Aurelianus was a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

statesman,

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

and

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

in the late 5th-century

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

. He was also a

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Melun Melun () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the kilome ...

, but most importantly, the chief advisor of

Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...

. After the defeat

Syagrius Syagrius (430 – 486 or 487 or 493–4) was a Roman general and the last ruler of a Roman rump state in northern Gaul, now called the Kingdom of Soissons. Gregory of Tours referred to him as King of the Romans. Syagrius's defeat by king Clovis I ...

in 486 at the Battle of Soissons, Aurelianus defected to the side of Clovis and aided him in the stabilisation of the domain. In 493, Clovis sent him on a secret mission to arrange a marriage with a Burgundian princess,

Clotilde Clotilde ( 474–545), also known as Clothilde, Clotilda, Clotild, Rotilde etc. (Latin: Chrodechildis, Chlodechildis from Frankish ''*Hrōþihildi'' or perhaps ''*Hlōdihildi'', both "famous in battle"), was a Queen of All the Franks. She was ...

. At night, while pretending to be a

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

, Clotilde welcomed him. While washing his feet, Aurelianus revealed the identity of her suitor and delivered her a ring of Clovis. During the

Battle of Tolbiac The Battle of Tolbiac was fought between the Franks, who were fighting under Clovis I, and the Alamanni, whose leader is not known. The date of the battle has traditionally been given as 496, though other accounts suggest it may either have been ...

Aurelianus urged Clovis to convert to Christianity. Eventually Clovis gifted Melun to Aurelianus.

Biography

Known only by a ''

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

'' common in

Roman Gaul Roman Gaul refers to GaulThe territory of Gaul roughly corresponds to modern-day France, Belgium and Luxembourg, and adjacient parts of the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. under provincial rule in the Roman Empire from the 1st century ...

, Aurelianus is mentioned in the ''

Historia Francorum Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

'' written by

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

, although this may be another person of the same name. The anecdotes concerning Aurelianus are mainly the product of later second-hand works of the 7th century, such as the ''Liber'', ''

Liber Historiae Francorum ''Liber Historiae Francorum'' ( en, link=no, "The Book of the History of the Franks") is a chronicle written anonymously during the 8th century. The first sections served as a secondary source for early Franks in the time of Marcomer, giving a s ...

'' and ''Historia Francorum epitomata'', written by

Fredegar The ''Chronicle of Fredegar'' is the conventional title used for a 7th-century Frankish chronicle that was probably written in Burgundy. The author is unknown and the attribution to Fredegar dates only from the 16th century. The chronicle begins ...

, but also of the 9th century, like the work of

Hincmar Hincmar (; ; la, Hincmarus; 806 – 21 December 882), archbishop of Reims, was a Frankish jurist and theologian, as well as the friend, advisor and propagandist of Charles the Bald. He belonged to a noble family of northern Francia. Biography Ea ...

, ''Vita Remigii''. He was first regarded as a real historical figure towards the end of the 19th century by

Godefroid Kurth Godefroid Kurth (1847–1916) was a celebrated Belgian historian and pioneering Christian democrat. He is known for his histories of the city of Liège in the Middle Ages and of Belgium, his Catholic account of the formation of modern Europe in ' ...

. More recently, the medieval history specialist Laurent Theis does not rule out the historicity of Aurelianus, although he states that the 'loyal Aurelianus' may be an archetype of the wise Roman Christian, like Aredius, advisor of the Burgundian king

Gundobad Gundobad ( la, Flavius Gundobadus; french: Gondebaud, Gondovald; 452 – 516 AD) was King of Burgundy, King of the Burgundians (473 – 516), succeeding his father Gundioc of Burgundy. Previous to this, he had been a Patrician (ancient Rome), ...

. An ''Aurelianus, vir illustris'' is noted among the correspondents of

Avitus of Vienne Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus (c. 450 – February 5, 517/518 or 519) was a Latin poet and bishop of Vienne in Gaul. His fame rests in part on his poetry, but also on the role he played as secretary for the Burgundian kings. Avitus was born of a promi ...

, but Martin Heinzelmann, contrary to what is written in the ''

PLRE ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...

