"Life of Columbanus", "Life of John of Réomé" and "Life of Vedast"

Description

Translated with introduction and commentary by Alexander O'Hara and Ian Wood. Jonas of Bobbio was an Italian monk, author, and abbot, active in Lombard Italy and Merovingian Gaul during the seventh century. He is best known as the author of the 'Life of Columbanus and His Disciples', one of the most important works of hagiography from the early medieval period, that charts the remarkable journey of the Irish exile and monastic founder, Columbanus (d. 615), through Western Europe, as well as the monastic movement initiated by him and his Frankish successors in the Merovingian kingdoms. In the years following Columbanus's death numerous new monasteries were built by his successors and their elite patrons in Francia that decisively transformed the inter-relationship between monasteries and secular authorities in the Early Middle Ages. Jonas also wrote two other, occasional works set in the late fifth and sixth centuries: the 'Life of John', the abbot and founder of the monastery of Réomé in Burgundy, and the 'Life of Vedast', the first bishop of Arras and a contemporary of Clovis. Both works provide perspectives on how the past Gallic monastic tradition, the role of bishops, and the Christianization of the Franks were perceived in Jonas's time. Jonas's hagiography also provides important evidence for the reception of classical and late antique texts as well as the works of Gregory the Great and Gregory of Tours. This volume presents the first complete English translation of all of Jonas of Bobbio's Saints' Lives with detailed notes and scholarly introduction that will be of value to all those interested in this period. Preface ix List of Maps xii List of Abbreviations xiii Introduction 1 1. The Works of Jonas of Bobbio 1 2. Francia in the Days of Columbanus 4 3. The Gallic Church of the Late Sixth Century 9 4. Columbanus and his Ascetic Exile to the Continent 16 5. Columbanus’s Legacy 27 6. Jonas of Bobbio: An Italian Monk in Merovingian Gaul 31 7. The Manuscripts of the 'Life of Columbanus' and the Structure of the Text 37 8. Jonas the Hagiographer and his Christian Sources 41 9. The Second Book of the 'Life of Columbanus and his Disciples' 47 10. Language and Style 54 11. Jonas’s 'Life of John' 61 12. The 'Life of Vedast of Arras': Author and Text 68 13. Conclusion: The Influence of Jonas’s Hagiography 78 14. A Note on the Text and Translations of the 'Life of Columbanus' 83 Jonas, 'The Life of Columbanus and his Disciples' 85 Book One 91 Verses and Hymn 170 Book Two 177 Jonas, 'The Life of John' 240 Jonas(?), 'The Life of Vedast' 265 Appendices 1. Textual Variants 278 2. Distribution of Biblical Quotations and Allusions in Jonas’s Hagiographical Works (Albrecht Diem) 282 3. Parallels between 'Regula cuiusdam ad virgines' and Jonas’s Hagiographical Works (Albrecht Diem) 287 4. Parallels between 'De accedendo' (Rule Fragment on Prayer), 'Regula cuiusdam ad virgines', and Jonas’s Hagiographical Works (Albrecht Diem) 298 5. 'Carmen de Hibernia insula' 303 6. Three Diplomas associated with Bobbio and Faremoutiers in the Time of Jonas 309 Bibliography 315 Index 338