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88-470: The principal and almost contemporary source for the career of Priscillian is the Gallic chronicler Sulpicius Severus , who characterized him ( Chronica II.46) as noble and rich, a layman who had devoted his life to study, and was vain of his classical pagan education. Priscillian was born around 340, into the nobility, possibly in northwestern Hispania ( Gallaecia ), and was well-educated. About 370, he initiated

176-680: A Jew". In 387, Maximus managed to force emperor Valentinian II out of Milan . Valentinian fled to Theodosius I, and the two subsequently invaded from the east; their armies, led by Richomeres and other generals, campaigned against Maximus in July–August 388. Maximus was defeated in the Battle of Poetovio , and retreated to Aquileia . Meanwhile, the Franks under Marcomer had taken the opportunity to invade northern Gaul, further weakening Maximus's position. Andragathius , magister equitum of Maximus and

264-651: A broadly positive account of Maximian, the History concludes with the success of the barbarian invaders, and laments, "Alas for the absence of so many warlike soldiers through the madness of Maximianus!". Although the Mabinogion tale The Dream of Macsen Wledig is written in later manuscripts than Geoffrey's version, the two accounts are so different that scholars agree the Dream cannot be based purely on Geoffrey's version. The Dream's account also seems to accord better with details in

352-423: A catalogue of miracles, told in all the simplicity of absolute belief. The power to work miraculous signs is assumed to be in direct proportion to holiness, and is by Severus valued merely as an evidence of holiness, which he is persuaded can only be attained through a life of isolation from the world. In the first of his Dialogues (fair models of Cicero ), Severus puts into the mouth of an interlocutor (Posthumianus)

440-402: A civil tribunal, and worked to reduce the persecution. Pope Siricius censured not only Ithacius but the emperor himself. On receiving information from Maximus, he excommunicated Ithacius and his associates. On an official visit to Augusta Treverorum, Ambrose refused to give any recognition to Ithacius, "not wishing to have anything to do with bishops who had sent heretics to their death". Before

528-632: A close follower. According to Raymond E. Brown (1995), the source of the Comma Johanneum , a later insertion into the First Epistle of John , known since the fourth century, appears to be the Latin Liber Apologeticus by Priscillian. The modern assessment of Priscillian is summed up by Henry Chadwick (1976). Sulpicius Severus Sulpicius Severus ( / s ʌ l ˈ p ɪ ʃ ə s ˈ s ɛ v ər ə s / ; c. 363 – c. 425)

616-569: A figure of comparison with later Welsh leaders. These legends come down to us in two separate versions. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth 's fictional Historia Regum Britanniae ( c.  1136 ), the basis for many English and Welsh legends, Maximianus, as he calls him, was a Roman senator, a nephew of Coel Hen through Coel's brother Ioelinus, and king of the Britons following the death of Octavius ( Eudaf Hen ). Geoffrey writes this came about because Octavius wanted to wed his daughter to just such

704-508: A foreign invasion – appealed to Maximus, who finally sent a man named Gracianus Municeps with two legions to stop the attack. He killed many thousands before the invaders fled to Ireland . Maximus died in Rome soon after and Dionotus became the official king of the Britons. Unfortunately, before he could begin his reign, Gracianus took hold of the crown and made himself king over Dionotus. While

792-449: A form which lovers of Sallust and Tacitus could appreciate and enjoy. The style is lucid, almost classical. In order that his work might fairly stand beside that of the old Latin writers, Severus ignored the allegorical approach to interpreting sacred history that had been favoured by both heretics and the orthodox of his age. As an authority on the period prior to his own, Severus offers few guarantees and rarely corrects or supplements

880-595: A large majority, who invoked the aid of Maximus against their erring brethren. In this connection, the account given by Severus of the Council of Rimini in 359, where the question arose whether the bishops attending the assembly might lawfully receive money from the imperial treasury to recoup their travelling and other expenses, is notable. Severus evidently approved the action of the British and Gaulish bishops, who deemed it unbecoming that they should lie under pecuniary obligation to

968-439: A large part of the western portion of the empire, though he never conquered Italy. He had reproached him with attacking and overthrowing his predecessors on the throne, and for his dealings with the church. Severus loses no opportunity for laying stress on the crimes and follies of rulers, and on their cruelty, though he once declares that, cruel as rulers could be, priests could be crueller still. This last statement has reference to

