Praetextatus

ON ST. PRAETEXTATUS, BISHOP OF ROUEN, MARTYR

IN THE YEAR 586.

Preliminary Commentary.

Praetextatus, Bishop of Rouen, Martyr (St.)

G. H.

[1] In the sixth century of Christ, St. Praetextatus flourished as Bishop of the Church of Rouen in France: his predecessor was St. Flavius, inscribed in the sacred calendar on the twenty-third day of August, who was present at the Fourth Council of Orleans around the year 541, and perhaps died in the year 547, St. Praetextatus, successor of St. Flavius, when, on the fifth day before the Kalends of November, the Fifth Council of Orleans was held, to which no Bishop of Rouen subscribed, nor any Priest or Deacon, or Archdeacon, or Abbot sent by him: as is evident from the subscriptions reported in ^a long series by Sirmond from the MS. codices of Corbie and Lyon. There subscribed Optatus the Abbot, sent by Praetextatus, Bishop of the Church of Cavaillon, formerly in the Province of Vienne, now under the Archbishop of Avignon: which Praetextatus also subscribed to the Second Council of Paris. But afterward St. Praetextatus, Bishop of the Church of Rouen, was present at the Third Council of Paris, He subscribes to the Third Council of Paris, who by Baronius in his Notes to the Roman Martyrology, and in the Annals at the year 552, number 27, as by Demochares, Chenu, and Claude Robert in the Catalogues of the Archbishops of Rouen, and in the collections of Councils by Binius and Surius, is assigned to the Fifth Council of Orleans; but another Praetextatus must be substituted. But in what year the Third Council of Paris was held, at which the Praetextatus of Rouen was present, Sirmond asserts is not clear. He himself placed it around the year 557; others at the year 559. and the Second Council of Tours in the year 566. Afterward St. Praetextatus was present at the Second Council of Tours in the sixth year of the reign of Charibert, the year of Christ 566, to which he subscribed with this formula: Praetextatus, though ^a sinner, in the name of Christ, Bishop of the Church of Rouen, have reread this our consent according to the statutes of the Fathers, and have consented and subscribed, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of December, at Tours. And by his own decree and that of the other Bishops, nearly all of those who subscribed to the said Council, he confirmed the congregation instituted by St. Radegund at Poitiers, as the Queen herself had requested, having written letters for its stability and protection, which she had arranged to be offered for confirmation at the Council of Tours. Concerning these, consult Gregory of Tours, book 9 of the History of the Franks, chapters 39 and 42, and the Acts of the Council of Tours.

[2] His Acts are given from Gregory of Tours, What was done thereafter by St. Praetextatus is accurately reported by Gregory of Tours, who was present in person and, above the other Bishops, undertook his protection and defense. In his words, therefore, we give the Acts of St. Praetextatus, and they are especially those things that pertain to his exile and death. The earlier part concerning his exile and restoration was described by Aimoin, book 3 of the History of the Franks, chapters 21, 26, and 64. A few things are also touched upon by Fredegarius in his Epitomized History, chapter 78. Paul Aemilius, Robert Gaguin, and other more recent writers on French affairs may also be consulted, as well as Baronius in the Annals.

[3] St. Praetextatus is inscribed in the tables of the Roman Martyrology on the day of February 24, in these words: Sacred veneration on February 24. At Rouen, the passion of St. Praetextatus, Bishop and Martyr. Nearly the same words are read in Galesinius, Canisius, and Molanus in the earlier edition of Usuard augmented by him. Ghini in his Birthdays of the Canonized Saints and Saussaius in his Gallican Martyrology have added more, whose words are as follows: Eulogy from Saussaius. At Rouen, of St. Praetextatus, Bishop of that city and Martyr, who, illustrious in learning and piety, while he was administering the Church committed to him according to the divine good pleasure, was assailed by false charges, cast from his See, and banished to the island of Jersey in the territory of Coutances; he bore this affliction with the greatest endurance of Christian patience.

