Ardo Smaragdus

Ardo Smaragdus (died March 843 AD) was a hagiographer. He entered the monastery of Aniane in Hérault as a boy, probably as an oblate,^[2] and was brought up by Benedict of Aniane. He was ordained a priest and made head of the monastery school.^[3]

Saint Ardo Smaragdus
Died	March 843 Aniane, Hérault, France
Feast	7 March[1]

In 794, he accompanied Benedict to the Council of Frankfurt. and in 814, he replaced Benedict as abbot after the latter joined the imperial court at Aix-la-Chapelle.^[3]

Smaragdus wrote a life of Benedict in 822, one of the most reliable hagiological productions of that period. He himself was honored as a saint at his monastery after his death.^[3]