Record | The Cult of Saints

Hydatius in his Chronicle mentions, under the year 382, that both Ambrose (bishop of Milan, ob. 397, S00490) and Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, S00050) were famous bishops and worked miracles. Written in Latin, probably in Chaves (north-west Hispania), c. 468/469.

Evidence ID

E02478

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Hydatius, Chronicle 4 [8]

Ambrosius in Italia Mediolani episcopus, Martinus in Gallis Turonis episcopus et uitae meritis et patratis miraculis uirtutum habentur insignes. [uac. c. 24 litt.]

'Ambrose, bishop of Milan in Italy, and Martin, bishop of Tours in Gaul, were famous, both for the merits of their lives and for the miracles which they performed with their power.' [around 24 letters missing]

Text: Burgess 1993, 76.
Translation: M. Szada.

Miracles

Miracle during lifetime

Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

Hydatius, a bishop in Galicia (in northwest Spain), probably of Chaves, wrote his chronicle c. 468/469. It is the most important source for the history of Iberia in the 5th century. For detailed discussion and further bibliography, see: Burgess 1993; Muhlberger 1990, 193-266.

The numbers of paragraphs in brackets refer to the 1973 edition of A. Tranoy.

Discussion

Hydatius mentions Ambrose and Martin together, most probably because they exemplified for him the ideals of the holy bishops fighting against the enemies of the Christian faith. Ambrose was a renowned adversary of Arianism, and Martin performed, according to his hagiographer Sulpicius Severus, great miracles against the pagans. In Hydatius' narrations these two bishops are also mentioned together in the paragraph 8 [13] as the opponents of Priscillian. It seems that Hydatius draws his information on Ambrose and Martin mainly from the writings of Sulpicius Severus which he also mentions in his entry on the death of Martin (E02479).

Bibliography

Editions and translations:
Burgess ,R.W., The Chronicle of Hydatius and the Consularia Constantinopolitana: Two Contemporary Accounts of the Final Years of the Roman Empire (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993). Edition and English translation.

Mommsen, T., Hydatii Lemici continuatio chronicorum Hieronymianorum, in: Chronica Minora saec. IV. V. VI. VII., vol. 2 (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Auctores Antiquissimi 11; Berlin: Apud Weidmannos, 1894), 1-36.

Tranoy, A., Hydace, Chronique, 2 vols. (Sources chrétiennes 218-219; Paris: Cerf, 1973). Edition and French translation.

Further reading:
Muhlberger, S., The Fifth-Century Chroniclers: Prosper, Hydatius, and the Gallic Chronicler of 452 (Leeds: Francis Cairns, 1990).

Record Created By

Marta Szada

Date of Entry

07/03/2017

Related Saint Records

ID	Name	Name in Source	Identity
S00050	Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397	Martinus	Certain
S00490	Ambrose, bishop of Milan, ob. 397	Ambrosius	Certain

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Marta Szada, Cult of Saints, E02478 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E02478

The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world

Hydatius in his Chronicle mentions, under the year 382, that both Ambrose (bishop of Milan, ob. 397, S00490) and Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, S00050) were famous bishops and worked miracles. Written in Latin, probably in Chaves (north-west Hispania), c. 468/469.

E02478

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Miracle during lifetime

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

Discussion

Bibliography

Marta Szada

07/03/2017

Hydatius in his Chronicle mentions, under the year 382, that both *Ambrose (bishop of Milan, ob. 397, S00490) and *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, S00050) were famous bishops and worked miracles. Written in Latin, probably in Chaves (north-west Hispania), c. 468/469.

E02478

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Miracle during lifetime

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

Discussion

Bibliography

Marta Szada

07/03/2017

Hydatius in his Chronicle mentions, under the year 382, that both Ambrose (bishop of Milan, ob. 397, S00490) and Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, S00050) were famous bishops and worked miracles. Written in Latin, probably in Chaves (north-west Hispania), c. 468/469.