[3] When the King had withdrawn to his quarters, we gathered together and sat in the sacristy of the basilica of Bl. Peter: and while we were conversing, suddenly Aetius, Archdeacon of the Church of Paris, arrived; He is defended by Aetius, Archdeacon of Paris, and having greeted us, he said: Hear me, O Priests of the Lord, who are gathered together: for either at this time you will exalt your name and shine with the grace of ^a good reputation; or else no one will henceforth regard you as Priests of God, if you do not sagaciously assert yourselves and allow ^a brother to perish. When he said these things, none of the Priests answered him anything: for they feared the fury of the Queen, at whose instigation these things were being done. While they were intent and pressing their fingers to their lips, I said: Be attentive, I beseech you, to my words, O most holy Priests of God, and by St. Gregory, Bishop of Tours, and especially those of you who seem to be more familiar with the King. Give him holy and priestly counsel, lest, being inflamed against ^a minister of God, he perish from his anger and lose both his kingdom and his glory. When I said these things, all were silent; and when they were silent, I added:

Remember, my Lord Priests, the prophetic word that says: If the watchman sees the iniquity of ^a man and does not speak, he shall be guilty of the soul that perishes. Therefore, do not be silent, but preach and place before the King's eyes his sins, lest perhaps some evil befall him, and you be held guilty for his soul. Ezekiel 33:6 Or do you not know what was done in recent times, how Chlodomer seized Sigismund and shut him in prison, and Avitus, the Priest of God, said to him: Do not lay your hand upon him, and when you go to Burgundy, you will obtain the victory? But he, rejecting what had been said to him by the Priest, who, while he encourages the Bishops to dare to rebuke the sins of the King, went away and killed Sigismund himself together with his wife and sons: and he went to Burgundy, and there, overwhelmed by the army, he was killed. What of the Emperor Maximus? Was it not that when he had compelled Bl. Martin to communicate with ^a certain murderous Bishop, and Martin, to more easily free those condemned to death, had consented to the impious King, by the pursuing judgment of the eternal King, Maximus was driven from the empire and condemned to ^a most miserable death?

[4] When I said these things, no one answered anything; but all were intent and astonished. Only two flatterers among them (which is painful to say of Bishops) reported to the King, He is summoned before the King: saying that he had no greater enemy in his causes than me. Immediately one of the courtiers was dispatched at ^a rapid run to bring me. And when I had come, the King was standing beside ^a tent made of branches, and at his right stood Bishop Bertram, and on his left stood Ragnemod: and before them was ^a bench full of bread above, with various dishes. And when he saw me, the King said: He is unjustly accused, O Bishop, you ought to dispense justice to all, and behold, I receive no justice from you: but, as I see, you consent to iniquity, and that proverb is fulfilled in you, that ^a crow will not pluck out the eye of ^a crow. To this I replied: If anyone among us, O King, should wish to cross the path of justice, he can be corrected by you; but if you yourself should transgress, who will correct you? For we speak to you, but if you wish, you listen: if, however, you do not wish, who will condemn you, except he who declared himself to be justice? To this, he, inflamed as he was against me by his flatterers, said: With all others I have found justice, and with you I cannot find it. But I know what I shall do, so that you may be marked among the peoples, and your injustice may become clear to all. For I shall convoke the people of Tours and say to them: Cry out against Gregory, that he is unjust and renders justice to no man. When they cry these things, I shall reply: I, who am King, cannot find justice with him; and will you, who are lesser, find it? To this I said: He fearlessly defends himself: That I am unjust, you do not know. But the false clamor of the people at your instigation is nothing, because all know that these things come from you. Therefore it is not I, but rather you who will be marked in the outcry. But what more? You have the law and the canons: these you must diligently search, and if you then do not observe what they command, know that the judgment of God threatens you.

[5] But he, as if flattering me (which he was doing deceitfully, thinking I did not understand), turning to the broth that was set before him, nor is he enticed by the King's food, said: For your sake

that the dispute might be put to rest at ^a higher level, Bishop Praetextatus, prostrate upon the ground, said: "I have sinned against heaven and before you, O most merciful King. I am ^a wicked murderer; I sought to kill you and to raise your son upon your throne." While he was saying these things, the King cast himself down before the feet of the bishops, saying: "Hear, O most holy bishops, the accused confessing an execrable crime." And when we, weeping, had raised the King from the ground, he ordered Praetextatus to leave the basilica. He himself then withdrew to his quarters, sending ^a book of the Canons to which ^a new quire had been appended, containing canons purporting to be Apostolic, which stated: "A bishop apprehended in murder, adultery, or perjury shall be removed from the priesthood." When these had been read and Praetextatus stood silent, Bishop Bertramnus, astonished, said: "Hear, O brother and fellow bishop: since you do not have the King's favor, you will not be able to enjoy our fellowship until you have merited the King's pardon." When these proceedings had concluded, the King demanded that either Praetextatus's tunic be torn, or that the one hundred and eighth Psalm, which contains the Iscariot curses, be recited over his head, or that ^a judgment be written against him Gregory resisting in vain so that he might never again receive communion. I opposed all these conditions, in keeping with the King's promise that nothing should be done contrary to the canons. Then Bishop Praetextatus was seized from our sight and driven into exile; he was placed in custody. When he fled by night from that custody, he was most severely beaten and was thrust into exile on an island in the sea adjacent to the city of Coutances.

