The Frankish king Childebert II, writing to bishop Laurentius of Milan (Austrasian Letter 46), compares him to *Laurence (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037). Written in Latin in northern or eastern Gaul, 585/589.
E07697
Literary - Letters
Childebert II, letter to Laurentius, bishop of Milan (Epistolae Austrasicae 46)
INCIPIT AD PATRIARCAM LAURENTIO DE DOMNI NOMEN
Beatae opinionis ubique cursum meritis extendentes, certantes beatum martyrem aequiperare sicut nomine, sic mercede, ut per vos tutus [= totus] hic ille redeat, cuius adepti estis vocabulo, qui sacrosanctae ecclesiae sic dispersit nomismata, ut census effusione per pauperes augmentaret talenta, ad nos usque bonum tanti operis devulgante, gratias referimus supernae clementiae, quae vobis illud contulit, quod multis hic est in munere et vobis singulariter futurae gloriae tempore proficiat ad mercedem. [...]
'BEGINNING [OF THE LETTER] TO PATRIARCH LAURENTIUS IN THE NAME OF THE LORD
Extending everywhere by your merits the advance of your blessed reputation, competing to equal the blessed martyr in reward as much as in name, as if, through you, he whose name you have inherited has completely returned, he who disposed of the wealth of the holy church in such a way that he increased the value of its property by spreading it among the poor, informing even us about the good of such a great work, we give thanks to heavenly mercy, which has granted to you what is a gift to many in this world, and may benefit you particularly as a reward in the time of future glory. ...'
Text: Gundlach 1892.
Translation: David Lambert.
Saint as patron - of an individual
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Monarchs and their family
Source
This letter from Childebert II to Laurentius, bishop of Milan (PCBE 2, 'Laurentius 52'), is datable by its references to contemporary events and people to the period from about 585 to 589. The letter is preserved in the letter collection from early Frankish Gaul known as the Epistolae Austrasicae (Austrasian Letters).Discussion
This passage forms the opening of a letter from the Frankish king Childebert II to the bishop of Milan, Laurentius: it praises Laurentius by comparing him to the 3rd c. Roman deacon and martyr Laurentius/Laurence (S00037). The passage alludes to the incident in Laurence's Martyrdoms (E02504, E02514) in which Laurence is asked by Pope Sixtus to stop the property of the church being seized by the emperor, which he does by selling it and giving the money to the poor.After this beginning, the letter turns firmly towards the mundane, as Childebert moves onto its actual purpose, which is to ask Laurentius to act as an intermediary in negotiations with the Byzantine authorities in Italy about a planned military campaign against the Lombards. The effusive opening was no doubt intended to gain his good will for this.
Bibliography
Editions:Gundlach, W., Epistolae Austrasicae, in: Epistolae Merowingici et Karolini Aevi (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Epistolae 3; Berlin, 1892), 151.
Malaspina, E., Il "Liber epistolarum" della cancellaria austrasica (sec. V-VI) (Biblioteca di cultura romanobarbarica 4; Rome, 2001), 212-215, with Italian translation and commentary.
David Lambert
17/07/2019
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00037 | Laurence/Laurentius, deacon and martyr of Rome | Laurentius | Certain |
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