Avitus of Vienne

Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus, bishop of Vienne from ca. 494 to ca. 518, left not just important and well-known poetry but also ninety-six letters and a number of largely fragmentary sermons. In style the letters are difficult (hence their neglect), but they have much to contribute to early Merovingian political, ecclesiastical, and social history, whether on the subject of Clovis's conversion, Christological heresies, or gift-exchange between bishops. Even more intriguing may be the tolerant and close relationship that emerges between the Catholic metropolitan bishop and his Burgundian kings, the great Arian Gundobad and his son, the Catholic convert Sigismund. This first complete translation of the letters into English illuminates the history of the Burgundian kingdom and also relations between Francia, the Ostrogothic Kingdom, and Byzantium in the early sixth century.