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E03521: The anonymous Gallic Chronicle of 452, written in Latin in Gaul in the mid 5th c., records that *John of Lycopolis (ascetic of Egypt, ob. c. 395, S00102) had the power of prophecy because of the purity of his life.

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posted on 2017-08-03, 00:00 authored by dlambert

Gallic Chronicle of 452, 23

Iohannes Aegyptius monachus, qui ob vitae puritatem prophetiae gratiam a domino meruit, inlustris habetur.

'John the Egyptian monk, who won the grace of prophecy from the Lord because of the purity of his life, is held glorious.'

Text: Mommsen 1892, 648 (Burgess 2000, 69-70). Translation: David Lambert.

History

Evidence ID

E03521

Saint Name

John of Lycopolis, 4th-century monk in Egypt : S00102

Saint Name in Source

Iohannes Aegyptius monachus

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Ioannes_John_of_Lycopolis_ascetic_of_Egypt_ob_c_395/13729387

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Language

Latin

Evidence not before

452

Evidence not after

460

Activity not before

370

Activity not after

400

Place of Evidence - Region

Gaul and Frankish kingdoms

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Tours Tours Toronica urbs Prisciniacensim vicus Pressigny Turonorum civitas Ceratensis vicus Céré

Cult Activities - Miracles

Miracle during lifetime Revelation of hidden knowledge (past, present and future)

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits

Source

The Gallic Chronicle of 452 was written by an unknown author who is generally located by scholars in southern Gaul on the basis of the prominence of southern Gallic events in the Chronicle. The last event mentioned in the Chronicle is the invasion of Italy by Attila in 452. It is therefore assumed to have been compiled at around that date, hence its modern title. For full discussion see Muhlberger 1990, 136-192; Burgess 2001, 52-65. The Gallic Chronicle of 452 is a continuation of the chronicle of Jerome, beginning when Jerome's concludes (in the 370s), and has the same chronological system, which makes simultaneous use of years from the birth of Abraham, Olympiads, and regnal years of Roman emperors (Burgess 2001, 52, 57-60).

Discussion

'John the Egyptian monk' is the well-known Egyptian holy man John of Lycopolis. According to Mommsen (1892, p. 648, n.8), the chronicle entry derives from Rufinus' Latin translation of the Historia monachorum in Aegypto (E03558).

Bibliography

Editions: Mommsen, T., Chronica Gallica a.CCCCLII, in: Chronica Minora saec. IV. V. VI. VII., vol. 1 (Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Auctores Antiquissimi 9; Berlin: Apud Weidmannos, 1892), 646-662. Burgess, R., "The Gallic Chronicle of 452: A New Critical Edition with a Brief Introduction," in: R.W. Mathisen and D. Shanzer (eds.), Society and Culture in Late Antique Gaul: Revisiting the Sources (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001), 52-84, pp. 67-82. English translation: Murray, A.C., From Roman to Merovingian Gaul: A Reader (Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 2000), 76-85. Further reading: Muhlberger, S., The Fifth-Century Chroniclers: Prosper, Hydatius, and the Gallic Chronicler of 452 (Leeds: Francis Cairns, 1990).