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Arnold of Soissons or Arnold of Oudenaarde is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. He is often cited as the patron saint of hop-pickers and Belgian brewers. Arnold lived from 1040 to 1087. Born in Oudenaarde, Flanders, he was first a career soldier (Arnulph the Strong of Oudenaarde), before settling at the Benedictine monastery of Soissons, France. He spent his first three years as a hermit, but later rose to be abbot of the monastery. (The legend states that he tried to refuse this honor and flee, but was forced back into the house by a wolf.) He then became a priestA priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. Priests have been known since the earliest times and in the simplest societies (see shama and finally a bishopA bishop is an ordained person who holds a specific position of authority in any of a number of Christian churches. Bishops in the New Testament The bishop's role is typically called the " episcopacy", because the word "bishop" is derived ultimately from, another honor that he sought to avoid. When his seeSigning Exact English Visual perception Episcopal see. was occupied by another bishop, rather than fighting, he took the opportunity to retire from public life, founding the Abbey of St. Peter in OudenburgOudenburg is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenburg proper and the towns of Ettelgem, Roksem and Westkerke. On January 1st, 2000 Oudenburg had a total population of 8,810 (4,368 ma.
At the abbey, he began to brew beer1990s England when people received less than a pint (568 ml) of beer for the price of a pint. A beer is any variety of alcoholic beverages produced by the fermentation of starchy material derived from grains or other plant sources. The production of beer due to the impurity of the drinking water. He encouraged local peasants to drink beer, instead of water, due to its "gift of health." This was due to the unknown fact that during the process of brewing, the water used was boiled and thus sanitized. Regular drinking water, on the hand, was not boiled and contained pathogens. (However, this same story is sometimes told of the 7th-century Saint Arnulf of MetzArnulf of Metz ( August 13, 582 August 16, 640) was a Frankish noble, who had great influence in the Merovingian kingdoms as bishop and was later made a saint. Arnulf gave distinguished service at the Austrasian court under Theudebert II ( 595- 612)..)
There are many depictions of St. Arnold with a mashing rake in his hand, reinforcing the record of him as a brewer. He is honored in July with a parade in Brussels on the "Day of Beer."