Gregory of Tours, in his Histories (10.29), tells how a possessed woman saw saints gathering for the death in 591 of *Aredius (monastic founder in the Limousin, ob. 591, S00302) in his monastery in the territory of Limoges (western Gaul): *Julian (martyr of Brioude, S00035), *Privatus (bishop and martyr of Javols, S01184), *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050), *Martialis (first bishop of Limoges, S01168), *Saturninus (bishop and martyr of Toulouse, S00289) and *Dionysius/Denis (bishop and martyr of Paris, S00349). Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 591/594.
Evidence ID
E02388
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Major author/Major anonymous work
Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours, Histories (Historiae) 10.29
Sexta quoque aegrotationis eius die mulier, quae ab spiritu inmundo saepius vexata a sancto emundari non poterat, ligatis per se a tergo manibus, clamare coepit ac dicere: 'Currite cives, exsilite populi, exite obviam martyribus confessoribusque, qui ad excessum beati Aredii conveniunt. Ecce! adest Iulianus a Brivate, Privatus ex Mimate, Martinus a Turonus Martialisque ab urbe propria. Adest et Saturninus a Tholosa, Dionisius ab urbe Parisiaca, nonnulli et alii, quos caelum retinet, quos vos ut confessores et Dei martyres adoratis'.
'On the sixth day of Aredius' illness, a certain woman, who had long been possessed of an unclean spirit of which the Saint had not been able to cure her, and whose hands were bound behind her back, began to shout: "Run, citizens! Leap for joy, you people! Go out to meet the saints and martyrs who are gathering together for the passing of Saint Aredius! Here is Julian of Brioude, and here Privatus of Mende. Martin has come from Tours and Martial from Aredius’ own city [Limoges]. Here come Saturninus of Toulouse, Denis of Paris and all the others now in heaven to whom you are wont to pray as God's saints and martyrs."'
Text: Krusch and Levison 1951, 524-525.
Translation: Thorpe 1974, 591-592.
Miracles
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Source
Gregory of Tours wrote the Histories (Historiae) during his episcopate in Tours (573–594). They constitute the longest and most detailed historical work of the post-Roman West. Gregory's focus is Gaul under its Frankish kings, above all the territories of Tours and (to a lesser extent) Clermont, where he had been born and brought up. Much of his work tells of the years when, as bishop of an important see, he was himself centrally involved in Frankish politics. The Histories are often wrongly referred to as a History of the Franks. Although the work does contain a history of the rulers of Francia, it also includes much hagiographical material, and Gregory himself gave it the simple title the 'ten books of Histories' (decem libri historiarum), when he produced a list of his own writings (Histories 10.31).The Histories consist of ten books whose scope and contents differ considerably. Book 1 skims rapidly through world history, with biblical and secular material from the Creation to the death in AD 397 of Martin of Tours (Gregory’s hero and predecessor as bishop). It covers 5596 years. In Book 2, which covers 114 years, the focus moves firmly into Gaul, covering the years up to the death of Clovis in 511. Books 3 and 4, which cover 37 and 27 years respectively, then move fairly swiftly on, closing with the death of king Sigibert in 575. With Book 5, through to the final Book 10, the pace slows markedly, and the detail swells, with only between two and four years covered in each of the last six books, breaking off in 591. These books are organised in annual form, based on the regnal years of Childebert II (r. 575-595/6).
There continues to be much discussion over when precisely Gregory wrote specific parts of the Histories, though there is general agreement that none of it was written before 575 and, of course, none of it after Gregory's death, which is believed to have occurred in 594. Essentially, scholars are divided over whether Gregory wrote the Histories sequentially as the years from 575 unfolded, with little or no revision thereafter, or whether he composed the whole work over the space of a few years shortly before his death and after 585 (see Murray 2015 for the arguments on both sides). For an understanding of the political history of the time, and Gregory's attitude to it, precisely when the various books were written is of great importance; but for what he wrote about the saints, the precise date of composition is of little significance, because Gregory's attitude to saints, their relics and their miracles did not change significantly during his writing-life. We have therefore chosen to date Gregory's writing of our entries only within the broadest possible parameters: with a terminus post quem of 575 for the early books of the Histories, and thereafter the year of the events described, and a terminus ante quem of 594, set by Gregory's death.
(Bryan Ward-Perkins, David Lambert)
For general discussions of the Histories see:
Goffart, W., The Narrators of Barbarian History (A.D. 550–800): Jordanes, Gregory of Tours, Bede, and Paul the Deacon (Princeton, 1988), 119–127.
Murray, A.C., "The Composition of the Histories of Gregory of Tours and Its Bearing on the Political Narrative," in: A.C. Murray (ed.), A Companion to Gregory of Tours (Leiden and Boston, 2015), 63–101.
Pizarro, J.M., "Gregory of Tours and the Literary Imagination: Genre, Narrative Style, Sources, and Models in the Histories," in: Murray, A Companion to Gregory of Tours, 337–374.
Bibliography
Edition:Krusch, B., and Levison, W., Gregorii episcopi Turonensis Libri historiarum X (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum I.1; 2nd ed.; Hannover, 1951).
Translation:
Thorpe, L., Gregory of Tours, The History of the Franks (Penguin Classics; London, 1974).
Further reading:
Murray, A.C., "The Composition of the Histories of Gregory of Tours and Its Bearing on the Political Narrative", in: A.C. Murray (ed.), A Companion to Gregory of Tours (Leiden-Boston 2015), 63-101.
Pietri, L. and Heijmans, M., Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire, 4 Prosopographie de la Gaule chrétienne (314-614), 2 vols. (Paris 2013), vol. 1, 185-190, 'Aredius'.
Vieillard-Troiekouroff, M., Les monuments religieux de la Gaule d'après les œuvres de Grégoire de Tours (Paris, 1976).
Record Created By
Katarzyna Wojtalik
Date of Entry
26/02/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00035 | Julian, martyr of Brioude (southern Gaul) | Iulianus | Certain | S00050 | Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397 | Martinus | Certain | S00289 | Saturninus, bishop and martyr of Toulouse | Saturninus | Certain | S00302 | Aredius, monastic founder in the Limousin, ob. 591 | Aredius | Certain | S00349 | Dionysius/Denis, bishop and martyr of Paris, and his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius | Dionisius | Certain | S01168 | Martialis, first bishop of Limoges | Martialis | Certain | S01184 | Privatus, bishop and martyr of Javols | Privatus | Certain |
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