Auspicius (Toul)

Auspicius of Toul († in the 5th century) is the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Toul . His letter to Arbogast the Younger is well known . He was later venerated as a saint .

Life

Auspicius von Toul belonged to the branched line of the Auspicier. These were part of the Gallo-Roman nobility and had turned to Christianity early on. From these high officials and bishops emerged.

Only a few sources exist about Auspicius von Toul himself. Sidonius Apollinaris gives some clues . Both were in contact by letter.

Sidonius emphasized the erudition of Auspicius and compared it with that of Lupus of Troyes . Auspicius was called the father and teacher of Gaul . Auspicius had reached a very old age by that time and was possibly the oldest bishop of Gaul at the time. He was probably born in the first years of the 5th century.

Auspicius is known for his epistle , which he wrote to the Franconian comes Arbogast von Trier. Arbogast came from a Romanized family and ruled Trier at the end of Roman times . He had a position between an autonomous Frankish ruler and a Roman official. He had turned to Sidonius to better understand some of the spiritual writings. Sidonius referred him to Auspicius, among others. It is not known whether he answered the prince's theological questions. A rhythmic epistle has survived.

It was only much later that he was one of the saints. His feast day is July 23.

plant

The epistle mentioned was written between 460 and 475 after different dates. In the letter, Auspicius praised Arbogast for his knowledge of Latin. He also indicated the end of Roman rule. " ... as long as you live and talk, although Latin rule has fallen at the border, the (Latin) words do not waver. " He praised the prince's high descent and noble disposition. He is taller than his ancestor of the same name , since he died a heathen, but Arbogast was a Christian. But he also warns him about greed. Wherever the eye looks, the greats of the world are addicted to them. He is confident that Arbogast will take this to heart, as Auspicius saw in him a future bishop. In fact, he may later become Bishop of Chartres . At the end he admonishes him to respectfully meet Bishop Jamblichus von Trier.

The text is composed of 164 iambic dimensions in poetry . He is considered an early example of rhythmic hymn strophic, in which word accents prevail.

The poem is preserved in a collection of various letters written or sent in Austrasia , which was put together in 585. The only surviving manuscript is Cod. Vaticano-Palatinus 869 s.IX

literature

• Wilhelm Brandes: Des Auspicius of Toul Rhythmic epistle to Arbogast of Trier. Wolfenbüttel 1905 digitized version (PDF; 1.3 MB)
• Martin Schanz, Carl Hosius: History of Roman literature. Volume 4.2. Munich 1971 (reprint from 1920), p. 379f.
• Matthias Becher: Clovis I .: The rise of the Merovingians and the end of the ancient world. Munich 2011, p. 122.