Petilinus

Petilinus (* unknown; † 7th century), also in the modified variants Betilinus , Pezelinus , Bezelinus , Becelin , Pezilinus , Beccelinus or Peccelinus also Bathodus , Bothadus , was possibly bishop of Mainz in the first third to the middle of the 7th century. The existence of a bishop of this name can be deduced from the eight different editors of the pre-bonifatian Mainz bishops lists , beginning with the so-called Series I from the time of Archbishop Heriger (913-927).

In the translation report of the monk Sigehard von St. Alban from the year 1298, who names the pre-Bonifatian bishops of Mainz who were reburied from St. Hilarius to St. Alban by Archbishop Hildebert , Petilinus is missing, as is Ruthardus .

No other written testimony has survived, apart from the above-mentioned editorships in the list of bishops, who name Petilinus in different variations. Eugen Ewig , however, as with Petilinus' successor Lanwaldus, sees no reason to doubt the existence of a bishop of the same name due to the generally limited tradition from this period.

Equation of Petilinus with Bothadus

Eugen Ewig is of the opinion that Petilinus and the Mainz Bishop Bothadus, who was settled earlier, are the same person. He explains that the final form -linus was a diminutive and pet form common in Merovingian times and that the first part of the name of Petilinus contains the stem syllable of the name Bothadus. The resulting diminutive (under the influence of the umlauts) then resulted in the name "Bethilinus", which in later times was mistakenly read as the name of an independent bishop Petilinus. Equating the person also explains inconsistencies in the chronological sequence and classification of the Mainz bishops in the 7th century.

literature

• Eugen Ewig : The oldest Mainz bishops' graves, the list of bishops and the legend of Theonest. In: Eugen Ewig: Late Antique and Franconian Gaul. Collected Writings (1952–1973). Edited by Hartmut Atsma , Vol. 2, Munich 1979, ISBN 3-7608-4653-X , pp. 171-181.
• Hans Werner Nopper: The pre-Bonifatian bishops of Mainz. A critical examination of the sources on the beginnings of the diocese of Mainz and the reliability of the lists of bishops. Self-published, Mülheim an der Ruhr (Books on Demand, Norderstedt) 2002, ISBN 3-83112-429-9 .

Remarks

1. ↑ Eugen Ewig: The space between Selz and Andernach from the 5th to 7th century. In: From Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Current problems from a historical and archaeological point of view. Sigmaringen 1979 p. 292
2. ↑ Report: June ActaSS IV, 63.8 F
3. ^ Hans Werner Nopper: The pre-bonifatian bishops of Mainz. A critical examination of the sources on the beginnings of the diocese of Mainz and the reliability of the lists of bishops. , P. 109.
4. ↑ Eugen Ewig: The oldest Mainz bishop's graves, the list of bishops and the legend of Theonest. , P. 172
5. ↑ See in detail Eugen Ewig: The oldest Mainz bishop's graves, the list of bishops and the legend of Theonest. , P. 174 ff.

predecessor	Office	successor
Leudegasius	Bishop of Mainz 7th century	Lanwaldus