Saint Bavo of Ghent (also known as Bavon, Allowin, Bavonius,[1]Baaf; AD 622–659) is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodoxsaint. He exchanged a dissolute lifestyle for that of a missionary under the guidance of Saint Amand.
Vita
Bavo was born near Liège, to a Frankish noble family that gave him the name Allowin.[2] A wild young aristocrat of the Brabant area, he contracted a beneficial marriage, and had a daughter.
As a soldier he led an undisciplined and disorderly life. Shortly after the death of his wife, Bavo decided to reform after hearing a sermon preached by Saint Amand (c. 584 – 679) on the emptiness of material things.[1] On returning to his house he distributed his wealth to the poor, and then received the tonsure from Amand.[3]
For some time thereafter, Bavo joined Amand in the latter's missionary travels throughout France and Flanders. On one occasion, Bavo met a man whom he had sold into slavery years before. Wishing to atone for his earlier deed, Bavo had the man lead him by a chain to the town jail. Bavo built an abbey on his grounds and became a monk. He distributed his belongings to the poor and lived as a recluse, first in a hollow tree and later in a cell in the forest by the abbey.
He is most often shown in Christian art as a knight with a sword and falcon. The most popular scene is the moment of his conversion, which has many stories attached to it. Because he is so often shown with a falcon, he came to be considered the patron saint of falconry. In medieval Ghent, taxes were paid on Bavo's feast day, and it is for this reason he is often shown holding a purse or money bag.
According to Rodulfus Glaber, the city of Bamberg is named after him, with Bamberg meaning "Mount of Bavo".
