Isidore of Seville, in his Chronicle (366), mentions *Donatus (bishop of Evorea, Greece, S01274) and his successful fight with a dragon, dating this to the reigns of Arcadius and Honorius (395-408). Written in Latin in Seville (southern Hispania), in two redactions, in 615/616 and 626.
Evidence ID
E02608
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Major author/Major anonymous work
Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville, Chronicle 366
Huius temporibus Donatus Epiri episcopus uirtutibus insignis est habitus. Qui draconem ingentem expuens in ore eius necauit, quem octo iuga boum ad locum incendii uix trahere potuerunt, ne aerem putredo eius corrumperet.
'In his times, Bishop Donatus of Epirus is considered outstanding for his virtues. Spitting in its mouth, he killed a mighty dragon, which a team of eight oxen was scarcely able to drag to the place of burning, lest its rottenness polluted the air.'
Text: Martín 2003, 174-175.
Translation: Koon and Wood 2008.
Non Liturgical Activity
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
MiraclesMiracle with animals and plants
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
Isidore, bishop of Seville (Iberian Peninsula) composed the Chronica maiora first in 615/616 during the reign of Sisebut. Then he revised and lengthened it in 626 during the reign of Swinthila (see Koon and Wood 2008, and Martín 2005).Discussion
Isidore in the Chronicle inserts the dates from the creation of the world which he correlates with the dates of the reign of kings and emperors. The note about Donatus of Evorea is dated to the reign of Arcadius and Honorius, which ended in 5606 or 5607 year of creation (depending on the redaction of the Chronicle).The text of the note in the second redaction lacks the opening words Huius temporibus because Isidore changed the order of notes, and the paragraph on Donatus no longer directly followed the note about the reign of Arcadius and Honorius. Isidore derived the information on Donatus from Cassiodorus, Historia tripartita 9.46.
Bibliography
Editions:J.C. Martín, Isidori Hispalensis Chronica (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 112; Turnhout 2003).
T. Mommsen, Isidori Iunioris episcopi Hispalensis Chronica maiora ed. primum ad a. DCXV (615) (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores antiquissimi 11; Berlin 1894), 424-488.
Translation:
S. Koon, and J. Wood, "The Chronica Maiora of Isidore of Seville: An introduction and translation", e-Spania 6 (2008); e-spania.revues.org/15552 ; DOI: 10.4000/e-spania.15552.
Further reading:
J.C. Martín, "Les remaniements de la second rédaction de la Chronique d’Isidore de Séville: typologie et motivations", Revue bénédictine 115 (2005), 5-26.
Record Created By
Marta Szada
Date of Entry
25/03/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S01274 | Donatus, bishop of Euroia (Epirus), ob. 387 | Donatus | Certain |
|---|
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