The Presbyters Project

XVII

DOMNO BEATISSIMO ET IN CRISTI MEMBRIS UENERANDO ADQUE OMNI DILECTIONE AMPLECTENDO DOMINO IN CRISTO MEO UUILIGILDO EPISCOPO, BRAULIO SERUUS INUTILIS SANCTORUM DEI

Non sum ignarus me contra patrum sanctiones et decreta canonum egisse, cum monacum uestrum de asili monasterio me scio et subdiaconem et diaconem sacrasse, quia, quamquam eclesia Cristi toto orbe terrarum diffusa in uniuersitate catholica habeatur una, tamen, cum rectoribus suis innititur adque presulibus gubernatur, et diuisa in priuilegiis et huna habetur in conpage credulitatis; hac per hoc sentio me ordinem excessisse.

Braulio asks Wiligildus to forgive him and let the fugitive monk stay in orders in Saragossa.

Salutem autem religiosa humilitate et deuotissima seruitute uestre beatitudini persolbens, queso ut nanctis occasionibus uestris merear inlustrari apicibus. Hec et Aiulfo presbitero et abbati.

(ed. Riesco Terrero 1975, 98)

Letter 17

BRAULIO, UNWORTHY SERVANT OF THE SAINTS OF GOD, TO WILIGILDUS, BISHOP AND MY LORD IN CHRIST, MOST BLESSED LORD, TO BE VENERATED IN THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST AND TO BE EMBRACED WITH ALL LOVE

I am not unaware that I acted contrary to the edicts of the fathers and the decrees of the canons when I raised to subdeacon and deacon a monk who, as I well know, ran away from a monastery under your control, for although the Church of Christ is diffused throughout the whole world, it is yet considered one in Catholic universality, since it relies upon its rectors and is governed by its prelates; it is both divided in privileges and one in the bond of faith; for this reason, I realise that I exceeded my authority.

Braulio asks Wiligildus to forgive him and let the fugitive monk stay in orders in Saragossa.

With religious humility and most devoted servitude, I pay my respects to your beatitude and ask that, when you have the occasion, I may merit being included among your correspondents. The same for Aiulfus, presbyter and abbot.

(transl. by C. Barlowe 1969: 43-45; slightly adapted)

Discussion:

Braulio speaks about Wiligildus as a bishop from a very distant country ("the great distance of land between us"). He is not mentioned in the acts of the Spanish councils, and we know nothing more about him. Lambert (1931) proposed to identify Wiligildus with Vilegisil of Toulouse who is told to be present at the council in Reims in 625. However, this council and the subscriptions of its participants are known only from the 10th-century historian, Flodoard (Historia Remensis ecclesiae II, 5). Alternatively Lambert proposed to identify Aiulfus with Aviulfus, bishop of Valencia, known from the correspondence of Desiderius of Cahors (letter II, 3, ca 641-650; Lambert 1931).

It is possible that Braulio sends greetings to Aiulfus because he was an abbot of the monastery from which the monk has fled.

Place of event:

Region

Iberian Peninsula

City

Saragossa
San Millán de la Cogolla

About the source:

Title: Letters, Epistularium
Origin: Saragossa (Iberian Peninsula)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Braulio wrote Letter 17 during his episcopate in Saragossa, which started in AD 631 (Lynch 1938: 30). Assuming that the sequence of the letters in the collection is roughly chronological, Barlowe proposes to date it to AD 633 or 634 (Barlowe 1969: 43, n. 1).

Edition:

Edition:

Riesco Terrero, Luis ed. Epistolario de san Braulio. Annales de la Universidad Hispalense. Serie Filosofía y Letras, v. 31. Sevilla, 1975.

Translation:

C.W. Barlowe, Iberian Fathers, v. 2, Braulio of Saragossa, Fructuosus of Braga, Washington D. C. 1969.

Bibliography:

C.W. Barlowe, Iberian Fathers, v. 2, Braulio of Saragossa, Fructuosus of Braga, Washington D. C. 1969.

A. Lambert, s.v. "Ayulfus", Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. 5, Paris 1931, col. 1326.

A. Lambert, s.v. "Aviulfus", Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. 5, Paris 1931, col. 1211.

C.H. Lynch, Saint Braulio, bishop of Saragossa (631-651) his life and writings, Washington, D.C 1938 (see also Spanish translation revised by P. Galindo: C.H. Lynch, P. Galindo, San Braulio, obispo de Zaragoza: (631-651). Su vida y sus obras, Madrid 1950).

J. Madoz, Epistolario de San Braulio de Zaragoza: ed. crít. según el cód. 22 del Archivo capitular de León, Madrid 1941.

Categories:

Non-Latin Origin - Gothic

PR126.

Writing activity - Correspondence

PR126.

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

PR126.

Described by a title - Abba

PR126.

Monastic or common life - Monastic superior (abbot/prior)

PR126.

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

PR126.

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER300, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=300