The Presbyters Project

XXVI

DOMINO MEO BRAULIONI EPISCOPO, EMILIANUS PECCATOR

Quod obsequio uel cordis affectu domino meo gratias referam pro benignitatis et gratie uestre beneficio, quo meam pusillitatem et admonere libenter et salutari consilio instruere dignaris, quia uerbis explere nequeo, Deum uobis retributorem uotis omnibus et obsecratione deposco, postulans tuam domini mei potestatem ut que peculiariter eloqu<i>s admones, tuis meritis et orationibus aput Deum in me perficienda obtinere digneris, ut merear benedictionibus uestris it consequi, quod et Deo nostro et uestris animis placitum esse possit.

Pro libro autem quem inquisitione mea inuentum dirigendum uestre beatitudini precepistis, testis est mihi Deus quia omni intentione quesiui, ut potui, et quando alibi inuenire non ualui, filio uestro, domno nostro, suggessi et ipse inter libros suos inquirere iussit; sed omnino iste codex inueniri non potuit, nam et pro libris Laurenti solliciti fuimus, sed, quia illo tempore res, sicut nostis, in dispersionem uenit, nihil inde inuestigare potuimus.

Mei uero famulatus reuerenter reddens officium, idemque me uestre mentis arcano fobendum tuendumquem committo et satis humiliter obsecro ut, quotiens sese occasio prebet, uestris de felicitate propria merear eloquiis informari.

(ed. Riesco Terrero 1975: 124)

Letter 26

The sinner Emilian to my lord, bishop Braulio.

Since I am unable to express in words the dutiful feelings of my heart in thanking you, my lord, for the favour of your kindness and grace, when you deigned to admonish freely and to instruct with salutary advice my unworthy self, I use all my prayers and supplications to ask God to return the favour to you. I would ask your influence, my lord, that by your merits and prayers before God, you deign to have accomplished in me the special praises and advice which you have offered, that I may deserve to obtain with your blessing what is pleasing both to our God and to your mind.

As for the book which you bade me search for and send to your beatitude, God is my witness that I did my very best to find it, and when I could not find it anywhere else, I mentioned it to your son, our lord [the king], and he had his library searched, but the manuscript was not to be found anywhere. We even made inquiries about the books of Laurentius, but because, as you know, his property had been scattered on that occasion, we could not investigate that source.

I pay you the reverent dues of my servitude and commend myself for protection and encouragement to the sanctuary of your mind, and quite humbly beg that, whenever the occasion arises, I may deserve to be informed of your own prosperity by a letter from you.

(trans. by C. Barlowe 1969: 65)

Discussion:

Emilian was most probably a presbyter and abbot in Toledo, because Braulio mentions in Letter 25 [323] that Emilian lives in a city of large size and has access to the king (at the time it was king Chindaswinth).

The commentary to the Apocalypse of Apringius of Beja was written in 6th c. Only fragments of this text survived, see the edition by R. Gryson (2003).

Place of event:

Region

Iberian Peninsula

City

Saragossa
Toledo

About the source:

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

According to Lynch (1938: 73-74, 208) the letters between Braulio and Emilian (Letters 25, 26, 27) were written between 641 and 646. This date is derived from the position of the letters in the corpus, as it seems they are arranged chronologically. Madoz (1941: 55-56) propose the date of composition between 642 and 646.

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:

R. Gryson ed., Commentaria minora in Apocalypsin Johannis, Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina 107, Turnhout 2003.

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:

Writing activity - Correspondence

PR127.

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

PR127.

Relation with - Monarch and royal/imperial family

PR127.

Intercession

PR127.

Devotion - Reading the Bible and devotional literature

PR127.

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER324, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=324