Severus

ON ST. SEVERUS, BISHOP OF RAVENNA, ST. VINCENTIA HIS WIFE, ST. INNOCENTIA, VIRGIN, THEIR DAUGHTER,

ABOUT THE YEAR 390

Preliminary Commentary.

Severus, Bishop, at Ravenna (St.) Vincentia, his wife, at Ravenna (St.) Innocentia, Virgin, their daughter, at Ravenna (St.)

By I. B.

Section 1. The feast day of Sts. Severus, Vincentia, and Innocentia.

[1] The Kalends of January are graced by St. Severus of Ravenna, Martyr; the Kalends of February by St. Severus, likewise of Ravenna, Bishop, but a Confessor -- although the latter is also assigned to January 1 by some, and the former to February 1 by others. So that what will be said about his deeds and his era may become clearer, it is fitting here to set forth what the Martyrologies proclaim about him on various days. The memorial of St. Severus in the Martyrologies. The ancient Roman Martyrology, which we commonly call that of St. Jerome, reads: "At Ravenna, of Severus the Bishop." Bede, Rabanus, the manuscripts of St. Maximin and St. Martin of Tournai: "At Ravenna, of St. Severus, Bishop." Bellinus of Padua, and certain manuscripts of Ravenna: "Of St. Severus, Bishop and Confessor."

[2] Other Martyrologies draw somewhat from his Acts. Molanus in his additions to Usuard: with an encomium drawn from the Acts "At Ravenna, of St. Severus, Bishop and Confessor, whom God raised from the craft of wool-working to the episcopate." The modern Roman Martyrology: "At Ravenna, of St. Severus, Bishop, who on account of his outstanding merits was elected by the sign of a dove." Maurolycus: "At Ravenna, of St. Severus, Bishop, who said while in ecstasy that he had buried Geminianus, Bishop of Modena, after his death, and who ordained Heraclianus as Bishop of Pesaro." Constantius Felicius: "Severus the Bishop, born of the lowest origin, a weaver, lived with his wife in the most holy poverty. When he had gone to the church together with others to observe the election of a Bishop, and a white dove had descended upon his head three times, especially concerning his election he was elected Archbishop of Ravenna by the unanimous consent of the Fathers; in which dignity he lived for a long time, producing great proofs of holiness and of learning divinely infused into him; at length, having foreknown the hour of his death, after celebrating Mass in the presence of all the people, still clothed in his sacred vestments, he buried himself in a tomb, placing himself in the middle between his wife and daughter, having ordered them to yield their place to him as much as was needed; and thus, bidding farewell to the people, he expired, concerning his death in the time of the Emperor Jovian; thereafter he was made illustrious by many miracles. He was present in ecstasy at the death of St. Geminianus, Bishop of Modena, and he ordained Heraclianus as Bishop of Pesaro." Whether he died under the Emperor Jovian will become clear below. Galesius has this about him: "At Ravenna, of St. Severus, Bishop and Confessor. This man, a commoner, seeking a livelihood for himself and his family by wool-working, at the time when in that city, upon the death of Marcellinus, arrangements were being made for the election of a Bishop, was divinely declared Bishop, a dove having flown to his ears; which, when first repelled by him, again settled upon his head. Thus having obtained the episcopate, from a wool-worker he was miraculously made the greatest Theologian; in the Council of Sardica his deeds in the Council of Sardica he fought with singular courage against the Arians on behalf of Athanasius; and he accomplished many other things admirably by the gift of God. Laden with the praise of these deeds and of a most holy life, and with the merits of episcopal virtues, at last worn out by old age, when he had been divinely informed of the certain day on which he was to depart from the body to heaven, after performing the sacred rites in the customary manner and convening all the priests and all the people of Ravenna, he preached most solemnly about celestial glory; when he had finished, still clothed in his sacred vestments, he proceeded to his sepulchre, where, kneeling, and with hands and eyes raised toward heaven, as if humbly pouring forth prayers, he fell asleep in the Lord."

[3] The feast day of his daughter and wife on this day is recorded by the manuscript Florarium: "At Ravenna, the birthday of St. Severus, first a weaver, afterwards Bishop and Confessor of the same city; The memorial of Sts. Vincentia and Innocentia. of Vincentia his wife, and Innocentia the Virgin, their daughter, in the year of salvation 420." Hermann Greeven the Carthusian, in his additions to Usuard: "At Ravenna, the deposition of St. Severus, Bishop and Confessor, who, seeking his livelihood from wool-working, was designated by a dove sent from heaven as the one to be elevated to the episcopate. Others hold that on this day the memorial is kept of him and of Vincentia his wife and their daughter Innocentia; but that his deposition falls on the eleventh before the Kalends of November." Canisius has the same, but expresses the last part thus: "Some hold that on this day the memorial of his wife and daughter is observed; but on October 22 the deposition of St. Severus himself." Indeed, at that date a Translation is celebrated, as we shall say hereafter.

[4] Now we shall set forth those who place St. Severus the Bishop on the Kalends of January. The Cologne Martyrology printed in 1490, St. Severus the Bishop commemorated on January 1 and the manuscript of the monastery of Alberg: "At Ravenna, of St. Severus the Bishop." The manuscript of the Church of St. Gudula in Brussels: "At Ravenna, of St. Severus the Confessor." But Maurolycus, Felicius, the manuscript Florarium, the manuscript Martyrology of the professed house of the Society of Jesus at Antwerp, the manuscript of the Church of St. Lambert at Liege, both bearing the name of Bede as title: "At Ravenna, of St. Severus, Bishop and Martyr." The Martyrology of St. Jerome, or the ancient Roman one, in which St. Severus of Ravenna, Bishop, and St. Severus, Confessor, are recorded on February 1, has under January 1: "At Ravenna, the deposition of St. Severus the Bishop with his brethren." Which, as we said on January 1, we do not sufficiently understand what it means. Since nothing is known about Severus, the Ravennate Martyr, whom Jerome Rubeus says is venerated on January 1 whether the same as the Martyr? while others assign him to February 1, except that he was crowned with martyrdom under Maximian -- may it not be permissible to suspect that that man was a Bishop, but that since his Acts lay hidden, the more celebrated memory of the later Severus the Confessor has been preserved? But Ughelli in volume 2 of his Italia Sacra sternly declares it to be a falsehood to assert that there were multiple men named Severus. We do not indeed assert this; but by what argument the most learned man supports his stern censure, we do not sufficiently perceive. That there was certainly already in ancient times a well-known opinion about a St. Severus, Bishop of Ravenna and Martyr, will be evident below from the Life written by Luidolf, in whose chapter 2, number 5, a Ravennate monk replies thus: "Severus, whose life you desire to know, was not a Martyr, but a Confessor." Therefore Luidolf had inquired about the Bishop in such a way that he supposed him to be a Martyr -- if indeed the response fits the question.

Section 2. The Life and era of St. Severus.

[5] Surius published the Life of St. Severus from ancient codices, but polished by himself. Whence the Life of St. Severus? We give it in its original style from a manuscript codex of the Fathers of the Congregation of the Oratory at Rome, collated with the version found in Bonino Mombritius (where it survives in a mutilated form) and with the ancient Breviary of the Church of Erfurt. That the author of this Life was a monk and lived in the tenth or eleventh century is argued by the fact by whom and when was it written? that in chapter 2 he inveighs so sharply against the adversaries of monks, and in chapter 1 against simoniacs; for at that time monks labored with great zeal to extirpate that plague utterly, as will be evident on February 7 from the Life of St. Romuald the Abbot, and on the eighth from that of Blessed Peter Igneus; and on that account a great hatred against them blazed up among those who had already purchased ecclesiastical dignities for a price, or who aspired to them.

[6] Jerome Rubeus appears to have had another Life, likewise written at the same period or not much later, since the author records a miracle performed in his own time under the Emperor Henry and the Marquis Boniface. Another Life seen by Rubeus. Boniface, Marquis of Etruria, lived in the time of Conrad the Salic, whose son-in-law he was and brother-in-law of the Emperor Henry II, and he died in the year 1051. That miracle, moreover, we shall publish below from book 2 of the History of Ravenna by the same Rubeus.

[7] We give another Life, written long before by Luidolf -- or Luitolf -- a priest, another Life written in the ninth century by Luidolf the Priest from an ancient codex of the monastery of St. Paul at Utrecht and of the monastery of Budick of the Canons Regular in the diocese of Paderborn. The author indicates his own era when, in book 2, chapter 1, he narrates that the relics of St. Severus were stolen from his monastery by Felix, a Gallic priest, and by him handed over at Pavia to Otgar, Archbishop of Mainz, and by Otgar carried off to Germany; and concerning Felix he testifies in number 2: "Whom I remember having seen when I was a boy." And in chapter 2, number 8, he writes thus: "When Otgar had died, and his successor Rabanus also, Charles, the son of King Pippin, was raised to the honor of the same bishopric. He, assenting to the prayers of the nuns residing in the monastery of Altomunster, transferred a certain part of the relics of St. Innocentia to the aforesaid convent, as you yourself have seen." Otgar died in the year 847, Rabanus in 856, as we shall say on February 4 in connection with his Life; Charles died in the year 862 on the day before the Nones of June, as the Annals of Fulda record. Molanus, in his additions to Usuard, mentions this Life by Ludolph, whom in the first edition he calls a Priest, and in the second a monk; but he errs when he says that the Life of this St. Severus is cited by Wolfgang Lazius in book 1, chapter 14, of his work on Viennese affairs. Lazius cites, in book 1, chapter 4 (not 14) of his work on Viennese affairs, the Life of St. Severinus, Apostle of Noricum, whom he nevertheless incorrectly states to have been Bishop of Ravenna -- a claim that Otto of Freising, book 4, chapter 30, and Godfrey of Viterbo, part 16, had written before him -- as we said on January 8 in connection with the Life of St. Severinus. There exists a somewhat shorter Life of St. Severus in the second part of the Legenda printed at Louvain in the year 1485, apparently compiled from this one.

[8] Furthermore, the deeds of St. Severus are related by Peter de Natali, book 3, chapter 65; others by other authors Philip Ferrari in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy; Zacharias Lippeloo and Francis Haraeus, from Surius; and likewise in French by Jacques Tigeou, Jacques Doublet, and Guillaume Gazet. Blessed Peter Damian has two sermons about St. Severus, the fourth and fifth of volume 2, in which he confirms most of what is narrated in the earlier Life -- concerning his election, the obsequies of the Bishop of Modena, the burial of his daughter, etc. -- and he records a miracle omitted by others, which we shall give below from his works. Mention of St. Severus is made in the chapter Statuimus, distinction 61, section E contra B. Nicolaus.

[9] The question of St. Severus's era is prejudiced by the opinion of Jerome Rubeus, a not unlearned historian of the Ravennates, which can otherwise be settled without great difficulty in the following manner. He held office from about the year 346 to 390 or thereabouts. He was created Bishop, as is recorded in the Life, chapter 2, number 6, under the consulship of Constantius IV and Constans III, that is, in the year of Christ 346; he was consecrated at Rome by Pope St. Julius, whose tenth year it was. In the following year he attended the Council of Sardica, under the consulship of Rufinus and Eusebius, as is evident from the subscriptions. Finally, he was present at the funeral of St. Geminianus, Bishop of Modena, many years later, since in the time of Pope Siricius -- who was elevated to the pontificate in the year 385 -- Geminianus was still alive, as we said on January 31 in connection with his Life. Haraeus therefore correctly conjectures that Severus died around the year 390; the manuscript Florarium places him as having reached the year of Christ 420, the seventy-fourth year of his pontificate. It is perhaps by a printer's error that the year 320 appears in the third edition of Surius, and 350 in both editions of Canisius.

