Sulpicius Severus

Biography

A friend of Paulinus of Nola (355-431), who came like him from the Aquitaine aristocracy, Sulpicius Severus was born around 363, and died around 420. It is likely that he studied law in Bordeaux and became a lawyer. After the death of his wife (399), he led a monastic life in Primuliacum (probably between Toulouse and Narbonne) until his death. Attracted by the fame of Saint Martin, he made the pilgrimage to Tours. He is best known for his Life of Saint Martin, which he wrote even before the death of the Bishop of Tours (November 397). It was a great success among his contemporaries. In his two books of Dialogues on the Virtues of Saint Martin, he undertook to defend, around 404, the memory of Martin against his detractors. He is also the author of the Chronicle (after 400), a sacred history of the world since its creation which ends with an account of the Priscillian heresy, a work to which the Reformers of the 16th century, attracted by the ascetical ideas of the author, brought renewed attention.

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Related authors

Sulpice Severus (Pseudo-) (0 ? - 1200 ?)
Details
Sulpicius Severus
Birth date ?

en Aquitaine.

Death date

à Primuliacum (dans l'actuel département de l'Aude ?).

Activity Bordeaux, Aquitaine
Group of authors Gaul (up to the 8th century)