The Nicene Age · AD 313–400 · External witness
Magnus Maximus
d. AD 388 (executed at Aquileia) · Usurper of the West · Executioner of Priscillian · Britain → Trier → Aquileia
External witness
Who Magnus Maximus was
The commander proclaimed in Britain whose revolt killed Gratian and who reigned five years from Trier as a demonstratively orthodox emperor — the ruler who, against Martin of Tours's face-to-face protest, let the Priscillianist trial end on the block, giving Christendom its first heretics executed by a Christian state. Sulpicius Severus, who tells the whole affair, shows Martin refusing the usurper's table talk and haunted by the communion he finally shared. Theodosius broke him at the Save and had him beheaded at Aquileia.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When did Magnus Maximus die?
Magnus Maximus is dated d. AD 388 (executed at Aquileia) in the archive, which places Magnus Maximus in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Magnus Maximus?
Magnus Maximus is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Ambrose of Milan and Sulpicius Severus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Magnus Maximus from?
The archive associates Magnus Maximus with Britain, Trier, Aquileia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Magnus Maximus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Magnus Maximus to 4 other figures, including Emperor Gratian, Priscillian of Ávila, Martin of Tours and Latronianus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Letter 24 of Ambrose (the embassy to Trier reported)
c. AD 387Life of Martin 20 (Martin at the usurper's table — the cup passed first to the presbyter)
c. AD 396Martin gave the cup to his own presbyter, thinking no one worthier to drink before the king.Sulpicius Severus · Life of Martin 20 · source text
The Sacred History II.49–51
c. AD 400Priscillian and his companions, by the sentence of Maximus, were put to death at Trier — a thing done, as Martin ceased not to cry out, of the worst example, that a secular judge should sit in a cause of the church.Sulpicius Severus · II.50 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
Place
Places served
The 3 places the sources put Magnus Maximus, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.