[10] Rubeus reports that he succeeded Marcellinus in the year 284, and that he died in 348, having recently returned from the Council of Sardica, broken by old age and the hardships of the journey; and that Agapitus II was appointed in his place, who had attended the Roman council under Pope Julius. And because these claims were refuted by Baronius in his Notes on the Martyrology, Rubeus endeavors to support them with more arguments, and denies that Severus lived either to the reign of Jovian, much less to the pontificate of Siricius. As for what is reported about the fury of Attila being checked by the prayers of St. Geminianus, we too agree with Rubeus that this is far too remote from the era of St. Severus and of St. Geminianus, whom Severus is said to have buried; and it appears to have occurred either through the patronage of St. Geminianus before God, already received into heaven but still watching over his city; or through the prayers of a second Geminianus, as was indicated in his Life on January 31; or perhaps it was not the Huns under Attila but other invading barbarians not extending to the time of Attila who were repelled from plundering the city, and the report was corrupted as it passed to posterity. That Agapitus, who attended the Roman council under Pope Julius, was the successor of Severus, Rubeus thinks can be inferred from the fact that from the ancient paintings and histories of the church of Ravenna it is established that Severus succeeded Marcellinus; therefore it was not Agapitus but Marcellinus who should have attended that council, unless it was celebrated later, since he lived long enough. Nor indeed did Agapitus attend the other Roman synod of fifty bishops held before the Sardican, but rather the one at which 120 bishops were present, which was convened in Indiction 6, nor from the year 284 to 348 namely in the year 348, in which year, and not in any preceding year of Pope Julius's pontificate, that indiction fell. Finally, nothing of what was transacted in that synod of fifty bishops was discussed in the one at which Agapitus was present. Moreover, it seems plausible that this new synod was held to confirm the Acts of the Council of Sardica. Lastly, Protasius, Bishop of Milan, was present at the Sardican council; his successor Julius was at the Roman one together with Agapitus. For Gratus, who is named in the letter of the Fathers of the Council of Sardica to the Bishops of Egypt and Africa, cited in the second Apology of St. Athanasius, together with other African bishops who attended the same council, is not called Bishop of Carthage but simply a Bishop -- that is, of another city -- so that it is no wonder he was not present at the Roman synod, but rather Rufus, upon whose death Gratus was elevated to the primacy from his former see. Fortunatianus of Aquileia subscribed to the Sardican synod; Benedict subscribed to the Roman one; another Fortunatianus succeeded him. Rubeus therefore holds that St. Agapitus was created Bishop under the reign of Septimius Severus -- which Severus occupied from the beginning of July in the year 193 until February 4, 211 -- and that St. Marcellinus was appointed as his successor around the year 231, and St. Severus succeeded Marcellinus around the year 284, dying on the Kalends of February 348.

[11] But Rubeus himself confirms none of this with any certain chronological datum or the testimony of an ancient writer. That the Roman synod under Julius was held before the Sardican [since St. Agapitus, Bishop of Ravenna, attended the Roman council in the year 337] is far more probable, even though the beginning and end of the synod present a different chronological indicator. The beginning reads thus: "In the name of the Lord God and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and also in the reign of Constantius and Constans the Augusti, in the fourth year, on the nineteenth day before the Kalends of October, Indiction 6, with the holy and most blessed Pope Julius of the Apostolic See presiding at Rome," etc. The fourth year of Constantius and Constans was the year 340 of Christ, in which not the sixth but the twelfth indiction was beginning. The end of the council reads: "Given on the Kalends of November, in the consulship of Felicianus and Maximianus, most illustrious men." But Felicianus and Titianus were consuls in the very year in which Constantine died, that is, the year of Christ 337, not 348 the first year of Pope Julius, Indiction 10, the first year of Constantine the Younger, Constantius, and Constans. Baronius rather embraces this chronology, on the ground that it is easier for an error to creep into the numbers of the emperors' reigns or the indictions than for false names of consuls to be inscribed. Whichever year you take, it will fall before the Sardican synod, as it is correctly placed in the volumes of the Councils. In the year 348, besides the sixth indiction, nothing fits, for the consuls were Philippus and Salia, and it was the twelfth year of the Augusti.

[12] The remaining arguments or evasions of Rubeus have no force. For in denying that Gratus was Bishop of Carthage at the time of the Council of Sardica, and in positing two Fortunatiani of Aquileia, he does so without any authority. Concerning Julius of Milan -- whether he was the same as St. Maternus or another omitted in the common catalogues -- we shall inquire elsewhere. As certain authors assert without reason. The fact that Severus is said to have succeeded Marcellinus does not make it follow that Agapitus did not attend the Roman synod, or that Marcellinus himself ought to have attended. For whence does it appear that Marcellinus, as Rubeus writes, lived a sufficiently long time in the episcopate? Agapitus could have died after the first Roman synod under Julius, and his successor Marcellinus himself not long thereafter. And whence did Rubeus learn that neither of them attended the other synod of fifty bishops? Or what bearing does that have on the matter? Nor is there any reason why he should insist that something of what was transacted in the latter synod ought to have been treated in the former. Yet neither was the Sardican synod mentioned; how then is it plausible that the latter was convened for the purpose of ratifying it?

[13] If anyone should prove that St. Marcellinus was more ancient and that some Severus succeeded him, let him by all means say that there were two men named Severus -- Baronius himself not wholly objecting -- but that the fame of the earlier was obscured by the celebrity of the later. What if Bishop Severus was that Martyr perhaps two Bishops of Ravenna named Severus? whom we said is venerated on the Kalends of January, killed under Maximian? Many, as we said in the preceding section and on that day, place him as a Bishop and Martyr on that date. Nor can it be proved from the Acts of his martyrdom -- which do not exist -- that he was not a Bishop. But to assert this is not necessary for establishing the era of St. Severus. Raphael Volaterranus also, in book 19 of his Anthropology, considers that St. Severus lived in the time of the Emperor Jovian. From the era of St. Heraclianus, Bishop of Pesaro, who was ordained by Severus, nothing can be proved, since his Acts, as Ferrari writes under December 9, do not exist.

Which whole period the same Serarius defines as twenty years, three months, and twenty-three or twenty-four days, since he holds that Haistulf, Otgar's predecessor, died in the year 826 on the fifth before the Kalends of January. It is not necessary to discuss all these matters here; but at least it does not appear that Otgar was ordained Bishop before the year 825.

[15] Sigebert nevertheless writes in his Chronicle under the year 824: "The bodies of the Saints Severus, Bishop of Ravenna, and of his wife Vincentia, not in the year 824 and of their daughter Innocentia, were translated to Mainz by Archbishop Otgar." Rubeus likewise, in his History of Ravenna, book 2: "About the year of the Lord eight hundred and twenty-four, by Otgar, Bishop of Mainz, the remains of Severus, of his wife Vincentia, and of their daughter Innocentia were imported to Mainz and placed in the church of Herford." And in book 5 he expressly states that Otgar came to Ravenna and carried off those bodies from there. Following Rubeus, Baronius explains nor directly from the city of Ravenna on what occasion Otgar could have come to Ravenna. For since, as the cited Annals of Fulda record, along with other writers of Frankish affairs, Lothair was sent to Italy by his father the Pious in the year of Christ 822, crowned by Pope Paschal in 823, and again in 824 went to Rome at his parent's command to see Pope Eugenius, Baronius adds Otgar as his companion on this journey, in the year 824, number 16: "In which year likewise, Otgar, Bishop of Mainz, a companion of Lothair on the journey, carried the bodies of the Saints Severus the Bishop, and of his wife Vincentia, and of their daughter Innocentia, taken from Ravenna, to his own church at Mainz." But Otgar was not yet a Bishop in that year, nor was Hilduin of Verdun, his companion on the embassy; and they were sent for the restoration of peace and friendship between Louis the Pious and Lothair, as Luidolf writes; but at that time no hostilities had yet been stirred up. Finally, they went only as far as Pavia, where the relics had already been brought previously by the priest Felix.

[16] Serarius thinks that Otgar was sent by Louis, King of Germany. For although Louis held him, as Nithard writes in book 2, "in hatred unto death," Serarius nevertheless believes that once affairs were settled, nor as an ambassador of Louis, King of Germany the same prelate had influence with the said King; and since his other son Lothair was at odds with him, Serarius supposes that Otgar was sent to Pavia to arrange peace between them, and from there brought the relics of St. Severus to Mainz. But who attributes to Louis, King of Germany, a son named Lothair? Or what right could he have had in Italy, so as to sojourn at Pavia, when Italy obeyed the Emperor Lothair, and then his son Louis II?

[17] Lambert of Schafnaburg declares more certainly in which year these events occurred, writing thus: "836. Archbishop Otgar translated St. Severus to Frankfurt." Certainly from the Life of Louis the Pious it is clear but of the Emperor Louis the Pious, 836 that even after he had received his sons back into favor, following the wicked and by all ages detestable abdication of himself, he convened an assembly at Thionville after Easter in the year 835 -- that is, near the beginning of 836 -- and ordered his son Lothair to send certain nobles of his own to the same place, so that the terms of mutual reconciliation between himself and Lothair might be investigated. Thereafter many envoys were sent by him to the same son in the same year: first to reconcile him with the Empress Judith and with Charles her son, then to visit him when ill, and finally to warn him not to oppress the Church and its subjects. Those who carried out the two latter embassies are named; the first was perhaps entrusted to Otgar and his companions, or some other one. Trithemius mentions this Translation in his Chronicle of Hirsau under the year 847.

[18] The memorial of this translation has been recorded in the Martyrologies on October 22, in many of them as if that were his birthday, [The memorial of St. Severus in the Martyrologies on October 22, as if his birthday] with no mention made there of the translation, or on the Kalends of February of his deposition. Thus the Appendix to the Martyrology of Ado, published by Rosweyde: "On the same day, of St. Severus, Bishop of Ravenna." The Martyrology of the Order of St. Benedict: "Of Severus, Bishop and Confessor." The ancient Martyrology of Utrecht: "At Ravenna, of St. Severus, Bishop and Confessor." The Cologne Martyrology printed in the year 1490: "At Ravenna, of St. Severus, Bishop and Confessor. He was raised from the craft of wool-working to the episcopate by the entire Clergy and people through the appearance of a dove. When his wife Vincentia and his daughter Innocentia saw this, they entered his monastery and dedicated themselves to the Lord. The holy man himself, foreknowing his death, after celebrating the sacred mysteries and expelling the people from the church, approached the sepulchre of his wife and daughter, and having rolled away the stone by himself, said to them: 'By the Lord's command I am called; give me a place to sleep with you.' And when they had made room for him, he entered alive, about to die." Whether a monastery then existed at Ravenna, if anyone doubts it, we shall say that the author of that Martyrology means only that they embraced the life of religious women.

[19] Other Martyrologies indicate that another day is sacred to him elsewhere. Hermann Greeven in his additions to Usuard: "On the same day (but according to others, on the Kalends of February), at Ravenna, of Blessed Severus, Bishop and Confessor, who from a wool-worker, indicating another celebration by the miracle of a dove sent from heaven, was elevated to the episcopate; and when he had vigorously administered the office enjoined upon him and foreknew the day of his dormition, he opened the sepulchre of his wife and daughter, commanded them to give him a place to rest with them, and when they had given him place, he entered the sepulchre about to die." Canisius has the same, except that he adds that he lived in the times of the Emperor Jovian, with the year 350 incorrectly noted in the margin -- since Jovian assumed the empire on June 27 of the year 363 and held it barely eight months. Perhaps he meant to write, as Haraeus did, 390. In the second edition he adds: "His sacred body was afterward translated to the diocese of Mainz." The manuscript Martyrology of the Metropolitan Church of Prague reads: "At Ravenna, of St. Severus, Bishop and Confessor, who from the mechanical craft of weaving was divinely appointed Bishop of that place through a dove, illustrious in virtues; who, when he had buried his wife in his own tomb, afterward buried his daughter Innocentia in the same place, to whom the mother yielded place at the Bishop's command; into which tomb he himself afterward entered alive, and placing himself in the middle, rested in Christ on the ninth before the Kalends of February -- but his feast is celebrated on this day."

