Evidence ID
E02586Saint Name
John the Baptist : S00020Saint Name in Source
Iohannes BaptistaType of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)Language
LatinEvidence not before
615Evidence not after
626Activity not before
383Activity not after
392Place of Evidence - Region
Iberian PeninsulaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
SevillePlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Seville
Osset
Osset
Osen (castrum)
Osser castrumMajor author/Major anonymous work
Isidore of SevilleCult activities - Places
Burial site of a saint - unspecifiedCult Activities - Relics
Bodily relic - head
Transfer, translation and deposition of relics
Transfer/presence of relics from distant countriesSource
Isidore, bishop of Seville (Iberian Peninsula) composed the Chronica maiora first in 615/616 during the reign of Sisebut. Then he revised and lengthened it in 626 during the reign of Swinthila (see Koon and Wood 2008, and Martín 2005).Discussion
Isidore in the Chronicle inserts the dates from the creation of the world which he correlates with the dates of the reign of kings and emperors. The note about the translation of the head of John the Baptist is dated by him to the reign of Valentinian II and Theodosius, which ended in 5590 or 5591 (depending on the redaction of the Chronicle) year of the creation. The phrase 'at the same time' refers to the previous note about the execution of Priscillian. This incident is described more fully in the Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen (E04052).
The note looks identical in both redactions. Isidore derived this information from Cassiodorus, Historia tripartita 9.43.Bibliography
Editions:
J.C. Martín, Isidori Hispalensis Chronica (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 112; Turnhout 2003).
T. Mommsen, Isidori Iunioris episcopi Hispalensis Chronica maiora ed. primum ad a. DCXV (615) (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores antiquissimi 11; Berlin 1894), 424-488.
Translation:
S. Koon, and J. Wood, "The Chronica Maiora of Isidore of Seville: An introduction and translation", e-Spania 6 (2008); e-spania.revues.org/15552 ; DOI: 10.4000/e-spania.15552.
Further reading:
J.C. Martín, "Les remaniements de la second rédaction de la Chronique d’Isidore de Séville: typologie et motivations", Revue bénédictine 115 (2005), 5-26.