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1056-558: A movement in favour of asceticism. Priscillian advocated studying not only the Bible, but also apocryphal books. His followers, who were won over by his eloquence and his severely ascetic example, included the bishops Instantius and Salvianus. According to Priscillian, apostles, prophets, and "doctors" (in the Latin sense of "teachers") are the divinely appointed orders of the Church, preeminence being due

1144-480: A number of edicts reorganising Gaul's system of provinces. Some historians believe Maximus may have founded the office of the Comes Britanniarum as well, although it was probably Stilicho who created the permanent office. Maximus was a stern persecutor of heretics . It was on his orders that Priscillian and six companions were executed for heresy , although the actual civil charges laid by Maximus were for

1232-407: A pleasing description of the life of coenobites and solitaries in the deserts bordering on Egypt . The main evidence of the virtue attained by them lies in the voluntary subjection to them of the savage beasts among which they lived. But Severus was no indiscriminating adherent of monasticism. The same dialogue shows him to be alive to its dangers and defects. The second dialogue is a large appendix to

1320-412: A portion of Gaul that becomes known as Brittany. According to another legend, Maximus appointed Coel Hen , perhaps the legendary " Old King Cole ", as governor of northern Britain, ruling from Eburacum (York). Following Maximus's departure for the continent, Coel became high king of northern Britain. Magnus Maximus and Elen are traditionally given as the parents of Saint Peblig (or Publicus, named in

1408-478: A powerful half-Roman-half-Briton and to give the kingship of Britain, as a dowry, to that husband, so he sent a message to Rome offering his daughter to Maximian. Caradocus , the Duke of Cornwall , had suggested and supported the marriage between Octavius's daughter and Maximian. Maximian accepted the offer and left Rome for Britain. Geoffrey claims further that Maximian gathered an army as he sacked Frankish towns along

1496-534: A short biography by the historian Gennadius of Massilia . Born of noble parents in Aquitaine, Severus enjoyed excellent educational advantages. He was imbued with the culture of his time and of his country, a centre of Latin letters and learning. He studied jurisprudence in Burdigala (Modern Bordeaux) and was renowned as an eloquent lawyer; his knowledge of Roman law is reflected in parts of his writings. He married

1584-505: Is Helen or Elen, accepts and loves him. Because Elen is found a virgin, Macsen gives her father sovereignty over the island of Britain and orders three castles built for his bride. In Macsen's absence, a new emperor seizes power and warns him not to return. With the help of men from Britain led by Elen's brother Conanus ( Welsh : Cynan Meriadoc, Breton : Conan Meriadeg), Macsen marches across Gaul and Italy and recaptures Rome. In gratitude to his British allies, Macsen rewards them with

1672-616: Is Cruc Occident. These are the Armoric Britons, and they remain there to the present day. In consequence of their absence, Britain being overcome by foreign nations, the lawful heirs were cast out, till God interposed with his assistance. Modern historians believe that this idea of mass British troop settlement in Brittany by Maximus may very well reflect some reality, as it accords with archaeological and other historical evidence and later Breton traditions. Armorica declared independence from

1760-399: Is mentioned in the decrees. The synod forbade certain practices. It forbade assumption of the title of "doctor", and forbade clerics from becoming monks on the motivation of a more perfect life; women were not to be given the title of " virgins " until they had reached the age of forty. Michael Kulikowski characterizes the concern at Zaragoza as the relationship between town and country, and

1848-522: Is urged. Priscillian placed considerable weight on apocryphal books , not as being inspired but as helpful in discerning truth and error. It was long thought that all his writings had perished, but in 1885, Georg Schepss discovered at the University of Würzburg eleven genuine tracts, published in the CSEL in 1886.Though they bear Priscillian's name, four describing Priscillian's trial appear to have been written by

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1936-914: The Flores Historiarum , during the construction of the Castle and the nearby planned town, the body believed to be of Magnus Maximus was discovered entombed; King Edward ordered its reburial in a local church. The prominent place of Macsen in history, Welsh legend and in the Matter of Britain means he is often a character or referred to in historical and Arthurian fiction. Such stories include Stephen R. Lawhead 's Pendragon Cycle , Mary Stewart 's The Hollow Hills , Jack Whyte 's Camulod Chronicles, M J Trow 's Britannia series, Nancy McKenzie 's Queen of Camelot and Rudyard Kipling 's Puck of Pook's Hill . The popular Welsh folk song Yma o Hyd , recorded by Dafydd Iwan in 1981, recalls Macsen Wledig and celebrates