'', states that this Aurelianus is another person of the same name. According to the ''Liber historiæ'' and Fredegar, Clovis used Aurelianus as an intermediary to secretly arrange his marriage with Clotilde. The details of the secret meeting between Clotilde and Aurelianus, according to which he was disguised as a pilgrim, is more likely to be a myth than a historical fact. He was present at the Battle of Tolbiac, where he advised Clovis to put his faith in the God of Clotilde and convert to Christianity. Again according to the ''Liber historiæ'', Clovis rewarded Aurelianus for his services by giving him the title of Duke of Melun. This, according to Kurth, is a confusion with another person of the same name. Some late speculations considered Aurelianus to be a native of

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and In the 19th century, Nicolas-Claude-Joseph Godelle suggested that the name of Arlaines, a hamlet of the commune of Ressons-le-Long where ruins were discovered in 1810, could come from an ''Aureliana villa'', belonging to Aurelianus, making him a native of

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

. This etymological hypothesis, however, is not supported by any findings or documents, the archeological excavation establishing that it was a Roman camp of the 1st century. ''Aurelianus, consiliarus regis'', is among the signatories of Clovis's charter establishing the

Abbey of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif The Abbey of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif (french: Abbaye de Saint-Pierre-le-Vif) was a Rule of St Benedict, Benedictine monastery just outside the walls of Sens, France, in the Archdiocese of Sens. History The first abbot of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif, Saint ...

. However, the document – purportedly from 504 – is a forgery created in the 10th or 11th century. In a book published in the 16th century, Nicole Gilles describes Aurelianus as the

Grand Chamberlain A chamberlain (Medieval Latin: ''cambellanus'' or ''cambrerius'', with charge of treasury ''camerarius'') is a senior royal official in charge of managing a royal household. Historically, the chamberlain superintends the arrangement of domestic ...

of the king, but this

anachronism An anachronism (from the Ancient Greek, Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronology, chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time per ...

is corrected in 1623 by Pierre Bardin. A few years after Bardin,

Philippe Labbe Philippe Labbe ( la, Philippus Labbeus; 10 July 1607 – 16 or 17 March 1667) was a French Jesuit writer on historical, geographical and philological questions. Born in Bourges, he entered the Society of Jesus on 28 September 1623, ...

also expressed doubts on whether Aurelianus was also Grand Chancellor and

Keeper of the Seals The title keeper of the seals or equivalent is used in several contexts, denoting the person entitled to keep and authorize use of the great seal of a given country. The title may or may not be linked to a particular cabinet or ministerial offi ...

, offices that were mis-attributed to him by earlier authors, who misinterpreted the ring Aurelianus gave to Clotilde as Clovis's seal.

Depictions

Inspired by the ''

Grandes Chroniques de France The ''Grandes Chroniques de France'' is a vernacular royal compilation of the history of France, most manuscripts of which are luxury copies that are heavily illuminated. Copies were produced between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, the ...

'', two of the tapestries that were ordered in the 16th century by

Robert de Lenoncourt Robert de Lenoncourt (1485? – 4 February 1561) was a French bishop, Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal, and diplomat. He was the son of Thierry de Lenoncourt, Seigneur de Vignory, Councillor and Chamberlain of the King, and Jeanne de Ville. He ...

, destined to be displayed in the

Abbey of Saint-Remi An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conc ...

, portray Aurelianus. One of them depicts his meeting with Clotilde and the other depicts him first at Tolbiac pressuring Clovis to convert by saying to him "''Croy au dieu auquel croyt ta femme''" (believe in the god in whom your wife believes), and then witnessing the baptism of Clovis in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

. In this scene, Aurelianus is wearing a coat decorated with a ''

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

'' pattern, inspired by the

coronation ceremony A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

which itself was inspired by the baptism of Clovis during the Middle Ages. In the collegiate church of Notre-Dame des Andelys, a

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window depicts the meeting of Clotilde and Aurelianus. The

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

department of the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

possesses two engravings, made in a 16th- to 17th-century style, depicting "''Aurelian, grand conseiller de Clovis et chancelier de France''" (Aurelian, chief advisor of Clovis and chancellor of France). Portrayed with a long beard, Aurelianus holds a ring, a reference to the meeting with Clotilde. Another copy of the engraving is kept in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. In 1881, while decorating the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, from the Classical Greek word , , ' empleto all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was b ...

, Joseph Blanc painted Aurelianus in the central part of the ''Triomphe de Clovis'' (Triumph of Clovis), in which historical characters are represented with the traits of contemporaries of the artist. Aurelianus is depicted in this work with the traits of

Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, Ga ...

, then

President of the National Assembly of France This article lists Presidents of the French Parliament or, as the case may be, of its lower chamber. The National Constituent Assembly was created in 1789 out of the Estates-General. It, and the revolutionary legislative assemblies that follow ...

. Blanc may have chosen Gambetta due to his Italian origins.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franco-Visigothic Wars 5th-century Gallo-Roman people Viscounts of Melun