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| Peregrinus of Auxerre | |
|---|---|
| Name | Peregrinus of Auxerre |
| Honorific-prefix | Saint |
| Birth date | c. 580s |
| Death date | c. 614 |
| Feast day | 16 June |
| Birth place | Likely Burgundy |
| Death place | Auxerre |
| Titles | Bishop of Auxerre |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
Peregrinus of Auxerre was a sixth- to seventh-century bishop associated with the episcopal see of Auxerre during the late Merovingian era. He is remembered in ecclesiastical sources for pastoral governance, monastic patronage, and participation in regional synods that connected the church of Burgundy with the wider networks of Frankish Christianity. Surviving references in hagiography and episcopal lists place him among other notable prelates of the period whose activity intersected with royal and monastic authorities.
Peregrinus appears in the tradition of Burgundian clerics formed under the influence of figures such as Gregory of Tours, Arnulf of Metz, Remigius of Rouen, and the monastic movement associated with Martin of Tours and Columbanus. His lifetime overlapped with rulers and magnates including Chlothar II, Theudebert II, Theuderic II, Clotaire II, and regional nobles of Burgundy and Neustria. The milieu that shaped him also involved institutions like the episcopal see at Langres, the abbey networks of Fontenelle Abbey, Fleury Abbey, and Saint-Germain d'Auxerre, and the educational traditions transmitted from cathedral schools such as those at Auxerre Cathedral and Tours Cathedral. Sources suggest he belonged to the clerical aristocracy that cooperated with abbots like Agilbert of Vannes and bishops like Aunacharius (Aunachair) in negotiating property, immunities, and pastoral responsibilities with local magnates.
As bishop of Auxerre, Peregrinus is credited in later chronicles with initiatives comparable to reforms enacted by contemporaries such as Bishop Leodegar and monastic reformers like Eustace of Luxeuil. His episcopate engaged with ecclesiastical administration modeled on precedents from Vienne (Gaul), Arles, and the Gallican tradition preserved in synodal canons. He exercised episcopal oversight over parochial clergy, monastic houses, and episcopal patrimony, negotiating privileges and landholdings with secular authorities like the counts of Burgundy and officials connected to the court of Chlothar II. His governance paralleled developments promoted at regional councils influenced by predecessors such as Cæsarius of Arles and successors like Saint Aunarius of Auxerre.
No extensive corpus is securely attributable to Peregrinus; however, his intellectual context linked him to the exegetical and penitential literature circulating among sixth- and seventh-century bishops, including works by Gregory the Great, Isidore of Seville, Fulgentius of Ruspe, and the penitentials associated with Bishop Cummean. The theological climate surrounding his see drew on patristic authorities such as Augustine of Hippo, Jerome, and Basil of Caesarea and on liturgical formularies used at houses like Saint-Martin de Tours and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. His legacy in scholastic currents at Auxerre likely contributed to the intellectual milieu that later produced scholars connected with Fulda and northern monastic centres.
Peregrinus’s episcopate must be understood amid synodal activity exemplified by assemblies like the councils of Mâcon, Orléans, and provincial gatherings in Burgundy. He operated within networks that included bishops such as Syagrius of Autun, Aredius of Limoges, Desiderius of Langres, and abbots like Aldric of Le Mans and Heribald of Tours. Interaction with royal power—represented by kings such as Theudebert II and later Clotaire II—shaped episcopal privileges, immunities, and the adjudication of disputes over lands and clerical discipline. His name recurs in episcopal catalogues alongside successors and predecessors engaged in synodal legislation and in dialogues over episcopal jurisdiction that anticipated developments at later councils like those held under Dagobert I.
Veneration of Peregrinus developed locally in Auxerre and neighboring monasteries, entering liturgical calendars with a feast associated with regional cultic practice, similar to the cult trajectories of Germain of Auxerre and Amatus of Grenoble. His memory was preserved in episcopal lists, hagiographical collections, and the commemorations maintained at establishments such as Saint-Germain d'Auxerre, Fontenelle, and monastic scriptoria that transmitted episcopal vitae. Scholars of medieval hagiography and church history reference him when reconstructing the institutional continuity of the Gallican episcopate that influenced later medieval structures in France, Burgundy, and the Frankish realms. His local cult contributed to the identity of the diocese of Auxerre and provided a point of continuity between late antique episcopal models exemplified by Martin of Tours and the Carolingian reconfiguration of episcopal and monastic roles.
Category:7th-century bishops Category:French saints Category:Bishops of Auxerre