The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Paulus Orosius
b. c. AD 375/385 Braga; d. after 418 (held at the timeline’s ceiling) · Presbyter · Historian · Anti-Pelagian controversialist · Bracara Augusta (Braga), Gallaecia → Hippo → Jerusalem
The Nicene Age
Who Paulus Orosius was
A Spanish presbyter who fled the barbarian invasions to Augustine at Hippo in 413 or 414, was sent on to Jerome in Palestine, and prosecuted Pelagius at the synod of Jerusalem in 415 — and lost. Augustine set him to write a universal history answering the charge that Christianity had brought Rome down; the result, seven books against the pagans, became one of the most copied books of the Middle Ages, surviving in more than two hundred manuscripts. His first name is attested only from the eighth century. Held at the archive’s AD 400 ceiling, as Augustine, Jerome and Chrysostom are.
Common questions
When did Paulus Orosius live?
Paulus Orosius is dated b. c. AD 375/385 Braga; d. after 418 (held at the timeline’s ceiling) in the archive, which places Paulus Orosius in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
What did Paulus Orosius write?
Paulus Orosius has 2 catalogued writings in the archive: Seven Books of History Against the Pagans and Commonitorium on the error of the Priscillianists and Origenists.
Which early sources mention Paulus Orosius?
Paulus Orosius is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Augustine of Hippo and Gennadius of Marseilles. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Paulus Orosius from?
The archive associates Paulus Orosius with Bracara Augusta (Braga), Gallaecia, Hippo, Jerusalem. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (2)
Seven Books of History Against the Pagans
AD 418[Written at Augustine’s suggestion as a companion to the City of God, and read for a thousand years as the standard world history.]
Commonitorium on the error of the Priscillianists and Origenists
AD 414[The memorandum he brought to Augustine on the heresies of his own province.]
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Letter 166 (Augustine commends Orosius to Jerome)
c. AD 415[Augustine sends him east with a recommendation, and writes Ad Orosium contra Priscillianistas for him.]Augustine of Hippo · Letter 166 · source text
On Illustrious Men 40
c. AD 490[Gennadius lists him among the writers of the age.]Gennadius of Marseilles · On Illustrious Men 40 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- 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
- AD 390 · Thessalonica and the penance of Theodosius, AD 390
- AD 397 · Carthage confirms the canon, AD 397
Place
Places served
The 4 places the sources put Paulus Orosius, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Bracara Augusta
- 2Gallaeciaprovince only
- 3Hippo
- 4Jerusalem