Constantius of Lyon, in his Life of *Germanus (bishop of Auxerre, ob. c. 448, S00455), states that Germanus always wore a capsule (capsula) around his neck containing relics of the saints. Written in Latin at Lyon (south-east Gaul) between c. 460 and c. 480.
Evidence ID
E05845
Type of Evidence
Literary - Hagiographical - Lives of saints
Constantius of Lyon, Life of Germanus of Auxerre 4
For a full account of Constantius' Life of Germanus, see E05841.
Noctibus numquam uestitum, raro cingulum raro calciamenta detraxit, redimitus loro semper et capsula sanctorum reliquias continente.
'He never removed his clothes at night, and seldom either his belt or his shoes, and he always had round his neck a leather strap with a box containing relics of the saints.'
Constantius mentions the capsule during his account of Germanus' personal ascetic practices and generosity (§§ 4-5). He goes on to mention Germanus' foundation of a monastery at Auxerre and to begin discussion of Germanus' miracles: E07555.
Text: Borius 1965.
Translation: Hoare 1954, modified.
RelicsUnspecified relic
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Unspecified relic
Privately owned relics
Collections of multiple relics
Reliquary – privately owned
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
Germanus of Auxerre (PCBE 4, 'Germanus 1', pp. 878-883) was the most important and revered episcopal saint of 5th-century Gaul. The Life of Germanus was written some years after his death (traditionally dated to 448, but perhaps earlier) by Constantius, a literary figure, possibly a cleric, attested in Lyon in the 460s and 470s (PCBE 4, 'Constantius 3', pp. 521-522). The precise date when he composed the Life is not documented, but it must have been sometime between the 460s and the early 480s. For full discussion of the authorship and date of the Life of Germanus, see its overview entry: E05841.Discussion
The relic container worn by Germanus is used by him during one of the most important miracles in the Life of Germanus: the healing of a blind girl, by touching her eyes with the capsule, at the climax of the debate between Germanus and the Pelagians, during his visit to Britain in 429 (E05881). Constantius tells us that when Germanus died, the reliquary was appropriated by the empress Galla Placidia (E05847).Constantius never says what relics were contained in the capsula or which saints they belonged to.
Bibliography
Editions:Borius, R., Constance de Lyon, Vie de saint Germain d'Auxerre (Sources chrétiennes 112; Paris: Cerf, 1965), with French translation.
Levison, W., Vita Germani episcopi Autissiodorensis auctore Constantio, in: Passiones vitaeque sanctorum aevi Merovingici V (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 7; Hannover and Leipzig, 1919), 246-283.
English translation:
Hoare, F.R., The Western Fathers (London, 1954), 283-320. Reprinted in T.F.X. Noble and T. Head (eds.), Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints' Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (University Park PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995), 75-106.
Record Created By
David Lambert
Date of Entry
15/05/2019
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00455 | Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, ob. 445/450 | Certain | S00518 | Saints, unnamed | Certain |
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David Lambert, Cult of Saints, E05845 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05845