Victorinus

ON ST. VICTORIAN, ABBOT IN SPAIN.

Year of Christ 560.

Victorianus, Abbot in Spain (St.)

From various sources.

[1] Huesca, an ancient and celebrated city of the Ilergetes in Hither Spain, venerates St. Victorian the Abbot with solemn worship on this day, because he is believed to have brought heavenly aid to King Peter I of Aragon in liberating that city from the servitude of the Moors. The feast of St. Victorian. Some call him Victorinus. Thus Wion: "In Spain, St. Victorinus, Abbot." He notes that he was Abbot of Zaragoza. Dorganius and Menard in the Benedictine Martyrology record the same. But Antonio Yepes, century 1, at the year 537, chapter 1, denies that he was of the Benedictine order, His profession. if what is related by Zurita and other Spanish writers about the origin of his monastery is true: namely, that it was built by Gisaleric somewhat before the origin of the Benedictine order itself. Indeed, they say it was built before Victorian came to Spain, though he may well have adopted the Rule of St. Benedict for himself and his monks when he was already advanced in years (which they also relate of St. Romanus), since he survived St. Benedict by about twenty years. Ferrarius in the General Catalogue of Saints: "At Zaragoza in Spain, St. Victorian, the first Abbot of Asana." The same again on the 19th of January: "At Huesca in Spain, St. Victorian, Abbot." Juan Marieta, book 22, assigns him to the same 19th of January.

[2] Francisco Diego de Aynsa-y-Yriarte wrote the Life of St. Victorian in Spanish from ancient documents, Antiquities of Huesca, book 2, chapters 38, 39, 40. His life. The same Saint is remembered by Rodrigo, Archbishop of Toledo, book 6, chapter 1; our Juan de Mariana, book 10, chapter 2; Zurita, book 1, chapter 32; and all who commemorate the battle of Alcoraz.

[3] The victory of Alcoraz, obtained by the patronage of St. Victorian. It will be worthwhile to give here Mariana's narration: "The siege of Huesca," he says (King Sancho, Peter's father, had fallen at its beginning on the day before the Nones of June, 1094), "was long and lasted half a year, as some affirm, while others maintain it was drawn out beyond two years. The besieged, exhausted by every misfortune and reduced to the utmost shortage of provisions, summoned to their aid Almosaben, King of Zaragoza, Garcia, Count of Cabra, and Gonzalo, a man of princely rank -- for in that corrupt age and moral decline, it was no violation of religious scruple for Christians to aid Moors against Christians. Gonzalo did not come but sent a strong force of his men; Garcia came in person. The Moorish king, in a supreme effort, had an infinite multitude of Moors under arms. With these forces they moved from Zaragoza. The situation had been brought to the utmost peril and almost to the final crisis. Garcia himself, whether sincerely or in a pretense of goodwill, warned Peter that unless he wished to lose everything, he should return to his homeland as quickly as possible. But the regard for honor prevailed, and the sanctity of the oath by which the brothers had bound themselves to their dying father not to cease until the city was taken. Near the city stretches a plain called Alcoraz, His relics brought to the camp. made most famous by the outcome of this battle. On that plain they resolved to stake the fortune of the entire war, trusting in heaven, for the purpose of propitiating which the body of St. Victorian had been brought to the camp. Moreover, in the dead of night a figure more august than human appeared to the King, urging him to attack the battle with great courage, assured of victory."

[4] The battle. "Alfonso was in charge of the vanguard, the King himself of the rear; Lisana and Bacalla, men of the highest nobility, commanded the center. The cavalry was in front; the battle began with them. Soon the standards of the legions were borne forward against the Barbarians, who had filled the plains below and the neighboring valleys with their multitude. The battle was most fierce; none in that century was greater in danger or more successful in outcome. The groans of the falling, the shouts of the fighting, the crash of arms -- nothing else could be heard. From the city one could see men and women, as the fortunes of the Moors varied, now joyful, now fearful. The battle extended into the night, and it was not sufficiently clear which side had fared better: our men prevailed in their cause, valor, and skill in fighting; the enemy surpassed them in number. They remained under arms until the following dawn -- so great was the eagerness to renew the fight, so great the fear of the impending danger that gripped the minds of the pious. When it became known that the Moors had abandoned their camp, and that Almosaben was fleeing at full speed to Zaragoza, they pressed upon the fugitives; The slaughter of the Saracens. satiety and exhaustion brought an end to the killing. In the battle and the rout, forty thousand of the enemy were slain; of our men scarcely a thousand were lost -- few indeed, and a small number for so great a victory, nor were they men distinguished by birth or military renown. Count Garcia was captured by our forces. After the battle the spoils were collected. The fields were strewn with corpses, arms, weapons, garments, horses; bodies not yet fully dead, severed limbs, breasts pierced by iron, the ground drenched and overflowing with blood. Some say that St. George was seen between the two battle lines, and that the victory was won by his protection."

