Lindsay Rudge PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

these rules survive only through the collection of Benedict of Aniane; this in itself cannot
be an indication that these were the only texts composed around this time.
a) Aurelian of Arles, Regula monachorum, regula virginum
It is not necessary to go far to find the first monastic rule to use Caesarius’ as a
source: one of his immediate successors took up the rule designed for St John. Aurelian
became Bishop of Arles in 546, the second successor to Caesarius. 128 Selected by the
king, Childebert, he was the son of Sacerdos, bishop of Lyon, and aged twenty-three
when chosen. Very quickly, Aurelian founded a monastery for men, Holy Apostles,
which was dedicated on November 17, 547. 129 Its first abbot was Florentinus, who may
have been related to Aurelian, installed on October 12 of that year, and who died in
553. 130 One of the Arlesian documents preserved by Benedict of Aniane in his Codex
Regularum was a seventh-century diptych of the monastery of Holy Apostles. 131 This is
a fascinating document and starkly underlines the differences between this monastery and
that of St John. Firstly, the king and queen are commemorated as important figures in the
history of the monastery alongside previous abbots: ‘Simulque precantes oramus etiam,
Domine, pro animabus famulorum tuorum patrum atque institutorum quondam
nostrorum, Aureliani, Petri, Florentini, Redempti, Constantini, Himiteri, Hilarini,
Januarini, Reparati, Childebert, Ultragothae vel omnium fratrum’. 132 Childebert I
(coincidentally Radegund’s brother-in-law during her marriage) and his wife, Ultragotha,
were keenly interested in founding religious houses; Provence had only been ceded to the
Franks by the Visigoth Vitiges in 537. Until that date, Arles had been part of the
Ostrogothic kingdom, which was Arian in belief. As bishop, Caesarius had to some
extent benefited from Arian Gothic rule, in that he had had no other Catholic authorities –
aside from the Pope – to rival him. In matters such as the foundation of St John,
therefore, he had been able to do largely as he pleased. When Provence was ceded to the
128
Klingshirn, Caesarius, 262.
129
Klingshirn, Caesarius, 263.
130
CIL XII:944. The sarcophagus still survives: the verses on the side form an acrostic: Florentinus abbas
hic in pace quiescit. Amen.
131
P. Bernard, ‘Les diptyques du monastère des Saints-Apôtres d’Arles au VIIe siècle’, RHEF 89 (2003) 5-
21.
132 GC I: 600.
100