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Present-day St Lebuinus Church in Deventer that was built close to the church built by Lebuinus himself. Picture from the churches collection of Henk Staal
Radbod was 50 years old when he was chosen to be the next Bishop of Utrecht. His predecessor Odilbald died in 899 and consequently Radbod moved from Tours, which had been his home for 23 years, to Deventer that had become the residence of the Bishops of Utrecht after Utrecht itself had become too unsafe due to Viking attacks.
By 899 Deventer was already a substantial town. After the decline of Dorestad as major trading post (from 863), it was time for the towns of Deventer and Tiel to flourish. Both of these town were situated further inland and therefore less susceptible to Viking attacks. More and more people flocked to these two towns, especially after 885, when fortresses were built in both towns to protect the population. The fortress in Deventer enclosed not only the civilian town, but also the church precinct to which Radbod later moved.
The English missionary Lebuinus had built a small church and monastery in Deventer in 760. The church was destroyed several times by pagan Saxons, but rebuilt, first by Lebuinus himself and later by his successor Liudger. By that time Lebuinus had died and was buried in the rebuilt church. Soon pilgrims flocked to the town as it was said that miracles happened at Lebuinus’ grave.
Fresco of St Lebuinus in a church in Deventer. This picture is in the public domain
In 882, three years before the end of the reign of the Danish dukes in Frisia, Deventer was raided by Vikings. The church of Lebuinus, which had by now also been named after him, again needed to be rebuilt. Next to being a well known centre for pilgrimage, Deventer had also become a large trade centre and it deserved to be protected by a fortress. After the building of the fortress, the city was considered safe and around 890 became the residence of the Bishops of Utrecht, when Bishop Odilbald moved his see from St Oldilienberg to Deventer. A return to Utrecht was still not considered, as the monastery, two churches and a fort that had been the former residence of the bishops were still in ruins and the town prone to continuing Viking attacks.
Radbod decided to keep his see in Deventer, like his predecessor had done, instead of moving to Utrecht. Deventer remained the residence of the Bishops of Utrecht until 925-926 when Radbod’s successor Balderik moved back to Utrecht, after having rebuilt the fort, monastery and the churches.
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