p. Saussay in his Martyrology calls the place Brencium.

* Others read "our" nostro.

CHAPTER II

The return of St. Praetextatus from exile; his murder and burial. The investigation into the author of the murder.

[8] When Chilperic had died and met the death he had long sought, Queen Fredegund, now widowed, came to Paris and, with the treasures she had locked within the city walls, after the death of Chilperic took refuge in the church. Book 7, chapter 2 chapter 4 There she engaged in many vain pursuits, not fearing God in whose church she sought protection. chapter 15 She had with her at that time the judge Audo, while Fredegund persisted in her wickedness with her followers who in the time of the King had consented to many of her evil deeds. For he, together with the prefect Mummolus, had subjected to public taxation many of the Franks who had been free men under the elder King Childebert. After the King's death, he was stripped and despoiled by those same men, so that nothing remained to him except what he could carry on his person; for they set his houses on fire. They would have taken his very life as well, had he not sought refuge in the church with the Queen. The citizens of Rouen received Bishop Praetextatus with difficulty, for after the King's death, the people of Rouen had recalled him from exile and restored him to their city with great joy and praise. chapter 16 After his return, he came to the city of Paris and presented himself before King Guntram, St. Praetextatus recalled from exile entreating the King to examine his case carefully. For the Queen asserted that he ought not to be received, since he had been removed from priestly office by the judgment of forty-five bishops. When the King wished to convoke ^a synod on this matter, welcomed to St. Guntram's table by the King Ragnemod, Bishop of that city, responded on behalf of all, saying: "Know that penance was imposed on him by the bishops, but he was not entirely removed from the episcopate." And so he was received by the King and invited to his table, and sent back to Rouen and returned to his own city. Book 8, chapter 20 Meanwhile, the appointed day arrived and the bishops, by order of King Guntram, assembled at the city of Macon. Bishop Praetextatus of Rouen recited the prayers he had composed while in exile. he pleads his case at the Synod of Macon These pleased some, but were criticized by others because he had not followed rhetorical art. The style, however, was in places ecclesiastical and reasonable.

[9] While Fredegund was staying in the city of Rouen, threatening Fredegund she exchanged bitter words with Bishop Praetextatus, saying: "The time would come when he would revisit the places of exile where he had been detained." chapter 31 And he replied: "I have always been ^a bishop, both in exile and outside of exile -- I was, I am, and I shall be. But you will not always enjoy royal power. We are raised from exile, by God's grace, to the kingdom; but you from this kingdom shall be plunged into the abyss. he offers counsel for eternal salvation For it would be better for you to abandon your folly and wickedness, to turn yourself at last to better things, and to withdraw from this arrogance in which you constantly burn, so that you might attain eternal life and bring the little child you have borne to lawful age." Having spoken thus, when the woman took his words very ill, she withdrew from his presence, seething with bile.

[10] When the day of the Lord's Resurrection arrived, and the bishop had hastened to the church early in the morning to perform the ecclesiastical offices, he began to intone the antiphons in order according to custom. on Easter Day, gravely wounded in the church While he was reclining on ^a bench during the psalmody, ^a cruel assassin appeared, who, drawing ^a knife from his belt, struck the bishop as he rested upon the bench, piercing him beneath the armpit. He cried out for the clergy who were present to help him, but received no assistance from any of those standing by. Then he, with hands full of blood, stretched them out upon the altar, poured forth ^a prayer, and giving thanks to God, was carried to his chamber by the hands of the faithful and placed in his bed. Immediately Fredegund arrived with Duke Beppolen and Ansovald, saying: he attributes the murder to Queen Fredegund who visits him "It was not fitting, O holy priest, that this should befall you or the rest of your flock. But would that the one who dared to commit such ^a deed might be identified, so that he might suffer the punishment this crime deserves!" But the bishop, knowing that she spoke deceitfully, said: "And who has done this, if not the one who has destroyed kings, who has so often shed innocent blood, who has committed so many evils in this kingdom?" The woman replied: "We have most skilled physicians who can treat this wound; permit them to come to you." And he said: "God now commands me to be called from this world. But you, who are found to be the instigator of these crimes, shall be accursed in this age, and God will be the avenger of my blood upon your head." When she departed, the bishop, having set his house in order, breathed his last. he dies Bishop Romacharius of the city of Coutances came for his burial.

