Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 18
Inpetratus, presbyter in Clermont (Gaul), is visited in his home by the citizens of Clermont in ca 525, asking for a suggestion on who should take the late bishop`s place. Account of Gregory of Tours, "Life of the Fathers", Tours (Gaul), ca 590.
6.3
 
Cives autem Arverni ad domum Inpetrati presbiteri, eiusdem [Sancti Galli] abunculi, convenerunt, conquaerentes a de obitu sacerdotis et, qui in eius locum deberet substitui, requerentes.
 
(ed. Krusch 1885: 231-232)
The inhabitants of Clermont went to the dwelling of the presbyter Inpetratus, the uncle of Gallus, bewailing the death of the pontiff and asking who would be worthy to take his place.
 
(trans. James 1991: 35, slightly altered by J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

Information about Inpetratus being the abunculus (mother's brother) of Gallus, bishop of Clermont (see [24]), gives us insight into his social status. Gallus' mother, Leucadia, is described by Gregory of Tours (Life of the Fathers 6.1) as being a member of a noble senatorial family and a direct descendant of Vettius Espagatus (=Vectius Epagatus), martyr of Lyon (Epagatus' martyrdom is described in: Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 5.1 and Gregory of Tours, Glory of the Martyrs 47).
 

Place of event:

Region
  • Gaul
City
  • Clermont

About the source:

Author: Gregory of Tours
Title: Life of the Fathers, Vita Patrum, Liber Vitae Patrum
Origin: Tours (Gaul)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
Gregory of Tours (bishop of Tours in Gaul in 573-594) started writing his Life of the Fathers some time before 587 and finished it around 592 or slightly later, as shown by the cross-references to his other works.  It is a collection of twenty Gallic saints` lives of different lengths. They all are in some way connected to Gregory`s family or church interests, while also exemplifying different virtues leading to sanctity. Saints presented in the Life of the Fathers are all either ascetics or bishops.
 
More on the text: James 1991, ix-xxv.
Edition:
B. Krusch ed., Gregorii Episcopi Turonensis Miracula et Opera Minora, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 1.2, Hannover 1885, 211-294.
 
Translation:
Gregory of Tours, Life of the Fathers, trans. by E. James, Liverpool 1991.

Categories:

Social origin or status - Social elite
Food/Clothes/Housing - Type of housing
Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
Reverenced by
Relation with - Other relative
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER18, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=18