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Sidonius Apollinaris

Sidonius Apollinaris

Male Abt 430 - 489  (58 years)    Has 2 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Sidonius Apollinaris  
    Birth Abt 5 Nov 430  Lugdunum Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Death Aug 489 
    Person ID I668949  Geneagraphie
    Last Modified 8 Nov 2009 

    Father Apollinaris,   b. Abt 405   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Family ID F294330  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Papianilla,   b. Abt 432   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Marriage 452 
    Family ID F294329  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 8 Nov 2009 

  • Notes 
    • In 457 Majorianus deprived Avitus of the empire and seized the city of Lyons; Sidonius fell into his hands. However, the reputation of the aristocrat's learning led Majorianus to treat him with the greatest respect. In return Sidonius composed a panegyric in his honour (as he had previously done for Avitus), which won for him a statue at Rome and the title of count. In 467 or 468 the emperor Anthemius rewarded him for the panegyric which he had written in honour of him by raising him to the post of Urban Prefect of Rome until 470, and afterwards to the dignity of Patrician and Senator . In 470 or 472, more for his political than for his theological abilities, he was chosen to succeed Eparchius in the bishopric of Auvergne ( Clermont , now Clermont-Ferrand ) until 480. Most of the previous holders of the benefice have been made saints in the Roman Catholic Church, including his recent predecessor, Saint Namatius (bishop 446-62), who laid the foundations of a proper cathedral. Sidonius Apollinaris was not a religious man; his election was probably due more to his influential contacts, and his tireless efforts on preserving his corner of Gaul for the Roman Empire .
      On the capture of that city by the Goths in 474 he was imprisoned, as he had taken an active part in its defence; but he was afterwards restored by Euric , king of the Goths, and continued to govern his bishopric as before until his death.
      Sidonius' relations have been traced over several generations as a narrative of a family's fortunes, from the prominence of his paternal grandfather's time into subsequent decline in the 6th century under the Franks . Sidonius son, also named Apollinaris, was a correspondent of Ruricius of Limoges, commanded a unit raised in Auvergne on the losing side of the decisive Battle of Vouille , and also served as bishop of Clermont for 4 months until his death. Sidonius' grandson Arcadius, on hearing a rumor that the Frankish king Theuderic I had died, betrayed Clermont to Childebert I , only to abandon his wife and mother when Theuderic appeared; his other appearance in the history of Gregory of Tours is as a servant of king Childebert.

      His extant works are his Panegyrics on different emperors (in which he draws largely upon Statius, Ausonius and Claudian ), which document several important political events. Carmen 7 is a panegyric to his father-in-law Avitus on his inauguration as emperor. Carmen 5 is a panegyric to Majorian , which offers evidence that Sidonius was able to overcome the natural suspicion and hostility towards the man who was responsible for the death of his father-in-law. Carmen 2 is a panegyric to the emperor Anthemius , part of Sidonius' efforts to be appointed Urban Prefect of Rome; several samples of occasional verse ; and nine books of Letters, about which W.B. Anderson notes, "Whatever one may think about their style and diction, the letters of Sidonius are an invaluable source of information on many aspects of the life of his time." While very stilted in diction, these Letters reveal Apollinaris as a man of genial temper, fond of good living and of pleasure. A letter of Sidonius's addressed to Riothamus , "King of the Brittones" (c. 460) is of particular interest, since it provides evidence that a king or military leader with ties to Britain lived around the time frame of King Arthur . The best edition is that in the Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Berlin, 1887), which gives a survey of the manuscripts. An English translation of his poetry and letters by W.B. Anderson, with accompanying Latin text, have been published by the Loeb Classical Library (volume 1, containing his poems and books 1-3 of his letters, 1939; remainder of letters, 1965).
      Gregory of Tours speaks of Sidonius as a man who could recite the mass from memory and give unprepared speeches without any hesitation



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