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family and friendship in the west 419
by his references to Lyons, did Sidonius Apollinaris, 20 though it is possible
that a city residence became less desirable as the amenities of urban life
declined. More important were the rural estates, some of them of considerable
pretension, like the lakeside villa of Avitus, Gallo-Roman senator and
subsequently emperor, at Aydat, 21 or the hilltop fortress of Pontius
Leontius. 22 From Sidonius’ descriptions, even allowing for the fact that they
are literary set-pieces, 23 it is possible to see these houses as working units: in
some cases one can even see some of the minutiae of spatial arrangements
– for instance, the division of a library, where there was an area for the men,
with books of philosophy, and another for the women, with books of devotion.
24 A century later, Venantius Fortunatus described some aspects of the
properties of the sixth-century Gallo-Roman aristocracy and indeed of their
Germanic counterparts, including their oratories and their gardens. Among
the aristocrats so fêted were the descendants of Pontius Leontius. 25 Estates
and their transmission from generation to generation were as important to
the senatorial aristocracy of the sixth century as they had been over a
hundred years earlier, when Salvian saw desire for property and its transmission
to the next generation as central to the vices of the rich of his day. 26
This concern with family and inheritance can also be seen in mirror
image in the early history of monasticism, since monasticism challenged
the notions both of a family line and of inherited property. 27 The early
bewilderment at Paulinus of Nola’s decision to opt out of the traditional
pattern of senatorial life shows exactly how much the aristocracy valued
continuity of blood. 28 The blatant inversion of social norms performed by
ascetics at the end of the fifth century continued to meet with opposition.
John of Réomé left Burgundy for Lérins. 29 He was subsequently recognized,
and brought back on the instructions of the bishop of Langres to
his district of origin. There he founded a monastery, but still refused to
have any but the most formal contact with his mother. 30 John, moreover,
is one of those saints who takes us a degree down the social scale – still
within the ranks of property-holders, 31 but no longer within the senatorial
aristocracy. As elsewhere, extreme asceticism throve on an exact contradiction
of social norms. Its rejection of family and heirs, which can also be
seen in the sixth-century history of Patroclus of Bourges, 32 and its attempt
20 Harries (1994) 36–47. 21 Sid. Ap. Ep. 2.2, ed. W. B. Anderson (London 1936–65).
22 Sid. Ap. Carm. xxii. 23 Harries (1994) 10.
24 Sid. Ap. Ep. 2.9.4–5. For a study of comparable material in Africa, Thébert (1987) 313–409.
25 Venantius Fortunatus, Carm. i.14–16, ed. F. Leo, MGH, AA 4 (1) (Berlin 1881).
26 Salv. Timothei ad Ecclesiam Libri IIII ed. G. Lagarrigue, SChrét. 176 (Paris 1971).
27 Van Uytfanghe (1987) 31, 72–4. 28 Matthews (1975) 152–3.
29 Jonas, Vita Iohannis 4, ed. B. Krusch, MGH, SRM 3 (Hanover 1896).
30 Jonas, Vita Iohannis 6; Van Uytfanghe (1987) 31, 74.
31 Jonas, Vita Iohannis 1; Van Uytfanghe (1987) 169.
32 Cf. Greg. Tur. Liber Vitae Patrum ix.1, ed. B. Krusch, MGH, SRM 1 (2) (Hanover 1885). For a discussion
of later Merovingian examples, Van Uytfanghe (1987) 186–92.
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