[5] On what day it occurred. Zurita confirms the account about St. George from other documents, and says that a chapel was erected in his honor on the very site of the battle by the King. The battle was fought on the 18th of November, a Wednesday -- not, as is commonly reported, on the 25th of November. But the 18th of November in the year 1094 fell on a Saturday, in 1095 on a Sunday, and in 1096 on a Tuesday. In which of these years it occurred is not sufficiently agreed upon among the authorities. The same difficulty applies to the 25th. The same Zurita, following Rodrigo of Toledo, calls St. Victorian a Martyr. Several Victorians who are martyrs are indeed venerated, but they do not pertain to this entry.

LIFE

BY FRANCISCO DIEGO DE AYNSA-Y-YRIARTE,

written in Spanish.

Victorianus, Abbot in Spain (St.)

From the Spanish of Francisco Diego de Aynsa.

PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR.

[1] The city and diocese of Huesca most devoutly venerates the glorious Abbot Victorian, because it is believed to have been freed from the most cruel persecution of the Moors chiefly through his patronage. For King Sancho and his son Peter, when they were pressing the city with a siege, had the sacred remains of this holy man, enclosed in a casket, transported to the camp, Huesca recovered through the patronage of St. Victorian. rightly believing them to be no empty factor for victory -- in this imitating the piety of the victorious leader Joshua, who at God's command ordered the Ark of the Covenant to be carried around the walls in order to take the city of Jericho, and at its presence the walls were shaken and collapsed by a mysterious force, and the citizens with their king were utterly destroyed Josh. 6. It is also certain that for King Peter, the illustrious monarch, the arrival of St. Victorian's body in the camp was an omen and an assurance of victory. For he successfully stormed the city of Huesca, captured four Moorish kings, and slew them, as has been more fully narrated by us elsewhere. In thanksgiving, therefore, the Church and diocese of Huesca celebrates the memory of St. Victorian with a double feast. His feast there. Two of the magistrates, whom they call Jurados, together with other citizens, used to attend the sacred services on that day each year at the monastery of Montaragon, where his relics are preserved. Now, on account of certain disputes about precedence, the Jurados themselves do not go there, but they send two of the lesser magistrates, who offer two candles of white wax, each weighing twenty pounds, and they carry them in the solemn procession and then place them before the Saint's tomb.

[2] He obtains rain. If at any time either drought afflicts the fields or a shortage of rain threatens drought, they carry the head of the holy man to the church of the Blessed Virgin, called "de Salas." And whenever this has been done, or his body brought out for that purpose, an immense quantity of rain has always followed. For which reason it is said in the ancient Breviary of this diocese that St. Victorian is like a spring of water in a time of need.

[3] His Acts. It was difficult to collect his Acts, since no one had committed them to writing. For since he lived in a recess of rugged mountains, in an age most neglectful and careless, many things have been buried in oblivion. Nevertheless, some summary of them is contained in the Breviaries of the dioceses of Huesca and Lerida; a fuller account is extant in the proper monastery of St. Victorian; the fullest is in the monastery of Montaragon, where his sacred body is kept, and a life handwritten on parchment in an ancient Breviary, which the Abbot who now presides over that monastery gave to me, accurately translated into Spanish.

a Most authorities hold that this was done by Peter after the death of Sancho, and Aynsa himself, book 1, chapter 11, writes that a few years earlier the body of St. Victorian had been enclosed by Sancho in a silver casket.

b Hence the coat of arms of the kingdom of Aragon: The arms of Aragon. a red cross on a silver shield, and four Moors' heads bound with a fillet or diadem.

c Lerida, commonly called Lerida, is an episcopal city under the Archbishop of Tarragona.

d Juan Briz Martinez, whose notable history of the monastery of San Juan de la Pena, or as others call it, of Pinnatensis, survives.

CHAPTER I.

The Birth, Education, and Virtues of St. Victorian.

