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The first good edition of the letters and poems of a fifth-century diplomat and bishop in Gaul

SIDONIUS APOLLINARIS, Caius Sollius Modestus.
Opera. Jo. Savaronis studio & diligentia castigatiùs recognita.

Woodcut printer's device on title, woodcut head- and endpieces and initials.

Paris, in officina Plantiniana, apud Hadrianus Perier, 1598. 8vo. Contemporary vellum, ms. title in ink on spine, remains of ties. Woodcut printer's device on title, woodcut head- and endpieces and initials. (24), 362, (5) pp. *8, **4, A8-Y8, Z4, Aa4.

First Plantin edition, generally considered as the first good edition of the letters and poems of Sidonius Apolinaris, edited with extensive notes by Jean Savaron (1566-1622), the Prefect of the Auvergne and his text and commentary, though amateur, are a work of true pietas.
Gaius (or Caius) Sollius (Modestus) Apollinaris Sidonius or Saint Sidonius Apollinaris (Lyon ca. 430 - August, 489) was a poet, diplomat, and bishop in fifth century Roman Gaul. Sidonius was 'the single most important surviving author from fifth-century Gaul' according to Eric Goldberg. He was one of four fifth- to sixth-century Gallo-Roman aristocrats whose letters survive in quantity; the others are Ruricius, bishop of Limoges, Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus, bishop of Vienne and Magnus Felix Ennodius of Arles, bishop of Ticinum. All of them were linked in the tightly-bound aristocratic Gallo-Roman network that provided the bishops of Catholic Gaul. In 470 he became bishop of Clermont, and his Feast Day is August 21.
His extant works are his Panegyrics on different emperors (in which he draws largely upon Statius, Ausonius and Claudian, which document several important political events not found elsewhere. Carmen 7 is a panegyric to his father-in-law Avitus on his inauguration as emperor. Carmen 5 is a panegyric to Majorian, which offers evidence that Sidonius was able to overcome the natural suspicion and hostility towards the man who was responsible for the death of his father-in-law. Carmen 2 is a panegyric to the emperor Anthemius, part of Sidonius' efforts to be appointed Urban Prefect of Rome, and nine books of letters, about which W.B. Anderson notes: 'Whatever one may think about their style and diction, the letters of Sidonius are an invaluable source of information on many aspects of the life of his time', for example his description of the Visigoth king Theodoric II, with whom he had played backgammon.
While very stilted in diction, these Letters reveal Apollinaris as a man of genial temper, fond of good living and of pleasure. A letter of Sidonius's addressed to Riothamus 'King of the Brittones' (ca. 460) is of particular interest, since it provides evidence that a king or military leader with ties to Britain lived around the time frame of King Arthur.
His writings throw considerable light on the political and literary history of the fifth century. He enjoyed an outlook over two worlds, the old Roman civilization in its decay, and mediaeval society in its beginnings. Editions of his works are numerous and the earliest was printed at Utrecht in folio in 1474 by N. Ketelaer and G. de Leeuw titled: 'Epistolae et Carmina'. A second Plantin edition was printed at Paris in 1599, a third in 1609. The best modern edition is that in the Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Berlin, 1887), which gives a survey of the manuscripts. An English translation of his poetry and letters by W.B. Anderson, with accompanying Latin text, have been published by the Loeb Classical Library (volume 1, containing his poems and books 1-3 of his letters (1939); remainder of letters (1965).
The work starts with a dedication by Savaron to Achilles Harlaius, dated 1 December (1597), followed by a 'Lectori', a biography of Apollinaris, an epitaph of Sidonius, and a laudatory text by Claudianus Mamercus. The nine books of letters are on pp. 1-240; the 24 numbered Carmina on pp. 241-356; 5 dubious poems are added on pp. 357-62, followed by the index and Privilege, dated Paris 11 February 1598.

Fine copy.- (Title and binding sl. soiled).

Graesse I, 162; Adams S-1076; C.E. Stevens, Sidonius Apollinaris and his Age (Oxford, 1933); cf. translation by O.M. Dalton of Sidonius Apollinaris, Letters (1915).

Related Subjects: Classical Antiquity France History Plantin Poetry

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