The Presbyters Project

VI.39

After the death of Bishop Remigius of Bourges, Sulpicius was chosen by King Guntram to succeed him. Guntram condemned other candidates who tried to bribe him, comparing them to Simon the Sorcerer.

Et sic ad clericatum deductus, episcopatum ecclesiae supradictae suscepit. Est enim vir valde nobilis et de primis senatoribus Galliarum, in litteris bene eruditus rethoricis, in metricis vero artibus nulli secundus.

(ed. Krusch 1937: 309–310)

VI.39

After the death of Bishop Remigius of Bourges, Sulpicius was chosen by King Guntram to succeed him. Guntram condemned other candidates who tried to bribe him, comparing them to Simon the Sorcerer.

And so [Sulpicius] was admitted to the clergy and received the bishopric of the aforementioned Church. He is a man of a very noble birth, descended from one of the foremost senatorial families in Gauls. He is well learned in rhetoric and second to none in the art of [poetic] metre (artes metrici).

(trans. Thorpe 1974: 371, altered and summarised by J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

Judging from Gregory's narrative, this event took place in ca 584.

Place of event:

Region

Gaul

City

Rodez

About the source:

Author: Gregory of Tours
Title: The History of the Franks, Gregorii episcopi Turonensis historiarum libri X, Histories
Origin: Tours (Gaul)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Gregory of Tours (Gaul) wrote his ten books of Histories (known commonly in English as the History of the Franks) during his episcopal reign in Tours between 573 and 594. The books vary in scope and length. The first book covers 5,596 years from the creation of the world to AD 397, that is the death of Saint Martin of Tours, Gregory`s predecessor in bishopric. The second book deals with the history of Gaul between 397 and 511, the latter being the year of death of King Clovis I. The third and fourth books cover the next 64 years till the death of Austrasian King Sigibert II in 575. Finally, the following six books describe exclusively the sixteen years from 575 to 591. Probably in 594, Gregory added the list of bishops of Tours in the end of the Histories, with brief accounts of their actions.

Edition:

B. Krusch ed., Gregorii Episcopi Turonensis Historiarum Libri X [in:] Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingiciarum 1.1, Hannover 1884 (repr. 1951): 1-537.

Translation:

Gregory of Tours, The History of the Franks, trans. L. Thorpe, London 1974.

Categories:

Social origin or status - Social elite

PR820.

Further ecclesiastical career - Bishop

PR820.

Described by a title - Clericus

PR820.

Simony/Buying office

PR820.

Education - Special skills

PR820.

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1824, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1824