[20] Molanus expressly indicates that his Translation is celebrated on this day, in the second edition of his supplement to Usuard: and under the name of the Translation "On the same day, the Translation of St. Severus the Confessor, Bishop of Ravenna, together with his wife and daughter, to the diocese of Mainz." And the manuscript Florarium: "On the same day, the bodies of the Saints Severus, Bishop of Ravenna, and of his wife Vincentia, and of their daughter Innocentia,

were translated to Mainz by Archbishop Otgar in the year of salvation 824."

[21] On that day, moreover, several German churches celebrate the feast of St. Severus, as is evident from their own proper Breviaries. And indeed the Erfurt Breviary carries this notable title: "Breviary for the recitation of the Canonical Hours, he is venerated on that day in Germany according to the custom of the Severian College of Erfurt"; and it has on the frontispiece images of Saints Severus, Vincentia, and Innocentia; on the second page a poem of ten verses addressed to the reader, among which are these:

"Thence offer your vows to great Severus, Who holds the temples near the billowing Gera."

His celebration is appointed with the rite of a double on October 22, and a portion of the first Life -- which we shall give from Mombritius and the Roman codex -- is distributed into readings to be recited on the following days; on the octave day, the history of the Translation by Luidolf. The feast of St. Severus is also celebrated on that day in the Church of Mainz, as is evident from the Breviaries printed in the years 1495, 1507, 1570, and 1611. In the Worms Breviary printed in 1576 it has an office of three readings, and likewise in the proper offices of the Church of Wurzburg printed in 1625. A commemoration of him was made in the Hildesheim Breviary printed in 1516, and in the ancient Utrecht Breviary; yet in the proper offices of the Church of Utrecht which Philip Rovenius, Archbishop of Philippi, had printed in 1623 and 1640, this was omitted -- for what reason, or by what authority, we do not inquire.

[22] But since a double Translation of St. Severus was made by Otgar -- namely, when his relics were first carried from Pavia to Mainz, and then from Mainz to Erfurt -- This Translation is twofold: one more ancient we cannot pronounce with certainty which of the two took place on this day, nor whether one of these, or some earlier one, is referred to in the Martyrologies on February 15, where the ancient Cologne Martyrology and Hermann Greeven read: "Likewise at Ravenna, the Translation of St. Severus, Bishop and Confessor" -- and the manuscript Florarium has nearly the same. But Canisius calls it an Elevation. Nor indeed can there be any doubt that the sacred relics were transferred from the original tomb to some other repository or reliquary before Felix carried them away, since he could not have dug them up without anyone noticing. The Elevation and that first Translation were perhaps carried out by Peter III, Bishop of Ravenna. perhaps made in the sixth century For Rubeus writes thus in book 2: "Severus was buried in the town of Classe, not far from the district which they called Salutaris; in which place a church was erected in his name in subsequent times by Peter the Elder, Archbishop of Ravenna, when many miracles were continually occurring at the tomb of the holy man." The same author, in book 3, writes that Peter, surnamed -- and also in age, but much more in the excellence of his virtues and character -- the Elder, a most grave man and greatly praised for a life of innocence, was made Bishop of Ravenna around the year 568. Below he records concerning his death: when a church was built for him "He began to build a notable church for St. Severus, Archbishop of Ravenna, or rather to make it greater and more splendid, in that district of the town of Classe which they called Vicus Salutaris; but he died in the very course of the building." What is again recorded in the manuscript Florarium under June 30 -- that the Translation of St. Severus, Bishop and Confessor, occurred on that date -- needs correction, for it ought to be understood as referring to the Translation of St. Severus the Priest, about whom we treat on February 15.

LIFE BY AN ANONYMOUS AUTHOR,

from a manuscript of the Congregation of the Oratory at Rome, collated with the ancient Breviary of Erfurt and with Mombritius.

Severus, Bishop, at Ravenna (St.) Vincentia, his wife, at Ravenna (St.) Innocentia, Virgin, their daughter, at Ravenna (St.)

BHL Number: 7683

By an anonymous author, from manuscripts.

CHAPTER 1

The homeland, marriage, and craft of St. Severus.

[1] Whenever the deeds of brave men and the advancement of praiseworthy Fathers are read aloud in the churches -- men who, burning with desire for heavenly rewards, left to their weaker neighbors a plainer path of faith -- this is without doubt believed to be done so that the ardor of divine love, which daily, as iniquity abounds, is wont to grow lukewarm even in holy men through a certain blast Why the Life of St. Severus is written of the North Wind, may be rekindled as if by the most welcome breath of the South Wind. Whence the Church says in the Canticles: "Arise, O North Wind, and come, O South Wind." Song of Songs 4:16 Hence it is that we, being nearly unlearned and unskilled, desiring to set forth in whatever style we can the life, ordination, and most sacred death of that most precious lily of Christ, the blessed Archbishop Severus, have undertaken to make known plainly to the ears of the faithful those things which were able to come to the notice of our humble selves concerning so great a man, looking more to their edification and salvation than to the ostentatious refinement of the curious. Sirach 37:23 For he who speaks with sophistries, according to Solomon, is found hateful to God, because he both strikes himself with the dart of boastfulness and furthermore takes no account of the weakness of his hearers.

[2] But since it is necessary to attach an anchor of credibility to the narrative, in the manner customary for historians, we place three things at the head of the account by way of authentication, which are to be fittingly employed in weaving together the proposed work: namely, person, homeland, and condition. For to touch briefly upon the truth of his person, he was not without omen called Severus he was called Severus by his parents not without a certain divine augury. For if we wish to examine the etymology more closely, it does not signify "cruelty" but rather "manly gravity," concerning which it is sung in the Psalm: "In a weighty people I will praise You." Psalm 34:18 And not undeservedly, because he was indeed to be a most austere eradicator of vices and a most eager gatherer of virtues. As for his homeland, it is well known to all, because he was a citizen of Ravenna; born at Ravenna and, as was said of the blessed Pope Gregory:

"Whence he drew his lineage, thence he ascended to the highest honor."

[3] As for his condition, the whole course of his most holy life demonstrates it: for he was truly Christian and led a dove-like life in simplicity of heart. Tobit 4:23 He led a life of poverty, like Tobias, but because he feared the divine Presence and always meditated upon the watchfulness of the Almighty, he possessed all good things, because he had in every way charity, which is God. For as far as pertains to the luxury of the world, he led a life of poverty, because, as most truthful witnesses report, together with his wife, whom he had long since joined to himself in the most chaste matrimony, he derived his daily sustenance from nothing other than the craft of wool-working. For, as a devout and orthodox Catholic, living by the craft of wool-working he lived by the labor of his hands with the Apostle, and inflicted neither violence nor fraud upon any man. Nor did he pass with deaf ear the Psalmist who thunders: "You shall eat the labors of your hands: blessed are you, and it shall be well with you." Psalm 127:2 married At this point, if any supercilious person should with enigmatic mind and foolish objection disparage the blessed man because he came to the cathedral of Ravenna as a married man, let him hear the Apostle answering on his behalf: "All things are clean to the clean." Romans 14:20 For just as a man is not defiled by the eating of food, unless the treacherous force of concupiscence precedes it, so indeed a Christian is not stained by lawful marriage if he has in no way bound himself by a vow of virginity or continence -- unless the deceiving power of lust first corrupt him with the kindling of obscene love. Moreover, if anyone is bound by a vow, let him be compelled to fulfill it; for it is written: "Make vows and pay them." Psalm 75:12

[4] But since we have spoken somewhat in defense of the truth, as if in a digression, let us return to what we had begun. elected, as eleven other Bishops of Ravenna had been Therefore after the most preeminent champion of truth, Apollinaris, just as divine Providence had predestined before all ages, was ordained Bishop by the Prince of the Apostles for the preaching of the word of God, and received the keys of the kingdom of heaven as a worthy and in every way most proven vicar, he chose for his apostolate Ravenna, a most noble city of Italy and the metropolis of many cities, as if a second Rome. For Christ the merciful and loving King so adorned and distinguished this city above others with the outstanding merits of that same triumphant one, blessed Apollinaris, that from the time that happy soldier, crowned with the laurel of martyrdom, entered into the joy of his Lord, after the pattern of the twelve Apostles at the summit, He supplied twelve successors to him by the sign of a dove resting on the head over the course of various years, elected not by human effort but rather called by divine Providence, and upon whose heads a dove sent from heaven came to rest. Whence that venerable proverb has long been widespread throughout the whole circuit of the world: "Blessed is that city where, in the election of its Bishop, the Holy Spirit descends in the likeness of a dove, and he is ordained upon whose head it rests."

[5] But, O change of times! O wickedness of trafficking! Our Redeemer, therefore, to show His faithful ones how damnable is the business of trafficking, entered the temple and vigorously cast out all who were selling not as in the author's day, when some Bishops were simoniacally chosen and buying therein; and having made a scourge of small cords, He especially drove out of the temple those who were selling doves. But the ancient enemy of the human race, who, as the Apostle says, even now works the mystery of iniquity in his members, and who sits with the rich in secret places to slay the innocent, again with the gall of bitterness makes the dove for sale through his Simon; 2 Thessalonians 2:7 nor does he cease through his money-changers to heap up the mammon of iniquity, that he may plunge them more deeply into the pit of perdition. Behold, now no Bishop is elected anywhere, because the churches are not permitted to do so; but -- what is more horrible than all monstrosities, and the most abominable species of adultery, which holds first place among punishments -- while the Bishop of some city is still living, his honor is coveted by some unlearned and depraved person, even while the predecessor is still alive it is sought, it is promised, the hope is secured by an oath, the person is exalted, his learning is praised, money is shamelessly given, so that what is procured by so nefarious a venture may afterward be sold even more shamelessly. But since the reasoning of this matter has presented itself in connection with the dove, for the sake of ecclesiastical vigor let us, as we had begun, pursue its undeserving sellers. Do you not see how, although the head of Simon, the first heresiarch, was severed by the Apostolic sword amid the very cradle of the infant Church, and then buried under perpetual anathema at ecclesiastical councils with so many Fathers favoring justice, other heads again sprout as if from a hydra? Hence it is inevitable that the Bishops of our present time are either very rare or nonexistent before Almighty God. Hence it is said through the Prophet: "They have set up princes, but not through me; they have made rulers, and I knew it not." Hosea 8:4 But let this suffice.

a Mombritius: Sinistro algente ("with the left side freezing"). The Erfurt Breviary: agente ("at work").

b Mombritius: declarare ("to declare").

c This is not from Solomon but from the book of Jesus son of Sirach.

d These etymological remarks are absent from Mombritius.

e We showed on January 17, in connection with chapter 19 of the Life of St. Antony, that this word is used for "monastery." Here it is taken for "the principal seat," or "the episcopal see or cathedral or palace." Similar is the passage on January 18, chapter 1, of the Life of St. Deicola: "For they glory not only in having obtained leaders of the Lord's flock in walled cities and in episcopal archisteria, and also in castles fortified with towers." Rosweyde discusses this word in his Onomasticon to the Lives of the Fathers, and Gerard Jan Vossius in book 3 of On Defects of Speech, chapter 1, where he rightly rejects the etymology of the Glossary of Cambrai, as if it were derived from archos ("prince") and sterion ("station"), since sterion is not a Greek word.

f St. Apollinaris is venerated on July 23.

g Ravenna was the seat of the Gothic Kings, then of the Exarchs of Italy, or that part of it which obeyed the Emperors of Constantinople, while the Lombards held nearly all the rest. Leander Albertus recounts its many glories.

h Rubeus and Leander enumerate only eleven; the latter, in his Description of Italy, treating of the Cathedral basilica of Ravenna, writes: "In the hemicycle of the main chapel, depicted or fashioned in the Greek style, are seen those holy Bishops who were created Archbishops of Ravenna by the sign of a dove appearing above their heads; and they are: Sts. Aderitus, Eleucadius, Calocerus, Marcianus, Proculus, Probus, Datus, Liberius, Agapitus, Marcellinus, and Severus." Whence one may suspect either that someone was omitted (perhaps Severus the Martyr, Agapitus's predecessor, as some hold) or that the number twelve is made up by counting Apollinaris himself among them. Ughelli places Agapitus II between Sts. Marcellinus and Severus.

i This digression against simoniacs is absent from the Erfurt Breviary; in Mombritius it is placed after number 7.

k What followed here in Mombritius was the invective against the enemies of monks which appears below.

