Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
scholar, theologian, and
archbishop of Seville
The Archdiocese of Seville is part of the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's ol ...
. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian
Montalembert, as "the last scholar of the ancient world".
At a time of disintegration of classical culture, aristocratic violence and widespread illiteracy, Isidore was involved in the conversion of the
Arian
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...
Visigothic kings
The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to ...
to Catholicism, both assisting his brother
Leander of Seville
Leander of Seville ( es, San Leandro de Sevilla; la, Sanctus Leandrus; 534 AD, in Cartagena – 13 March 600 or 601, in Seville) was the Bishop of Seville. He was instrumental in effecting the conversion of the Visigothic kings Hermengild and ...
and continuing after his brother's death. He was influential in the inner circle of
Sisebut
Sisebut ( la, Sisebutus, es, Sisebuto; also ''Sisebuth'', ''Sisebur'', ''Sisebod'' or ''Sigebut'') ( 565 – February 621) was Visigothic Kingdom, King of the Visigoths and ruler of Hispania and Septimania from 612 until his death.
Biography
H ...
, Visigothic king of
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...
. Like Leander, he played a prominent role in the
Councils of Toledo
From the 5th century to the 7th century AD, about thirty synods, variously counted, were held at Toledo (''Concilia toletana'') in what would come to be part of Spain. The earliest, directed against Priscillianism, assembled in 400. The "thi ...
and Seville.
His fame after his death was based on his ''
Etymologiae
''Etymologiae'' (Latin for "The Etymologies"), also known as the ''Origines'' ("Origins") and usually abbreviated ''Orig.'', is an etymological encyclopedia compiled by Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) towards the end of his life. Isidore was ...
'', an
etymological
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words and ...
encyclopedia that assembled extracts of many books from classical antiquity that would have otherwise been lost. This work also helped standardize the use of the period (
full stop
The full stop (Commonwealth English), period (North American English), or full point , is a punctuation mark. It is used for several purposes, most often to mark the end of a declarative sentence (as distinguished from a question or exclamation ...
),
comma
The comma is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark () in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline ...
, and
colon.
Since the early Middle Ages, Isidore has sometimes been called Isidore the Younger or Isidore Junior, ( la, Isidorus iunior, link=no) because of the earlier history purportedly written by Isidore of Córdoba.
Life
Childhood and education
Isidore was born in
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena () is a Spanish city and a major naval station on the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Iberia. As of January 2018, it has a population of 218,943 inhabitants, being the region's second-largest municipality and the country's sixth-lar ...
, a former Carthaginian colony, to Severianus and Theodora. Both Severian and Theodora belonged to notable
Hispano-Roman
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...
families of high social rank. His parents were members of an influential family who were instrumental in the political-religious manoeuvring that
converted the
Visigothic kings
The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to ...
from
Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
to Catholicism. The Catholic Church celebrates him and all his siblings as known saints:
* An elder brother,
Leander of Seville
Leander of Seville ( es, San Leandro de Sevilla; la, Sanctus Leandrus; 534 AD, in Cartagena – 13 March 600 or 601, in Seville) was the Bishop of Seville. He was instrumental in effecting the conversion of the Visigothic kings Hermengild and ...
, immediately preceded Isidore as Archbishop of Seville and, while in office, opposed King
Liuvigild
Liuvigild, Leuvigild, Leovigild, or ''Leovigildo'' (Spanish and Portuguese), ( 519 – 586) was a Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania from 568 to 586. Known for his Codex Revisus or Code of Leovigild, a law allowing equal rights between the ...
.
* A younger brother,
Fulgentius of Cartagena
Fulgentius of Cartagena ( es, San Fulgencio de Cartagena), born in Cartagena (Spain), Cartagena in the 6th century and died in 630, was Bishop of Ecija (Astigi), in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal).
Biograp ...
, served as the
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of
Astigi at the start of the new reign of the Catholic King
Reccared
Reccared I (or Recared; la, Flavius Reccaredus; es, Flavio Recaredo; 559 – December 601; reigned 586–601) was Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania. His reign marked a climactic shift in history, with the king's renunciation of Arian ...
.
* His sister,
Florentina of Cartagena, was a nun who allegedly ruled over forty convents and one thousand consecrated religious. This claim seems unlikely, however, given the few functioning monastic institutions in Spania during her lifetime.
