Bertharius (or Bertaire) Saint

Bertharius (Or Bertaire) Saint a French prelate, descended from the royal family, became a monk of Monte-Casino, and about 857, owing to his high reputation, was, by the common consent of the monks, chosen to succeed the abbot Bassatius. At this time Italy was exposed to the cruel incursions of the Saracens, and to protect his abbey from their attacks Bertharius surrounded it with a wall and other fortifications. He made repeated journeys into France to obtain aid from the emperor Louis-le-Debonnaire against these barbarians. In 879 he went to Rome, when he induced pope John VIII to reinstate in his see Landulphus, bishop of Capua, who had been expelled in a sedition of the people. In 884, as he was celebrating mass at the altar, during a siege of his abbey by the Saracens, he was killed by the barbarians, who struck off his.head. He is honored as a martyr on the day of his death, Oct. 22. He wrote, Questiones in utrumque Testamentum: — Conciones ad Monachos, in Divorum Natalitiis Habite: — De Medicind, lib. 2; and another, De Grammatico: — Contrariorum in Speciem, Locorum utriusque Testam. lib. 2, given in the Bibl. Patrum, under the name of Julianus of Toledo (Basle, 1530; Cologne, 1532). He wrote other works, but the last men tloned alone has come down to our time. See Cave, Historia Literaria, 2, 45; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.