2024-607: The Battle of Poetovio in 388. In the view of some historians, his death marked the end of direct imperial presence in Northern Gaul and Britannia. Maximus was born in Gallaecia , Hispania, on the estates of Count Theodosius (the Elder) of the Theodosian dynasty , to whom he claimed to be related. Most of his early life is unknown as the earliest mention of him in the historical record

2112-859: The Chronicle of Severus, and going down to 511. The chief editions of the complete works of Severus are those by De Prato (Verona, 1741) and by Halm (forming volume i. of the Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum Latinorum , Vienna, 1866). There is a most admirable monograph on the Chronicle by J. Bernays (Berlin, 1861). See also Goelzer, Grammaticae in Sulp. Severum observationes (1884) (thesis). Severus' works are to be found in P.L. 20, 95-248; later edition by Karl Halm, Opera , CSEL 1 (Vienna, 1866) (on Google Books) Magnus Maximus Magnus Maximus ( Classical Latin: [ˈmaŋnʊs ˈmaksɪmʊs] ; Welsh : Macsen Wledig [ˈmaksɛn ˈwlɛdɪɡ] ; died 28 August 388)

2200-599: The Damnonii , Votadini , and Novantae (all located in modern Scotland ). While there he likely made similar arrangements for a formal transfer of authority to local chiefs—the later rulers of Galloway , home to the Novantae, claimed Maximus as the founder of their line, the same as did the Welsh kings. The ninth century Historia Brittonum gives another account of Maximus and assigns him an important role: The seventh emperor

2288-555: The Pillar of Eliseg (9th century), an early medieval inscribed stone in Wales, which claims that she married Vortigern , king of the Britons . Maximus's bid for imperial power in 383 coincides with the last date for evidence of a Roman military presence in the western Pennines and the fortress of Deva . Coins dated later than 383 have been found in excavations along Hadrian's Wall , suggesting that troops were not entirely stripped from it, as

2376-453: The "unlearned" are the mass of Christians and the learned are the cultivated Christians and pagans alike, to whom the rude language of the sacred texts, whether in Greek or Latin, would be distasteful. The literary structure of the narrative shows that Severus had in his mind principally readers on the same level of culture with himself. He was anxious to show that sacred history might be presented in

2464-553: The 13th century. Maximus also established a military base in his native Gallaecia , which persisted as a cultural entity despite occupation by the Suebi in 409, see Kingdom of Galicia . Aetius sent large numbers of Alans to both Armorica and Galicia following the defeat of Attila at the Battle of the Catalunian Plains . The Alans evidently assimilated quickly into the local Celtic cultures, contributing their own legends, e.g., to

2552-734: The Arthurian Cycle of romances. Legendary versions of Maximus's career in which he marries the Welsh princess Elen may have circulated in popular tradition in Welsh-speaking areas from an early date. Although the story of Helen and Maximus's meeting is almost certainly fictional, there is some evidence for the basic claims. He is certainly given a prominent place in the earliest version of the Welsh Triads which are believed to date from c.  1100 and which reflect older traditions in some cases. Welsh poetry also frequently refers to Macsen as

2640-632: The Calendar of the Church in Wales ), to whom a church dedicated stands in Caernarfon. The church is built on an important early Christian site, itself built on a Roman Mithraeum or temple of Mithras , close to the Segontium Roman Fort. A Roman altar was found in one of the walls during 19th century restoration work. The present church dates mainly from the 14th century. The medieval English king Edward I

2728-619: The Gospels and the Acts, "lest the form of his brief work should detract from the honour due to those events". It is a source of primary importance for the history of Priscillianism and contains considerable information respecting the Arian controversy . The book was a textbook, and was used as such in the schools of Europe for about a century and a half after the editio princeps was published by Flacius Illyricus in 1556. Severus nowhere clearly points to

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2816-690: The Great , and Orosius (who quotes a fragment of a letter of Priscillian's), although at the Council of Toledo in 400, fifteen years after Priscillian's death, when his case was reviewed, the most serious charge that could be brought was the error of language involved in a misrendering of the word innascibilis ("unbegettable"). Augustine criticized the Priscillianists, who he said were like the Manicheans in their habit of fasting on Sundays. Priscillianism continued in

