Sulpicius of Bourges, Saint: Epistolae ad Desiderium Cadurcensem

These three short letters were written by Sulpicius, bishop of Bourges in the seventh century, known as Sulpicius the Pious (d. 647), not by Sulpicius Severus, under whose name the corpus lists them. Two are addressed to Desiderius, bishop of Cahors, and one to Verus, bishop of Rodez. The first praises Desiderius in an elaborate style: the writer’s eagerness to speak of the bishop’s distinction fails in words before the greatness of the subject, and he can at least satisfy his own wish if not fulfil the bishop’s request, adding that distance prevents them from meeting face to face. The letter to Verus concerns injuries done to Desiderius’s men in the parish of Aronnacum by Perricius, a deacon of Rodez, and a hearing to be held about it.

The letters belong to the correspondence of Desiderius of Cahors, an important collection for the Merovingian church, and show the networks of friendship and dispute among bishops of Aquitaine. Their Latin, with its complex rhetoric and irregular forms, noted by the editor’s corrections, is characteristic of seventh-century Gaul. The second letter also shows bishops of neighbouring dioceses arranging a hearing to settle a dispute between their clergy and people, a glimpse of how conflicts were handled in the Merovingian church. Together the letters add a further voice to the well-documented network around Desiderius.