Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- 1 Texts, Discourses, and Devices: Reading Visigothic Society Today
- 2 Presence of Augustine of Hippo in Isidore of Seville: Some Provisional Remarks
- 3 The Bishop and the Word: Isidore of Seville and the Production of Meaning
- 4 Unearthing Peasant Societies: Historiography and Recent Contributions in the Archaeology of the Rural World during Visigothic Times
- 5 Excolentes sacra fontium vel arborum: Pagan Cults, Kinship, and Regimes of Sacralization in the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo
- 6 Ervig and Capital Penalties: The Way of Exile
- 7 ‘Put All Your Trust in Ansemundus’: A Look at Distrust in Visigothic-Byzantine Diplomatic Relations
- 8 Visigothic Currency: Recent Developments and Data for Its Study
- Index
2 - Presence of Augustine of Hippo in Isidore of Seville: Some Provisional Remarks
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 February 2021
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- 1 Texts, Discourses, and Devices: Reading Visigothic Society Today
- 2 Presence of Augustine of Hippo in Isidore of Seville: Some Provisional Remarks
- 3 The Bishop and the Word: Isidore of Seville and the Production of Meaning
- 4 Unearthing Peasant Societies: Historiography and Recent Contributions in the Archaeology of the Rural World during Visigothic Times
- 5 Excolentes sacra fontium vel arborum: Pagan Cults, Kinship, and Regimes of Sacralization in the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo
- 6 Ervig and Capital Penalties: The Way of Exile
- 7 ‘Put All Your Trust in Ansemundus’: A Look at Distrust in Visigothic-Byzantine Diplomatic Relations
- 8 Visigothic Currency: Recent Developments and Data for Its Study
- Index
Summary
Abstract
Augustine of Hippo is the most quoted author by Isidore of Seville. Isidore uses Augustine in all his works, without exception, and he knows at least 53 of Augustine's works. However, Augustine's presence in Isidore has rarely been studied, probably because scholars were discouraged by the extent of the task. It was only in 2013 that J.C. Martín published two general surveys on the subject, but in spite of their richness they are very brief (four pages each). In this chapter, I outline some lines of research: I give some details about the works of Augustine known to Isidore and I examine some unexpected ways in which the Sevillian used the works of his predecessor.
Keywords: Isidore of Seville, Augustine of Hippo, Sources, History of Texts
It is a commonplace to say that Augustine of Hippo is the greatest of the Fathers of the Latin Church. It is no less a commonplace to assert that Isidore of Seville is the most important author of the writers of Visigothic Spain. If we add that Isidore expresses the greatest admiration for Augustine, that he quotes him in all his works, without exception, and that he knows more than 50 of his works, we might expect that the links between these two giants have already been widely studied. In fact, if we except some specific studies, Augustine's presence in Isidore has almost never been studied, probably because researchers have been discouraged by the magnitude of the task. It was only in 2013 that José Carlos Martín-Iglesias published two major studies on the subject; but, despite their richness, they are very brief (four pages each). There is still much to be done. José Carlos Martín-Iglesias has nonetheless achieved an essential task: he has cleared a huge field of research that is still almost virgin. My work aims to continue this clearing. I would like to complete and specify the list of Augustine's works known to Isidore, and I would also like to outline some unexpected aspects of Isidore's use of his predecessor.
Augustine's works known to Isidore: Some additions
I shall begin with the list of Augustine's works known to Isidore, taking as a starting point José Carlos Martín-Iglesias's list.
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- Framing Power in Visigothic SocietyDiscourses, Devices, and Artifacts, pp. 23 - 50Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2020