2904-470: The Life of Martin, and really supplies more information of his life as bishop and of his views than the work which bears the title Vita S. Martini . The two dialogues occasionally make interesting references to personages of the epoch. In Dial. 1, cc. 6, 7, we have a vivid picture of the controversies which raged at Alexandria over the works of Origen. The judgement of Severus himself is no doubt that which he puts in

2992-519: The Nicean Creed, writing: "Can it be that Your Serenity, venerable to me, thinks that a religion which has once taken root in the minds of men, which God himself has established, can be uprooted?" in response to "the disturbance and convulsion of Catholic law." Conversely, Maximus's edict of 387/388, which censured Christians at Rome for burning down a Jewish synagogue , was condemned by bishop Ambrose , who said people exclaimed, "the emperor has become

3080-568: The Pauline epistles (including the Epistle to the Hebrews ) into a series of texts on their theological points and wrote an introduction to each section. These canons survived in a form edited by Peregrinus . They contain a strong call to a life of personal piety and asceticism, including celibacy and abstinence from meat and wine. The charismatic gifts of all believers are equally affirmed. Study of scripture

3168-462: The Priscillianists are known through the condemnatory canons issued by the 380 synod, such as receiving the Eucharist in the church but eating it at home or in the conventicle; women joining with men during the time of prayer; fasting even on Sunday; and meditating at home or in the mountains instead of attending church during Lent . According to historian Ana Maria Castelo Martins Jorge , "He played

3256-457: The Priscillianists as "Manichaeans", a different Gnostic heresy already condemned in Roman law under Diocletian , and states that Magnus Maximus had them "caught and exterminated with the greatest zeal". In a threatening letter addressed to Valentinian II, most likely composed between the spring of 384 and the summer of 387, Maximus complains of Valentinian's actions towards Ambrose and adherents of

3344-663: The Priscillianists’ interpretation of the Apocrypha. In 412, Lazarus, bishop of Aix-en-Provence , and Herod, bishop of Arelate , were expelled from their sees on a charge of Manichaeism. Proculus, the metropolitan of Massilia , and the metropolitans of Vienna and Gallia Narbonensis Secunda were also followers of the rigorist tradition of Priscillian. Something

3432-583: The Roman Empire in 407, but contributed archers for Aetius 's defence against Attila the Hun, and Riothamus , who may have ruled there as king, was subsequently mentioned in contemporary documents as an ally of Rome's against the Goths . Despite its continued usage of two distinct languages, Breton and Gallo , and extensive invasions and conquests by Franks and Vikings, Armorica retained considerable cultural cohesion into

3520-547: The Triads, so it perhaps reflects an earlier tradition. Macsen Wledig, the Emperor of Rome, dreams one night of a lovely maiden in a wonderful, far-off land. Awakening, he sends his men all over the earth in search of her. With much difficulty they find her in a rich castle in Wales, daughter of a chieftain based at Segontium ( Caernarfon ), and lead the Emperor to her. Everything he finds is exactly as in his dream. The maiden, whose name

3608-462: The authority of the urban episcopacy over religious practice in outlying rural areas. In the immediate aftermath of the synod, Priscillian was elected bishop of Abila or Abela , and was consecrated by Instantius and Salvianus. Priscillian was now a suffragan of Ithacius of Ossonoba , the metropolitan bishop of Lusitania , whom he attempted to oust, but who then obtained from the emperor Gratian an edict against "false bishops and Manichees ". This

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3696-450: The bishops who had left Maximus no peace till he had stained his hands with the blood of Priscillian and his followers. Martin, too, had denounced the worldliness and greed of the Gaulish bishops and clergy. Accordingly, we find that Severus, in narrating the division of Canaan among the tribes, calls the special attention of ecclesiastics to the fact that no portion of the land was assigned to

3784-631: The centuries following. He served under Count Theodosius in Africa in 373. Assigned to Britain in 380, he defeated an incursion of the Picts and Scots in 381. The Western emperor Gratian had received a number of Alans into his bodyguard, and was accused of showing favouritism towards these Iranian speaking foreigners at the expense of Roman citizens. In 383 the discontented Roman army proclaimed Maximus emperor in Gratian's place. Orosius , who wrote that Maximus