[4] It is useful to write the lives of the Saints. It is truly an illustrious and almost divine thing to declare in words the deeds and virtues of the Saints for the benefit of the living, or to commit them to writing for the memory and profit of posterity. For from this, the amplest honor and praise redounds to him by whose grace they generously endured such great labors and obtained eternal rewards. And for this, the example not only of the ancient Fathers but even of the poets themselves provides encouragement. With what variety and elegance of verse, with what copiousness and abundance, did they describe the deeds and triumphs of the pagans! For if they, incited by the empty titillation of human praise and a small morsel of glory, related things which either had been done or at any rate could have been done, but so adorned with words that they seemed not merely to have been done but could powerfully move the minds of readers, how much more ought we first to meditate upon those things which pertain to the amplification of God's glory, and then upon those which serve to illustrate the deeds of the Saints -- if not with exquisite elegance of words, at least in a humble style suited to inflaming piety; and, as the Apostle once did, not "in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the demonstration of the spirit and of power" 1 Cor. 2:4? Since the matter here abounds in truth, there is no need for fables or poetic ornament; nor can it please God, who is truth itself, if we adorn his works with falsehoods. Trusting therefore in his help, who opens the mouths of the mute and from the mouths of infants and sucklings perfects his praise, I shall undertake to describe the life, deeds, and miracles of St. Victorian; from which work I vow that to Christ our Lord honor and praise may increase in every place, and in the hearts of devout people the desire for heavenly things may be more vehemently kindled Ps. 8:3.

[5] St. Victorian was Italian. St. Victorian's homeland was Italy, and his parents were illustrious by birth, but far more illustrious by the renown of their faith and virtue. They had their son baptized immediately after he came into the world. From his tender age he displayed such moral integrity that those who observed him already judged him a perfect man. He is instructed in piety and letters. Like a soldier enlisted under his Commander and soon to receive his leader's decoration, he offered his members as weapons of righteousness for sanctification; and before the contest, he carefully premeditated its plan and manner. Christ was already preparing him as an extraordinary athlete, to be led forth from the arena of the world to spiritual engagements with the devil and heresies. He was so devoted to literary studies from his earliest years that he could scarcely bear to be torn from the sight of his teachers.

[6] He devotes himself to sacred learning. When he had been refined by the liberal arts, which open the way to the other sciences, he spurned the fables of the poets and the other enchantments of profane learning and began to sit at the feet of Christ and to attend to him as his teacher. From him therefore he drew the heavenly and saving doctrine hidden in the sacred volumes, in whose reading he continually immersed himself. In these studies he made such daily progress that gravity of character, prudence, and maturity of judgment grew with his age. For what shall I say of the growth of other virtues? They not only equaled his literary progress but even surpassed it. He flourishes in virtue. Whom did he not surpass in constancy of vigils, abstinence from food, moderation in laughter, continence of the flesh, humility of spirit, and offices of charity? Even the elderly had in him an example to imitate. No one was more fervent in attending the divine offices, no one more generous in distributing alms according to his means. Meanwhile his parents marveled and leaped for joy that by divine gift they had received such a son who was an example of virtue to all.

[7] He flees vainglory. While the holy young man was occupied with these exercises of virtue, he began to be an object of immense admiration to all, since they contemplated in him a venerable old age, measured not by the number of years but weighed by the worth of his virtues. Therefore he was celebrated everywhere in everyone's conversation. When he perceived this, he was seized with intense horror, just as one who has swallowed a lethal poison. He feared, you see, that the flattering tongues of men would rob him of the merit of virtue whose reward -- the crown of righteousness -- he expected from God alone. Thereupon, partly with his parents' resources, partly with funds contributed by the generosity of others, he built monasteries and hospices He builds monasteries and hospices. and entrusted them to religious men, who while providing lodging and sustenance to pilgrims would at the same time impart salutary counsel by word and example to them and to all other mortals. At last he began to turn over in his mind plans for leaving his homeland and parents, fearing that the prosperity of this world might perhaps draw his still youthful and tender age back from the purpose of virtue.

CHAPTER II.

Pilgrimage to Gaul and Spain.

[8] He departs from his homeland. Since he rightly determined that he could not perfectly follow Christ unless for love of him he stripped himself of every carnal attachment, the holy young man decided to flee from Italy with several companions of the same resolve. And indeed, knowing that he did not have here a lasting city as long as he was exiled from the heavenly homeland, he aspired to that dwelling not made by hands, but eternal in heaven Heb. 13:14. Crossing the Alps in haste, he entered Gaul, He comes to Gaul. whose inhabitants he marvelously provoked to every pursuit of virtue by the divine splendor of his preaching and singular example. There, since he had gone far away in flight and was now in the wilderness, he seemed to have gained a certain freedom and security, since neither the love of his parents nor any other bond could now tear him from the spiritual endeavor he had undertaken.

[9] He therefore began to distribute the foreign wares he had brought, He encourages all to virtue. persuading the licentious to chastity, the avaricious to generosity, the proud to humility, the irascible to gentleness, the quarrelsome to peace and charity. Since what he urged by word he inculcated far more powerfully by example, he achieved great fruit from his preaching. He was a man entirely holy, steadfast in faith, firm in hope, burning with charity, unconquered in patience, prudent in giving counsel, affable, benevolent to his equals, kind to his subjects, chaste in body, serene of countenance -- in short, conspicuous in the adornment of every virtue.

