Ildefonsus, bishop of Toledo, in his On the Lives of Famous Men, recounts that Bishop Eugenius II of Toledo (died 657) was buried in the church of *Leocadia (virgin and confessor of Toledo, S01367) in Toledo (central Hispania). Written In Latin at Toledo, 657/667.
Evidence ID
E08556
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other
Ildefonsus of Toledo, De viris illustribus 13
Clarus habitus fuit temporibus Chindasuinti et Recesuinti regum fere duodecim annis tenens dignitatem simul et gloriam sacerdotis, sicque post lucis mundialis occasum in basilica Sanctae Leocadiae tenet habitatione sepulchrum.
'He held the honour and glory of his priestly office for some twelve years in the reigns of Kings Chindasvinth and Reccesvinth. After passing from this mortal light, he lies in tomb in the Basilica of St Leocadia'.
Text: Codoñer 2007, 615-16.
Translation, Fear 1997, 120-121.
Cult Places
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityBurial ad sanctos
Source
Ildefonsus was abbot of the important monastery of Agali and later bishop of Toledo. Here he succeeded his uncle, Eugenius II, in 657 and was bishop until his death in 667. He was then succeeded by Quiricius. Julian, bishop of Toledo in 680-690 and also a former abbot of Agali, wrote an Elogium in honour of Ildefonsus, which is our main source for his life.In his capacity as abbot of Agali, Ildefonsus was present at the Eighth and Ninth Councils of Toledo in 653 and 655. Because of his Marian devotion, he is sometimes considered responsible for the project to establish the feast of Mary in December, which was introduced by the Tenth Council of Toledo in 656. Ildefonsus, however, does not appear amongst the signatories of the council, so it seems that he did not take part in the proceedings.
Four works were certainly authored by Ildefonsus of Toledo – On the Virginity of Holy Mary, On the Lives of Famous Men, On the Understanding of Baptism and On the Way of the Desert. There are also letters and liturgical texts (see Clavis Patrum Latinorum nos. 1247-1256). Their exact chronology is uncertain. On the Lives of Famous Men was probably written sometime during Ildefonsus' episcopate, between 657 and 667.
Discussion
The date of foundation of this church of Leocadia is unknown. These acts of the Fourth Council of Toledo provide the earliest mention of it; however, it is usually dated back to the reign of King Sisebut (612-621). This assumption is based solely on the account in the so-called Prophetic Chronicle written in 883 that says that during the reign of Sisebut the basilica of Leocadia 'was enlarged with a high roof of wonderful workmanship' (trans. Wolf 2008).The church was located outside the walls of Toledo, to the north-west. In the 1990s Pedro de Palol excavated the remains of the basilica. The excavations have shown that the church was built on a site where late Roman or Visigothic buildings were founded in the area of the circus. Although there is a tradition that the basilica was built over the tomb of Leocadia (see E07487), there is no material evidence of a tomb or a cemetery below it. The basilica of Leocadia is sometimes called 'in praetorio toletano' (see E03084). It is possible that the Roman building excavated by de Palol was a praetorium, in which the church was later founded (see de Palol 1991; Martin 2003, 231-232).
Bibliography
Edition and translation:Codoñer Merino, C., De viris illustribus, in: Ildefonsi Toletani opera omnia (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 114A; Turnhout, 2007), 595-616.
Fear, A.T., Lives of the Visigothic Fathers (Translated Texts for Historians 26; Liverpool 1997), 107–122.
Further reading:
Gurt i Esparraguera, J.M., and Diarte Blasco, P., "La basílica de santa Leocadia y el final de uso del circo romano de Toledo: una nueva interpretación," Zephyrus 69 (2012), 149–63.
Martin, C., La géographie du pouvoir dans l'espace visigothique (Lille, 2003).
Palol, P. de, "Resultados de las excavaciones junto al Cristo de la Vega, supuesta basílica conciliar de Sta. Leocadia de Toledo: algunas notas de topografía religiosa de la ciudad," Concilio III de Toledo: XIV Centenario 589-1989 (Toledo, 1991), 787-832.
Wolf, K.B. (trans.), "Chronica Prophetica," Medieval Texts in Translation, 2008. Web 22 May 2009.
https://sites.google.com/site/canilup/chronica_prophetica
Record Created By
Marta Szada
Date of Entry
03/08/2024
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S01367 | Leocadia, virgin and confessor of Toledo | Leocadia | Certain |
|---|
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