3872-448: The class of readers for whom his book is designed. He disclaims the intention of making his work a substitute for the actual narrative contained in the Bible . "Worldly historians" had been used by him, he says, to make clear the dates and the connexion of events and for supplementing the sacred sources, and with the intent at once to instruct the unlearned and to "convince" the learned. Probably

3960-500: The daughter of a wealthy consular family, who died young, leaving him no children. At this time Severus came under the powerful influence of Saint Martin , bishop of Tours , by whom he was led to devote his wealth to the Christian poor, and his own powers to a life of good works and the contemplative vision of God . This choice incurred his father's displeasure, but he was encouraged in his determination by his mother-in-law. To use

4048-530: The doctors, among whom Priscillian reckoned himself. The "spiritual" comprehend and judge all things, being "children of wisdom and light"; and the distinction between flesh and spirit, darkness and light, Moses and Christ, and the "prince of this world" and Christ, are emphasised. In asceticism, Priscillian distinguished three degrees, though he did not deny hope of pardon to those who were unable to attain full perfection. The perfect in body, mind, and spirit were celibate, or, if married, continent. Certain practices of

4136-465: The emperor. His ideal of the church required that it should stand clear and above the state. More popular during the Middle Ages was Severus' Life of St. Martin , as were also the dialogues and letters which relate to the same subject. These works did much to establish the great reputation which that wonder-working saint maintained throughout the Middle Ages. The book is not properly a biography, but

4224-584: The fall of the same year. It is not recorded what happened to Maximus's family after his downfall. He is known to have had a wife, who is recorded as having sought spiritual counsel from St. Martin of Tours during his time at Trier. Her ultimate fate, and even her name (but see the Welsh tradition below), have not been preserved in definitive historical records. The same is true of Maximus's mother and daughters, other than that they were spared by Theodosius I. One of Maximus's daughters may have been married to Ennodius , proconsul Africae (395). Ennodius's grandson

4312-630: The historical record transmitted thanks to other sources. Jakob Bernays suggested that he based his narrative of the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus on the account given by Tacitus in his Histories , a portion of which has been lost. In his allusions to the Gentile rulers with whom the Jews came into contact from the time of the Maccabees onwards, Severus discloses some points which are not without importance. The real interest of Severus' work lies, first, in

4400-490: The incidental glimpses it affords all through of the history of his own time; next and more particularly, in the information he has preserved concerning the struggle over the Priscillianist heresy, which disorganised and degraded the churches of Spain and Gaul, and particularly affected Aquitaine. The sympathies here betrayed by Severus are wholly those of St. Martin. The bishop had withstood Maximus , who ruled for some years

4488-418: The intervention of Macedonius, the imperial magister officiorum and an enemy of Ambrose, they succeeded in procuring the withdrawal of Gratian's edict, and an order for the arrest of Ithacius. Instantius and Priscillian, returning to Spain, regained their sees and churches. A sudden change occurred in 383, when the governor of Britain, Magnus Maximus , rebelled against Gratian , who marched against him but

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4576-529: The killer of the Emperor Gratian, was defeated near Siscia , while Maximus's brother, Marcellinus, fell in battle at Poetovio . Maximus surrendered in Aquileia, and although he pleaded for mercy was executed. The Senate passed a decree of Damnatio memoriae against him, but his mother and at least two daughters were spared. Theodosius's trusted general Arbogast strangled Maximus's son, Victor , at Trier in

4664-492: The kingdom of Armorica (historically, the region between the Loire and Seine rivers, later comprising Brittany, Normandy, Anjou, Maine and Touraine), he defeated the king and killed thousands of inhabitants. Before departing to Rome, he summoned Conanus , the rebellious nephew of Octavius, and asked him to rule as king of the land, which was renamed Brittany . Conan's men married native women after cutting out their tongues to preserve

4752-399: The laity as desired to live out the old ascetic ideal." It is not always easy to separate the genuine assertions of Priscillian himself from those ascribed to him by his enemies, nor from the later developments taken by groups who were labelled Priscillianist. The long prevalent estimation of Priscillian as a heretic and Manichaean rested upon Augustine , Turibius of Astorga , Pope Leo I,