Isidore received his elementary education in the Cathedral school of Seville. In this institution, the first of its kind in Spania, a body of learned men including Archbishop Leander of Seville taught the
trivium
The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
The trivium is implicit in ''De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the ...
and
quadrivium
From the time of Plato through the Middle Ages, the ''quadrivium'' (plural: quadrivia) was a grouping of four subjects or arts—arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy—that formed a second curricular stage following preparatory work in the ...
, the classic
liberal arts
Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...
. Isidore applied himself to study diligently enough that he quickly mastered classical Latin, and acquired some
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
.
Two centuries of Gothic control of Iberia incrementally suppressed the ancient institutions, classical learning, and manners of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. The associated culture entered a period of long-term decline. The ruling
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
nevertheless showed some respect for the outward trappings of Roman culture.
Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
meanwhile took deep root among the Visigoths as the form of Christianity that they received.
Scholars may debate whether Isidore ever personally embraced monastic life or affiliated with any religious order, but he undoubtedly esteemed the monks highly.
Bishop of Seville
After the death of
Leander of Seville
Leander of Seville ( es, San Leandro de Sevilla; la, Sanctus Leandrus; 534 AD, in Cartagena – 13 March 600 or 601, in Seville) was the Bishop of Seville. He was instrumental in effecting the conversion of the Visigothic kings Hermengild and ...
on 13 March 600 or 601, Isidore succeeded to the
See of Seville. On his elevation to the
episcopate
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, he immediately constituted himself as the protector of monks.
Recognizing that the spiritual and material welfare of the people of his see depended on the assimilation of remnant Roman and ruling barbarian cultures, Isidore attempted to weld the peoples and subcultures of the Visigothic kingdom into a united nation. He used all available religious resources toward this end and succeeded. Isidore practically eradicated the heresy of
Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
and completely stifled the new
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
of
Acephali
In church history, the term ' (from Ancient Greek: ', "headless", singular ' from ', "without", and ', "head") has been applied to several sects that supposedly had no leader. E. Cobham Brewer wrote, in ''Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', th ...
at its outset. Archbishop Isidore strengthened religious discipline throughout his see.
Archbishop Isidore also used resources of education to counteract increasingly influential Gothic barbarism throughout his episcopal jurisdiction. His quickening spirit animated the educational movement centered on Seville. Isidore introduced his countrymen to
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
long before the Arabs studied Greek philosophy extensively.
In 619, Isidore of Seville pronounced anathema against any ecclesiastic who in any way should molest the monasteries.
Second Synod of Seville (November 619)
Isidore presided over the Second Council of Seville, begun on 13 November 619 in the reign of King
Sisebut
Sisebut ( la, Sisebutus, es, Sisebuto; also ''Sisebuth'', ''Sisebur'', ''Sisebod'' or ''Sigebut'') ( 565 – February 621) was Visigothic Kingdom, King of the Visigoths and ruler of Hispania and Septimania from 612 until his death.
Biography
H ...
, a provincial council attended by eight other bishops, all from the ecclesiastical province of Baetica in southern Spain. The Acts of the Council fully set forth the nature of Christ, countering the conceptions of Gregory, a Syrian representing the heretical Acephali.
Third Synod of Seville (624)
Based on a few surviving canons found in the
Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals
Pseudo-Isidore is the conventional name for the unknown Carolingian-era author (or authors) behind an extensive corpus of influential forgery, forgeries. Pseudo-Isidore's main object was to provide accused bishops with an array of legal protectio ...
, Isidore is known to have presided over an additional provincial council around 624.
The council dealt with a conflict over the
See
See or SEE may refer to:
* Sight - seeing
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Music:
** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals
*** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See''
** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho
* Television
* ...
of Écija and wrongfully stripped bishop Martianus of his see, a situation that was rectified by the Fourth Council of Toledo. It also addressed a concern over Jews who had been forced to convert to Christianity,.
The records of the council, unlike the First and Second Councils of Seville, were not preserved in the
Hispana, a collection of canons and decretals likely edited by Isidore himself.
Fourth National Council of Toledo
All bishops of Hispania attended the Fourth National Council of Toledo, begun on 5 December 633. The aged Archbishop Isidore presided over its deliberations and originated most enactments of the council.