CHAPTER 2

The election and ordination of St. Severus to the episcopate.

[6] In the time of the aforesaid and ever-to-be-mentioned Severus, it happened that the Church of Ravenna was widowed of its own Pastor by Marcellinus, while Constantine the Great was still reigning and presiding uniquely over the Roman world, in the consulship of Constantius for the fourth time and Constans for the third time, sons of that same Emperor. [In the year of Christ 346, when an assembly was convened for the election of a Bishop] And when many Bishops, both neighboring and from more distant places, convened in order to ordain a Bishop for so great a city in the customary manner, and after the prayer was completed, all were waiting together for the joyful spectacle -- namely, that someone should be designated from heaven by the dove -- that same man of the Lord, blessed Severus, happening to be at home attending to his work, being simple and a friend of the dove, addressed his wife in these words: "I shall go, if you please, quickly, and I shall see the marvelous vision -- how a dove comes from heaven by divine power and settles upon the head of the elect." To whom she replied: "Sit here and work; do not give yourself to idleness, for it is not beneficial for us. Whether you go or remain in place, the people will by no means ordain a Bishop." To this he said: "Allow me to go." But she: "Go, if you like, for at whatever hour you enter, you will immediately be ordained Bishop." Severus goes to the church, his wife disapproving With his wife uttering such things ironically, he immediately arose and hastened to the church where the people were assembled with the priests; and because of the poorness of his clothing, since he was clad in squalid garments, he hid himself behind the doors of the temple. And when the prayer was finished, and a dove settles on his head immediately a dove whiter than snow descended from heaven and settled upon the head of Blessed Severus, who wished to remain hidden. And while he was trying to drive the dove away from himself, and it was flying this way and that through the air, again and again it returned to the beloved head of the same blessed man, as if the Holy Spirit were revealing outwardly in visible form what was true in reality, saying: "Upon whom shall I rest, if not upon the humble and the quiet, and upon him who trembles at my words?" Isaiah 66:2 And again: "I love those who love me." Proverbs 8:17

[7] All the magistrates and the Clergy and all who were present at this divine spectacle were struck with wonder and gave immense thanks to God, the bestower of all goods and dignities; he is elected Bishop and leading him out from his hiding place, they decreed his election by unanimous will. He was sent to Rome to Julius, Bishop of that city, who was the third after Blessed Sylvester the Great, and was ordained Bishop of Ravenna; ordained by Pope St. Julius and returning to the city of his own office, he was held in all veneration. For if this man had not been humble and meek and God-fearing, the Holy Spirit would not have declared him with such evident signs as His own testimony. Yet we read that this was done after the Apostles in only a few cases. We read, however, that the election of Flavian -- or of Zephyrinus, Bishop of Rome -- was similarly declared. In such a manner, therefore, was Blessed Severus ordained Bishop of the Church of Ravenna, and anointed with the oil of exultation and the ointment of sacred Chrism according to the custom of a Bishop. Then was fulfilled in him what the Lord said in the Gospel: "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Mark 10:27; 1 Corinthians 1:27 And according to the voice of Paul: "God chose the weak things of the world to confound the strong." Behold what Peter the Apostle said: "God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he who fears God and works righteousness is acceptable to Him." Acts 10:34

[8] What do the newfangled and ignorant murmur at these things, they who know the Lord after a fashion but by no means savor Him? "Monks," they say, "do not have permission to preach, even though they be filled to overflowing with divine authority."

But this is no wonder, for the flesh does not know the spirit. Truth indeed is bitter, and those who strive to teach it are filled with bitterness. Behold, Blessed Severus, almost an unlettered man and without learning, An invective against those who refuse to allow monks to preach was filled with the Spirit of truth and became a most fruitful Teacher; and shall a monk who from his earliest years has devoted himself to the study of divine letters be required to keep silent? The Apostle Paul obtained this special privilege above all others: that he who learned the sacred letters at the feet of Gamaliel merited to be both called and to be a Vessel of election; whence he is also called the special Teacher of the whole world, although the other Apostles are also regarded as Teachers. Let these few words be said against those who are accustomed to judge men according to outward appearance, and who according to their pleasure favor iniquity but disparage truth, asserting that no one ought to be made a Bishop unless he is either ennobled by birth or tall of stature.

a St. Marcellinus is venerated on October 5. Others hold that immediately before St. Severus (as we have reported above) sat St. Agapitus, about whom we shall treat on March 16. These details about the predecessor of St. Severus, and the names of the Consuls that follow, are found only in Mombritius; they are absent from the manuscript of the Fathers of the Oratory.

b Indeed, it was already the ninth or tenth year since the death of Constantine the Great.

c These Consuls are placed in the year before the Synod of Sardica, the year of Christ 346, which is elsewhere inscribed as the year after the consulship of Amantius and Albinus. Cassiodorus and Cuspinianus place the consuls Augusti -- Constantius IV and Constans III -- after Leontius and Sallustius, and before Amantius and Albinus, in the year of Christ 345.

d Mombritius: oratione ("prayer").

e So also Blessed Peter Damian, sermon 1: "I shall go and see the marvelous vision, namely, how a dove comes from heaven and settles upon the head of the elect in the customary manner."

f Rubeus says it was the church of St. Theodore, but he seems to speak of it without entire consistency. For in book 1, page 35, treating of St. Proculus, about whom we treat on December 1, he says: "Those who assert that in St. Theodore's church an assembly was held at that time for the choosing of an Archbishop are in the greatest ignorance of history, since that temple had not yet been built." Yet the opinion of some is that in the house of Theodore, a citizen of Ravenna, a public place had been established by Apollinaris, the church of St. Theodore at Ravenna where those people of Ravenna who followed Christ were taught those things that pertained to his religion and faith and received the sacred Host of the Eucharist. Others believe that the temple of St. Theodore -- that is, "of the holy gift of God," as the word means in Greek -- was the same as that of the Holy Spirit, named from that wondrous descent of the heavenly and divine Spirit. For at that time St. Theodore of Amasea in Pontus had not yet been born, much less slain for Christ; for that happened under the reign of Maximian. But on page 38: "At that time" (when Callistus was Pope at Rome during the reign of Heliogabalus, more than sixty years before Maximian) "churches were built at Ravenna for St. Theodore the Martyr and for the Blessed Virgin Mary in Cosmodim." And shortly after: now called the Church of the Holy Spirit "The church of St. Theodore is now called that of the Holy Spirit, because in that church a dove sent from heaven gave several Archbishops to Ravenna." It is not unusual for churches to have their names and their patron saints changed, especially when they are restored, enlarged, or adorned with the miracles or relics of those saints. That the church was called that of St. Theodore from the most ancient times is something Rubeus proves with no evidence and would not easily persuade anyone of.

g Rubeus: "He threw himself into a corner at the right behind the wall." Luidolf below says otherwise.

h The same Rubeus: "Scarcely had Severus stationed himself there when a dove, flying in through a window, the stone on which the sacred dove alighted and resting briefly on the stone beneath (which stone we now see placed in an honorable position -- in memory and reverence of the event -- by Conradus Grassus of Bologna, Abbot of that church, who magnificently restored that temple), flew to the ears of Severus... Immediately all the people began to cry out that he should not drive it away, but allow it to do as it wished. And when he permitted it, the dove, having inserted its beak into his ear, departed on high."

i What follows up to "In such a manner therefore was he ordained" is absent from the codex of the Fathers of the Oratory, and is found only in Mombritius.

k The rest is absent from the Erfurt Breviary. Rubeus here adds: "Immediately transformed into another man, learning divinely infused into St. Severus and endowed by a divine miracle with the highest wisdom, he at once mounted the pulpit and delivered a sermon most full of piety and learning, in which he foretold that the divine ministry of the dove should no longer be expected in the creation of Bishops of Ravenna."

l Pope St. Mark was succeeded by St. Julius; the former had succeeded St. Sylvester. St. Julius is venerated on April 12.

m We said on January 20 that Pope St. Fabian is called Flavian by some, and that the portent of a dove descending upon him at his election is referred by Rufinus to St. Zephyrinus, who is venerated on August 26.

CHAPTER 3

The burial of St. Geminianus; the ordination of St. Heraclianus by St. Severus.

[9] And when the holy Bishop of the Lord, occupied daily in the exercise of the divine work, was governing the holy Church entrusted to him from heaven with fitting moderation, as a most vigilant Pastor, and was fulfilling his heart's desire, being situated in the increase of virtues, on a certain day St. Severus celebrating at Ravenna while he was celebrating the solemnities of the Mass according to the episcopal rite, at the hour when the Lector ascended the pulpit to recite the Epistle of the blessed Teacher of the Nations in the customary manner, suddenly the man of God was rapt into ecstasy upon the altar, as if held fast by slumber. And when the ministers of the holy altar supposed that the Saint of the Lord had fallen asleep, rapt into ecstasy they hastened with swift step, rousing him and saying: "What is it that you are doing?" But he, startled, as though awaking from sleep, raised himself up, and said to them as though with agitated mind: "O sons, what have you done? Why have you disturbed me? Although I seemed to be here with you bodily, in spirit I was elsewhere." And they, pressing him more earnestly, began to inquire of him where in the meantime he had been. To them he answered, saying: "May Almighty God pardon you, dearest brothers, for having so unwisely awakened me, for I was in the holy church of Modena, he is present at the burial of St. Geminianus at Modena and there I commended to Almighty God the soul of my holy brother and fellow Bishop Geminianus, the Bishop of that same church; and I remained there so long until I more devoutly entombed his sacred body."

[10] Therefore, to investigate more thoroughly the truth of so great a vision, the citizens of Ravenna together with the people of Classe sent messengers in great haste to the aforesaid city of Modena, which the Ravennates confirm by sending messengers to Modena in order to ascertain with all possible speed what was happening with regard to the holy Lord Bishop Geminianus. When they had arrived with the utmost swiftness at the aforesaid city, as had been enjoined upon them, they began to inquire more eagerly what was happening with the Bishop. To whom the citizens of Modena replied, saying: "What news you have is unknown to us, brothers. But be aware of this: we have very recently been made orphans, our Father and Bishop Geminianus having departed, who was held to be not the least among the priests of the Church. And although we believe we have him as our patron in heaven, still we cannot but have sorrowful hearts at his absence. Did not the Lord Archbishop Severus himself come on that very day and commend his soul to Almighty God? and discover it to be true Did he not stand here vested in pontifical garb until his body was enclosed in the sarcophagus? And when it was closed, he was suddenly taken from our sight." They returned and reported to their fellow citizens how the holy Lord Geminianus had departed to the Lord, and how the blessed Archimandrite Severus had been divinely appointed to attend his burial. Having heard these things, the citizens of Ravenna inquired more diligently about the day and hour, and received full confirmation that Blessed Severus had fallen asleep upon the altar at the very moment when St. Geminianus is known to have departed from this world; and from that time they began to venerate his holy celibacy all the more.