[10] When his reputation for holiness had spread, great crowds flocked to him, not only of the common people but also of the nobility; some sought healing of body, others of soul. For he had obtained from God a singular grace of healing. Therefore, as a good servant and faithful steward of the goods entrusted to him, He is renowned for miracles. he gave milk to the little ones and more solid food to the stronger and more perfect in due season, reproving, entreating, rebuking -- and by his prayers driving away various diseases. Then, certain that a greater reward would be given by God for greater labors, he built many monasteries in various provinces of Gaul, He builds monasteries. gathering a great multitude of those who served God. And as a good pastor and father, joining paternal devotion with pastoral care, he continually exhorted all to strive toward the summit of religious life with unflagging steps of virtue. Indeed he so execrated the practice and familiarity of heretics He avoids heretics. that, following the Apostle, after a first and second admonition he completely avoided them, having this clearly understood: that there is no fellowship of light with darkness, no concord of Christ with Belial Tit. 3:10; 2 Cor. 6:14-15.

[11] When his fame had spread widely throughout all of Gaul, He departs from Gaul. and all, even upon hearing the name of Victorian, exulted with a certain spiritual sense of joy, he began to fear that something of vainglory might gradually creep into his soul from popular praise. Therefore he resolved to depart from there once again. And just as the beloved, like a gazelle and a young stag, leaps upon the mountains of spices, so the man of God lifted up his heart that God might be exalted; and shunning the importunate concourse of men, he sought only the companionship of him whose left hand was under his head and whose right hand embraced him Song 2. At that time Theodoric was reigning in Italy, who, as guardian of his nephew Amalaric, still a very young man, also administered Spain in his name, in the consulship of the Romans Boethius and Symmachus. With the generous foot of humility, therefore, Victorian trampled all the pride of the world, following the example of Christ, who when men were about to come and make him king, fled and withdrew from them John 6:15. Certainly, when Victorian was flourishing in great repute for holiness among the Gauls, and all proclaimed him worthy of every honor and dignity, withdrawing himself from the deceptive allure of human praise, he placed men of outstanding prudence and virtue in charge of all the monasteries he had built, and taking several companions for a new pilgrimage, came to Spain. He comes to Spain. Wherever he traveled, by example and word he drew all to the pursuit of virtue. For he ran not as one running without purpose, nor as one beating the air, but pursued his goal: the prize of the heavenly calling of God. Fighting thus manfully and tirelessly against the enemy, he animated all to a similar spiritual combat. At last, crossing the Pyrenees, he entered Spain, while, as has been said, Amalaric reigned under the guardianship of Theodoric, with the aforesaid consuls administering Roman affairs, in the year of Christ ...

[12] Having found a place suited to the meditation of divine things, He dwells on a rugged rock. situated on the side of a steep mountain whose ascent was so difficult that even wild goats could scarcely surmount it, he resolved to spend the rest of his life there. Here a cave provided not an uncomfortable habitation, watered by a stream of the clearest water springing from the very summit of the mountain. Not far from there was a village named Asanio, near which a monastery had been built by Gisaleric the Goth, King of Spain, at magnificent expense, endowed with estates, farms, and revenues, and adorned with a magnificent church consecrated in honor of St. Martin of Tours.

[13] In that cave Victorian led a solitary life with great piety, His virtue. fittingly scorning the pleasures of the world. His food was humble and meager, obtained either by the work of his hands or voluntarily offered by neighbors as alms. He offered himself to God with sincere sorrow of soul and true contrition of heart, Tears of devotion. with humility of spirit and mortification of the flesh, drenching the ground with a double shower of tears: one washing away his past life, which he trampled underfoot like dust; the other, drawn from the holy contemplation of heavenly things, watering the feet of Christ. With what reverence and piety he performed the priestly office The sacrifice of the Mass. was shown by the tears he shed abundantly when he approached the altar, revolving in his mind both the love of the eternal Father toward the human race and the death of his Son, by which, seized by a kind of heavenly fire, he made himself a victim. He had erected at the side of the cave a chapel dedicated in the name of St. Michael. Continuous prayer. In this, the more remote it was from all worldly noise, the more frequently and fervently he poured forth his prayers before that ineffable Sacrament of divine love, and commended the salvation of the whole Church to God; and in this holy exercise he spent almost the entire day.

