Tonantius Ferreolus

Tonantius Ferreolus (c390-after 453). Praeorian Perfect of Gaul, 451, at Rome 469, 475; friend and relative of Sidonius Apollinaris.

His ancestry is unknown. David Hughes (British Chronicles) calls him a son of "Theodosiolus, a very brave man, descended from a noble family in Spain."

The given name Ferreolous might point to a connection with two 3rd century saints of that name, both of whom lived in what is now France.

St. Ferreolus, a priest, and his brother St. Ferrutio, a deacon, were born in Asia Minor. They were converted to Christianity by St. Polycarp of Smyrna. They went to Lyons, where they were ordained by St. Irenaeus. They evangelized the area around Besançon. They were beheaded in a perscution about 212. Their feast is June 16. [Michael Walsh, A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West (2007), 202.]

St. Ferreolus, a 3rd century martyr from Vienne. He is said to have been a Roman official and secret Christian. He was arrested for failing to apprehend Julian of Brioude, who had lived in his house. He refused to deny his faith, and was imprisoned. He escaped, but was caught after swimming the Rhône. He was beheaded on the spot. His feast is September 18. [Walsh, 202.]

The family might have come from Tarsus. A descendant was St. Tarsicia of Rodez. Her name means a resident of Tarsus. The possible connection to St. Polycarp is also suggestive.

From the English Wikipedia page on Tonantius Ferreolus (prefect):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonantius_Ferreolus_(prefect)

Tonantius Ferreolus (405 or ca 420 – 475), was the praetorian prefect of Gaul (praefectus praetorio Galliarum) from 451.

He was either "personally related to" or "connected through (...) relatives" with Sidonius Apollinaris, and was associated with Thaumastus in the impeachment of Arvandus.

He was the son of Ferreolus, born say 390, and wife Syagria, clarissima femina (?), born c.390, and thus maternal grandson of Flavius Afranius Syagrius, Consul in 382.

He married Papianilla, clarissima femina, born ca 415, a niece of Emperor Avitus and the first cousin of another Papianilla, wife of Sidonius Apollinaris, and they had many children, among whom Tonantius Ferreolus. She was a partner who shared his troubles, according to Sidonius.

Sources and citations

Sidonius Apollinaris, The Letters of Sidonius (Oxford: Clarendon, 1915), pp. clx-clxxxiii

Christian Settipani, Les Ancêtres de Charlemagne (France: Éditions Christian, 1989).

Christian Settipani, Continuite Gentilice et Continuite Familiale Dans Les Familles Senatoriales Romaines A L'epoque Imperiale, Mythe et Realite, Addenda I - III (juillet 2000- octobre 2002) (n.p.: Prosopographica et Genealogica, 2002).

Weis 180-2-h; no line given.

From the French Wikipedia page on Tonantius Ferreolus (préfet):

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonantius_Ferreolus_(pr%C3%A9fet)

Tonantius Ferreolus (parfois francisé en Tonance Ferréol) (415 - 486) était un personnage important de la Gaule du ve siècle. C'est grâce au poème de Sidoine Apollinaire, intitulé : « Panégyrique de Narbonne » que nous connaissons Tonantius Ferreolus.

Biographie

Famille et jeunesse

Il était peut-être natif de Nîmes car on sait que sa famille avait des biens considérables dans la Narbonnaise première et que quelques-uns de ses descendants étaient originaires de Narbonne[1]. Sidoine Appolinaire nous apprends par exemple qu'il possède une villa à Trevidon, qui pourrait être localisée comme Saint-Laurent-de-Trèves (aujourd'hui en Lozère), soit assez proche de Nîmes[2].

Membre de la grande famille des Syagrii (petit-fils par sa mère du consul de 382, Flavius Afranius Syagrius), il était aussi un proche de Sidoine Apollinaire. Leurs épouses portaient en effet le même nom, Papianilla[3], ce qui peut laisser penser qu'elles étaient apparentées (l'épouse de Sidoine était elle-même la fille d'Avitus). Il avait des terres aux alentours de Nîmes, et une villa appelée Prusianus sur les bords du Gardon dont Sidoine décrit la beauté.

Carrière politique

Il fut préfet du prétoire des Gaules à Arles, de 450 à 452-453 [4], au moment de l'invasion d'Attila, et il joua un grand rôle par ses mesures judicieuses et sa diplomatie, notamment lors du siège d'Arles par les Wisigoths en 453. En 469, il fit partie de la délégation gallo-romaine à charge au procès d'Arvandus qui se tint à Rome. Ferréol qui avait une autre maison de campagne à proximité des Cévennes appelée Trévidon, s'y retira avant l'an 470. Il finit sa vie dans une grande dévotion chrétienne, d'après Sidoine.

Descendance

Parmi sa descendance, on connaît son fils Tonantius Ferreolus, sénateur de Narbonne[5], dont le même Sidoine parle avec éloge, et qui se distingua par son inclination naturelle et son goût pour les lettres, le fils [6] de ce dernier Roricius, évêque d'Uzès, et Saint Ferréol évêque de la même ville[7].

Plus tard, quand les carolingiens tentèrent de relier généalogiquement leur famille aux grandes lignées romaines, ils en firent un des ancêtres de Charlemagne.