[11] Moreover, it is reported by many that the same charioteer of the Lord, Blessed Severus, nurtured the holy man Heraclianus, He ordains St. Heraclianus as Bishop and after fully imbuing him with every rule of the Catholic faith, set him over the aforesaid city of Pesaro as its most worthy Bishop.

a The same story is told on January 31 in the Life of St. Geminianus, chapter 4, number 15. Peter de Natali has the same in the Life of each of the two Saints, and Bernardino Giustiniani in the Life of Blessed Lorenzo, his great-uncle, January 8, chapter 8, number 47. Blessed Peter Damian also commemorates the same event in sermon 2.

b The author seems to use "celibacy" in the sense of "sanctity" or "priesthood," just as he used "Archimandrite" above for "Archbishop."

c St. Heraclianus is venerated on December 9.

d Pesaro is a city on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, between Rimini and Ancona, the city of Pesaro commonly called Pesaro, on the river Pisaurus, which is now called the Foglia.

CHAPTER 4

The death, burial, and miracles of St. Severus.

[12] There is also another memorable deed of his, which we by no means allow to remain hidden, but deem it fitting to set forth in whatever style we can. For he is declared to have been of such great holiness before Almighty God that his deceased and buried wife, on account of an urgent necessity, after the passage of many years, was moved to one side. For when the daughter of the most blessed Confessor of Christ, Severus, had breathed her last breath and closed her final day, he buries his daughter St. Innocentia very many people came together to place the young woman's body in the sepulchre of her mother. The same virgin was distinguished by the name Innocentia. And when the hour drew near at which the young body was to be laid to rest, the blessed Bishop came weeping, as they say, in the manner of human nature. And when all who were present at the funeral saw that the same burial place was by no means large enough for two bodies, full of sorrow and anxiety, they said to the Bishop with one voice: "Alas, Father, what shall we do? Do you see that the vessel is too small?" with her mother who had long since died Moved by these cries, the blessed man addressed his own wife, long since deceased, in these words: "O woman, why do you trouble me? Why do you not make room for your daughter? Receive what you bore, and do not be obstinate about your resting place. Turn yourself to one side and give room for burial, having commanded her to make room for her daughter lest perhaps it should happen that I am grieved." At this voice, the body of his wife, already long deceased, was drawn to one side and turned with such swiftness that an animated body could by no means have been moved so quickly, and it gave ample room for the burial of her daughter.

[13] But now the order of reason and the sequence of the composed narrative demand that we set forth in brief also the death of this holy man -- how he departed from this world to the Lord -- insofar as we have been able to extract from ancient exemplars. For when he was now of advanced age and his snow-white head displayed the hoary crown of perfection, he was cut down by the divine sickle like an Evangelical sheaf fully ripe in the field of the Church, he himself, aged, after many labors while peace reigned everywhere, and was carried to the granaries of the divine storehouse on Angelic arms, where all the sheaves of the Lord's harvest rejoice forever with their Sower. on the day of his death, foreknown, after celebrating Mass This priest, therefore, chosen from heaven, when on a certain day he had devoutly celebrated the solemnities of the Mass and had fortified his departure, which he had foreknown long before, with the reception of the Lord's body and blood, summoned the entire Clergy of the city as well as the people, and having delivered a sermon and, according to his custom, delivered an extended sermon concerning the preservation of the integrity of the Catholic faith and the attainment of unanimity and fraternal charity, according to the wisdom given to him. When this was finished, after confirming the peace and giving his blessing, clad as he was in his pontifical stole, he ordered his own sepulchre to be opened. Entering it, indeed, before a great multitude of bystanders, and placing himself in a wondrous manner between his wife and daughter, [he places himself in the middle between his wife and daughter in the sepulchre, and dies praying] with serene voice and vigorous countenance, he gave his last farewell, about to sleep in the Lord, and gently commanded himself to be enclosed beneath the marble slab. There, praying for some time, he joyfully rendered his precious soul to the Lord, and divested of the burden of the flesh, he attained the Capitol of the heavenly kingdom. In such a manner, therefore, he died in the peace of the Church, full of days, on the day of the Kalends of February.

[14] From that time until this day, the merciful and compassionate Lord Christ our Redeemer, to manifest the illustrious merits of His Confessor, works innumerable miracles at his tomb, where now there is a marble basilica constructed with paneled ceilings in his honor, in the city that was formerly called Classe, not far from the district that is called Salutaris to the present day.

[15] He shines with miracles. Of the innumerable benefits of signs which Almighty God has deigned to display through His beloved Confessor, Blessed Severus, toward the sick, we set forth one with a faithful account -- one that was demonstrated in our own time In the author's time -- so that through it the rest, which we have not seen, may be commended. A certain woman of Ravenna, having a small son laboring excessively from a daily pattern of fevers, resolved, on account of the excess of his continual pain, to present him quickly to God at the sepulchre of Blessed Severus, Archbishop and Confessor. When, accompanied by the assistance of friends, she had arrived there with her son, they prostrated themselves humbly before God, a sick boy brought to his tomb praying also to His Saint Severus with greater earnestness for the health of the little one. And when, led by good hope, they resolved to spend the night in the church, partly from the length of the night and partly relaxed by the constancy of their prayer, they all were seized by sleep and rested. But at the dead of night, with all pressed down in sluggish slumber, the sick boy alone was startled and uttered a plaintive cry, awakening everyone. Looking about, they saw that the lamps, which had been extinguished before, lamps divinely lit were gleaming with a fitting brightness of light. And when they recognized the miracle of the light sent from heaven, struck with awe, they gave glory to the Lord and to St. Severus. When the boy had been led into the midst, his mother began to question him, saying: "What happened to you, my son?" And he said before them all: emerging from the tomb "I saw coming forth from this sepulchre a man in episcopal attire, adorned with a white head of hair, having an angelic countenance, who touched me, and I was frightened." he heals with a touch And that infirmity at once departed from the boy, and he was no longer afflicted with fever. But to what purpose are these things? Because it cannot be doubted that whatever he wished to ask of Almighty God, he obtains without delay and without hesitation.

[16] Let these things suffice for the present concerning so great a pillar of the Church, whose history of holiness we believe no pen can adequately describe, even if the style of Cicero himself were at hand. Behold, the author excuses the simplicity of his style as we promised, we avoid the trappings of novel words; although they might to some extent be at our disposal, had it not pleased us to attend more to goodwill than to ostentation. For we, being small, have written for the small; for we read that "small things befit the small." Moreover, the Apostle teaches us not to be wise in lofty things, but to consent to the humble. Romans 12:16 And certainly the Law forbids anyone to place a stumbling block before the blind. Leviticus 19:14 For we cannot all do all things.

a The burial of St. Severus, together with his wife and daughter in the same tomb, is mentioned in the canon Vnaquaeque, 13 question 2, section Item S. Severus.

b If (as seems to us more likely) this Life was written after the relics of St. Severus were carried off to Germany, it may nevertheless be inferred from this passage that some part of them remained here, and that for this reason the sepulchre was held in veneration and was even made famous by miracles.

c The people of Classe are mentioned above in number 10; Classe is discussed below in the Life by Luidolf, and on January 31 in the Life of St. Geminianus, chapter 4, number 15, and frequently on February 7 in the Life of St. Romuald.

CHAPTER 5

A mystical digression on the marriage and craft of St. Severus.

[17] But since we have now, with the West Wind blowing, navigated the pool of this history with our merchandise safe, let us pause a little to observe whether there lies hidden in this same history, as in a shell, some precious pearl of allegory. The Holy Spirit resting in a dove upon St. Severus Is it to be supposed that the dove glided down easily and without great authority from the highest point of heaven to the earth? By no means. For nowhere is the advent of a dove recorded except for the purpose of testifying to the presence of the Holy Spirit. No room for reproach is left to heretics, who

think that the holy Lord Severus was bound in marriage to the disgrace of the Church, and who, wrapped in the dregs of their own obscenity, are ignorant of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and what they by no means perceive in themselves, they in no way recognize in others. He refutes heretics who condemn marriage If anyone therefore has never tasted the flavor of honey, he is entirely ignorant of its savor. On the other hand, those who use only wormwood, neglecting other herbs, to them indeed sweet seems bitter, and they think the other herbs are of the same bitterness on account of their inexperience of their flavor. For of such it is written... and other creatures as evil If therefore something seems evil to anyone, he is a witness against himself that he is evil; and what he has through privation, he supposes all have without distinction through nature. But he who understands all things simply, and with uncorrupted eyes believes every creature to be good, is himself a witness that he is good. Let the good man therefore rejoice that he was created by the Lord; but let the evil man know that he exists without the Creator, and therefore is nothing; for nothing, except God, is uncreated. If therefore the evil man were something, what would he be but good? "And God saw," says Scripture, "all that He had made, and they were not only good but even very good." Genesis 1:31 Hence it may be determined that the things which exist are good, and that they do not exist if they are not good. Are all good things therefore also just?

[18] The blessed Severus, therefore, surveying all the works of the Lord with dove-like eyes, understood that marriage is indeed very good, if one uses it lawfully; for if it were not good, those who do not appear good to good things a woman would by no means have been created by God as a helper. Genesis 2:18 For the son of the dove -- by whom the Holy Spirit is signified -- had the eyes of a dove. Not that any of the faithful can rightly be called a son of the Holy Spirit, but plainly a son of God the Father and of Mother Church, through the grace of adoption. Whence the Bridegroom in the Canticles addresses the Bride, seeking the eyes of doves. Song of Songs 1:14 and 4:1 These eyes our first parents lost when, as a consequence of their transgression, they were forsaken by God, "and the eyes of both were opened." After they lost the eyes of doves, they at once felt shame, because death entered through the windows of carnal eyes. Behold, so long as a child is led by the Spirit of innocence, by those who view them simply and innocently he is said to have the eyes of a dove, because he views simply all things that are in the world. For he does not blush at his own members, he envies no one, he is angry with no one, he thinks nothing shameful, he desires nothing unlawful, because the indwelling Holy Spirit, who guards him with an uncorrupted mind, knows none of these things. But if through the byways of vices, an exile from life, he falls into the concupiscence of the flesh, he rightly then feels shame, because what the Psalmist says is fulfilled in him: "Man, when he was in honor, did not understand; he was compared to senseless beasts and was made like unto them." Psalm 48:13, 21 The Spirit of adoption, therefore, which Blessed Severus received in holy rebirth, like a dove in the cleft of the wall, so nurtured the chicks of virtue in the nest of his heart, and did not depart from him until in the election of the Bishop it was made known to men what merit was his. Behold how men forget the heavenly life after they fall from the lofty summit of innocence into the earthly with a corrupted mind.

[19] Blessed Severus therefore had a wife, and he had a daughter, but before his episcopate. Was he for that reason unworthy of the episcopate, because he had a wife? Far from it. Yet after ordination he had his wife as a sister, as the Apostles also did. Did not Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, have a wife by lawful right? He certainly did -- but before his calling to the Apostolate. Behold, by the same reasoning Blessed Severus, when the grace of the Gospel was already shining forth, was joined in marriage, just as Paul, the Teacher of the Nations, taught; which marriage Blessed Peter, while living under the Law, is said to have used. Behold, Peter, called and elected to the Apostolate, leads about a wife, but does not use her as such. For the wife was turned into a sister, because the order of the times had now changed. For He who formerly under the Law condemned those who remained without offspring among the people of Israel, now thunders terribly through His Gospel: "Let your loins be girded." Luke 12:35 For Blessed Severus, elected to the episcopate through the dove, led about his wife like Peter, nurtured his daughter spiritually; yet he no longer uses his wife as such, because he is appointed as the vicar Pastor of the Church of Christ. Let the calumniators of the Church withdraw far off, they who understand neither what they condemn nor what they affirm.

