E05477: Gregory of Tours, in his Life of *Nicetius (bishop of Trier, ob. c. 565, S01305), recounts how Nicetius foretold his salvation, before dying and being buried in the church of *Maximinus (bishop of Trier, ob. c. 347, S00465) in Trier (north-east Gaul); miracles occur at his tomb. From Gregory's Life of the Fathers, written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 573/594.
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posted on 2018-05-20, 00:00authored bykwojtalik
Gregory of Tours, Life of the Fathers 17.6
Cum autem propinquum transitu tempus migrationis suae cognovisset, fratribus retulit, dicens: "Vidi Paulum apostolum cum Iohanne baptista invitantem me ad requiem sempiternam atque exhibentem mihi coronam caelestibus margaretis ornatam, ac dicentibus mihi viris: "Talibus enim speciebus perfrueris [nobiscum] in regno Dei". Haec quibusdam fidelibus referens, post paucos dies modica febre pulsatus, spiritum praemisit ad Dominum, sepultusque est in basilicam sancti Maximini antestitis, cuius nunc tumulum plerumque divinis virtutibus inlustratur.
'When he knew that the moment for his departure approached, he talked to his brothers, saying "I have seen the apostle Paul with John the Baptist, inviting me to eternal rest and showing me a crown adorned with celestial pearls, and they said to me: Here are the things that you are going to enjoy in the kingdom of God." He reported these words to certain faithful people, and then, a few days later, after having contracted a light fever, he surrendered his soul to God, and was buried in the church of Saint Maximinus the bishop. His tomb is today famous for the divine miracles that are done there.'
Text: Krusch 1969, 283. Translation: James 1991, 113.
History
Evidence ID
E05477
Saint Name
Nicetius, bishop of Trier (north-east Gaul), ob. c. AD 565 : S01305
Maximinus, bishop of Trier, ob. c. 347 : S00465
Literary - Hagiographical - Other saint-related texts
Language
Latin
Evidence not before
573
Evidence not after
593
Activity not before
565
Activity not after
591
Place of Evidence - Region
Gaul and Frankish kingdoms
Place of Evidence - City, village, etc
Tours
Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Tours
Tours
Tours
Toronica urbs
Prisciniacensim vicus
Pressigny
Turonorum civitas
Ceratensis vicus
Céré
Major author/Major anonymous work
Gregory of Tours
Cult activities - Places
Cult building - independent (church)
Cult Activities - Miracles
Miracle after death
Unspecified miracle
Cult Activities - Relics
Bodily relic - entire body
Source
Gregory, bishop of Tours from 573 until his death (probably in 594), 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 Life of the Fathers by Gregory of Tours is different from his other hagiographical works (Miracles of Julian, Miracles of Martin, Glory of the Confessors and Glory of the Martyrs), which all concentrate on posthumous miracles of the saints. The Life of the Fathers, by contrast, describes the exemplary behaviour in life of twenty Gallic saints (for a list of the Lives, see E05870). Gregory himself draws this contrast in the opening words of his preface: 'I had decided to write only about what has been achieved with divine help at the tombs of the blessed martyrs and confessors; but I have recently discovered information about those who have been raised to heaven by the merit of their blessed conduct here below, and I thought that their way of life, which is known to us through reliable sources, could strengthen the Church' (trans. James 1991, 1). In this preface Gregory also explains why he chose to call the book Life of the Fathers, not Lives of the Fathers: because they all lived the same bodily life.
The nineteen Lives of men, and the single Life of a woman (Life 19), all relate to holy people of Gaul, the majority living in the mid to later sixth century. Although this agenda is unspoken, there can be little doubt that Gregory wrote these Lives partly to show that holiness, and the miraculous, were not just things of the past, but very much present within the Gaul of his day (a message that he expressed explicitly in his Histories). Almost all the saints he describes were active within one or other of the two dioceses with which Gregory was most familiar (his native Clermont, and Tours, the city of his episcopate), or indeed were his relatives (all bishops - Life 6 is of an uncle, Life 7 of a great-grandfather, and Life 8 of a great-uncle).
Although Gregory says in his preface that they all shared one bodily life, in reality his saints fall into one of two distinct categories: holy bishops who are effective leaders of their flocks but only moderately ascetic (Lives 2, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 17), and holy ascetics who have withdrawn from the world and sometimes engage in extreme mortification of the body (Lives 1, 3, 5, 9-16, and 18-20). Gregory's work was unquestionably didactic in purpose - teaching the correct way to lead a good Christian life, and it is notable, for instance, how, in this work written by a bishop, his ascetics accept episcopal correction when necessary (Lives 15.2 and 20.3, in both cases from Gregory himself), and might even delay their death to suit the timetable of a bishop (Life 10.4).
Because the focus is on the lives of these holy people, there is much less emphasis on their cult after death than in Gregory's other hagiographical works; however, all the Lives close with an account of the burial of the saint, and in almost all cases with reference to posthumous miracles recorded there (the exceptions are Lives 10, 11 and 20, which have no reference to miracles at the tomb).
Gregory probably collected material for the Life of the Fathers (and perhaps wrote individual Lives) over a long period of time. However, from the words of his preface (quoted above) and from other references within the text, it is evident that he assembled his material into the polished work we have today only towards the very end of his life, after he had already written much of his extensive hagiography recording the miracles of saints lying in their graves. Because Gregory's views on saints do not seem to have changed during his writing life, we have not here expended energy in exploring the possible dating of individual lives, merely recording them all as written some time between 573 and 594.
For more on the text, and on its dating: James 1991, xiii-xix; Shaw 2015, particularly 117-120.
Discussion
For an overview of the Life of Nicetius of Trier, see E05466.
The church of Maximinus is located outside the south gate of Trier (Vieillard-Troiekouroff, p. 332-333). Gregory of Tours recounted miracles of Nicetius in his Glory of the Confessors 92, see E02750.
Gregory's Life of Nicetius is unusual in the Life of the Fathers, in that it features many miracles and visions effected or experienced by Nicetius during his lifetimes, but only the briefest and vaguest reference to posthumous miracles at his grave.
Bibliography
Edition:
Krusch, B., Gregorii Turonensis Opera. 2: Miracula et opera minora (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum I.2; 2nd ed.; Hannover: Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 1969).
Translation:
James, E., Gregory of Tours. Life of the Fathers (Translated Texts for Historians 1; 2nd ed.; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1991).
de Nie, G., Gregory of Tours, Lives and Miracles (Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 39; Cambridge MA, 2015).
Further reading:
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.
Vieillard-Troiekouroff, M., Les monuments religieux de la Gaule d'après les oeuvres de Grégoire de Tours (Paris, 1976).