Constantius of Lyon, in his Life of *Germanus (bishop of Auxerre, ob. c. 448, S00455), recounts how the saint, while travelling to Ravenna (probably in the mid to late 440s), healed a girl without the power of speech, and also how he predicted his own imminent death. Written in Latin at Lyon (south-east Gaul) between c. 460 and c. 480.
E06025
Literary
Constantius of Lyon, Life of Germanus of Auxerre 29
For a full account of Constantius' Life of Germanus, see E05841.
When Germanus returns to Auxerre after his second mission to Britain (E06021), he learns that the Roman commander Aetius is threatening to punish the people of Armorica for rebellion by turning their territory over to the Alans for them to ravage (§ 28). Germanus travels to the king of the Alans, Goar, and rebukes him. Goar is overawed, and promises to withdraw peacefully, provided Germanus persuades Aetius or the emperor to rescind the order. Germanus therefore embarks on a journey to Ravenna to bring this about (§ 29). This incident takes place at Alesia (Alise-Sainte-Reine), scene of a previous miracle when Germanus stayed there on his way to Arles (E06020).
Nam dum praeterit, ex consuetudine pietatis familiarem suum Senatorem presbyterum iterum uisitauit. A quo illi annorum XX circiter muta offertur puella cuius os, frontem, uultumque totum cum olei adtrectatione benedixit; deinde conditum poculum praecepit adferri, in quo tres particulas panis manibus propriis comminutas infudit, unamque in os puellae ipse inseruit imperans ut, priusquam acciperet, petitionem benedictionis ediceret. Quam statim clara uoce, antequam panem sumeret, postulauit, ac deinceps usus loquendi, natus ex mirabilibus in reliqua eius aetate permansit.
Deinde profecturus solito affectuosius in amicum inruit; os, frontem, oculos osculatur, inhaeret amplexibus et huiusmodi uerbis salutatum reliquit: "Vale in aeternum, frater karissime, uale, animae meae portio. Tribuat Deus ut nos in die iudicii sine confusione uideamus; ceterum in hac luce mutuo numquam fruemur aspectu."
'On the way he paid another visit for old times' sake to his friend Senator, the priest, who brought him a dumb girl, about twenty years old. First he blessed some oil and anointed her mouth and forehead and the rest of her face with it. Then he ordered spiced wine to be brought, in which he steeped three morsels of bread broken off with his own hands. He put one of these into the girl's mouth, telling her before she took it to ask him to bless it. This she did at once, before taking the bread, speaking quite distinctly; and the power of speech, thus miraculously acquired, remained for the rest of her life.
On his departure he embraced his friend with more than usual affection, kissing him on the mouth and forehead and eyes. As he clasped him to his breast, his last words were: "Farewell till eternity, my very dear brother; farewell, part of my very soul. God grant that at the Day of Judgement we may see each other without being put to confusion; in this world we shall not look upon each other again."
Constantius goes on to describe the healing of a girl at Autun (E07556).
Text: Borius 1965.
Translation: Hoare 1954.
Miracle during lifetime
Healing diseases and disabilities
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. He died between about 445 and 450. The Life of Germanus was written some years later 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
This event occurs when Germanus is on his way to the western imperial capital of Ravenna in order to intercede for the rebellious inhabitants of Armorica (a visit during which he died), in a year between about 445 and 450. Germanus' farewell to his friend Senator indicates that he already foresaw that he would die on the journey (though this knowledge is not explicitly attributed to a divine revelation).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.
David Lambert
15/05/2019
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00455 | Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, ob. 445/450 | Certain |
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