[14] Disciples. The city set on a hill could not long remain hidden in the narrow cave, nor the lamp kindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit. Immediately people began to flock to him from the neighboring villages, hamlets, and towns -- even men distinguished by birth and rank -- to draw from him the teachings of saving devotion. He instructed them with kindly speech Miracles. and filled them with immense admiration for his wisdom. It cannot be expressed in words how many blind he restored to sight, how many paralytics he gave strength, how many deaf he gave hearing, how many he relieved of the burning of fevers by his command alone sometimes, and from how many possessed persons he drove out the devil.

a Theodoric administered Spain for 15 years, from the year of Christ 511 to 526, as can be seen in the Chronicle of Lucas of Tuy.

b These two were consuls together in the year 522.

c Aynsa had the year 442, a most foul error -- but doubtless due to the negligence of the copyist.

d He was the son of Alaric by a concubine. When Alaric was defeated and killed by Clovis, King of the Franks, in 507, Gisaleric seized the Gothic kingdom, and held it ingloriously and ignobly for 4 years, being at last driven out by Theodoric.

CHAPTER III.

The Monastery of Asana. The Disciples of Victorian.

[15] After the fame of his name had gradually spread through the Spains, He descends to the plain. so great a multitude of every sex, age, and rank flew eagerly to him, imploring medicine for either body or soul, that nowhere was more crowded than that formerly deserted place. Then noblemen came to him, accompanied by an immense crowd of common people, and prostrating themselves at his feet, they humbly began to beg him to deign to move to the plain, since the ascent of that rock was too difficult. Let him follow the example of Christ himself, who, having compassion on the crowd that followed him, descended from the mountain to a level place Luke 6:17; let him consider the public benefit of greater importance than his own convenience. At last, overcome by these entreaties, in order to benefit more people, though unwillingly, he descended from that cave to the more level ground.

[16] First he was given by those same authors of his migration a property of no great extent, to be transmitted in perpetual right to his successors, called Arrasate, near the river Cinca, which rushes through mountain gorges with rapid force and at last, having joined other streams to itself, flows into the Ebro. Here Victorian began to build cells, He builds a monastery. one for each of himself and his companions. The throng of people coming to him was so great that it seemed like a swarm of bees flying to a hive; the devotion of all toward him was so great that they revered him as a father -- and he truly was a father, so great was his care for their salvation. His name became known not only to magnates but even to kings themselves.

[17] King Theudes visits him. Amalaric, the nephew of Theodoric, had succeeded him. But he too departed life after a reign of five years, leaving the kingdom to the most glorious and most Christian King Theudes. He, being most zealous for the propagation of ecclesiastical dignity and piety, often visited the holy Victorian, eagerly heard his counsel, and followed his advice. To the king's various inquiries, Victorian would usually respond with the words of the prophetic oracle: He is instructed by him. "The honor of the King loves justice" Ps. 98:4; as if to say that the king's chief honor consists in loving and observing justice, and that he should so arrange the administration of his temporal kingdom as not to be deprived of the heavenly crown. He further advised the King that in making decrees he should remember that he was a king in such a way as not to forget that he was mortal, and not to exalt himself too much because he was king, lest the Supreme King cast him down into the abyss for his pride.

[18] When the King heard him giving such prudent advice and perceived the grace of the Holy Spirit shining in him, Victorian refuses honors. he resolved to promote him to a higher dignity for the benefit of the whole Church. When the holy man caught wind of this, he resisted with all his might. For having tasted in the quiet of monastic life how sweet the Lord is, he did not wish to return to the fleshpots of Egypt, or to place in the uncertainty of riches the hope he had in God. He becomes Abbot of Asana. The ascetics in the monastery of Asana implored the King to give them Victorian as their superior and teacher of virtue. Upon hearing this, the King, although he had intended to bestow a greater dignity on him, was moved by their humble and religious supplication and gave him to them as their father, shepherd, and teacher. By the unanimous consent of the religious, the vote of the clergy, the acclamation of the people, and the authority of the King, he took up the governance of that monastery.

[19] Having assumed that office, he kept diligent watch over the flock entrusted to him. He recalls his monks from private cells into the monastery. Some of the monks had been living a solitary life outside in various oratories and cells. He recalled them to the monastery and prescribed for them a fixed rule and manner of living, proclaiming that it is good and pleasant for brothers to dwell together, where there is one heart and one soul Ps. 132:1; Acts 4:32; that it is necessary to fight against the ancient and crafty enemy with united forces; that it is of the greatest importance for spiritual athletes to rouse one another to fight bravely by mutual exhortations and examples; that the enemy's forces are indeed great, but they are much weakened by the virtue of many resisting together; and that the camps of the faithful are not easily taken that are fortified by charity. With these and other admonitions from the sacred Scriptures, he pointed out to them the way of charity, raised the banners of virtue, and as a vigorous general of God's army, teaching the causes and methods of victory, went before them; and thus Victorian fulfilled the meaning of his name. In this way the holy Abbot bridled the appetites of the flesh and destroyed the wiles of the three-headed serpent by the battle line of faith, hope, and charity. After the example of the Good Shepherd, he guarded with great care the sheep of Christ placed in green pastures, so that all might bear twin offspring and no barren one be found among them, but all might be fruitful in the twofold life Ps. 22:2; Song 4:2.

