The Presbyters Project

Valerius lives on a mountain in the territory of Bierzo (Iberian Peninsula) near the basilica of St. Felix.

2. Dum olim spe humanae consolationis destitutus in supra dicto acrae necessitudinis monte, anhelans, degerem nullum habens providum aut subsistentem in ima necessitate ministri venit ad me quidam clericus juventutis fortitudine fretrus, flagitans precabatur ut meae esset disciplinae subjectus. Quem intuens expeditum, atque saeculariis exercitiis aptum, constituti eum operum manuum mearum prodemtorem, alimentisque stipendorum necessitudinis nsotrae esse ministrum.

Cumque in quodam predio fruge, caeteraque alimentorum subsidia sufficienter in suo reposuisset hospitio, quodam die dum ad eum quendam fratellum dirigerem, oblitus primo illi mandare, recordatus postmodum ei in devexo lateris descendenti ut unum modium de cibaria vicino illi caeco det et medium modium alii cuidam pauperi.

The next night Valerius has a dream that he is brutally chastised. Then God reveals to him that this is a punishment for shouting in a loud voice that he was giving alms.

(ed. C.M. Aherne 1949: 115, 117)

Valerius lives on a mountain in the territory of Bierzo (Iberian Peninsula) near the basilica of St. Felix.

2. When formerly I was living, short of breath, without hope of human consolation on the aforesaid mountain of bitter need, having no provision nor aid from an assistant in my greatest want, there came to me a certain cleric, trusting in the strenght of youth, who besought earnestly that he might be subject to my guidance. Seeing him come at the right time and suited for secular occupations, I appointed him to be the disposer of the works of my hands and the minister of food for our need. Since on a certain farm he had set aside fruit and other foods in considerable abundance in his own dwelling, one day when I was sending a certain brother to him, having forgotten to tell him at first, remembering afterward, I called from the brow of the mountain to his as he went down the slope, saying: "Tell the minister to give a measure of food to such-and-such a blind neighbor and half a measure to a certain other poor person".

The next night Valerius has a dream that he is brutally chastised. Then God reveals to him that this is a punishment for shouting in a loud voice that he was giving alms.

(trans. M.C. Aherne 1949:)

Place of event:

Region

Iberian Peninsula

City

Castro Pedroso

About the source:

Author: Valerius of Bierzo
Title: Replicatio sermonum, Further account
Origin: Iberian Peninsula
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

"Replicatio sermonum" is the second part of the autobiographical trilogy written by the eremitical monk from the region of Bierzo (Iberian Peninsula) Valerius. He relates the sufferings, attacks of the devil and conflicts he was involved during his monastic life. The exact dates of Valerius life, as well as the dates of the composition of his works cannot be established; it can only be said that he lived and worked in roughly the second half of the seventh century. Apart from the autobiographical writings he composed six short works: De vana saeculi sapientia, Vita et epistola beatissimae Egeriae, De genere monachorum, Dicta beatum Valeri ad beatum Donadeum scripta, De Bonello monacho, and De caeleste revelatione. On Valerius of Bierzo see Aherne 1949, Collins 1986, Díaz y Díaz 2006, Martín 2011.

Edition:

Edition and translation:

Valerius of Bierzo, Ordo querimoniae, [in:] C.M. Aherne, Valerio of Bierzo, an Ascetic of the Late Visigothic Period. A Dissertation, Washington D.C. 1949, 68-109

Bibliography:

J.L. Avello Álvarez, "Los suevos y visigodos en la provincia de León", Memorias de historia antigua 11-12 (1990), 295-316.

R. Collins, "The Autobiographical Works of Valerius of Bierzo their structure and purpose”, [in :] Antigüedad y cristianismo: Monografías históricas sobre la Antigüedad tardía, 1986, 425-442.

M.C. Díaz y Díaz, Valerio Del Bierzo: su persona, su obra, León 2006.

M. Gómez Moreno, Catálogo monumental de España. Provincia de León (1906-1908), v. 1, Madrid 1925.

J.C. Martín, "¿Valerio en Compludo? Examen crítico de los opúsculos autobiográficos (CPL 1282-1284) y las Visiones del más allá (CPL 1277-1279) de Valerio del Bierzo”, Veleia 23 (2006), 327-338.

Categories:

Described by a title - Clericus

Monastic or common life - Hermit

Relation with - Monk/Nun

Devotion - Almsgiving

Pastoral activity - Helping the poor and needy

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER781, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=781