[11] Then ^a great grief seized all the citizens of Rouen, and especially the chief Frankish elders of that place.

One of these elders, coming to Fredegund, said: "You have perpetrated many evils in this world; but never have you done worse than to order the murder of ^a priest of God. May God be the swift avenger of innocent blood! For we shall all be investigators of this evil, so that you may no longer be permitted to exercise such cruelties." he reproaches Fredegund for this murder But when he turned to depart from the Queen's presence, she sent someone to invite him to ^a banquet. When he refused, she asked that if he would not share her table, he might at least drink ^a cup, so as not to leave the royal house fasting. When he waited and accepted the cup, he drank wormwood mixed with wine and honey, as is the custom among barbarians; but this drink had been laced with poison. he is killed by poison As soon as he drank, he felt ^a violent pain seize his chest, and as if he were being cut open from within, he cried out to his companions, saying: "Flee, O wretches, flee this evil, lest you perish together with me!" They did not drink, but hastened to depart; and he, immediately struck blind, mounted his horse, fell at the third stade from that place, and died.

[12] After these events, Bishop Leudovald sent letters to all the bishops and, having taken counsel, closed the churches of Rouen, the churches of Rouen closed for ^a time so that the people might not attend divine services in them until the author of this crime was discovered by common investigation. He also arrested some persons, and by subjecting them to punishment, extracted the truth as to how these things had been carried out by the counsel of Fredegund. But since she defended herself, he was unable to obtain vengeance. It was also reported that assassins had come even to him, because he was resolving to investigate these matters diligently; but since he was surrounded by the guard of his own people, they were unable to harm him. And so when these things had been reported to King Guntram, and the crime was laid upon the woman, he sent three bishops to the son who is said to be Chilperic's, whom we wrote above was called Clothar, bishops sent by King Guntram to investigate the murderer namely Arthemius of Sens, Veranus of Chalon, and Agrecius of Troyes, so that together with those who were rearing the child, they might seek out the person responsible for this crime and bring that person before the King. When the bishops had spoken, the elders responded: "These deeds displease us entirely, and we desire all the more to avenge them. For it cannot be that if anyone among us is found guilty, he should be brought before your King, since we ourselves are able to suppress the crimes of our own people by royal sanction." Then the bishops said: "Know that if the person who perpetrated these deeds is not brought forward, our King will come here with his army and lay waste this entire region with sword and fire; they are compelled to return with nothing accomplished for it is manifest that this person murdered the bishop with the sword, *who ordered ^a Frank to be killed by sorcery." And having said this, they departed, having received no reasonable answer, solemnly protesting that Melantius, who had earlier been installed in Praetextatus's place, should never exercise the priestly office in that church.

[13] In the thirteenth year of King Childebert, when we had hastened to meet him at the city of Metz, we were ordered to proceed on an embassy to King Guntram, whom we found at the city of Chalon... To whom I said: "You have directed your nephew that all the bishops of his kingdom should assemble in one place, since there are many matters that require investigation." Book 9, chapter 20 "But according to canonical custom, it pleased your most glorious nephew that each metropolitan should be joined with his comprovincials, [King Guntram orders that the author of St. Praetextatus's death be investigated at ^a synod to be convened] and then whatever was being done improperly in each province might be corrected by sacerdotal decree. For what cause is there that such ^a multitude should assemble in one place? The faith of the Church is not shaken by any peril; no new heresy arises. What necessity can there be that so many Lords and bishops must be gathered together?" And he replied: "There are many matters that must be settled, things unjustly done, both concerning cases of incest and concerning those causes that are being handled among us. But the chief cause of God, greater than all others, remains: that you must investigate why Bishop Praetextatus was murdered by the sword in his church." Then he ordered that this synod be postponed to the Kalends of the fourth month.

a. In the year 584.

* Perhaps read "who" quae?