Through Isidore's influence, this Council of Toledo promulgated a decree commanding all bishops to establish seminaries in their cathedral cities along the lines of the cathedral school at Seville, which had educated Isidore decades earlier. The decree prescribed the study of Greek, Hebrew, and the liberal arts and encouraged interest in law and medicine.
[Isidore's own work regarding medicine is examined by ] The authority of the council made this education policy obligatory upon all bishops of the Kingdom of the Visigoths. The council granted remarkable position and deference to the king of the Visigoths. The independent Church bound itself in allegiance to the acknowledged king; it said nothing of allegiance to the
Bishop of Rome
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
.
Death
Isidore of Seville died on 4 April 636 after serving more than 32 years as archbishop of Seville.
Works
Isidore's Latin style in the ''
Etymologiae
''Etymologiae'' (Latin for "The Etymologies"), also known as the ''Origines'' ("Origins") and usually abbreviated ''Orig.'', is an etymological encyclopedia compiled by Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) towards the end of his life. Isidore was ...
'' and elsewhere, though simple and lucid, reveals increasing local Visigothic traditions.
''Etymologiae''
Isidore was the first Christian writer to try to compile a ''
summa
Summa and its diminutive summula (plural ''summae'' and ''summulae'', respectively) was a medieval didactics literary genre written in Latin, born during the 12th century, and popularized in 13th century Europe. In its simplest sense, they might ...
'' of universal knowledge, in his most important work, the ''
Etymologiae
''Etymologiae'' (Latin for "The Etymologies"), also known as the ''Origines'' ("Origins") and usually abbreviated ''Orig.'', is an etymological encyclopedia compiled by Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) towards the end of his life. Isidore was ...
'' (taking its title from the method he uncritically used in the transcription of his era's knowledge). It is also known by classicists as the ''Origines'' (the standard abbreviation being ''Orig''.). This
encyclopedia
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
—the first such Christian
epitome
An epitome (; gr, ἐπιτομή, from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "t ...
—formed a huge compilation of 448 chapters in 20 volumes.
[MacFarlane 1980:4; MacFarlane translates ''Etymologiae'' viii.]
In it, Isidore entered his own terse digest of Roman handbooks, miscellanies and compendia, he continued the trend towards abridgements and summaries that had characterised Roman learning in
Late Antiquity
Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...
. In the process, many fragments of classical learning are preserved that otherwise would have been hopelessly lost; "in fact, in the majority of his works, including the ''Origines'', he contributes little more than the mortar which connects excerpts from other authors, as if he was aware of his deficiencies and had more confidence in the ''stilus maiorum'' than his own," his translator Katherine Nell MacFarlane remarks.
Some of these fragments were lost in the first place because Isidore's work was so highly regarded—
Braulio Braulio is a given name.
*Braulio Estima, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist
*Braulio García, a Spanish singer-songwriter who is often credited as "Braulio".
*Braulio Guerra, Mexican politician
*Braulio Mari, a Spanish sin ...
called it ''quaecunque fere sciri debentur'', "practically everything that it is necessary to know"—that it superseded the use of many individual works of the classics themselves, which were not recopied and have therefore been lost: "all secular knowledge that was of use to the Christian scholar had been winnowed out and contained in one handy volume; the scholar need search no further".
The fame of this work imparted a new impetus to encyclopedic writing, which bore abundant fruit in the subsequent centuries of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. It was the most popular compendium in
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
libraries. It was printed in at least ten editions between 1470 and 1530, showing Isidore's continued popularity in the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
. Until the 12th century brought translations from Arabic sources, Isidore transmitted what western Europeans remembered of the works of
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
and other Greeks, although he understood only a limited amount of Greek.
The ''Etymologiae'' was much copied, particularly into medieval
bestiaries
A bestiary (from ''bestiarum vocabulum'') is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history a ...
.
''On the Catholic Faith against the Jews''
Isidore's ''De fide catholica contra Iudaeos'' furthers
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
's ideas on the Jewish presence in the Christian society of the ancient world. Like Augustine, Isidore held an acceptance of the Jewish presence as necessary to society because of their expected role in the anticipated
Second Coming of Christ
The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...
.
