Musaeus of Marseilles ( fl. c. 450) was a priest from

Massilia Massalia (Greek: Μασσαλία; Latin: Massilia; modern Marseille) was an ancient Greek colony founded ca. 600 BC on the Mediterranean coast of present-day France, east of the river Rhône, by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Western An ...

. According to

Gennadius Gennadius or Gennadios may refer to: People * Gennadius of Constantinople (died 471), Patriarch of Constantinople from 458 to 471 * Gennadius of Massilia (5th century) Roman historian, best known for his work ''De Viris Illustribus'' * Gennadius (m ...

, he died "during the reign of Leo and

Majorian Majorian ( la, Iulius Valerius Maiorianus; died 7 August 461) was the western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent general of the Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was the last emperor to make ...

", that is, between 457 and 461. We know very little about his life. Apparently a prolific writer, he was also an esteemed preacher whose sermons were read for edification. We know that he put together a

lectionary A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evang ...

for Venerius, bishop of Marseilles, around 450 CE, and that he also prepared a

responsorial A responsory or respond is a type of chant in western Christian liturgies. Definition The most general definition of a responsory is any psalm, canticle, or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group sing ...

and a

sacramentary In the Western Church of the Early and High Middle Ages, a sacramentary was a book used for liturgical services and the mass by a bishop or priest. Sacramentaries include only the words spoken or sung by him, unlike the missals of later cent ...

. The sacramentary was in fact a "sort of plenary missal", and is the earliest known of its kind.

Biography

Musaeus was active before the middle of the 5th century CE. He was born in

, once part of a Greek colony in southern France. In a passage of his ''

De Viris Illustribus ''De Viris Illustribus'', meaning "concerning illustrious men", represents a genre of literature which evolved during the Italian Renaissance in imitation of the exemplary literature of Ancient Rome. It inspired the widespread commissioning of g ...

'',

described him thusly:

Musaeus, priest of the church of Marseilles, a man learned in the Divine Scripture and refined by the most subtle exercise of its interpretation, schooled, also in the language, selected, at the urging of the holy bishop Venerius, readings from the Holy Writings appropriate to the feast days of the entire year and responsorial psalms (''responsoria psalmorum capitula'') appropriate to the season and to the readings.

He probably put together this

about 450. Gennadius goes on to state that this work proved indispensable for lectors in church. He also addressed to Eustathius, the successor of Venerius, an "excellent and sizable Book of Sacraments, divided into various sections according to the offices and time, according to the text of the reading, sequence of the psalms, and chanting, but proper for praying to God and asking for the multitude of His favours." This

showed his understanding and eloquence. It is probable that this work "at least contained directions for the divine office rather than prayers for the mass". The work has not survived. Gennadius also states that it was said that he also delivered

homilies A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Protiadae Ancient Massaliotes 4th-century Christian clergy 4th-century writers 4th-century deaths