Avitus of Vienne

Saint
Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus of Vienne
Statue in Saint-Avit dans la Drôme, in France
Bornc. 450[1]
DiedAfter 517 and before 519[2]
Venerated inCatholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Church[3]
FeastFebruary 5

Alcimus Ecdicius[4] Avitus (c. 450 – February 5, 517/518 or 519) was a Latin poet and bishop of Vienne in Gaul. His fame rests in part on his poetry, but also on the role he played as secretary for the Burgundian kings.

Avitus was born of a prominent Gallo-Roman senatorial family related to Emperor Avitus.[5]

  1. ^ Encyclopedia of Early christianity, second edition: "Avitus of Vienne (450-518) turned Genesis and Exodus into Hexameters, a kind of “Paradise Lost.”"
  2. ^ The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, s.v. "Avitus 4" notes that he was present at the Council of Epaon, 517, but absent at the Council of Lyon, 519.
  3. ^ February 18 / February 5. https://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/htc/orthodox-calendar/
  4. ^ Ecdicius in the prefatio to his Carmina.
  5. ^ "im Umfeld des Kaisers Avitus" (Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon); The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, s.v. "Avitus 4".