But Isidore had access to Augustine's works, out of which one finds more than forced acceptance ''of'' but rather broader reasons than just an endtime role ''for'' Jews in society:
:
versities in the manners, laws, and institutions whereby earthly peace is secured and maintained
re not scrupled in the heavenly city for which we strive, while its citizens sojourn on earth
Re or RE may refer to:
Geography
* Re, Norway, a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway
* Re, Vestland, a village in Gloppen municipality, Vestland county, Norway
* Re, Piedmont, an Italian municipality
* Île de Ré, an island off the w ...
but recognizing that, however various they are, they all tend to one and the same end of earthly peace.
:
he heavenly city
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
is therefore so far from rescinding and abolishing these diversities, that it even preserves and adopts them, so long only as no hindrance to the worship of the one supreme and true God is thus introduced...and makes this earthly peace bear upon the peace of heaven; for this alone can be truly called and esteemed the peace of the reasonable creatures, consisting as it does in the perfectly ordered and harmonious enjoyment of God and of one another in God. (''City of God'', Book 19, Chapter 17)
[Marcus Dods, translator.]
According to Jeremy Cohen's account in a Berkeley, California publication, ''De fide catholica contra Iudaeos'', Isidore exceeds the anti-rabbinic polemics of earlier theologians by criticizing Jewish practice as deliberately disingenuous.
But once again Isidore's same predecessor, Augustine, seems to have written of at least the possibility of Jewish rabbinical practice along that subject's content's purportedly deceptive lines in the same work cited above:
:They say that it is not credible that the seventy translators
f_the_Septuagint.html" ;"title="Septuagint.html" ;"title="f the Septuagint">f the Septuagint">Septuagint.html" ;"title="f the Septuagint">f the Septuagintwho simultaneously and unanimously produced one rendering, could have erred, or, in a case in which no interest of theirs was involved, could have falsified their translation, but that the Jews, envying us our translation of their Law and Prophets, have made alterations in their texts to undermine the authority of ours. (''City of God'', Book 15, Chapter 11)
[
He contributed two decisions to the Fourth Council of Toledo: Canon 60 calling for the forced removal of children from parents practising Crypto-Judaism and their education by Christians on the basis that while their parents were concealing themselves under the guise of Christians, they had presumably allowed their children to be baptised with intent to deceive. This removal was an exception to the general rule of the treatment of Jewish children according to the 13th century ''Summa Theologica'', " was never the custom of the Church to baptize the children of Jews against the will of their parents...."
He also contributed Canon 65 thought to forbid Jews and Christians of Jewish origin from holding public office. Though why this severe restriction would refer to Christians and not foreign pagan slaves who eventually learn the native language is unclear, as "those who are ''of'' the Jews" are applied to the case as "do ngwrong to the Christians 'christianis iniurium faciunt''"
]
Other works
Isidore's authored more than a dozen major works on various topics including mathematics, holy scripture, and monastic life, all in Latin:
* ''Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum
The ''Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum'' ("History of the Kings of the Goths, Vandals and Suevi") is a Latin history of the Goths from 265 to 624, written by Isidore of Seville. It is a condensed account and, due to its diver ...
'', a history of the Gothic, Vandal and Suebi kings. The longer edition, issued in 624, includes the ''Laus Spaniae'' and the ''Laus Gothorum''.
* ''Chronica Majora'', a universal history
A universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of a history of all of mankind as a whole, coherent unit. A universal chronicle or world chronicle typically traces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to t ...
* ''De differentiis verborum'', a brief theological treatise on the doctrine of the Trinity, the nature of Christ, of Paradise, angels, and men
* ''De natura rerum'' (''On the Nature of Things''), a book of astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
and natural history dedicated to the Visigothic king Sisebut
Sisebut ( la, Sisebutus, es, Sisebuto; also ''Sisebuth'', ''Sisebur'', ''Sisebod'' or ''Sigebut'') ( 565 – February 621) was Visigothic Kingdom, King of the Visigoths and ruler of Hispania and Septimania from 612 until his death.
Biography
H ...
* ''Questions on the Old Testament''
* a mystical treatise on the allegorical meanings of numbers
* a number of brief letters
* ''Sententiae libri tres'' Codex Sang. 228; 9th century
* ''De viris illustribus''
* ''De ecclesiasticis officiis''
* ''De summo bono''
* ''De ortu et obitu patrum''
Veneration
Isidore was one of the last of the ancient Christian philosophers and was contemporary with Maximus the Confessor
Maximus the Confessor ( el, Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής), also spelt Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar.
In his earl ...
