Saint Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa (631-651): His Life and Writings

292 Pages·1938·19.163 MB·English

by  Charles H. Lynch

SAINT BRAULIO, BISHOP OF SARAGOSSA
(631-651)
HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
STUDIES IN MEDIAEVAL HISTORY
NEW SERIES
VOLUME II
SAINT BRAULIO, BISHOP OF SARAGOSSA
( - )
631 651
HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS
A DISSERTATION
Submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
of the Catholic University of America in partialf ulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
BY
CHARLES H. LYNCH, M. A.
Priest of the Diocese of Providence
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
Washington, D. C.
1938
Jítíjtt obstat
Aloysius K. Ziegler, S.T.D .
Censor Deputatus
Imprimatur
Franciscus Patricius Keough, D.D.
Episcopus Providentiensis
Providentiae, die IV Martii, 1938
This dissertation was conducted under the direction
of Aloysius K. Ziegler as Major Professor, and was
approved by Martin R. P. McGuire, James A. Geary,
and Ignatius Smith, O. P., as readers.
COPYRIGHT, 1938
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
THE DOLPHIN PRESS
Philadelphia Pennsylvania
MY MOTHER AND FATHER

PREFACE
The seventh century of the Christian era was undeniably a
dark age. No matter what the column one may consult in an
historical chart of civilization from 500 B. C. on, the years 600-
700 A. D. are the least productive in names and events, both
in the East and in the West. Of the countries in that period,
the one that showed the most sustained intellectual effort was
Spain. Civilization there was relatively far advanced due prin­
cipally to an internal solidarity of Hispano-roman and Visigoth,
of Church and State, with the numerous Toledan church councils
of a quasi-civil nature constituting the chief unifying force.
Although one’s thoughts turn instinctively to St. Isidore of
Seville as the individual responsible for this condition, the truth
is that such an advance follows in the wake of many leaders.
Some of the Visigothic kings played an enlightened part, but
particularly it was the bishops who led: John of Biclar, John of
Saragossa, Braulio, Eugene II, Tajo, Fructuosus, Ildefonse, and
Julian.
Among these bishops the figure of St. Braulio stands out in
relief and he has been made the subject of the present study.
This bishop of Saragossa, because of his innate ability and be­
cause of the prestige he enjoyed as the friend and counsellor of
Isidore, should be considered second only to Isidore in his in­
fluence on the Spanish civilization of his century. Braulio suc­
ceeded Isidore as the outstanding figure in Spanish ecclesias­
tical and civil circles from 636-651. His influence extended
beyond his death and was felt through the persons of leaders he
had formed, notably Eugene II of Toledo and Tajo of Saragossa.
A detailed study of Braulio’s life and writings should throw
considerable light on his period. No one has ever essayed such
vii
vin Preface
a study. Manuel Risco in the eighteenth century presented a
creditable survey of both when in volume 30 of España sagrada
he made available for the first time Braulio’s chief literary
contribution, the entire corpus of his forty-four Letters. Since
then scholars have often turned to Braulio’s writings and
pointed out what is to be found in them on theology, liturgy,
hagiography, political history and philosophy, literature, and
biography, but never with the intention of presenting a sys­
tematic biography of Braulio, or a comprehensive study of
his thought. They have always been absorbed in some other
person or some particular thesis. Fidel Fita, for instance, in the
last century wrote a valuable article on Braulio’s part in the
relations between the Spanish Church and Rome at the time.
Recently Dom Lambert made a very careful study of Braulio’s
family, but his work was meant to confirm a thesis on the spread
of the monastic Rule of John of Biclar. More recently Dorn
Pérez de Urbel offered the first modern treatment of Braulio and
his writings in the Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie ecclé­
siastiques, but the very limits of the article prevented a detailed
study of the problems raised.
Apart from the Letters, the only writings which can be
ascribed to Braulio with certainty are his eulogy of Isidore and
catalog of his works, called the Praenotatio librorum, D. Isidori,
a Life of St. Emilian, and a Hymn in honor of the same saint.
Other works claimed for him by some can in no one case be
definitely ascribed to him, and, except for a study of their attri­
bution, do not come within the purview of this work.
There is only one primary source worth mentioning for a
study of the life of St. Braulio. It is the corpus of his Letters,
which includes also those Letters written to him. The brief
notice that Ildefonse devotes to him in his De viris illustribus and
the few references that Eugene of Toledo has to Braulio’s family
in his poems are almost negligible. He would have remained to
this day hardly more than a name had not the greater number