Voir aussi

Notes

1. ↑ Cf. Dom Devic, dom Vaissète, Histoire générale de Languedoc

2. ↑ Félix Buffière, Ce tant rude Gévaudan [d%C3%A9tail des éditions], tome I, chap. VII

3. ↑ D'après certains, il s'agit de la fille de Zénon l'Isaurien, alors Maître des milices de l'empire d'Orient. Le mariage, dans lequel Avitus avait servi d'intermédiaire, fut célébré à Constan­tinople et chacun s'efforça de dissimuler aux yeux de Tonance la tare de la famille de son épouse. En ramenant Papinianille à Narbonne puis à Arles, Tonance introduisait dans la maison de son père une hérétique nestorienne.

4. ↑ D'autres sources indiquent 450-453: Dom Vaissète indique 450-452 (Il mérita d'être élevé à la charge de préfet des Gaules qu'il occupa durant trois années consécutives, sçavoir l'année 452 et les deux précédentes), mais il semble bien être encore préfet en 453, lors du siège d'Arles par les Wisigoths.

5. ↑ Souvent appelé Tonantius Ferreolus II pour le distinguer de son père

6. ↑ Dom Vaissète indique probablement à tort qu'il s'agit du frère de Tonance (Parmi ceux-ci Tonante, dont le même Sidoine parle avec éloge, se distingua beaucoup par son inclination naturelle et son goût exquis pour les lettres. On lui donne pour frere Roricius évêque d'Usez dont nous parlerons ailleurs, aussi bien que de Saint Ferréol évêque de la même ville )

7. ↑ Cf. Dom Devic, dom Vaissète, Histoire générale de Languedoc

Bibliographie

A.H.M. JONES, J.R. MARTINDALE, J. MORRIS Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire T.2 395-527, Cambridge, 1971-1992

Christian Settipani, Les Ancêtres de Charlemagne, Paris, 1989, 170 p. (ISBN 2-906483-28-1)

Dom Claude Devic, dom Joseph Vaissète, Histoire générale de Languedoc.

André LOYEN, Sidoine Apollinaire et l'esprit précieux en Gaule aux derniers jours de l'Empire. Les Belles Lettres, 1943.

Lien externe

Généalogie de Tonantius Ferreolus et commentaires

http://erwan.gil.free.fr/base_gil/pag4.htm#494

In English:

Tonantius Ferreolus (sometimes rendered into French "Tonance Ferreol", 415-486) was an important figure in Gaul in the 5th century. It is thanks to the poem of Sidonius entitled "Panegyric of Narbonne" that we know of Tonantius Ferreolus.

Biography

Family and Youth

He was perhaps a native of Nimes, as we know that his family had considerable property in Narbonne first, and that some of his descendants came from Narbonne [1]. Sidonius Appolinaire wrote as an example of this in describing a villa in Trevidon, which could be located at St-Laurent-de-Trier (present Lozere), or pretty close to Nimes [2].

A member of the Syagri family (he is the maternal grandson of Consul Flavius Afranius Syagrius, ruled in 382). He was also a relative of Sidonius Apollinaris. Their wives were indeed of the same name, Papianille [3], which may suggest that they were relatives (the wife of Sidonius was herself the daughter of Avitus). He had land around Nimes, and a villa called Prusianus on the banks of the Gardon, which Sidonius described its beauty.

Political Career:

He was the Praetorian Prefect of Gaul and Arles from 450 to 452-453 [4], during the invasion of Atilla, and he played a major role through judicious measures and diplomacy in Gaul's defence, including during the siege of Arles by the Visigoths in 453. In 469, he was part of a Gallo-Roman delegation that supported Arvandus when he was held on trial in Rome. Ferreolus had another country house near the Cervennes called Trevidon, which he withdrew to in 470. He ended his life in great Christian devotion, according to Sidonius.

Progeny

Among his known descendants is his son Tonantius Ferreolus, Senator of Narbonne [5], of whom Sidonius speaks with the same praise as his father, and who distinguished himself by his natural inclination and taste for letters [6]. His sons included Roricus and St. Ferreolus, bishops of Uzes.

Later, when the Carolingians attempted to link their family genealogically to major Roman lineaes, they made Tonantius Ferreolus an ancestor of Charlemagne.

Notes:

1. Dom Devic, dom Vaissète, General History of Languedoc.

2. Felix Buffiere, As Tough as Gevaudan [retail edition], Book 1, Chapter VII.

3. According to some, she is the daughter of Zénon l'Isaurien, a master of the militia of the Empire in the East. Her marriage, in which Avitus had served as intermediary, was celebrated in Constantinople and everyone tried to conceal from Tonance his new wife. By marrying Papianille in Narbonne and Arles, Tonance had introduced into the house of his father a Nestorian heretic.

4. Other sources report 450-453, dom Vaissette says 450-452 (he deserved to be elevated to the office of Prefect of the Gauls he hed for three consecutive years, to wit, the year 452 and the previous two), but it still seems that he was Prefect in 453 during the siege of Arles by the Visigoths.

5. Often called Tonantius Ferreolus II to distinguish him from his father.

6. Dom Vaissette probably indicates that this is the wrong brother Tonance (Tonante among them, the same which Sindonius speaks with praise, many have distinguished himself with a natural inclination and exquisite taste for literature. He passed this along to Roricus, Bishop of Uzes, as well as his brother St. Ferreolus, bishop of the same city.

7. Devic Dom, dom Vaissette, General History of Languedoc.