[20] Many, drawn as if by the fragrance of his holiness, entrusted their children to him to be imbued with doctrine and upright morals, His disciples become bishops. and of these many afterwards presided over various churches with outstanding commendation of virtue. There was no city or church that would not consider it an honor to obtain a bishop from the school of St. Victorian. Gaudiosus of Tarazona. From this training came Gaudiosus, a bishop of great virtue at Tarazona. Among the illustrious works of virtue he performed, he conferred many donations, estates, and farms upon the church or monastery of St. Martin, over which St. Victorian presided, to be possessed in perpetual right, just as it still possesses them today. Aquilinus of Narbonne. Aquilinus, Archbishop of Narbonne, was called to that dignity from the fellowship of this holy flock. Tranquillinus of Tarragona. Tranquillinus, while a monk in the same monastery, excelling in learning and holy morals, was made Archbishop of Tarragona, a dignity he held for many years. Euphronymus of Zamora; Vincent of Huesca. Euphronymus, a monk and disciple of St. Victorian, was given the bishopric of Zamora. The See of Huesca also boasts of Vincent, once of the same institute as its bishop. Many others, formed by his most holy training, governed various churches of Spain.

[21] The good odor of this monastery spread far and wide, whence also came the sweetest fruits. And just as from an enclosed garden, or a storehouse of spices, or a mixture of myrrh and frankincense, a great fragrance of scent is exhaled, so also the reputation of this monastery spread widely and aroused great veneration, The monastery of St. Victorian was famous. so that many flocked there out of piety, and others sent gifts and offerings for the adornment and splendor of the monastery. King Theudes himself not only enriched it with royal gifts during his lifetime but also bequeathed to it many estates, farms, and properties by the terms of his will.

a This is how this river is described by Ludovicus Nonius, vir clarissimus: The river Cinca. "The Cinca is a river more rapid than large, among the Ilergetes, a people of Hither Spain, flowing down from the Pyrenean mountains. It passes through Gallica Flavia, a city now called Fraga, and brings its tributary waters to the Ebro."

b He was murdered by his army at Narbonne in the marketplace, as Lucas of Tuy writes.

c The title "most Christian" is absurdly attributed here to a heretic. He is also called Theudas by others. He reigned from the year 531 to 548, and although a heretic, he nevertheless granted peace to the Church, as Isidore writes.

d He is venerated on the 3rd of November. Marieta, book 5, chapter 91, writes that it is unknown where he was from or when he lived. Martin Carillo treats of him at greater length in his catalogue of the Bishops of Tarazona. Tarazona (Turiaso) is an episcopal city under the Archbishop of Zaragoza.

e The name of Aquilinus does not appear in the catalogue of the Bishops of Narbonne in the work of the distinguished Robert. He must have held the see between St. Rusticus and Migetius, who are separated from each other by an entire century.

f The name of Tranquillinus is missing from the catalogue of the Archbishops of Tarragona by Francisco de Padilla.

g We have not yet found the name of Euphronymus elsewhere. From this it is clear, however, that there was once a bishopric at Zamora, The Bishopric of Zamora. which, abolished by the misfortune of the times, was restored and almost newly erected by Callistus II, just as happened at Bologna in Belgium within the memory of our fathers.

h He is the first in the catalogue of the Bishops of Huesca by Martin Carillo.

CHAPTER IV.

The Various Virtues of Victorian. His Death.

[22] Victorian was not puffed up with pride of spirit on account of the growth of his monastery; The humility of St. Victorian. but according to the precept of the Wise Man, the greater he was in virtue, the more earnestly he humbled himself in all things, and the more he gave himself to labor Ecclus. 3:20. And since he did not allow himself to be dislodged from the citadel of humility by any assault of pride, God endowed him with such grace The grace of healing. that he cured every kind of disease. By the mere touch of his hands he restored sight to the blind, vigor and bodily strength to the weak, and to the paralyzed, the possessed, and others, whatever each sought. Nor did the outcome ever fail this grace of his, unless the faith of those who sometimes approached was lacking.

[23] When he had learned by divine revelation that great changes were to come in Spain The gift of prophecy. and that the empire of the Goths was to be extinguished, he wished to provide as far as he could for the safety of his monastery. Therefore, like a provident father, he made a will and established Christ and the Church as heirs of all his possessions. And now, weighed down by age, fasting, vigils, and other bodily afflictions, and nearly exhausted, he prayed continually Desire for death. that he might soon be dissolved and be with Christ, with whom he knew a crown of righteousness was laid up for him.

