Constantius of Lyon, in his Life of *Germanus (bishop of Auxerre, ob. c. 448, S00455), recounts how the saint miraculously released the inmates of a prison in Ravenna (mid to late 440s). Written in Latin at Lyon (south-east Gaul) between c. 460 and c. 480.
E08585
Literary - Hagiographical - Lives
Constantius of Lyon, Life of Germanus of Auxerre 36
For a full account of Constantius' Life of Germanus, see E05841.
This incident is narrated by Constantius immediately following his account of how Galla Placidia kept a plate and a loaf given to her by Germanus as relics (E06022).
Quadam die, dum plateam latissimam turbis angustatus ingreditur, carcerem refertum uinctis supplicia et mortem expectantibus praeteribat. Qui, agnito transitu sacerdotis, unum clamorem conlatis uocibus sustulerunt. Causam requirit, agnoscit; custodes euocat, subtrahuntur. Diuersae enim palatii potestates miserorum turbam in ergastuli illius nocte damnauerant. Quo se uerteret, misericordia non habebat. Tandem ad notum recurrit auxilium et quod difficile erat ab hominibus impetrari, a maiestate deposcit. Gressum diuertit ad carcerem, cernuus in orationem membra prosternit. Tum uero Dominus noster adstantibus populis gratiam quam famulo suo tribuerat, ostendit. Clusura uinculis et sera constricta dissoluitur, repagula ferrata dissiliunt; diuina pietas reserat quod meditatio humanae crudelitatis artauerat. Procedit ad libertatem turba de uinculis exhibens uacua onera catenarum, tenens nexus quibus antea tenebatur. Relinquitur carcer innocens aliquando quia uacuus, et praecedente pietatis triumpho turba miserorum gremio ecclesiae gaudentis infertur.
'One day when crossing a wide square and hemmed in by crowds he passed in front of a gaol crowded with prisoners awaiting torture or death. These got to know that he was passing and raised a tremendous clamour, shouting in unison. He enquired the reason and it was explained to him. So he sent for the warders but they kept out of his way, for all these wretched prisoners had been sentenced to that prison by one or another of the great officials of the Palace the night before. His compassion saw no help anywhere. At last he turned to his old resource and petitioned the divine majesty for the help so difficult to obtain from men. He walked up to the gaol and threw himself on the ground in prayer. Then indeed did Our Lord show the crowd, standing by, with what favour He regarded His servant. The lock, tightened by chains and bars, was loosed; the ironclad bolts split asunder. God’s kindness undid what man’s cruelty had carefully contrived. The throng came forth from chains to liberty, displaying their futile loads of fetters and carrying in their hands the cords with which they had been bound. For once the gaol was harmless, because empty; and in triumphal procession to celebrate the victory of kindness the throng of unfortunates were restored to the bosom of a rejoicing Church.'
Constantius goes on to describe how Germanus revived the deceased son of Volusianus (E05967).
Text: Borius 1965.
Translation: Hoare 1954, modified.
Miracle during lifetime
Freeing prisoners, exiles, captives, slaves
Power over objects
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Prisoners
Crowds
Source
Germanus of Auxerre (PCBE 4, 'Germanus 1', pp. 878-883) was the most important and revered episcopal saint of 5th-century Gaul. The Life of Germanus was written some years after his death (traditionally dated to 448, but perhaps earlier) by Constantius, a literary figure, possibly a cleric, attested in Lyon in the 460s and 470s (PCBE 4, 'Constantius 3', pp. 521-522). The precise date when he composed the Life is not documented, but it must have been sometime between the 460s and the early 480s. For full discussion of the authorship and date of the Life of Germanus, see its overview entry: E05841.Discussion
This event occurs when Germanus is visiting the western imperial capital of Ravenna in order to intercede for the rebellious inhabitants of Armorica. Germanus died during his stay in Ravenna, at a date which is not recorded directly but which the balance of evidence suggests was in the second half of the 440s, though the specific year traditionally given (448) may not be the correct one.This miracle differs significantly from most of those in the Life of Germanus, which involve providing healing or other miraculous benefits to individuals, even if these are sometime observed by crowds (as in E05881 and E06021). Here, Germanus' prayers bring about the release of the entire population of a prison, through the miraculous physical dissolution both of its bars and locks and of the chains on individuals, all observed by a large crowd. The miracle is spectacular – in the literal sense of providing a spectacle – in a way that goes beyond other miracles in the Life; the only comparable event is the so-called Alleluia Victory over the Picts and Saxons during Germanus' first visit to Britain (§§ 17-18), which is not actually presented as a miracle (in the sense of embodying supernatural power).
Bibliography
Editions:Borius, R., Constance de Lyon, Vie de saint Germain d'Auxerre (Sources chrétiennes 112; Paris: Cerf, 1965), with French translation.
Levison, W., Vita Germani episcopi Autissiodorensis auctore Constantio, in: Passiones vitaeque sanctorum aevi Merovingici V (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 7; Hannover and Leipzig, 1919), 246-283.
English translation:
Hoare, F.R., The Western Fathers (London, 1954), 283-320. Reprinted in T.F.X. Noble and T. Head (eds.), Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints' Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (University Park PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995), 75-106.
David Lambert
29/04/2025
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00455 | Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, ob. 445/450 | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
David Lambert, Cult of Saints, E08585 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08585