[20] Moreover, that the man of the Lord, Severus, sought his livelihood from the craft of wool-working commends his holy simplicity. For it was indeed most fitting in every way he wove cloth from the wool of sheep that the rational sheep of the Lord, clothed with the fleece of the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world, should sustain her own life and that of her household from nothing other than the covering of sheep -- that is, of clean animals. For she was one, and no ordinary one, of those which the true and eternal Shepherd Christ commends in the Gospel with these words: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life." John 10:27 Of which He says elsewhere: "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold, and those I must bring, and they shall hear my voice." John 10:16 For the sheep is, as they say, by nature the cleanest and gentlest of all animals, and given to simplicity. If therefore there is any meaningful comparison between the rational and the irrational, we rightly compare like with like in such cases. So great a man, therefore, is not to be believed to have obtained such a calling by mere chance. Rather, it seems to have been an indication of his future office; which he was mystically to tend for to him was to be entrusted the pastoral care by which, like Peter, he would labor to feed both the lambs and the sheep. John 21:16-17

[21] For thus we read in the Acts of the Apostles that Paul, the Teacher of the whole Church, lived by the labor of his own hands so as not to be a burden to any of his hearers; so St. Paul made tents and he was of the tent-making craft. Could Paul not have lived by other means, he who was full of every skill? He could have indeed. Acts 18:3 But we believe this was done for the sake of a certain mystery, so that because the eminent Preacher commended by deeds everything that he preached to the faithful -- lest he himself become reprobate -- it was highly fitting that the labors of his hands also bear witness to his life and preaching. And because the very work by which he lived was necessary for travelers and pilgrims, mystically teaching that we must depart from here what he himself, persuading the Hebrews of contempt for this world, was going to write -- saying: "We have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come" Hebrews 13:14 -- he was already then speaking in a certain prescient language of his craft in a figurative way. As if those little shelters, by human reasoning, were saying plainly to those who used them: "See, O sailors and pilgrim travelers, the material and fabric of your huts, and by the reason of our nature, which is known to you, weigh the loftiness of your dignity, which our maker and weaver Paul teaches you without ceasing. from rushes born by the water We have our origin from the waters and are born on the banks of pools, and we are of such lightness that we can easily be carried by travelers, and yet through our service they have the desired shade. But you, who are rational, through which the faithful are reborn reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, do not weigh yourselves down with earthly desires and the enticements of the world, so that free and unencumbered you may traverse the brief road of this pilgrimage and merit to arrive as quickly as possible at the eternal homeland." See how the work of Paul speaks, by which he is recorded to have lived. The same may indeed be understood of the handiwork of Blessed Severus: that through all the fleeces he admonishes his followers to have meek and simple hearts.

a Here there seems to be missing the passage from Isaiah 5:20: "who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."

b The author seems to imply that the tents which Paul made were fashioned from rushes, so that the craft should be called not scenofactoria but schoenofactoria, for schoinos means "rush" and skene means "shelter."

CHAPTER 6

On the miracles of St. Severus: another digression.

[22] Now indeed the sequence of the exposition requires that we also attempt to penetrate with lynx-like eyes the meaning of this: St. Severus is present at the funeral of St. Geminianus that at the hour of the sacred oblation he is rapt in spirit and is reported to be present at the funeral of Blessed Bishop Geminianus. In this miracle of a special gift, we ought not unreasonably to esteem the holy Lord Archbishop Severus as equal in every way to Blessed Ambrose, as St. Ambrose saw in spirit the death of St. Martin for just as that most blessed Hierarch ministered at the birthday feast of the incomparable St. Martin, so also did this one at that of Blessed Geminianus. And if anyone should wish to object that the miracle should be considered somewhat dissimilar on this account -- that wider stretches of land lie between the cities of Milan and Tours -- let him know that Almighty God, who is in all places without place, is neither expanded in the greatest nor confined in the smallest spaces, for the hundred heavens are not His kingdom; He who is difficult to find where He is, is more difficult to find where He is not. And since we do not have a fixed date in the Church for Blessed Severus, which of them was earlier in time is by no means clear to us; but that both had one and the same gift of the Holy Spirit is evident to men of sound mind. But an objection is raised in this manner: "And how can it be that anyone from the number of priests should be compared to Ambrose, a Doctor of the Church?" -- an occasion for calumny which we resolve the more quickly if we take care to observe more closely the praise of the Holy Spirit. For we read in Scripture that the Holy Spirit is "manifold and one." Wisdom 7:22 The Spirit is therefore found to be manifold on account of His multiform knowledge in Ambrose; but He is of no lesser power as one in St. Severus. and in this they are alike That the glorious Fathers Ambrose and Severus were of one and the same merit is attested in this event by a similar gift.

[23] But let us also observe what may be the cause of so wondrous an authority, that the man of God, compelled at the burial of his daughter, commanded the body of his wife, long since deceased, who moved his wife's body by command to turn itself quickly to one side and to provide space for the burial of his daughter. For just as this power is rarely displayed, so it is not without difficulty expounded by us. Yet whatever it is that glimmers in our understandings, we judge it by no means fair to cover with silence. It also seems to the understanding of our incompetence he could have raised her that this holy man was by no means incapable of raising the body of his wife, seeing that he was able to obtain from Almighty God that she should so swiftly turn on her side.

[24] There is also another thing that seems useful to understand. For above we fought more than enough with a sharpened sword against heretics and enemies of the Church, who even by the mere reputation of a wife destined the holy man for no office; and therefore it was necessary that the devil with his liars should be confounded openly, and that the holy Church everywhere should attain such glory of divine proclamation in its priest. For to confess the truth, the Holy Spirit Himself evidently showed through the dove in the election of what chastity and continence he had been before the episcopate, that by the apparition of the dove, his chastity before the episcopate when the dove flew over so many Priests and Levites and assigned for Himself a beloved dwelling place. But lest any unresolved scruple remain among the servants of the Lord, the most sacred Bishop seems to be secretly satisfying his Church against the longstanding suspicion regarding his wife. For what is he said to have done before he performed the miracle? He is believed to have first recalled his former life, when by Christian liberty he is recorded to have been bound in marriage. The fact that he commanded with such imperious authority that the dead body of his wife should turn itself to the side thus indicated by this deed his continence in the episcopate plainly shows how free from concern he was regarding contact with her after he became Bishop.

[25] Lastly, let us go to consider his passing, and with eagle eyes (so to speak) let us see how full of virtues he was. He descended alive, I say, into the sepulchre in which his wife rested buried with their daughter, and placing himself in the middle, he fell asleep in peace. Whom did this man imitate in his death, if not that most resplendent ray, John the Evangelist and Theologian, who, as Ecclesiastical history attests, he enters the tomb alive, like St. John the Evangelist rested in a similar manner in his extreme old age? We presume to compare no one to John after his fellow Apostles, because the whole world is compelled to protest; but yet in this virtue we assert that Severus, the man of God, shares a portion with him. Blessed John is believed to have been assumed. But the man of God, Severus, is held among us to be fully present in his own tomb. He is therefore held on earth synecdochically, and he awaits in quiet the time of the inevitable anastasis.

[26] An exhortation to his veneration. For which reason let us strive with every effort of devotion to venerate so great and such a patron, and just as if he were still dwelling with us in the flesh, so let us regard him though absent, because (as the truth holds) he is more truly believed to stand by us than he was seen alive in the flesh in his own time. For since he is joined in heaven to the supreme Sun, who inhabits inaccessible light, nothing is done among creatures that he cannot see. Oh, if only... they could touch his tomb, how they would strive to bedew it with the most abundant waves of tears! We have in him a most sweet Patron, a most merciful Archbishop, who offers our prayers to Almighty God, and as a faithful Advocate interposes himself on our behalf by pleading the cause of faith. Let us by all means open to him the secrets of our conscience through confession, so that on that day of the fearful examination he may recognize us under the patronage of his protection. Praise and thanksgiving to Him who predestined him before all ages to the eternal kingdom, and through the dove of the Holy Spirit, a living creature, elected him to the episcopate, received him in peace, and introduced him, rejoicing forever, into the pastures of the eternal Jerusalem.

a Concerning the death of St. Martin divinely revealed to St. Ambrose, we shall speak on November 11 in connection with the Life of St. Martin and on December 7 in connection with the Life of St. Ambrose. The former died under the consulship of Caesarius and Atticus, in the year 397; the latter in the following year, under the consulship of Honorius IV and Eutychianus, as is touched upon below in connection with the Life of St. Sigebert, section 6.

b Hence it is clear that the author, though pious and versed in the Scriptures, was not very well acquainted with Ecclesiastical histories. St. Severus was somewhat older than Ambrose; they were, however, contemporaries.

c On this matter there will be occasion for discussion on December 27.

d If it were established that the author spoke precisely and wrote at Ravenna, it would follow that this Life was written before the death of Louis the Pious, when St. Severus was still held in his own tomb.

MIRACLE OF ST. SEVERUS

from Jerome Rubeus, History of Ravenna, book 2.

Severus, Bishop, at Ravenna (St.) Vincentia, his wife, at Ravenna (St.) Innocentia, Virgin, their daughter, at Ravenna (St.)

The author, still unknown to me, who wrote the life of this holy Archbishop, which I read after it was brought from the monastery of St. Donatus at Siena, relates the other miracles in summary fashion, but explains at length one that he testifies occurred in his own time. When the Emperor Henry had stationed the Marquis Boniface of Tuscany with his army around the ruined walls of the town of Classe, the soldiers soldiers squandering the goods of the monastery were making the area near the church of St. Severus and the nearby monastery hostile; and having entered the garden of the monks, who were of the Cistercian order, they carried off vegetables and leeks in particular. It happened that when they cooked them under ashes and ate them, blood poured forth over their mouths, terrified by a prodigy and from the very knives with which they had cut the leeks and from the hands with which they had handled them, it dripped. And so, disturbed by so great a prodigy and plainly confounded, first they began to fear divine vengeance; then, having taken salutary counsel, they ran into the church of the holy Archbishop, humbly begging for help and forgiveness, they beg for pardon and offering small gifts. When at last the blood dried up and was wiped away,

it signified that pardon had been obtained. The author adduces as sworn witnesses of this miracle the monks themselves and very many of the common people who were present.

a Concerning the town of Classe, we have spoken in connection with the Life of St. Geminianus. The place retains its name, together with the monastery and the notable basilica of St. Apollinaris.

b That monastery was situated between Ravenna and Classe, closer to the latter. Rubeus in book 5 writes that around the year of Christ 1115 it received the rule of the Cistercian Order; and tacitly he refutes what he had written here, since in the lifetime of the Marquis Boniface the Cistercian family had not yet been founded, much less introduced into the monastery of St. Severus. Ferdinand Ughelli, himself an Abbot of that institute, writes in volume 2 of his Italia Sacra that the Cistercians were later compelled to abandon that monastery on account of the greed of commendatory abbots, etc.

ANOTHER MIRACLE

from Blessed Peter Damian, sermon 2.

Severus, Bishop, at Ravenna (St.) Vincentia, his wife, at Ravenna (St.) Innocentia, Virgin, their daughter, at Ravenna (St.)

But why do we speak of the ancient miracles of Blessed Severus, when even today we frequently hear that not a few prodigious signs occur in the venerable basilica of his burial? For, to pass over the rest in silence, how worthy of praise is this one thing, and with what joy is it to be referred to the glory of the divine omnipotence: that beneath the very altar of his most sacred body, a most clear water slowly emanates, beneath the altar of St. Severus water flows, salutary against diseases destined to benefit the various ailments of the sick? For if the faith of those who drink it demands it, as soon as their ailing breasts receive it, they straightway recover from sickness to their former health. And -- that you may hear of this marvelous event occurring in a marvelous way -- not in the mildness of the spring season, not in the rains of the autumn floods, not in the cold of the rain-bearing winter, when water is wont to ooze thinly from various rocky masses, in summer but in the very heat of the burning summer you will know it to bubble forth from dry lime and hard stones. from dry lime and stones So that, evidently, when the greater necessity of illness presses, then especially does divine compassion provide a remedy; and to human weakness, which is then engendered by the fault of fiery heat, it presents the force of healing from the contrary element, after the manner of physicians.