[24] When the hour of his most happy passing arrived, which he had foretold to his monks in advance, His prediction. he called them all to him and addressed them with these words: "Dearest sons, we are invited by the Lord of all. The debt of life must be paid: this is the necessity of mortal nature. His last address to his monks. And although I dread the presence of the Judge, yet trusting in the kindness of the Father, I depart joyfully, invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. But you, my very heart, whom the grace of the Holy Spirit has begotten for Mother Church, be eager to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace Eph. 4:3. Let no pestilence of discord ever dissolve your charity; let the poison of pride never corrupt your humility; let the dross of avarice never pollute your generosity; let the desire for earthly goods never divert your souls from the holy purpose of religion."

[25] Having somewhat consoled the mourning spirits of his monks with this pious exhortation, he was fortified with the most holy viaticum of the Body of Christ. Death. Having offered the kiss of peace to all, he delivered his most blessed spirit into the hands of the Angels to be carried to the mansions of eternal light, which Christ declared are many in his Father's house. There the just one shines like the sun in the innumerable company of the just who follow the Lamb without blemish John 14:2. The monks immediately surrounded the venerable body, drawing sighs and tears from the depths of their hearts, at the loss of so great and so loving a pastor and father. He died on the 12th of January, in the seventh year of the reign of Athanagild the Goth, having presided over the monastery for twelve lustra (sixty years), henceforth to be free from all grief, since life prolonged beyond eighty years is toil and sorrow Ps. 89:10. At that age, therefore, Victorian was enrolled in the heavenly hosts, forever to be victor.

[26] His body was laid in the sepulchre which he himself had prepared while living, Burial. beside the altar of St. Martin the Confessor, so that the holy Confessors, whose souls were joined in heaven, might be joined in earth as far as was possible. Miracles after death. The innumerable miracles that occur daily sufficiently testify that he now enjoys eternal blessedness, by the grace and gift of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever and ever, Amen.

[27] These are approximately the contents of that ancient Breviary of the monastery of Montaragon. What is read in the codex of the monastery of St. Victorian, though it agrees in substance and trustworthiness of facts, differs greatly in elegance and care of style. For when the relics of St. Victorian were transferred from this monastery to that of Montaragon, those authentic writings were also brought along.

a Athanagild began to reign in the year 554. He held the Catholic faith in secret, as Lucas of Tuy reports from St. Isidore.

b This does not agree with what was said before. For if he came to Spain in the year 522 and died in 560, how could he have presided over the monastery for sixty years? But the author clearly seems to attribute to him an age of eighty years. And the things he described as done by him in Gaul could certainly not have been accomplished before the age of twenty. Therefore this should be understood as meaning that he spent sixty years in Italy, Gaul, and Spain exercising and teaching monastic disciplines.

CHAPTER V.

The Various Translations of the Body.

[28] No one should be surprised that the body of this holy man is not preserved in his own monastery of St. Victorian. It is indeed the most ancient of all monasteries in all of Aragon. For San Juan de la Pena was founded by Garcias Ximenius, the first King of Sobrarbe; The foundations of certain monasteries in Spain. although the holy men Otho and Felix had already lived there in the year 700. The monastery of Santa Maria de Alao is the work of Count Raimund of Ribagorza in the year 908, although it is believed, from not entirely certain conjectures, that abbots and monks had formerly been there. The monastery of Montaragon was built and endowed by King Sancho when he was preparing for the siege of the city of Huesca in the year 1089. The monastery of Rueda was built by King Alfonso II of Aragon in 1154. The monastery of Veruela was built by Pedro Atarez, lord of Borja, in 1158, as Martin Carillo, Abbot of Montaragon, fully explains in his catalogue of the bishops of Aragon. But the monastery of St. Victorian, formerly called St. Martin de Sarasa, was built by King Gisaleric the Goth... St. Victorian died in the year... as Jeronymo Blancas says, in the time of the Goths.

[29] But when all of Spain was devastated and overthrown by the Moors in punishment for sins, Various holy bodies were translated. the Catholics, fleeing the fury of the barbarians, took with them the bodies of the Saints that were preserved and venerated in various churches, in order to remove them from the injuries and mockery of the Moors, as is evident from the records of various churches -- Toledo, Seville, Zaragoza, Valencia, Alcala, and others -- as has been said by us elsewhere concerning the translation of Sts. Vincent, Justus, Pastor, Nunilo, and Alodia. Thus also the body of St. Victorian was carried elsewhere, until it was given to the monastery of Montaragon. Victory gained through the merits of St. Victorian. For Sancho, the founder of that monastery, and his son Peter had it transported to the army, and through his aid won glorious victories over the barbarians, as our native histories testify, especially those of Jeronimo Zurita. In the church of the monastery of Montaragon there is a chapel dedicated to St. Victorian, in which the siege and storming of the city of Huesca is depicted, and in the midst of the army the casket containing the body of St. Victorian Vol. 1, book 1.

