The will of Vigilius, bishop of Auxerre (central Gaul), records the bishop's foundation of a basilica dedicated to *Mary (mother of Christ, S00033) and attached to a male monastery in the city's suburbs, and appears to refer incidentally to a vineyard outside the city belonging to a foundation dedicated to *Germanus (bishop of Auxerre, ob. 448, S00455); as well as further churches dedicated to *Symeon (probably the elder of the temple of Jerusalem, S00285) and *Ferreolus (martyr of Besançon, S00348). Written in Latin in Gaul, possibly at Auxerre, shortly before 680/86.
E08426
Documentary texts - Charter or diploma
Documentary texts - Will
Quantin, Cartulaire général de l'Yonne, 8
Sancta venerabilis basilica domnae Mariae genitricis Domini.... quam opere meo in suburbio civitatis de Althisiodero visi fuimus construxisse... vel monachis ibidem deservientibus, ego Viglius peccator [...] Ideoque dono ipsius basilicae sanctae Mariae, in alimonia pauperum ibidem residentium, donatumve post diem obitus mei in perpetuum esse volo, hoc est vineas ubi ipsa basilica est constructa cui subjugunt ab uno latus strada publica, qui ad porta Parisiaca ad Senones pergit; et ab alio latus strada publica, qui de ipsa porta Parisiaca ad Broile vadit; et de superiori fronte subjungunt vineas midranicas; inde juxta vineas ad heredes Attone quondam usque ad vineas domni Germani; et inde ad strata superius nominata, qui ad Sanctum-Simeonem vadit [...] Similiter do [...] Cardonaretas quae conjacent ante Sanctum-Ferreolum, cum mansis, hedeficiis, acolabus, servos et ancillas...'
'To the holy and venerable basilica of the Lady Mary, mother of the Lord ... which I have been seen to have constructed from my own expenses in the suburbs of the city of Auxerre ... and to the monks serving in that same place: I, Vigilius, a sinner ... And so I grant this to the basilica of Saint Mary, as almony for the poor residing there, and I wish it to be donated there forever after the day of my death: that is, the vineyards where that basilica is constructed, which border the wide public road which runs from the Parisian Gate to Sens; and, on another side, the wide public road which runs from that Parisian Gate to Broile; and on its upper side the midranicas vineyards; these are next to the vineyards of the heirs of the late Atto, up to the vineyards of Lord Germanus; and thence up to the above-mentioned road, which goes to Saint Symeon ... Likewise I grant (the villa) Cardonaretas, which lies in front of Saint Ferreolus, with its lands, buildings, inhabitants, slaves and slave-women ....'
Text: Quantin 1854-60, i. 17-21.
Translation: B. Savill.
Cult building - unspecified
Cult building - monastic
Places Named after SaintOther
Non Liturgical ActivityBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Construction of cult buildings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
Source
This will survives only in a copy of the 13th century, but is usually treated as authentic (thus Picard 1992). The document in its extant form has no dating clause, and can only be approximately dated according to what little we know of the episcopate of Virgilius (ob. 680/86).Discussion
The 'vineyards of Lord Germanus' probably indicates a property belonging to the basilica housing the saint's tomb, first mentioned by Gregory of Tours (E02136). The foundation dedicated to Symeon is otherwise unknown from early sources, but Picard (1992, 64) notes that a lepers' church named after the same saint is attested in the 12th century, about 2 km from the city. It is not impossible that the reference to 'Saint Ferreolus' refers to the oratory purportedly founded by Vigilus' predecessor Palladius in the 630s (E08425).Bibliography
EditionCartulaire général de l'Yonne, ed. M. Quantin, 2 vols (Auxerre, 1854-60).
Further reading
Picard, J.-C., "Auxerre," in: N. Gauthier and J.-Ch. Picard (eds.), Topographie chrétienne des cités de la Gaule des origines au milieu du VIIIe siècle, vol. 8: Province ecclésiastique de Sens (Lungdunensis Senonia) (Paris, 1992), 47-65.
Benjamin Savill
28/02/2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Maria | Certain | S00285 | Symeon (the God-receiver), elder of the temple of Jerusalem | Simeon | Certain | S00348 | Ferreolus and Ferrucio, martyrs of Besançon | Ferreolus | Certain | S00455 | Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, ob. c. 448 | Germanus | Certain |
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