Arnulf, Bishop of Metz
| Saint Arnulf of Metz | |
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| Born | c. 582 Lay-Saint-Christophe |
| Died | 640 near Remiremont |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast | July 18 |
| Attributes | portrayed with a rake in his hand |
| Patronage | Brewers |
Saint Arnulf of Metz (c. 582 – 640) was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia, who retired to the Abbey of Remiremont. In French he is also known as Arnoul or Arnoulf; in English he is also known as Arnold. He is claimed to be a direct descendant of Flavius Afranius Syagrius, being a rare case for descent from antiquity.
The Vita Sancti Arnulfi, written shortly after the saint's death, states that he was of Frankish ancestry, from "sufficiently elevated and noble parentage, and very rich in worldly goods".
Shortly after 800, most likely in Metz, a brief genealogy of the Carolingians was compiled, although with no verifiable historical basis. It was modelled in style after the genealogy of Jesus in the New Testament. According to this source, Arnulf's father was a certain Arnoald, who in turn was the son of Ansbertus and Blithilt (or Blithilde), an alleged and otherwise unattested daughter of Chlothar I. This claim of royal Merovingian descent is not confirmed by the contemporary reference in the Vita. Under Salic Law no children of Blithilde would be recognized as legitimate heirs to the dynasty, so an event like this would hardly be recorded, least remembered after many centuries.
J. Depoin observed that Arnulf was identified as a Frank in contemporary documents, whereas Arnoald was identified by Paul the Deacon as a Roman. Based on the Vita Gundolphi Arnulf's father was Bodegisel, a Frankish noble. David Humiston Kelley then proposed that Arnoald was likely an ancestor of the Carolingians through a daughter Itta, wife of Pepin of Landen. Christian Settipani carefully revisited and expanded upon the work of Depoin and Kelley, and concurred in Arnulf's descent from Bodegisel instead of Arnoald, but noting that there was a connection between the Ripuarian Frankish royal house and the Carolingians. He argued (without dismissing the possibility of Itta's being Arnoald's daughter) that there was a connection through Arnulf's wife Doda, who he posited as a daughter of Arnoald. Kelly then considered probable Settipani's proposed connection between the Carolingians and Arnoald.
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