Abstract
This paper is concerned with the bishop Desiderius of Vienne, his political maneuverings within Merovingian politics, and the ways in which hagiographers made use of his image to further their literary ends. In 603, Bishop Desiderius of Vienne was summoned to appear before a church council at the royal court of the Merovingian kingdom of Burgundy, to face charges of treason. Desiderius was found guilty, deposed, and sentenced to exile on a secluded island monastery. Four years later, he was recalled by the king, Theuderic II, and reinstated to his bishopric, only to be arrested again and executed shortly afterwards. In 613, after Theuderic was defeated and replaced, Desiderius was declared a saint, and two hagiographical pieces were composed in his honor. Desiderius also appeared in numerous other contemporary works, leaving a detailed and multifaceted account of his activity in Burgundian politics. One of the hagiographical pieces mentioning Desiderius was the Vita Columbani, which told the story of an Irish monastic leader by the name of Columbanus, who came to Gaul in the 590's with twelve of his disciples and profoundly changed Gallic monasticism. This, together with Desiderius' appearance in other works composed by Columbanian monks, led scholars to conclude that Desiderius was somehow linked to this brand of monasticism, or that he even cooperated with Columbanus himself. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that Desiderius in fact played no role in Columbanian monasticism, and that his mention in the movement's literature was prompted by different motives altogether, motives which had more to do with the political circumstances of the writers themselves than with the life of the bishop of Vienne.
Translated title of the contribution | Religion, Kingship and Politics in Merovingian Gaul: the Case of Desiderius of Vienne |
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Original language | Hebrew |
Pages (from-to) | 5-21 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | היסטוריה: כתב-עת של החברה ההיסטורית הישראלית |
Volume | 24 |
State | Published - 2010 |
IHP Publications
- ihp
- France -- History
- Hagiography
- Middle Ages
- Religion and state
- דזידריוס מוין
- דת ומדינה
- הגיוגרפיה
- היסטוריה של ימי הביניים
- צרפת -- היסטוריה