Hilduard, also recorded as Hildward, Hilward, or Garibald, was an eighth-century missionary venerated as a pre-schism Western saint. He is remembered principally as the founder of the monastery of Saint Peter at Dickelvenne (Dikkelvenne) on the Scheldt, in what is now Flanders in Belgium. He is commemorated on September 7.
By later hagiographic tradition Hilduard was of Frankish descent and received his education from Bishop Bertinus of Toul. The same accounts relate that King Dagobert III and the people designated him as the bishop's successor, though his name does not appear on the historical episcopal lists of that see; he is described instead as a traveling missionary bishop without a fixed seat. Such details are preserved in the later Western tradition rather than in contemporary record, and should be read with that caution.
Settling at Dickelvenne in Flanders, Hilduard founded a Benedictine abbey and church dedicated to Saint Peter, reportedly with the support of a converted local nobleman. According to the tradition he traveled with two companions, Brinus and Bittinus, who later succeeded him as abbots, and an English woman named Christiana joined his mission and lived as a recluse under his guidance. He died around the year 750.
