Sulpicius Severus in his Chronicles (2.38) recounts that in 351 the emperor Constantius II, during the battle of Mursa (in Pannonia, on the middle Danube) against his rival Magnentius, took refuge in a basilica of the martyrs outside the town. Written in Latin in southern Gaul, in the first decade of the 5th c.
E08506
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Sulpicius Severus
Sulpicius Severus, Chronica 2.38.3
In an account that is hostile to Constantius, Sulpicius Severus tells us that the emperor took refuge in a church during the battle of Mursa, rather than witness it in person:
Nam eo tempore, quo apud Mursam contra Magnentium armis certatum, Constantius descendere in conspectu pugnae non ausus in basilica martyrum extra oppidum sita, Valente tum eius loci episcopi in solatium assumpto, diversatus est.
'For at that time, when the battle was fought at Mursa against Magnentius, Constantius did not dare come down to view the battle, but took himself off to a basilica of the martyrs outside the town, with Valens, the then bishop of that place, to console him.'
The story continues with an account of how Bishop Valens deceived Constantius into believing that an angel had announced the victory to him.
Text: de Senneville-Grave 1999, 312-13.
Translation and summary: B. Ward-Perkins.
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivitySeeking asylum at church/shrine
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesMonarchs and their family
Source
Sulpicius Severus was a well-educated aristocrat who, after a career in the law, converted to the ascetic life under the influence of Martin, founding a monastic community on his estate of Primuliacum in Aquitania. He was a friend and close associate of Paulinus of Nola, from whose letters most of our knowledge of Sulpicius' life derives.Sulpicius is mainly known for his Life of Martin and his Dialogues about the saint, both of which are extensively covered in our database. But in the first decade of the fifth century he also composed Chronicles (Chronica), largely dedicated to the history of the Old Testament Jews. The brief section that covers the fourth century AD is primarily focused on the story of two heresies: Arianism and Priscillianism.
Discussion
Sulpicius' source for this story (which is set some fifty years earlier than the time of writing) is unknown.Unfortunately, he did not record the names of the martyrs in whose church Constantius supposedly cowered during the battle.
Bibliography
Edition, French translation and commentary:de Senneville-Grave, G., Sulpice Sévère, Chroniques (Sources Chrétiennes 441; Paris: Cerf, 1999).
Bryan Ward-Perkins
28/09/2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | martyres | Certain |
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