4840-409: The latter version, based on the rapid success of the revolt. Maximus went to Gaul to pursue his imperial ambitions, taking a large portion of the British garrison with him. After five days of skirmishing near Paris he defeated Gratian, who fled the battlefield and was killed at Lyon on 25 August 383. Continuing his campaign into Italy, Maximus was stopped from overthrowing Valentinian II , who

4928-445: The list of Severus' genuine works. Other letters (to his sister), on the love of God and the renunciation of the world, have not survived. Beside the above-mentioned three letters, seven others have been attributed to Severus. These are rejected as spurious by some critics, whilst the genuineness of the first two is admitted, rightly it would seem, by others. The World Chronicle of the so-called Sulpicius Severus has nothing to do with

5016-414: The mouth of his interlocutor Posthumianus: "I am astonished that one and the same man could have so far differed from himself that in the approved portion of his works he has no equal since the apostles, while in that portion for which he is justly blamed it is proved that no man has committed more unseemly errors." Three Epistles on the death of Martin (ad Eusebium, ad Aurelium diaconum, ad Bassulam) complete

5104-603: The new ruler, Ithacius and Hydatius were deposed and exiled. The remains of Priscillian were brought from Augusta Treverorum to Spain, where he was honoured as a martyr, especially in the west of the country, where Priscillianism did not die out until the second half of the 6th century. The heresy, notwithstanding the severe measures taken against it, continued to spread in Gaul as well as in Hispania. A letter dated 20 February 405, from Pope Innocent I to Exuperius, bishop of Tolosa , opposed

5192-421: The north of Hispania and the south of Gaul. Priscillian was honored as a martyr, especially in Gallaecia (modern Galicia and northern Portugal ), where his headless body was reverentially returned from Augusta Treverorum and allegedly became rediscovered and revered in the 9th century as Saint James the Great . Some writings by Priscillian were accounted orthodox and were not burned. For instance he divided

5280-403: The polished scholar, and the works of Severus are important because they reflect the ideas, influence and aspirations of Martin, the foremost ecclesiastic of Gaul . The chief work of Severus is the Chronicle ( Chronica , Chronicorum Libri duo or Historia sacra , c. 403), a summary of sacred history from the beginning of the world to his own times, with the omission of the events recorded in

5368-421: The practice of magic . Prominent churchmen such as St. Ambrose and St. Martin of Tours protested against this involvement of the secular power in doctrinal matters, but the executions were carried out nonetheless. Maximus thereby not only established his credentials as an upholder of orthodoxy, but also strengthened his financial resources in the ensuing confiscations. The Gallic Chronicle of 452 describes

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5456-427: The purity of their language. Geoffrey of Monmouth presents this legend to explain the Welsh name for Brittany, Llydaw, as originating from lled-taw or "half-silent". Given that Conan was well established in genealogies as the founder of Brittany, this account is certainly connected to an older tradition than Geoffrey. Following the death of Caradocus, rule of Britain as regent passed to Dionotus , who – facing

5544-550: The role of a catalyst among Lusitanian Christians and crystallized a variety of ascetic, monastic and intellectual aspirations that were either fairly, or even entirely, incompatible with Christianity as it was lived by the great majority of the bishops of the day." His notable opponents in Hispania were Hyginus , bishop of Corduba , and Hydatius, bishop of Augusta Emerita . They accused Priscillian's teachings of being gnostic in nature. Through his intolerance of and severity toward Priscillian, Hydatius promoted rather than prevented

5632-589: The role of founding father of the dynasties of several medieval Welsh kingdoms, including those of Powys , Gwynedd and Gwent . He is given as the ancestor of a Welsh king on the Pillar of Eliseg , erected nearly 500 years after he left Britain, and he figures in lists of the Fifteen Tribes of Wales . After he became emperor of the West, Maximus returned to Britain to campaign against the Picts and Scots (i.e., Irish), probably in support of Rome's long-standing allies

5720-441: The solitary life, such as Severus was, is probably not free from exaggeration. Severus also fully sympathised with the action of St. Martin touching Priscillianism. This mysterious Western offshoot of Gnosticism had no single feature about it which could soften the hostility of a character such as Martin's, but he resisted the introduction of secular punishment for evil doctrine, and withdrew from communion with those bishops in Gaul,

