Gregory of Tours, Miracles of Julian (Liber de passione et virtutibus sancti Iuliani martyris) 14
Sigivald, ordered to reside in the territory of Clermont by the king [Theuderic], seizes and occupies a rural estate (villa) that Tetradius, bishop of Bourges, had given to the basilica of Julian. Three months later Sigivald falls seriously ill. His wife is warned that this is because they are occupying the estate; they leave, and Sigivald is cured.
Ferunt etiam in oratorium praedii illius sanctum lulianum martyrem cum Tetradio episcopo conloquentem cuidam religioso revelatum fuisse, promittentem se episcopo villam, quam pro animae suae remedium sibi reliquerat, recepturum. Sed et habitum beati martyris in eodem modo esse, ut quondam paralytica exposuerat, referebat.
'Some say that a monk saw the holy martyr Julian in the oratory of this estate talking with Bishop Tetradius and promising that he would recover for the bishop the villa that Tetradius had given Julian for the benefit of his soul. This monk also said that the blessed martyr had the same appearance as the paralysed woman had previously described [see $E05150].'
Text: Krusch 1969, 120. Translation: Van Dam 1993, 172-173, modified.
Evidence ID
E05155Saint Name
Julian, martyr of Brioude : S00035Saint Name in Source
IulianusType of Evidence
Literary - Hagiographical - Collections of miraclesEvidence not before
570Evidence not after
587Activity not before
500Activity not after
533Place of Evidence - Region
Gaul and Frankish kingdoms
Gaul and Frankish kingdomsPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
Tours
ClermontPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Tours
Tours
Tours
Toronica urbs
Prisciniacensim vicus
Pressigny
Turonorum civitas
Ceratensis vicus
Céré
Clermont
Tours
Tours
Toronica urbs
Prisciniacensim vicus
Pressigny
Turonorum civitas
Ceratensis vicus
CéréMajor author/Major anonymous work
Gregory of ToursCult activities - Places
Cult building - independent (church)Cult Activities - Miracles
Miracle after death
Punishing miracle
Healing diseases and disabilities
Apparition, vision, dream, revelationCult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Officials
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Women
Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermitsSource
Gregory, of a prominent Clermont family with extensive ecclesiastical connections, was bishop of Tours from 573 until his death (probably in 594). He was the most prolific hagiographer of all Late Antiquity. He wrote four books on the miracles of Martin of Tours, one on those of Julian of Brioude, and two on the miracles of other saints (the Glory of the Martyrs and Glory of the Confessors), as well as a collection of twenty short Lives of sixth-century Gallic saints (the Life of the Fathers). He also included a mass of material on saints in his long and detailed Histories, and produced two independent short works: a Latin version of the Acts of Andrew and a Latin translation of the story of The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus.
The Miracles of Julian, full title Martyrdom and Miracles of the Martyr Saint Julian (Liber de passione et virtutibus sancti Iuliani martyris), consists of 50 chapters. It opens with a brief account of Julian's martyrdom and of the discovery of his head in Vienne (chapters 1 and 2), followed by 48 chapters of miracles effected by the saint, primarily at his tomb in Brioude (south of Clermont, central Gaul), but also through relics distributed in other areas of Gaul (and in one case, chapter 33, even in an unnamed 'city of the East').
Brioude and the shrine of Julian are within the ancient territory of Clermont, Gregory's native city, and the attachment that he and his wider family felt towards Julian is manifest in a number of stories in the Miracles, including evidence that Gregory often attended the feast of the saint on 28 August. In chapter 50 Gregory addresses Julian as his patron and asks for his support through the remainder of his life.
Gregory wrote the Miracles of Julian over an extended period, very possibly starting before he became bishop of Tours in 573. Statements he makes in chapters 32 and 34 suggest that he initially planned to draw the book to a close with less chapters than the fifty we have, and that this was soon after his consecration to Tours; but, learning later of more miracles (primarily from Aredius of Limoges, chapters 41-45) and himself witnessing a further miracle (chapter 46a), he extended the book to 50 chapters, completing these in the early or mid 580s. Chapter 50 addresses the reader in a valedictory tone, with a personal invocation of Julian; but it is possible that the work was never published in Gregory's lifetime.
For discussion of the work, see:
Krusch B., Gregorii Turonensis Gregorii episcopi Turonensis Miracula et opera minora (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum I.2; 2nd ed.; Hannover, 1969), 2.
Monod G., Études critiques sur les sources de l’histoire mérovingienne, 1e partie (Paris, 1872), 42–45.
Van Dam, R., Saints and their Miracles in Late Antique Gaul (Princeton, 1993), 162-163.
Shaw R., "Chronology, Composition and Authorial Conception in the Miracula," in: A.C. Murray (ed.), A Companion to Gregory of Tours (Leiden/Boston, 2015), 102–140.Discussion
The events described in this chapter must have occurred before the death of Theuderic in 533. The estate that Sigivald tried to confiscate was perhaps Bonghéat (Vieillard-Troiekouroff 1976, 54). The appearance of Julian was also recounted in Miracles of Julian 9, see E05150.Bibliography
Edition:
Krusch B., Gregorii episcopi Turonensis Miracula et opera minora (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum I.2; 2nd ed.; Hannover 1969), 112–134.
Translation:
de Nie. G., Lives and Miracles: Gregory of Tours (Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 39; Cambridge MA, 2015).
Van Dam, R., Saints and their Miracles in Late Antique Gaul (Princeton, 1993), 200–303.
Further reading:
Murray A.C. (ed.), A Companion to Gregory of Tours (Leiden and Boston, 2015).
Shanzer, D., "So Many Saints – So Little Time ... the Libri Miraculorum of Gregory of Tours," Journal of Medieval Latin 13 (2003), 19–63.
