LEIDRADO (Leidradus, Laidradus). — Archbishop of Lyon, d. 28 Dec. 817 (or 816). A native of Lower Franconia, deacon of the church of Freising (782), he was summoned to the court of Charlemagne, apparently with the task of librarian. He was a close friend of Alcuino, who calls him “conosciuto et amicum meum” (Ep. 10, in MGH, Epist., IV, p. 36). Beloved by the sovereign, in 798 he was appointed to the see of Lyon.
Despite the various missions entrusted to him by the Emperor, such as the two journeys to Spain to rescue from Urgel (v.) and Elipandus, Leidrado devoted himself zealously to his diocese, of which he remains one of the great bishops (according to L. Duchesne, the 44th in the series). Alcuin often mentions him with honour in his correspondence (cf. MGH, Epist., IV, p. 624: index) and praises his merits in reconciling so many Adoptionist heretics to the unity of the faith (cf. loc. cit., p. 346; PL 100, 329). Ado of Vienne describes him as a man solicitous for the dignity of the state and the common good (Chron., a. 799: PL 123, 129). He was one of the signatories, in 811, of Charlemagne’s testament (Einhard, Vita Caroli, 33: PL 97, 61). In 816, apparently on account of age and health, he resigned his see, entrusting it to his coadjutor Agobard (v.), and retired to the monastery of Saint-Médard at Soissons, where he died.
Only two short treatises and four letters survive from Leidrado; the treatises themselves are considered integral parts of the epistolary. Letter I: sent to the Emperor, the *Liber de Sacramenti Baptismo* (PL 99, 853–72); various passages are inspired by Tertullian’s *De Baptismo*. Letter II (c. 809–12): sent to the same Emperor, the supplementary pamphlet *De obrenuntiatione diaboli* (PL 99, 873–84), on the baptismal rite of renunciation of Satan. Letter III (c. 813 ff.): an account to the Emperor of his episcopal administration. Letter IV is a letter of consolation to his sister, afflicted by the loss of her son and brother.