5808-453: The spread of his sect. Hydatius convened a synod held at Caesaraugusta in 380. Ten bishops were present at this synod from Spain, and two from Aquitaine, Delphinus of Bordeaux, and Phœbadus of Agen. Although neither Priscillian nor any of his followers attended, he wrote in reply his third tract justifying the reading of apocryphal literature, without denying that their contents were partly spurious. Neither Priscillian nor any of his disciples

5896-572: The subject of this biography; it was written in Spain in the sixth century. The text of the Chronicle rests on a single 11th century manuscript, one of the Palatine collection now in the Vatican; of the other works manuscripts are abundant, the best being one of the 6th century at Verona. Some spurious letters bear the name of Severus; also in a manuscript at Madrid is a work falsely professing to be an epitome of

5984-405: The trial, Martin had obtained from Maximus a promise not to apply a death penalty. After the execution, Martin broke off relations with Felix , bishop of Augusta Treverorum, and all others associated with the enquiries and the trial, and restored communion only when the emperor promised to stop the persecution of the Priscillianists. Maximus was killed in his attempted invasion of Italy in 388. Under

6072-434: The trial. Sulpicius Severus notes that Martin of Tours protested to the Emperor against the ruling, which said that the accused who went to Treves should be imprisoned. Maximus, a Spaniard by birth, treated the matter not as one of ecclesiastical rivalry but as one of morality and society. He is also said to have wished to enrich his treasury by confiscation of the property of the condemned. At Augusta Treverorum, Priscillian

6160-407: The tribe of Levi , lest they should be hindered in their service of God. "Our clergy seem", he says, "not merely forgetful of the lesson, but ignorant of it, such a passion for possessions has in our days fastened like a pestilence on their souls." We here catch a glimpse of the circumstances which were winning over good men to monasticism in the West, though the evidence of an enthusiastic votary of

6248-407: The way. He invaded Clausentum (modern Southampton ) unintentionally and nearly fought the army of the Britons under Conan Meriadoc before agreeing to a truce. Following further negotiations, Maximian was given the kingship of Britain and Octavius retired. Five years into his kingship, Magnus Maximus assembled a vast fleet and invaded Gaul , leaving Britain in the control of Caradocus. Upon reaching

6336-418: The words of his friend Paulinus, he broke with his father, followed Christ , and set the teachings of the "fishermen" far above all his " Tullian learning." His ordination as a priest is vouched for by Gennadius, but no details of his priestly activity have reached us. He is said to have been led away in his old age by Pelagianism , but to have repented and inflicted long-enduring penance on himself. His time

6424-565: Was Petronius Maximus , another ill-fated emperor, who ruled in Rome for only 77 days before he was stoned to death while fleeing from the Vandals on 24 May 455. Other descendants of Ennodius, and thus possibly of Maximus, included Anicius Olybrius , emperor in 472, but also several consuls and bishops such as St. Magnus Felix Ennodius (Bishop of Pavia c.  514 – 521). We also encounter an otherwise unrecorded daughter of Magnus Maximus, Sevira , on

6512-787: Was Roman emperor in the West from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperor Gratian . Born in Gallaecia , he served as an officer in Britain under Theodosius the Elder during the Great Conspiracy . In 383, he was proclaimed emperor in Britannia , and in Gaul the next year, while Gratian's brother Valentinian II retained Italy , Pannonia , Hispania , and Africa . In 387, Maximus's ambitions led him to invade Italy, resulting in his defeat by Theodosius I at

6600-399: Was "an energetic and able man and one worthy of the throne had he not risen to it by usurpation, contrary to his oath of allegiance," claimed that he was proclaimed emperor against his will, but Zosimus portrays him as inciting the troops to rebel against Gratian, as he was upset about Theodosius becoming emperor while he himself was not promoted. Stephen Williams and Gerard Friell preferred

6688-449: Was Maximianus, He withdrew from Britain with all its military force, slew Gratianus the king of the Romans, and obtained the sovereignty of all Europe. Unwilling to send back his warlike companions to their wives, families, and possessions in Britain, he conferred upon them numerous districts from the lake on the summit of Mons Iovis, to the city called Cant Guic, and to the western Tumulus, that

6776-473: Was a Christian writer and native of Aquitania in modern-day France . He is known for his chronicle of sacred history, as well as his biography of Saint Martin of Tours . He is venerated as a Saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church . Almost all that we know of Severus' life comes from a few allusions in his own writings, some passages in the letters of his friend Paulinus , bishop of Nola, and