. He has been called the most learned man of his age by some scholars, and he exercised a far-reaching and immeasurable influence on the educational life of the Middle Ages. His contemporary and friend, Braulio of Zaragoza
Braulio ( la, Braulius Caesaraugustanus; 585 – 651 AD) was bishop of Zaragoza and a learned cleric living in the Kingdom of the Visigoths.
Life
Braulio was born of a noble Hispano-Roman family. His father was Bishop of Osma. In 610 Braulio bec ...
, regarded him as a man raised up by God to save the Spanish peoples from the tidal wave of barbarism that threatened to inundate the ancient civilization of Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...
.
The Eighth Council of Toledo
The Eighth Council of Toledo commenced on 16 December 653 in the church of the Holy Apostles in Toledo in Spain. It was attended by fifty two bishops in person, including the aged Gavinio of Calahorra, who had assisted at the Fourth Council, a ...
(653) recorded its admiration of his character in these glowing terms: "The extraordinary doctor, the latest ornament of the Catholic Church, the most learned man of the latter ages, always to be named with reverence, Isidore". This tribute was endorsed by the Fifteenth Council of Toledo The Fifteenth Council of Toledo first met in Toledo, Spain on 11 May 688 under Visigothic King Egica. It was the first of his three councils.
In 680-681, the sixth ecumenical council, the Third Council of Constantinople, had repudiated monothelitis ...
, held in 688. Isidore was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church
Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribu ...
in 1722 by Pope Innocent XIII
Pope Innocent XIII ( la, Innocentius XIII; it, Innocenzo XIII; 13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724), born as Michelangelo dei Conti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 May 1721 to his death in March 1724. He is ...
.
Isidore was interred in Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
. His tomb represented an important place of veneration for the Mozarabs
The Mozarabs ( es, mozárabes ; pt, moçárabes ; ca, mossàrabs ; from ar, مستعرب, musta‘rab, lit=Arabized) is a modern historical term for the Iberian Christians, including Christianized Iberian Jews, who lived under Muslim rule in A ...
during the centuries after the Arab conquest of Visigothic Hispania. In the middle of the 11th century, with the division of Al Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
into taifas
The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), re ...
and the strengthening of the Christian holdings in the Iberian peninsula, Ferdinand I of León and Castile
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
found himself in a position to extract tribute from the fractured Arab states. In addition to money, Abbad II al-Mu'tadid
Abu ʿAmr ʿAbbad II al-Muʿtadid (; died 28 February 1069), a member of the Abbadid dynasty, was the second independent emir of Seville (reigned 1042–1069) in Al-Andalus. His father, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abbad, had established the Taifa o ...
, the Abbadid ruler of Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
(1042–1069), agreed to turn over St. Isidore's remains to Ferdinand I. A Catholic poet described al-Mutatid placing a brocaded cover over Isidore's sarcophagus, and remarked, "Now you are leaving here, revered Isidore. You know well how much your fame was mine!" Ferdinand had Isidore's remains reinterred in the then-recently constructed Basilica of San Isidoro
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
in León. Today, many of his bones are buried in the cathedral of Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
Legacy
In Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
's '' Paradiso'' (X.130), Isidore is mentioned among theologians and Doctors of the Church alongside the Scot Richard of St. Victor
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
and the Englishman Bede the Venerable
Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
.
The University of Dayton
The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...
has named their implementation of the Sakai Project
Sakai is a free, community source, educational software platform designed to support teaching, research and collaboration. Systems of this type are also known as Course Management Systems (CMS), Learning Management Systems (LMS), or Virtual Le ...
in honour of Saint Isidore.
His likeness, along with that of Leander of Sevile and Ferdinand III of Castile
Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of ...
, is depicted on the crest badge of Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Euro ...
.
The Order of St. Isidore of Seville is a chivalric order
An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and paired with medieval concep ...
formed on 1 January 2000. An international organisation, the order aims to honour Saint Isidore as patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of the Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
, alongside promoting Christian chivalry online. (This honour is unofficial: the Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
considered naming Isidore as patron saint of the Internet but has not done so.)
Criticisms and contemporary appraisal
Contemporary researchers have criticized Isidore. Specifically, the point of contention is his work in the ''Etymologies.'' Historian Sandro D'Onofrio has argued that "job consisted here and there of restating, recapitulating, and sometimes simply transliterating both data and theories that lacked research and originality."