ANOTHER LIFE

BY LUIDOLF THE PRIEST,

from the Utrecht and Budick manuscripts.

Severus, Bishop, at Ravenna (St.) Vincentia, his wife, at Ravenna (St.) Innocentia, Virgin, their daughter, at Ravenna (St.)

BHL Number: 7681

By Luidolf, from manuscripts.

PROLOGUE OF THE AUTHOR.

[1] To the venerable Brother, to be embraced with the arms of unfeigned charity, Erlarius the Deacon, Luidolf, an unworthy priest. If I write to you, dearest, something that pertains to some usefulness, perhaps you will receive it gladly; nor indeed can you be ungrateful when you see yourself corrected of some error -- if, that is, you are willing to give credence to my words. Therefore what I learned while in Italy, I have sent to you to read, earnestly requesting that you correct it as you read it through, and send it back once recited. For to you alone do I presume to show my trifles, since you do not disdain to read my rustic efforts as though they were the polished works of others. Farewell, dearest friend, doing as I ask; and know that I am your most faithful friend in all things.

a Budick manuscript: Luidolfus.

b The same: rustica ("rustic").

CHAPTER 1.

How the Author obtained the Life of St. Severus.

[2] At a certain time, while I was in a rather secluded place and was reading many things concerning the departure of souls and concerning the diverse retribution of the same according to the quality of their merits, in the Dialogues of St. Gregory and in visions of others, Luidolf, for the forgiveness of sins, visits the thresholds of the Apostles terrified by the fear of judgment and the dread of punishments, I recalled to memory, not without tears, the faults of my youth, which I had contracted through human frailty. But when, confused in mind and hemmed in by anguish, I considered how I might be able to abolish those offenses by which I had offended God, it occurred to me to visit the thresholds of the Apostles and of other Saints, and to endeavor with the utmost zeal to break the bonds of my sins through their intercessions. For "those who have no covering," according to the words of Blessed Job, "embrace the stones." Job 24:8 Having therefore received permission, I undertook the toilsome journey, and, impeded by various hardships -- especially floods of rain -- I barely reached Rome in the tenth week. And there, remaining for eight days, sometimes alone and sometimes with other companions, humbly prostrated before the memorials of the Apostles, I besought the Lord with all my heart that by His gratuitous grace, and entreated by the prayers of the Saints, He would deign to grant me pardon for my past sins, to bestow continence for the present, and to preserve me unharmed under His protection to the very end from future ones. But with these few necessary preliminaries stated, we must now come to the narrative which, with the Lord's help, I have prepared to set forth for you.

[3] When I was at Ravenna, a city of Italy, I diligently endeavored to investigate the life of the Saints -- namely, Severus, he inquires at Ravenna about the life of St. Severus Vincentia, and Innocentia -- whose bodies, having been taken from there, were translated to this diocese, with their names reversed; concerning whose translation, with Christ's favor, I shall treat at another time. And when I could obtain no certain information about them from anyone, I was, I confess, not a little saddened. But God, the consoler of those who mourn, consoled me through a certain monk who had gone from the monastery of those same Saints into the city (for this monastery is at some distance from the city of Ravenna) to visit certain friends of his. When I saw him returning from the city to the monastery, I met him; and among other words of our conversation I asked him to relate to me something about the life of the Saints, if he knew anything. And he said: "Come tomorrow a monk, whom the Saint had twice saved, inviting him to our monastery, and there you will have your wish fulfilled on this matter. For I shall show you a man who can tell you by word of mouth what you seek." For he was from the regions of Gaul and was unable to express in Latin what I wished. The same man also related that he had been captured twice by enemies: once by the Danes in Gaul, and a second time in the same monastery by the Saracens; but by the grace of God he was freed from both.

[4] He goes to the monastery On the following day, therefore, wishing to test whether his promise was true or not, and desiring to satisfy my longing, I proceeded to the monastery, having not a few companions on the journey. The brothers of that place received us kindly and brought us into the presence of the Abbot, by whom we were also charitably received; we all sat down in the monastery together with him, and a considerable number of monks of the same place likewise sat with us. and learned what he sought Then, when I was asked where I was from and for what reason I had come there, I explained both before them all. Then one of the monks who sat with us, at the Abbot's signal, gave me this account in the Latin tongue, beginning as follows.

a Utrecht manuscript: rationem ("account").

b Concerning the incursions of the Danes into Gaul under Louis the Pious and especially under his sons, we have spoken frequently elsewhere.

c Rubeus, in book 5 of his History of Ravenna, page 240, writes that after the year 846 the coast of the Adriatic was devastated by Saracens and the church of St. Apollinaris at Classe was plundered. The town of Classe plundered by Saracens. At that time the monastery of St. Severus also appears to have been pillaged, its relics having already been carried off to Germany. Concerning the bodies of other Saints translated from Classe into the city of Ravenna out of fear of the same Saracens, we shall treat in connection with the Life of St. Calocerus on February 11.

CHAPTER 2.

The miraculous election of St. Severus to the episcopate.

[5] "Severus, whose life you desire to know, was not a Martyr but a Confessor. He, remaining for a long time in the lay condition, led a life of poverty in this city of Ravenna according to the ways of the world, having obtained a woman in marriage St. Severus practices the craft of wool-working named Vincentia, by whom he begot a daughter called Innocentia; with whom he carried on womanly work to earn his living. For he was accustomed to spin wool and to weave it, in the manner of women, whence he was commonly called a wool-worker."

[6] "Moreover, what merit this same man had before the interior judge, that same arbiter took care to make known also to men, as will be demonstrated in what follows. For when the Bishop of the said city had died, the people were ordered by the Prince of the city to observe a fast of three days, so that God might show by some sign who ought to succeed in the place of the deceased. While this was taking place, Severus said to Vincentia his wife: 'I shall go to the church to see who today is elected Bishop.' To whom she replied with indignation: 'What business do you, covered in rags, have among nobles and men clothed in purple? Or what concern is it of yours, the council of great men regarding the election of a Bishop? It is more useful for you to serve someone in the customary manner, he goes to the election of the Bishop despite his wife's unwillingness whence you may be able to provide the necessities of life for me and your daughter.' To this he said: 'What harm is it if I go?' But she: 'And I hope that having gone there, you will come back cuffed!' He, however, counting his wife's words as nothing, hastened to the church, and entering, he stationed himself almost next to the Prince."

[7] "And while the people were praying, behold suddenly a certain dove, flying above, settled upon his head in the sight of all. A dove settles upon him. Some, taking this as a sign, judged him worthy of the priesthood; but others, taking it ill that a man clothed in such mean garments should have presumed to stand among the foremost men of the city, he is first cast out; the prodigy is repeated three times compelled him to leave the church dishonorably, just as his wife had wished would happen to him. But on the second day, when he tried to hide in the church, he was again betrayed by the dove and stirred the hearts of those who beheld it. On the third day, when those in the church were awaiting some sign from God, He who sees and judges not the face but the heart, as if rebuking their stubbornness, plainly showed him to all as worthy of the priesthood through the dove, just as before. Then all said with one voice: 'Whom can we choose, except him whom the Lord has now chosen three times?' And seizing him from the crowd, they dragged him, resisting, to a more prominent place, he is elected Bishop and changing his garments, they made him a cleric. Then according to ecclesiastical custom they consecrated him Bishop."

[8] His wife refuses to believe it. "But a certain one of those standing by ran and announced to Vincentia that her husband was Bishop. But she, smiling, did not believe the one who brought the news, and added mockingly: 'I know that Severus, imbued with Grammar and the other arts, can well be a Bishop. For he has been the Father of many monasteries for a long time; therefore the rest ought to imitate the examples of his way of life.' But he who had brought the news affirmed that he had spoken the truth. When the truth is known, she and her daughter take the veil and live holy lives. And she said: 'He who up until now has been accustomed to walk through the streets stretching thread from the distaff and winding it onto the spindle is not undeservedly reported to be seated in the Bishop's chair.' While she was saying these things, a second and third person came, reporting things similar to the first message. Then she, led by wonder, arose, and together with her daughter ran to the church; and seeing that what she had heard was true, she gave thanks to God. Immediately both of them, covered with the sacred veil, persevered in holy living -- one in the resolution of widowhood, the other in that of virginity."

a This is absent from the Budick manuscript.

b Utrecht manuscript: aeternum ("eternal").

c Utrecht manuscript: arbitror ("I judge"), with curauit ("he took care") omitted.

d The same is found in the second part of the Legenda. The earlier Life, together with Rubeus, reads otherwise.

e At the time Luidolf wrote these words, Grammarians -- that is, professors of polished learning -- were held in great esteem, as we said on January 11 in connection with the Life of St. Paulinus of Aquileia.

f Rubeus reports that she lived across from the church.

g Lest anyone suppose that she continued to live with her husband after this, the text says she was clad in the sacred veil and lived in the manner of a widow.

CHAPTER 3.

The deaths of Sts. Severus, Vincentia, and Innocentia; their celebration.

[9] Severus, illustrious for miracles and for divinely infused learning. "The holy Severus, making daily progress in the service of God and shining with miracles, presented a great spectacle of himself to the people. For he surpassed all the men of his time in his vicinity in holiness of life and the pursuit of sacred learning, and the Lord bestowed upon him such grace that he was loved and honored by all who could know him. Nor is it to be wondered at that a plebeian and unlettered man could suddenly become a master and Doctor of the Church; for our Lord Jesus Christ chose not rhetoricians, not philosophers, but fishermen, and sent them to preach throughout the whole world. For there is no delay in learning where the Holy Spirit is the Teacher; and in whomsoever He deigns to dwell, He makes that person both ardent and eloquent."

[10] The tomb of his wife and daughter. "It happened that the aforesaid women entered upon the way of all flesh; and he ordered them to be buried in the sepulchre which he had prepared for himself. Then, as time passed, when the man of God, now weary with old age, perceived his last day approaching, clothed in his sacerdotal vestments he celebrated Mass with some bystanders. When it was completed, he ordered everyone to return to their homes, except one servant, who at his nod closed all the doors of the church. Then, as the blessed man approached the place where the holy women had been interred, it opens of its own accord the tomb opened of its own accord. Then he said: 'Sister and daughter, I prepared this sepulchre for myself and lent it to you in your need; but since I am now about to depart to my Maker at His call, give me a place to sleep with you, so that we who lived together in this world may also share a common burial.' he enters and dies And when they immediately made room for him, he entered the tomb alive -- as St. John is read to have done -- and fortifying himself with the sign of the holy cross, he fell asleep."

[11] "The boy, however, who was inside the church, seeing the blessed man enter the sepulchre the tomb closing again of its own accord and the upper stone rolling back to its former place as if moved by human hands, ran with a great cry, and seizing a piece of his chasuble which happened to hang outside the sarcophagus, he tried to pull it toward himself. But those who were outside the doors, stupefied, rushed in through the entrances, asking the boy why he had cried out so. He said: 'My lord the Bishop has entered this sepulchre; come quickly lest he be suffocated inside.' But the men of more mature age, understanding that this was accomplished by the will of God and recognizing that his soul had already departed to the heavenly realms, he shines with miracles blessed the Lord in hymns and praises, rendering fitting honor to His Confessor. How many miracles of healing of the sick were thereafter wrought there through the merits of the holy Confessor by the Lord's generosity, it would take too long to explain to you. [He is venerated on February 1, as are St. Vincentia his wife and St. Innocentia his daughter.]"

[12] "After this I inquired about the feast days of the Saints, on which Kalends they should be celebrated. 'The feast of St. Severus,' he said, 'is celebrated on the Kalends of February; but the feast of the holy women, since

it has lapsed from memory on account of the attacks of pagans, is therefore celebrated with his solemnity on the aforementioned Kalends.' Having heard these things, I thought I possessed the riches of Croesus. Thereafter we experienced no small kindness from those brothers; for, refreshed with bread and wine, we completed our journey in joy."

