A Saintly Household
Dentelin was born into one of the most remarkable saintly families of Merovingian Gaul. His father was Saint Vincent Madelgarius, a nobleman of Strépy who later founded the monasteries of Hautmont and Soignies, and his mother was Saint Waltrude, patroness of Mons, who was known for ransoming captives. All four of their children were venerated as saints: Dentelin's siblings were Landry (Landericus) of Soignies, later reckoned Bishop of Metz, and the sisters Aldetrude and Madelberte, both associated with the abbey of Maubeuge.
The family's sanctity extended across generations. Dentelin's grandparents were Saint Walbert and Saint Bertille, and his aunt was Saint Aldegund, the first abbess of Maubeuge. The child thus belonged to a kinship network in which monastic foundation and personal holiness were a shared inheritance.
Death and Its Consequence
Dentelin died young, at about seven years of age, around the year 656. According to the tradition of the family, his death moved his parents deeply and is remembered as the occasion on which Vincent and Waltrude resolved to separate and each pursue a distinct monastic vocation. Vincent received the monastic habit and eventually became abbot of Soignies, while Waltrude withdrew to a religious life at Mons.
Relics & Shrines
After his death Dentelin's body was first laid in the family tomb at Cousolre, and afterward moved to the Church of Saint-Vincent in Soignies, where it was displayed alongside the remains of his father. His relics were later carried to Rees, in the Duchy of Cleves in Germany, where many miracles came to be attributed to his intercession, especially on behalf of the sick and suffering.
The saint's veneration is reflected in the several local feast days kept at the places connected with his relics: May 16 at Soignies, July 14 at Rees, and March 14 at Emmerich am Rhein. A medieval seal is said to depict Saint Vincent together with his two sons, Landry and Dentelin.
