“Charles the Good” was a Flemish earl from the 11th century. Butler writes, “The young earl was a perfect model of all virtues, especially devotion, charity, and humility.” Charles is credited with not only seeing that the poor had food and supplies within his area, but that they were protected from oppressors of all sorts (military, political, and financial). Charles thereby made some very powerful enemies among the top 1% of his day–a traitor to his class and a setter of dangerous precedences (should word get out).

Bertulf was one enemy that Charles made–he was a ruler of a nearby Flemish territory who did not like this idea of leaders caring for the poor and giving the peasants ideas like they shouldn’t be oppressed. News of a conspiracy to kill Charles reached the saint’s ears, and his response to this was “We are always surrounded by dangers, but we belong to God. If it be his will, can we die in a better cause than that of justice and truth?”

In the end, Bertulf got his nephew, Fromold Borchard, to cleave Charles’ head in two one morning as Charles was at prayer.

Some sins are, in the eyes of the rich and powerful, unforgivable.