[30] The same is clear from the ancient Breviaries of the dioceses of Huesca and Jaca. His body was translated many times. For in them the readings for the Octave of St. Victorian say: "His relics, out of fear of Abderrahman, King of the Pagans, were translated to Santa Rufina above Ainsa, where they remained for two hundred and sixty years. But by the working of divine mercy, with the fear of the Pagans removed, the Lord King Sancho of Aragon and Pamplona placed them at the fortress of Alquezar on the 6th day before the Ides of April, on the octave of Easter, in the year of the Incarnation 1088. From there they were translated to the monastery of Montaragon near Huesca; where now the head with the whole body, except for an arm, It is now preserved in the monastery of Montaragon. is honorably kept. There he is frequently invoked when notable necessity presses, and what is duly asked is regularly obtained; for he is like a spring of water in a time of drought." And in the Breviary printed in the year 1547, when Bishop Pedro Agustin presided over both the churches of Jaca and Huesca, the sixth reading of the office of the day of St. Victorian reads thus: "Afterwards, out of fear of the Pagans invading Spain, his relics were brought to Santa Rufina above Ainsa. Then, in the year of the Lord 1088, by the command of King Sancho of Aragon, they were brought to the fortress of Alquezar; and finally they were translated to the monastery of Montaragon, where now the head with the whole body, except for an arm, is honorably kept."

[31] The religious of St. Victorian do indeed boast that his remains are preserved in their possession, The reliquary chest announces death to the monks. enclosed in a very ancient silver casket, on which is inscribed this epitaph: "Here lies the entire intact body of the blessed Victorian, except for an arm." This casket is never opened. But when any member of that community is about to die, the Saint forewarns them by striking the casket with a triple blow. Aroused by this warning, they devote themselves more ardently to virtue, as if death had been announced to each one of them, and at last, when the year has passed, one from the whole number dies. But whether this is the body of this St. Victorian or of another of the same name who was in fact a martyr, as Zurita calls him, I cannot determine with certainty. Perhaps in both places some portions of his relics are preserved. God knows. It is our fixed resolve to determine nothing; if the reader discovers anything more certain, let him decide what seems fair to him. Certainly, when Philip II was collecting relics of various saints from everywhere to give to Queen Margaret, some relics of St. Victorian were offered to him, brought from the monastery of Montaragon. We beseech the holy Confessor of Christ to obtain for us in this life an abundance of heavenly graces, and then eternal glory, Amen.

a Concerning this monastery, Juan Briz Martinez, its Abbot, published an entire volume. San Juan de la Pena. Antonio Yepes treats of its foundation in volume 3, at the years of Christ 718 and 719, and others, as do we below on the 29th of May in connection with the holy hermits Voto (or Otho) and Felix. This monastery is situated on the borders of Aragon and Navarre, not far from the town of Jaca.

b Briz Martinez confirms this, book 2, chapter 19, where he treats of the origins of that monastery, as does Martin Carillo.

c It is one league from the city of Huesca, of Canons Regular of the Order of St. Augustine, as its Abbot Martin Carillo writes. Aynsa-Yriarte treats of it at length in several places.

d Commonly called Nuestra Senora de Rueda. It is of the Cistercian order.

e It is of the same Cistercian institute, near Tarragona.

f Carillo: "Don Pedro Atares, Lord of the Castle of la Zarza, which is Borja." Garibay also treats of the same Pedro and Veruela, volume 1, book 2, chapter 13.

g Carillo writes the same.

h Here again the copyist was drowsing, writing 442, which should be corrected from what we noted regarding chapter 2 about the reign of Gisaleric.

i We believe the text read 560; 500 was printed, an intolerable error.

k We shall treat of St. Vincent on the 22nd of January, of Sts. Justus and Pastor on the 6th of August, and of Nunilo and Alodia on the 22nd of October.

l Ainsa, also called Ynsa, is a town in Aragon between Huesca and Urgel.

m Rather 1089. For in that year the Sunday letter was G, and Easter fell on the 1st of April. But, as is said presently, those relics seem to have been translated in 1088 to the fortress of Alquezar, and in 1089 to the monastery of Montaragon.

n He was the brother of Antonio Agustin, created bishop from Prior of the monastery of Rueda in 1545, as Aynsa-Yriarte writes, book 3, chapter 24.