In this view, Isidore—considering the large popularity his works enjoyed during the Middle Ages and the founding role he had in Scholasticism
Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translate ...
—would be less a brilliant thinker than a Christian gatekeeper making etymologies fit into the Christian worldview. " prescribed what they should mean," asserts D'Onofrio.
Researcher Victor Bruno has countered this argument. According to him, it was not the meaning of the ''Etymologies'', or of Isidore's work as a whole, to give a scientific or philological account of the words, as a modern researcher would do. "It is obvious that, from a material point of view," argues Bruno, "Isidore’s practical knowledge on etymology, geography, and history are considered outdated; his methods, from the current academic and scientific standpoint, are questionable, and some of his conclusions are indeed incorrect. But Isidore is less concerned about being etymologically or philologically right than being ''ontologically'' right."
Therefore Isidore, despite living in the early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
, is an archaic or "traditional" thinker. Being religiously inclined, Isidore would be concerned with the redeeming meaning of words and history, the ultimate quest of religions. The same researcher also found parallels between Isidore’s interpretation of the word "year" (''annus'') and the meaning of the same words in the ''Jāiminīya-Upaniṣad-Brāmaṇa''.[Bruno, "St. Isidore of Seville and Traditional Philosophy," 101.
]
Honours
St. Isidore Island in Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
is named after the saint.
See also
* Saint Isidore of Seville, patron saint archive
References
Sources
Primary sources
* Th
''Etymologiae''
(complete Latin text)
* Barney, Stephen A., Lewis, W.J., Beach, J.A. and Berghof, Oliver (translators). ''The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
, 2006. .
* Ziolkowski, Vernon P., ''The De Fide Catholica contra Iudaeos of Saint Isidorus, Bishop, Book 1'', Saint Louis University, PhD diss. (1982).
* Castro Caridad, Eva and Peña Fernández, Francisco (translators). "Isidoro de Sevilla. Sobre la fe católica contra los judíos". Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla
The University of Seville (''Universidad de Sevilla'') is a university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of ''Colegio Santa María de Jesús'' in 1505, it has a present student body of over 69.200, and is one of the top-ranked universi ...
, 2012. .
* Throop, Priscilla, (translator). ''Isidore of Seville's Etymologies.'' Charlotte, VT: MedievalMS, 2005, 2 vols.
* Throop, Priscilla, (translator). ''Isidore's Synonyms and Differences.'' (a translation of ''Synonyms'' or ''Lamentations of a Sinful Soul'', ''Book of Differences I'', and ''Book of Differences II'') Charlotte, VT: MedievalMS, 2012 (EPub )
Online Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries
High resolution images of works by Isidore of Seville in .jpg and .tiff format.
De natura rerum (Msc.Nat.1)
(On the Nature of Things) digitized by the Staatsbibliothek Bamberg.
Secondary sources
* Henderson, John. ''The Medieval World of Isidore of Seville: Truth from Words.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. .
* Herren, Michael. "On the Earliest Irish Acquaintance with Isidore of Seville." ''Visigothic Spain: New Approaches''. James, Edward (ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1980. .
* Englisch, Brigitte. "Die Artes liberales im frühen Mittelalter." Stuttgart, 1994.
*
Other material
The Order of Saint Isidore of Seville
st-isidore.org
* Jones, Peter
telegraph.co.uk, 27 August 2006 (Review of ''The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville'', Cambridge University Press, 2006)
* Shachtman, Noah
"Searchin' for the Surfer's Saint"
wired.com, 25 January 2002
External links
* Carolyn Embach
ResearchGate: English translation of Isidore of Seville, De Natura Rerum, ca. 560–636 AD
. (Carolyn S. E. Wares aka Carolyn Embach, translator, 1969)
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isidore of Seville
560 births
636 deaths
Doctors of the Church
Church Fathers
6th-century Latin writers
7th-century Latin writers
Spanish encyclopedists
Etymologists
7th-century philosophers
7th-century Christian saints
7th-century archbishops
7th-century Christian theologians
7th-century people of the Visigothic Kingdom
Roman Catholic archbishops of Seville
Spanish philosophers
Medieval Spanish saints
Augustinian philosophers
Catholic philosophers
Spanish music theorists
Spanish Christian theologians
Trope theorists
Medieval Spanish theologians
7th-century astronomers
7th-century mathematicians
7th-century historians
7th-century jurists
Writers about religion and science