latina. The picture in the middle shows scenes from the life of Boniface - baptism as a pagan (top) and martyrdom (bottom). Boniface is one of the four or five ice saints, his day of commemoration is 14 May (Orthodox 19 December). In this context, there are two country sayings:
- No summer before Boniface, no frost after St. Sophia.
- Pankrazi, Servazi, Bonifazi, are three frosty Bazi, and never missing at the end, the cold Sophie.
Boniface (Wynfreth)
The "Apostle of the Germans"later Bishop of Mainz and martyr (672/673-754/755) was originally called Wynfreth (Winfrid) and was born in the county of Wessex (England). He was educated in the monasteries of Exter and Nursling, where he took vows as a Benedictine monk and adopted the same name in memory of Boniface of Tarsus described above. At the age of forty, he travelled to Germany (Bavaria, Thuringia and Friesland) as a missionary on behalf of Pope Gregory II (669-731). In Hesse, he cut down the oak tree dedicated to the Germanic war god Thor (Donar) on the hill Johanneskirchenkopf (picture right) and built a chapel, which became the monastery and bishop's church in Fritzlar.
He subsequently founded numerous churches and monasteries in Hesse. In 739 he founded the bishoprics of Salzburg, Passau, Regensburg and Freising. During a baptismal celebration in Dokkum in West Frisia on the Feast of Pentecost, he was attacked by robbers and slain with his 51 companions. The Heiligenblut vineyard in Alzey-Weinheim (Wonnegau) in the German wine-growing region of Rheinhessen is the monopoly owner of the single vineyard Heiliger Blutberg. According to legend, Christian monks were executed on the site in 454 AD by the Hun king Attila († 453). In memory of this, Boniface had a chapel built and vines planted in 746 AD. He was buried in the monastery of Fulda. Pope Pius IX (1792-1878) approved the canonisation in 1855.
Further information
See also the section on wine saints and a complete list of relevant keywords under Religion.
Boniface of Tarsus: ORTHPEDIA
Scenes: Author unknown, Information, Public domain, Link
Donareiche: From Heinrich Maria von Hess, Public domain, Link
