Othmar, St.
OTHMAR, ST.
Abbot; b. c. 689; d. Werd near Stein am Rhein, Switzerland, Nov. 16, 759. Othmar (Otmar, Audemar, Audomar) was educated for the priesthood at the imperial court. In 719 he was invited to assume the direction of a colony of monks who had settled near the grave of St. gall. Othmar built them a monastery to be governed by the benedictine rule. He also established the first house for lepers in Switzerland. In his defense of the autonomy of the Abbey of sankt gallen, he suffered imprisonment and exile. In 769 his remains were returned to Sankt Gallen, and in 867 they were buried in the church named for him. He is represented in art as an abbot with a staff and sometimes with a small cask for the refreshment of pilgrims.
Feast: Nov. 16.
Bibliography: j. duft, Sankt Otmar in Kult und Kunst (St. Gallen 1966). Monumenta Germaniae Historica : Scriptores (Berlin 1826-) 2:41–47. j. duft, ed., St. Otmar: Die Quellen zu seinem Leben (Zurich 1959). l. rÉau, Iconographie de l'art chrétien (Paris 1955–59) 3.2:1014–15. j. m. clark, The Abbey of St. Gall as a Centre of Literature and Art (Cambridge, Eng. 1926). a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum: Die Heiligen und Seligen des Benediktinerorderns und seiner Zweige (Metten 1933–38) 3:312–315.
[b. d. hill]