The Latin Life of *Virgilius (bishop of Arles, ob. c. 612, S02445) records the bishop's background at Lérins, his church dedications and miracles at Arles, and his death and burial; the text is heavily derivative of Dynamius of Marseilles' Life of *Maximus of Riez (E00852). Written almost certainly at Arles (southern Gaul), c. 612/800, probably before c. 735.
E06501
Literary - Hagiographical - Lives
Life of Virgilius, Bishop of Arles (Vita sancti Virgilii episcopi Arelatensis, BHL 8679, CPL 2144b)
Summary:
Chapter 1
(1) Prologue: the author sets out to the narrate the Life, passing over much so as not to bore the reader. (2) On Virgilius' upbringing, in Samon in Aquitaine: how upon reaching adolescence he sought a life of chastity, and (3) entered the monastery of Lérins, where he was appointed abbot, and equalled sanctus *Honoratus (founder of Lérins and bishop of Arles, ob. 429/30, S00438) in his merits. (4) How Virgilius drove the devil, in the form of a dragon (or snake: draco), from the island, and healed a monk driven to his sickbed by him. (5) How the devil sent the image of a manned ship to the island, whose sailors told Virgilius they already knew of his sanctitas, and offered to take him to Jerusalem; but Virgilius, 'the man of God,' recognised the devil and invoked the name of Honoratus, who had protected the island by his prayer.
Chapter 2
(6) How, once his fame had spread over the whole world, Virgilius was 'no less seized than elected' by the priests and citizens of Arles as their bishop. How he constructed a basilica in honour of *Stephen (the first martyr, S00030) within the city (intra urbem) of Arles, (7) at the dedication of which he and other bishops translated the relics of Stephen and other *unnamed saints. (8) How Virgilius brought back to life an orphaned boy, whom the deacon Aurelianus had brought up as a son, when he fell from the city walls. (9) How, one day, when Virgilius was constructing an extramural basilica (basilicam extra muros urbis), the marble columns needed for the building could not be moved in his absence; when he arrived, he perceived that the devil in the form of an Ethiopian boy was causing the obstruction, and expelled him with his prayers. (10) How he dedicated the basilica he had constructed to Christ the Saviour and Honoratus, and installed monks there; how he brought back to life a widow's only daughter, who had been seized by an evil spirit; and how after miracles such as these, the people encircled the fleeing bishop, and ripped off his clothes as relics.
Chapter 3
(11) How Virgilius brought back to life an adolescent attacked by a giant snake, which he then killed by invoking God, and ordered to be incinerated on a pyre. (12) How he healed someone gored by an ox; (13) wore a hair-shirt; (14) and healed a blind man, but did so secretly at night at the altar of Saint Stephen, having initially denied the request. The author states that it is not possible to recount all his miracles in full. (15) How Virgilius foresaw the day of his death, and died chanting psalms, in a place where to this day there is still a fragrant smell; and how the news of his death (transitus) traveled across the whole world, causing crowds of people to come to the city by many roads, so that they might touch his veil. (16) How a deceased adolescent named Gallula, being taken to her tomb, was brought back to life by the prayers of the crowd carrying Virgilius' corpse; Virgilius was then buried in the church of the Holy Saviour which he himself had constructed, 'where with the help of Christ, whatever is sought with faith, is found; and where, without doubt, if faith is not lacking, the saint's power shall remain forever' (quidquid confidenter petitur, inuenitur; ubi procul dubio si fides non sit dubia, uirtus permanet infinita). (17) A story told by the subdeacon Aristarchus, about a certain night just before the feast of the discovery (inuentio) of Saint Stephen, 3 August (tertio nonas Augusti), when... <the text ends abruptly at this point>
Text: AASS, Mart. I, 399-402
Summary: B. Savill
Service for the saint
Ceremony of dedication
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Anniversary of relic invention/translation
Dating by saint’s festival
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Cult building - monastic
Altar
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Activities accompanying CultMeetings and gatherings of the clergy
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Visiting graves and shrines
Construction of cult buildings
Oral transmission of saint-related stories
Visiting/veneration of living saint
Composing and translating saint-related texts
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
MiraclesMiracle during lifetime
Miracle at martyrdom and death
Miracle after death
Healing diseases and disabilities
Miraculous sound, smell, light
Other miracles with demons and demonic creatures
Revelation of hidden knowledge (past, present and future)
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Contact relic - saint’s possession and clothes
Transfer, translation and deposition of relics
Unspecified relic
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Children
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy
Ecclesiastics - abbots
Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
Other lay individuals/ people
Crowds
Demons
Animals
Source
The anonymous Life of Virgilius of Arles is heavily derivative of Dynamius of Marseilles' Life of Maximus of Riez (E00852), almost replicating it word-for-word, but there is sufficient variation on a few key points that one might generously consider it a 're-use' of Dynamius' materials, rather than outright plagiarism (remploi: Gioanni, 2010, 126). The Life survives in a single 11th/12th c. manuscript and is missing its final section. The text itself probably dates to before c. 735, and may well be from the 7th century (Gioanni 2010, 125; Heinzelmann, 2010).Virgilius (PCBE 4, 'Vergilius'), bishop of Arles 588-c. 612, is also known to us through the writings of his contemporaries Gregory the Great and Gregory of Tours. The former reveals that Virgilius worked by royal appointment as a papal representative in Gaul (Register, 5. 59-60); the latter, that he had previously held an abbacy in Autun, and only came to Arles through the arrangement of that city's bishop, himself close to the royal court (Histories, 9. 22). The Life however (intentionally?) obliterates this information through its wholesale adoption of Dynamius of Marseilles' narrative, portraying instead a Virgilius who stands firmly within the late antique Lérinian tradition.
Discussion
The urban basilica of Stephen is also mentioned in the 6th c. Life of Caesarius of Arles (E06283), as well as the saint's own will (E06932): Virgilius' 'construction' of the church (if it ever took place) was in reality a reconstruction, restoration or rededication.It is notable that the various hagiographic texts from Arles are selective in their references to the city's many cults, suggesting competition between them. In the case of the Life of Virgilius, the author repeatedly links the bishop to his distant predecessor Honoratus (S00438), but says nothing of the cults of Genesius (S00263), Trophimus (S00617), Hilary (S00435), Caesarius (S00491) or Caesaria (S02320).
Bibliography
EditionAASS, Mart. I, 399-402 (reprinted in Gioanni, 2010).
Further reading
Gioanni, S., "La Vita Virgilii (BHL 8679). Plagiat, réécriture ou remploi?", in: M. Goullet, M. Heinzelmann, and C. Veyrard-Cosme (eds.), L'hagiographie mérovingienne à travers ses réécritures (Beihefte der Francia 71; Ostfildern, 2010), 126-59.
Heinzelmann, M., "L'hagiographie mérovingienne: panorama des documents potentiels," in ibid., 27-82.
Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire, 4 Prosopographie de la Gaule chrétienne (314-614), ed. L. Pietri and M. Heijmans, 2 vols. (Paris 2013).
Benjamin Savill
03/10/2021
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00030 | Stephen, the First Martyr | Stephanus | Certain | S00438 | Honoratus, founder of Lérins and bishop of Arles, ob. 429/30 | Honoratus | Certain | S00518 | Saints, unnamed | sancti alii | Certain | S02445 | Virgilius, bishop of Arles, ob. c. 612 | Virgilius | Certain |
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