Magnus Felix Ennodius

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Magnus Felix Ennodius (* 473 or 474 probably in Arles , † July 17, 521 in Pavia ), also Ennodius of Pavia , was Bishop of Pavia and wrote a variety of Christian writings in Latin.

Life

Ennodius came from a noble family. After the early death of his parents, he moved to live with his aunt in Pavia. There he was probably trained in the profane-classical areas (the Artes ). It is not entirely clear whether he was only engaged to his wife, one of his aunt's daughter, or whether she also married; in any case, he initially led a worldly life. He converted to Christianity in 494 at the latest and decided to lead a spiritual life.

In his autobiography (the Eucharisticum de vita sua ), which is stylistically based on the Confessions of Augustine , he writes that with this work he has kept a promise to St. Victor . According to Ennodius, it was thanks to the help of St. Victor that he recovered from a serious illness, and this experience made him turn around. However, he did not fall ill until 511 and his conversion took place much earlier.

He accompanied Bishop Epiphanius of Pavia in 494 on a diplomatic mission to Lyons to see King Gundobad ; this trip took place on behalf of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great .

In the dispute over the papal election of November 22, 498, in which Symmachus and Laurentius were elected pope, Ennodius was involved in favor of Symmachus. At the so-called Synodus Palmaris of October 23, 501, which Theodoric had convened in Rome, the synod had decided that it was not allowed to judge a pope, because this was reserved for God. Ennodius shared this opinion in his Libellus pro synodo .

Ennodius had been Bishop of Pavia since 513 and in this capacity he was sent to Constantinople by Pope Hormisdas in 515 and 517 to persuade Emperor Anastasios I to settle the Akakian schism . However, his efforts were unsuccessful.

Fonts

Before his time as bishop Ennodius wrote about 500 works. Historically significant as a historical source are an eulogy for Theodoric (the Panegyricus Theoderico regi dictus ) and a biography of Epiphanius of Pavia , his predecessor as Bishop of Pavia (the Vita Epiphanii episcopi Ticinensis ).

Furthermore, 297 letters have been preserved, which he wrote based on the model of Symmachus . Ennodius also wrote 28 speeches on various occasions such as school celebrations, the inauguration of a basilica or the anniversary of the inauguration of Bishop Laurentius of Milan . His 151 songs and epigrams , to which little literary importance is attached, are entirely in the tradition of ancient scholarship : " The making of verse seems improvised and tied to suitable opportunities ".

Presumably on behalf of Leontius, the abbot of Lérins monastery , Ennodius wrote a Vita of Antonius von Lérins (the Vita Antonii monachi Lerinensis ) in 506 .

Text output

  • Walter Bulst: Hymni Latini antiquissimi LXXV, psalmi III , Heidelberg 1956, pp. 77-88.
  • Michael Ready: Magnus Felix Ennodius and his time , Passau 1855–1860 (translation).
  • JP Migne (ed.): Anno Domini 521: Magni Felicis Ennodii (episcopi Ticinensis) epistolarum libri 9; Opuscula miscella 10; Carmina over 1.2; Appendix: Dictio Ennodii in natali Laurentii, Mediolanensis episcopi (= Patrologiae cursus completus. Series Latina. T. 63), Paris 1882.
  • Friedrich Vogel (Ed.): Auctores antiquissimi 7: Magni Felicis Ennodi Opera. Berlin 1885 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version )
  • Christian Rohr: The Theodoric Panegyricus of Ennodius (MGH studies and texts 12) . Hanover 1995.
  • Stéphane Gioanni: Lettres , Tome 1: Livres I et II, Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 2006, based on the 2004 dissertation, "Lumière de Rome", "Lumière de l'Église" and Lettres , Tome 2: Livres III et IV , Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 2010.

literature

  • Benedikt Hasenstab: Studies on Ennodius. A contribution to the history of the Great Migration . Munich 1890.
  • SAH Kennell: Magnus Felix Ennodius. A gentleman of the Church . Ann Arbor 2000, ISBN 0-472-10917-0 .
  • Christian Rohr : On the Theodoric Panegyricus of Ennodius. Text-critical considerations in the context of a new edition and translation . In: Hermes 125 (1997), pp. 100-117.
  • Bianca-Jeanette Schröder : Education and letters in the 6th century. Studies on the Milanese deacon Magnus Felix Ennodius (= Millennium Studies). De Gruyter, Berlin-New York 2007, ISBN 3-11-019955-6
  • Gereon Becht-Jördens: Biography as salvation history. A paradigm shift in the genre development: Prolegomena to a formal historical interpretation of Einhart's Vita Karoli . In: Andrea Jördens, Hans Armin Gärtner, Herwig Görgemanns, Adolf Martin Ritter (eds.): Quaerite faciem eius semper. Studies on the intellectual-historical relationships between antiquity and Christianity (thank you for Albrecht Dihle on his 85th birthday from the 'Heidelberg Church Fathers Colloquium'). Publishing house Dr. Kovač, Hamburg 2008, pp. 1–21, especially p. 11. ISBN 978-3-8300-2749-2
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Magnus Felix Ennodius. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 1516-1517.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  • Magnus Felix Ennodius, in: Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire, Vol. II / 1: Italie, 313-604. Rome 1999, 620-632.

Web links

Wikisource: Magnus Felix Ennodius  - Sources and full texts

supporting documents

  1. ^ Annotated list of works by Ennodius
personal data
SURNAME Ennodius, Magnus Felix
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ennodius of Pavia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Catholic bishop and writer of Christian scriptures in Latin
DATE OF BIRTH 473 or 474
PLACE OF BIRTH unsure: Arles
DATE OF DEATH 17th July 521
Place of death Pavia , Lombardy