6864-491: Was a threat against the Priscillianists, since the Roman Empire had banned Manichaeism long before it legalized Christianity. Consequently, the three bishops, Instantius, Salvianus and Priscillian, went in person to Rome, to present their case before Pope Damasus I , himself a native of Hispania. Neither the Pope nor Ambrose , bishop of Mediolanum , where the emperor resided, granted them an audience. Salvianus died in Rome, but through

6952-462: Was assassinated. Maximus was recognized as emperor of Britain , Gaul and Spain , and made Augusta Treverorum , in Gallia Belgica , his residence. There Ithacius presented his case against Priscillian, and Maximus ordered a synod convened at Burdigala in 384. After this, the matter was transferred to the secular court at Augusta Treverorum. Ithacius and Hydatius of Mérida both went there for

7040-437: Was condemned and, with five of his companions, executed by the sword in 385. Priscillian's execution is seen as the first example of secular justice intervening in an ecclesiastical matter and the first Christian killed by other Christians for heresy. Pope Siricius , Ambrose of Milan , and Martin of Tours protested against the execution, largely on the jurisdictional grounds that an ecclesiastical case should not be decided by

7128-499: Was done for its repression by a synod held by Turibius of Asturica in 446, and by that of Toletum in 447; as an openly professed creed it had to be declared heretical once more by the second synod of Bracara Augusta in 563, a sign that Priscillianist asceticism was still strong long after his execution. "The official church," says F. C. Conybeare , "had to respect the ascetic spirit to the extent of enjoining celibacy upon its priests, and of recognizing, or rather immuring, such of

7216-444: Was influenced by the legendary dream of Macsen Wledig/Magnus Maximus. In the dream Maximus had seen a fort, "the fairest that man ever saw", within a city at the mouth of a river in a mountainous country and opposite an island. Edward interpreted this to mean Segontium was the city of Maximus's dream and drew on the imperial link when building Caernarfon Castle in 1283. It was apparently believed that Maximus died in Wales. According to

7304-526: Was of him being a junior officer possibly in Britain in 368 during the Great Conspiracy as he assisted Theodosius in defeating barbarians and criminals in Britannia. Maximus would become a distinguished general in the following years; as he would gain the support of his fellow soldiers and the admiration of the Romano-Britons whom he defended, which would lead to his eventual immortalisation in Welsh legend in

7392-451: Was once thought. In the De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae written c.  540 , Gildas says that Maximus "deprived" Britain not only of its Roman troops, but also of its "armed bands...governors and of the flower of her youth", never to return. Having left with the troops and senior administrators, and planning to continue as the ruler of Britain in the future, his practical course

7480-425: Was only twelve, when Bauto came with a powerful force to forestall him. Negotiations followed in 384, including the intervention of Ambrose , Bishop of Milan, leading to an accord with Valentinian II and Theodosius I in which Maximus was recognized as Augustus in the West. Maximus made his capital at Augusta Treverorum (Treves, Trier ) in Gaul, and ruled Britain, Gaul, Spain and Africa. He issued coinage and

7568-423: Was passed chiefly in the neighbourhood of Toulouse , and such literary efforts as he indulged in were made in the interests of Christianity. In many respects no two men could be more unlike than Severus, the scholar and orator, well versed in the ways of the world, and Martin, the rough Pannonian bishop, champion of the monastic life, seer and worker of miracles. Yet the spirit of the rugged saint subdued that of

7656-514: Was to transfer local authority to local rulers. Welsh legend supports that this happened, with stories such as Breuddwyd Macsen Wledig (English: The Dream of Emperor Maximus), where he not only marries a wondrous British woman (thus making British descendants probable), but also gives her father sovereignty over Britain (thus formally transferring authority from Rome back to the Britons themselves). The earliest Welsh genealogies give Maximus (referred to as Macsen/Maxen Wledig , or Emperor Maximus )

7744-415: Was tried by a secular court on criminal charges that included sorcery, a capital offence. Priscillian was questioned and forced to make the confession that he studied obscene doctrines, held nocturnal meetings with shameful women, and prayed while naked. Consequently, he was charged with practicing magic (maleficium), for which he was convicted and sentenced to death. Ithacius was his chief accuser. Priscillian

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