Letter 10015: Ad Armentariam matrem domni Gregorii episcopi
To Armentaria, Mother of Bishop Gregory
Twice happy in merits for herself and for the world — more noble than her noble birth, because of those she bore — she is the Maccabean woman [2 Maccabees 7 — the mother of seven sons martyred for the Jewish faith] who sent seven palms to heaven from her womb, and that womb brought forth the glory of martyrdom.
You too, Armentaria, powerful in your offspring — rightly happy — are no less than that first mother in your birth. She was greater in number, but you are greatest in the single one: what many could accomplish, your one has done.
Famous by your offspring, surrounded by the fruit of what you bore — Gregory [Gregory of Tours] is your palm, your crown, your glory.
I commend humble Fortunatus to you with reverence, and I ask that you pray for heavenly help for me.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
XV
Ad Armentariam matrem domni Gregorii episcopi
Felix bis meritis sibi Machabaea vel orbi
(nobilitas generis nobilior genitis),
quae septem palmas caelo transmisit ab alvo,
martyriique decus protulit ille uterus.
tu quoque prole potens, recte Armentaria felix,
nec minor ex partu quam prior illa suo.
illa vetus numero maior, tu maxima solo:
quod poterant plures, unicus ecce tuus.
fetu clara tuo, geniti circumdata fructu,
est tibi Gregorius palma corona decus.
me Fortunatum humilem commendo verenter
ac mihi caelestem quaeso preceris opem.
Revision history
- 2026-03-20v2.1.0-import
Initial corpus import from Unspecified import source.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://data.mgh.de/openmgh/bsb00000790.zip
Related Letters
Honoratus, archdeacon of the Church of Salona, had demanded from my predecessor of holy memory, in a petition that he sent, that he should by no means be forced by his bishop to be advanced against his will, in a way contrary to custom, to a higher order. [Here follows an account of the subsequent proceedings, almost word for word the same as th...
Ad Gregorium episcopum pro metris Sapphicis
I have assigned the visitation of your church to the bishop Gaudentius of Nola.
The joy with which I received news of your return to the unity of the Church cannot be adequately expressed in words.
Since no one of your race is a Christian, I hereby know that you are better than all your race, in that thou in it art found to be a Christian. For, while all the Barbaricini live as senseless animals, know not the true God, but adore stocks and stones, in the very fact that you worship the true God thou show how much you excel them all. But car...