Agroecius or Agroetius was an ancient

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 ...

who was

bishop of Sens The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sens and Auxerre (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Senonensis et Antissiodorensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Sens et Auxerre'') is a Latin Rite Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The Archdiocese compri ...

. He was also a grammarian, and the author of an extant work in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, ''De Orthographia et Differentia Sermonis'', intended as a supplement to a work on the same subject by

Flavius Caper Flavius Caper was a Latin grammarian who flourished during the 2nd century AD. Caper devoted special attention to the early Latin writers, and is highly spoken of by Priscian Priscianus Caesariensis (), commonly known as Priscian ( or ), was a L ...

. It was composed around 450, and dedicated to the bishop

Eucherius of Lyon Eucherius (c. 380c. 449) was a high-born and high-ranking ecclesiastic in the Christian church in Roman Gaul. He is remembered for his letters advocating extreme self-abnegation. From 439, he served as Archbishop of Lyon, and Henry Wace ranked h ...

, who apparently had earlier given Agroecius a copy of Caper's work. He is supposed to have lived in the middle of the 5th century. His work is reprinted in Putschius' ''Grammaticae Latinae Auctores Antiqui,'' pp. 2266–2275. Agroecius was the addressee of one extant letter from

Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November of an unknown year, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from 5th-century Gaul ...

, who sought Agroecius' aid in the dispute over who would inherit the vacant bishop's see in

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

in 470 (Agroecius indeed traveled to Bourges to render his assistance); and he is probably alluded to (although not named) in another of Apollinaris' letters, which speaks of a bishop of great eloquence and learning. There was also at that time a bishop "Agrycius", the addressee of a letter of

Salvian Salvian (or Salvianus) was a Christian writer of the 5th century in Roman Gaul. Personal life Salvian's birthplace is uncertain, but some scholars have suggested Cologne or Trier some time between 400 and 405. He was educated at the school of Trie ...

apologizing for his disrespectful behavior, who is generally taken to be this Agroecius. Agroecius was possibly a descendant of the

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

ian Censorius Atticus.

References

5th-century bishops in Gaul Grammarians of Latin Bishops of Sens Correspondents of Sidonius Apollinaris 5th-century Latin writers {{EarlyChurch-bishop-stub