[13] "These things, dearest brother, concerning the life and death of the Saints, just as I heard them from the monk himself in the presence of many, I have committed to writing and dedicated to your name; chiefly for this reason, that I might make you certain about the names and feast days of the Saints, and that I might not allow you to err with those who do not know these things. But if, still hesitating about these matters, you do not believe me, go to Italy and seek the place mentioned between Ravenna and the monastery of St. Apollinaris; there without doubt you will find as many witnesses of this narrative the monastery of St. Severus near Ravenna as there are monks. And even if the same monk has deceived me (God forbid) in this narration, he will without doubt pay the penalty for his falsehood, compelled by Him who leaves no sin unpunished. I indeed know that I have written nothing except what I heard from him."

[14] The relics of St. Vincentia at Mainz. "Therefore when you wish to go to pray at the church of St. Alban, coming to the southern side of that church, know that the bones of the holy woman Vincentia are deposited there; and know that St. Severus was translated from that church to Thuringia, and that St. Innocentia was in part transferred to another monastery those of others elsewhere called Paraciatense. Through whose merits and intercessions may the Almighty deign to grant us that we may so conduct ourselves here that on the day of the fearful examination we may merit to be rewarded by the most just Judge, together with those who are to be placed at His right hand."

a Of the Heruli, Goths, Lombards, etc.

b "In part" is absent from the Budick manuscript, as is the name of the monastery.

BOOK 2.

The Translation of Sts. Severus, Vincentia, and Innocentia.

CHAPTER 1.

The sacred relics are transferred to Mainz.

[1] In my previous little book, my dearest Erlarius, I promised that I would write about the translation of the Saints mentioned there; and now, with the gift and aid of Him who gives to all abundantly and does not reproach, I shall not delay to fulfill this as best I can.

[2] There was a certain cleric from the regions of Gaul, named Felix (whether so in deed or not, it is not for me to judge), whom I remember having seen when I was a boy. It was his custom to wander through various provinces and to steal the relics of Saints Felix, a plunderer of relics wherever he could, for the sake of profit. He came to the aforesaid monastery, which we said is situated between the city of Ravenna and St. Apollinaris, he takes lodging at the monastery of St. Severus together with certain companions; and there he was received for religion's sake, as a pilgrim, and experienced such kindness from those brothers that he received daily provisions there as though he were one of them. Furthermore, lest those brothers suspect anything sinister about him, he confirmed by oath that he would never leave the monastery. And when he had begun to live there with such familiarity for some time, he attached himself to the custodian of the church and showed him assiduous attention.

[3] Then, having found an opportune time for the purpose for which he had come, he stole the bones of the aforesaid Saints and took flight with his accomplices. When the brothers discovered this, he steals the relics of Sts. Vincentia and Innocentia they sent messengers to the magnates of Italy, so that they might block all the exits from Italy, or at least prevent him from escaping in any way. But when he realized that the routes of escape were closed to him, traveling by night through byways he came to Pavia, and there he hid for some time.

[4] Meanwhile, the Emperor Louis sent Otgar, Archbishop of Mainz, and Hildi, Bishop of Verdun, and two Counts -- and to Otgar, Bishop of Mainz one named Warinus and the other Adalgisus -- to Lothair, his son, who was at that time residing at Pavia, for the restoration of the peace and friendship between them, which had been somewhat disturbed by the machinations of wicked men. When they had arrived, the aforementioned Felix, with the relics of the Saints which he had stolen, betook himself to the lodging of Otgar and told him what he had done. Otgar, receiving them with joy, he delivers them to Otgar concealed them in his chests and, so that no one should have access to them, sealed them with his own seal.

[4] In the morning, Hildi and the aforementioned Counts came to the lodging of Otgar, so that they might confer together who, when his companions were struck with dread at the presence of the relics as to how they might carry out in concert the embassy entrusted to them. And when they had entered the chamber where the holy relics were kept in the chests, great dread and excessive fear fell upon them, so that, shaken with trembling, they could hardly remain seated. Otgar, seeing them pale and trembling, asked what was the cause of so great a fear. And they said: "Perhaps in the course of this embassy we are about to meet the end of this life. For never, not even when facing enemies in battle, has such great fear invaded us." "Do not be afraid," said Otgar, "for on this journey, with God protecting us, we shall suffer no distress. But if you wish to hear it gladly, I shall tell you the cause of this fear. For yesterday relics of the Saints were brought to me, which I have in my keeping in these chests; and since upon entering here you did not pay them fitting honor, you have justly fallen into this fear." And hearing these things, they fell to their knees and prayed that prosperity might come to them through the intercession of the Saints. And so it was. the embassy successfully completed For on the following day they were honorably received by Lothair, and having completed their embassy, they returned with their wish fulfilled to the Emperor who had sent them. The aforesaid Felix, moreover, together with his companions, having received horses and other gifts from Otgar, and hiding among his men, departed from Italy and avoided the traps that the Italians had prepared.

[5] He carries the relics to Mainz. Otgar, having completed his embassy, came from the Emperor's court to Mainz and ordered the relics of the Saints to be received with the highest veneration by the Clergy and people. This being done, he placed the bones of St. Severus in a reliquary beside the altar of St. Alban, and placed those of St. Vincentia on the southern side, and those of St. Innocentia on the northern side of the same church, as we mentioned in the previous book, in the most honorable locations beside individual altars, having constructed small beds above them, which he adorned with gold and silver, as is still clear to those who see them.

a What is contained here up to number 5 is also found in the Erfurt Breviary for the octave day.

b Utrecht manuscript: denigrata ("defiled").

c Budick manuscript: Ludevvicus. This is Louis the Pious, the son of Charlemagne, as we showed above; at whose death in the year 840, Otgar was present together with Hetti, Bishop of Trier, and Drogo, Bishop of Metz.

d Budick manuscript: Hildivvinum. Erfurt Breviary: Hildim. Wasseburgius writes that he was ordained Bishop in the year 829, that he always adhered to Louis the Pious, who for that reason bestowed many gifts upon the Church of Verdun; and that after his death he suffered many things at the hands of Lothair, his son.

e The Budick manuscript adds: "and that they might discuss most diligently the business which they had received."

f The same manuscript adds: "and his accomplices."

g The Erfurt Breviary always calls him Othogarius.

h Up to this point the Erfurt Breviary.

i The monastery of St. Alban near Mainz was renowned for its piety and learning; from it a colony was sent to Spanheim in the year 1124, as Trithemius writes in the Chronicle of Spanheim. But St. Alban's was changed into a college of Canons, the church of St. Alban at Mainz who forty years ago, when Serarius was writing, performed the sacred offices in the church of the Dominicans, since only the ruins of their own church remained. The Church of Mainz venerates St. Alban the Martyr on June 21.

k Serarius, in his work on Mainz affairs, book 1, chapter 17, among the relics that were formerly preserved in the basilica of St. Alban, lists the bodies of Sts. Vincentia and Innocentia; now destroyed but he does not indicate where they now are.

CHAPTER 2.

The relics of St. Severus translated to Erfurt; those of St. Innocentia to another location.

[6] After some time had elapsed, the same venerable Archbishop Otgar, wishing the holy relics to shine forth for the greater veneration of sacred worship, transferred the bones of St. Severus to Thuringia, to the royal place then he transfers those of St. Severus to Erfurt called Erfurt, accompanied by priests and clerics of various orders and by a considerable crowd of people. But before the most sacred ashes arrived there, they became famous on the journey for many miracles wrought by God, not without miracles of which few out of many it is not tedious to insert here. For, as those who testified that they were present at the translation related, four sisters from Thuringia came with the rest of the multitude to meet the holy relics; of whom one, the eldest, was invaded by a malignant spirit and grievously tormented before all who were present. There was, moreover, on the same journey a certain priest named Reginharius, afterwards a Bishop, whom you too have very often seen, upon whom the Lord had conferred such grace in casting out demons that no demon dared resist him without immediately departing from the possessed person at his command. For whenever he approached a person possessed by a demon, he was accustomed to say: "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Thy name give the glory." When he had begun to read the book of exorcisms over the woman possessed by a demon, the wicked spirit said through the woman's mouth: "Behold, you are casting me out from here by the word of the Lord and the merits of His Confessor; but before you reach Erfurt, you will find me opposing you not once or twice." Having said these things, it left the possessed vessel and entered her sister, four demoniacs freed and tormented her in like manner. Driven out thence by divine grace, it seized the third and compelled her to rage no less than the others. When she too was healed through the Lord's clemency and the merits of His holy Confessor, it invaded the fourth -- that is, the last -- of those sisters and tortured her beyond measure pitiably. Then, while the aforesaid priest was reading the book of exorcism, the demon complaining that it was driven out by St. Severus the apostate spirit said, in the hearing of all the people present: "Woe to us wretches, who must now leave this region which we have possessed for so long, because of the arrival of St. Severus; for henceforth we shall not have such power in this region as we have had until now." And saying these things, it departed. The woman, freed from the demon's assault, followed the bier of the holy Confessor all the way to Erfurt, giving thanks to God.

[7] The bones of the same Saint were translated into a church dedicated in honor of St. Paul the Apostle. Other miracles at Erfurt. Where, while they still lay in the reliquary just as they had been brought, unburied, such a multitude of signs and prodigies became manifest, and such a force of miraculous powers shone forth in every kind of healing by divine grace, that neither the number of those miracles can be grasped nor their variety narrated by any mortal.

[8] When Otgar had died and his successor Rabanus also, Charles, son of King Pippin, was raised to the honor of that same bishopric. He, assenting to the prayers of the nuns residing in Altomunster, transferred a certain part of the relics of St. Innocentia to the aforesaid convent, as you yourself have seen. The relics of St. Innocentia translated by Bishop Charles. Where the Lord deigned to work not a few miracles through the merits of the same holy Virgin; which, if you wish to know them, you will be able to learn from those nuns.

[9] There you have, dearest brother, my promise fulfilled -- not as I wished, but as I was able. I ask you therefore to pray on my behalf to Him who comes to the aid of His own with a single measure, and to ours with a double, that, won over by His gratuitous grace and the prayers of those same Saints, He may cause me to have at least some share with His elect on the day of judgment; since it would have been better for me not to have been born than to be separated from them forever.

a The Budick manuscript adds: olim ("formerly").

b The same manuscript: Chorepiscopus ("Choirbishop").

c Blessed Rabanus died, as we shall say on February 4, in the year 856.

d Charles was the son of Pippin, King of Aquitaine, grandson of the Pious, brother of the younger Pippin. He, as Duchesne reports from the Chronicle of Fontenelle in volume 2 of his Francic works, in the year 849, in the month of March, Charles, son of Pippin, King of Aquitaine, is tonsured while he was setting out for Aquitaine to bring aid to his brother, was captured by Count Vivianus, and in the city of Chartres, by the order of his uncle Charles the Bald, was tonsured and immediately sent to the monastery of Corbie. Then in the year 856 he succeeded Rabanus, more by the will of the King and his counselors than by the consent and election of the Clergy and people, as the Annals of Fulda, published by Freher and Duchesne, and Serarius and others have it. But the copy of the same Annals from the Trudonense manuscript reads thus: he flees "To Rabanus succeeded Charles, son of King Pippin, who, having escaped from custody in the monastery of Corbie, had defected to King Louis, his uncle, on the 8th before the Ides of March, not only by the will of the King, he becomes Bishop but also by the consent and election of the Clergy and people." He is commended for his prudence and piety; however, he is improperly adorned by Wion with the title of Saint and with that of King of Aquitaine.

e Utrecht manuscript: altero ("another"). Serarius testifies in book 1, chapter 31, that the monastery of the Old Cell, built by St. Bilhild, Altomunster at Mainz is now commonly called the Old Monastery, but was formerly called Altomunster. Concerning St. Bilhild or Bilehild, we shall treat on November 27.