Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 91
Deodatus, presbyter probably in Auvergne, informs Gregory of Tours of the deeds of Saint Lupicinus, ca 590. Account of Gregory of Tours, "Life of the Fathers", Tours (Gaul), ca 590.
13.3
 
Et fortassis quorundam incredibilium latratus de his conatur obstrepere, noverit, a me visum Deodatum presbiterum, summam octogenarii aevi ferentem, qui mihi haec, ut scripta sunt, contulit, confirmans sacramento, nihil se de his admixto mendatio enarrasse.
 
(ed. Krusch 1885: 267)
13.3
 
And perhaps some doubters will try to object to what we have said. But they should know that I have seen the presbyter Deodatus, who is eighty years old, and he has told me the things which I have written here, declaring under oath that everything is the absolute truth.
 
(trans. James 1991: 89, slightly altered by J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

Deodatus was probably a presbyter in the villages near Lupicinus' hermitage, since he knew the saint so well. Both vicus Berberensis qui nunc Lipidiaco dicitur (probably Dompierre-sur-Besbre or Loubie) and vicus Transaliensis (Trézelles) might be considered. These villages are located northeast of Vichy.
 

Place of event:

Region
  • Gaul
City
  • Tours

About the source:

Author: Gregory of Tours
Title: Life of the Fathers, Vita Patrum, Liber Vitae Patrum
Origin: Tours (Gaul)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
Gregory of Tours (bishop of Tours in Gaul in 573-594) started writing his Life of the Fathers some time before 587 and finished it around 592 or slightly later, as shown by the cross-references to his other works.  It is a collection of twenty Gallic saints` lives of different lengths. They all are in some way connected to Gregory`s family or church interests, while also exemplifying different virtues leading to sanctity. Saints presented in the Life of the Fathers are all either ascetics or bishops.
 
More on the text: James 1991: ix-xxv.
Edition:
B. Krusch ed., Gregorii Episcopi Turonensis Miracula et Opera Minora, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 1.2, Hannover 1885, 211-294.
 
Translation:
Gregory of Tours, Life of the Fathers, trans. E. James, Liverpool 1991.

Categories:

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior
Devotion - Veneration of saints and relics
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER91, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=91