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Sidonius Apollinaris

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Gaius (or Caius) Sollius (Modestus) Apollinaris Sidonius or Saint Sidonius Apollinaris (November 5, 430, some say 423 or ca 430 – ca August, 489), a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius was "the single most important surviving author from fifth-century Gaul" according to Eric Goldberg. He was one of four fifth- to sixth-century Gallo-Roman aristocrats whose letters survive in quantity: the others are Ruricius bishop of Limoges (died 507), Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus, bishop of Vienne (died 518) and Magnus Felix Ennodius of Arles, bishop of Ticinum (died 534). All of them were linked in the tightly-bound aristocratic Gallo-Roman network that provided the bishops of Catholic Gaul. His Feast Day is August 21.

He was born in Lugdunum (Lyon). Belonging to a Gallo-Roman noble family, he was educated under the best masters, and particularly excelled in poetry and polite literature. His life and friendships put him in the center of 5th century Roman affairs. His father Apollinaris, born say 405, was the Prefect of Gaul under Valentinian III between 425 and 455 and the son of another Apollinaris, Praetorian Prefect of Gaul before 409 and a friend of his successor Decimus Rusticus.

Sidonius married Papianilla (wife of Sidonius) in about 452. She was the daughter of Emperor Avitus.

In 457 Majorianus, deprived Avitus of the empire and taken the city of Lyons, Apollinaris fell into the hands of the enemy. The reputation of his learning led Majorianus to treat him with the greatest respect. In return Apollinaris composed a panegyric in his honour (as he had previously done for Avitus), which won for him a statue at Rome and the title of count. In 467 or 468 the emperor Anthemius rewarded him for the panegyric which he had written in honour of him by raising him to the post of Urban Prefect of Rome until 470, and afterwards to the dignity of Patrician and Senator. In 470 or 472, more for his political than for his theological abilities, he was chosen to succeed Eparchius in the bishopric of Auvergne (Clermont, now Clermont-Ferrand) until 480. Most of the previous holders of the benefice have been made saints in the Roman Catholic Church, including his recent predecessor, Saint Namatius (bishop 446-62), who laid the foundations of a proper cathedral. Sidonius Apollinaris was not a religious man; his election was probably due more to his influential contacts, and his tireless efforts on preserving his corner of Gaul for the Roman Empire.

On the capture of that city by the Goths in 474 he was imprisoned, as he had taken an active part in its defence; but he was afterwards restored by Euric, king of the Goths, and continued to govern his bishopric as before until his death.

His extant works are his Panegyrics on different emperors (in which he draws largely upon Statius, Ausonius and Claudian), which document several important political events. Carmen 7 is a panegyric to his father-in-law Avitus on his inauguration as emperor. Carmen 5 is a panegyric to Majorian, which offers evidence that Sidonius was able to overcome the natural suspicion and hostility towards the man who was responsible for the death of his father-in-law. Carmen 2 is a panegyric to the emperor Anthemius, part of Sidonius' efforts to be appointed Urban Prefect of Rome; and nine books of Letters and Poems, whose chief value consists in the light they shed on the political and literary history of the 5th century. The Letters, which are very stilted, also reveal Apollinaris as a man of genial temper, fond of good living and of pleasure. A letter of Sidonius's addressed to Riothamus, "King of the Brittones" (c. 460) is of particular interest, since it provides evidence that a king or military leader with ties to Britain lived around the time frame of King Arthur. The best edition is that in the Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Berlin, 1887), which gives a survey of the manuscripts.

Sidonius' relations have been traced over several generations, from his paternal grandfather's time in the narrative of a family's fortunes from prominence in late Roman time into subsequent decline in the 6th century under the Franks. He seems to be a descendant of another Apollinaris, Prefect of Gaul under Constantine II between 337 and 340.

Gregory speaks of Sidonius as a man who could recite the mass from memory and give unprepared speachs without any hesitation.

Notes

References

Apollinaris Sidonius (the names are commonly inverted by the French) is the subject of numerous monographs, historical and literary. See A. Molinier, Sources de l'histoire de France, no. 136 (vol. i.). Samuel Dill, Roman Society in the Fifth Century, and Thomas Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders (vol. vii.), contain interesting sections on Apollinaris. See also Teuffel and Ebert's histories of Latin literature.

  • Christian Settipani, Les Ancêtres de Charlemagne (France: Éditions Christian, 1989).
  • Christian Settipani, Continuite Gentilice et Continuite Familiale Dans Les Familles Senatoriales Romaines A L'epoque Imperiale, Mythe et Realite, Addenda I - III (juillet 2000- octobre 2002) (n.p.: Prosopographica et Genealogica, 2002).

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