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E02608: Isidore of Seville in his Latin Chronicle written in two redactions in 615/616 and 626 mentions *Donatus (bishop of Evorea, Greece, S01274) and his successful fight with a dragon, dated to the reigns of Arcadius and Honorius (395-408).

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posted on 2017-03-25, 00:00 authored by mszata

Isidore of Seville, Chronicle 366

Huius temporibus Donatus Epiri episcopus uirtutibus insignis est habitus. Qui draconem ingentem expuens in ore eius necauit, quem octo iuga boum ad locum incendii uix trahere potuerunt, ne aerem putredo eius corrumperet.

'In his times, Bishop Donatus of Epirus is considered outstanding for his virtues. Spitting in its mouth, he killed a mighty dragon, which a team of eight oxen was scarcely able to drag to the place of burning, lest its rottenness polluted the air.'

Text: Martín 2003, 174-175. Translation: Koon and Wood 2008.

History

Evidence ID

E02608

Saint Name

Donatus, bishop of Evorea (Greece), died in 387 : S01274

Saint Name in Source

Donatus

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Donatus_bishop_of_Euroia_Epirus_ob_387/13732609

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Language

Latin

Evidence not before

615

Evidence not after

626

Activity not before

395

Activity not after

408

Place of Evidence - Region

Iberian Peninsula

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Seville

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Seville Osset Osset Osen (castrum) Osser castrum

Major author/Major anonymous work

Isidore of Seville

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts

Cult Activities - Miracles

Miracle with animals and plants

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - bishops

Source

Isidore, bishop of Seville (Iberian Peninsula) composed the Chronica maiora first in 615/616 during the reign of Sisebut. Then he revised and lengthened it in 626 during the reign of Swinthila (see Koon and Wood 2008, and Martín 2005).

Discussion

Isidore in the Chronicle inserts the dates from the creation of the world which he correlates with the dates of the reign of kings and emperors. The note about Donatus of Evorea is dated to the reign of Arcadius and Honorius, which ended in 5606 or 5607 year of creation (depending on the redaction of the Chronicle). The text of the note in the second redaction lacks the opening words Huius temporibus because Isidore changed the order of notes, and the paragraph on Donatus no longer directly followed the note about the reign of Arcadius and Honorius. Isidore derived the information on Donatus from Cassiodorus, Historia tripartita 9.46.

Bibliography

Editions: J.C. Martín, Isidori Hispalensis Chronica (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 112; Turnhout 2003). T. Mommsen, Isidori Iunioris episcopi Hispalensis Chronica maiora ed. primum ad a. DCXV (615) (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores antiquissimi 11; Berlin 1894), 424-488. Translation: S. Koon, and J. Wood, "The Chronica Maiora of Isidore of Seville: An introduction and translation", e-Spania 6 (2008); e-spania.revues.org/15552 ; DOI: 10.4000/e-spania.15552. Further reading: J.C. Martín, "Les remaniements de la second rédaction de la Chronique d’Isidore de Séville: typologie et motivations", Revue bénédictine 115 (2005), 5-26.

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Keywords

S01274 History

Licence

CC0

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