Saint Isidore of Seville
St. Isidore, depicted by Murillo
Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church
Born	c. 560, Cartagena, Spain
Died	April 4, 636, Seville, Spain
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Canonized	1598, Rome by Pope Clement VIII
Feast	April 4
Attributes	Confessor; Doctor of the Church; bees; Bishop holding a pen while surrounded by a swarm of bees; bishop standing near a beehive; old bishop with a prince at his feet; pen; priest or bishop with pen and book; with Saint Leander, Saint Fulgentius, and Saint Florentina; with his Etymologia
Patronage	(only proposed, but quite well embraced) computers, the internet; students
Saints Portal

Saint Isidore of Seville (Spanish: San Isidro or San Isidoro de Sevilla, Latin: Isidorus Hispalensis) (c. 560 – April 4, 636) was Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and has the reputation of being one of the great scholars of the early Middle Ages. All the later medieval history-writing of Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) were based on his histories. Image File history File links Description: Holy Isidor of Sevilla, bishop Source: Date: between 1628 and 1682 Author: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Permission: PD because of age Other versions of this file: - File links The following pages link to this file: Isidore of Seville ... Murillo Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (Seville, December 31, 1617 - Cádiz, April 3, 1682) was a Spanish painter, one of the most important figures in Baroque painting in Spain. ... Events Ceawlin of Wessex becomes King of Wessex (traditional date). ... For other places with the same name, see Cartagena (disambiguation). ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events April 20 - Battle of Yarmuk - Byzantine Empire loses Syria to the Arabs The Arabs invade Persia Rothari marries queen Gundeparga, becomes king of the Lombards city of Basra Iraq founded by caliph Omar on a canal. ... This article is about the city in Spain. ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... This article is about the process of declaring saints. ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Pope Clement VIII (Fano, Italy, February 24, 1536 – March 3, 1605 in Rome), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from January 30, 1592 to March 3, 1605. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as that saints day. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Saint symbology was important to people who couldnt read because they can figure out what symbols mean. ... The title confessor is used in the Christian Church in two separate ways. ... In Roman Catholicism, a Doctor of the Church (Latin doctor, teacher, from Latin docere, to teach) is a saint from whose writings the whole Christian Church is held to have derived great advantage and to whom eminent learning and great sanctity have been attributed by a proclamation of a pope... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      This article... The term Beehive can refer to several different things: Beehive (beekeeping) is a human-provided structure in which bees are induced to live and raise their young. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Leander of Seville. ... Saint Florentina (d. ... Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ... The tower of a personal computer. ... Alternate uses: Student (disambiguation) Etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation verb stŭdērĕ, which means to study, a student is one who studies. ... Image File history File links Gloriole. ... For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ... Events Ceawlin of Wessex becomes King of Wessex (traditional date). ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events April 20 - Battle of Yarmuk - Byzantine Empire loses Syria to the Arabs The Arabs invade Persia Rothari marries queen Gundeparga, becomes king of the Lombards city of Basra Iraq founded by caliph Omar on a canal. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ... For other uses, see Seville (disambiguation). ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Iberian Peninsula. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. ...

At a time of disintegration of classical culture, and aristocratic violence and illiteracy, he was involved in the conversion of the royal Visigothic Arians to Catholicism, both assisting his brother Leander of Seville, and continuing after his brother's death. Like Leander, he took a most prominent part in the Councils of Toledo and Seville. In all justice, it may be said that it was due to the enlightened statecraft of these two illustrious brothers, that the Visigothic legislation which emanated from these councils, is regarded by modern historians as exercising an important influence on the beginnings of representative government. A votive crown belonging to Reccesuinth (653–672) The Visigoths (Latin: ) were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe, the Ostrogoths being the other. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Arminius · Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box... Saint Leander of Seville (Cartagena, ca 534 - Seville, March 13, 600 or 601), the brother of the encyclopedist, Isidore of Seville, was the Catholic bishop of Seville who was instrumental in effecting the conversion to Catholicism of Reccared the Visigothic king of Spain. ... Councils of Toledo (Concilia toletana). ...

Life

Childhood and education

Isidore was born in Cartagena, Spain, to Severianus and Theodora, part of an influential family who were instrumental in the political-religious manoeuvring that converted the Visigothic kings from Arianism to Catholicism, and were all awarded sainthoods: For other places with the same name, see Cartagena (disambiguation). ...

• His elder brother, St. Leander, was his immediate predecessor in the Catholic Metropolitan See of Seville, and while in office opposed king Liuvigild
• A younger brother, St. Fulgentius, was awarded the Bishopric of Astigi at the start of the new reign of the Catholic King Reccared.
• His sister Saint Florentina was a nun, and is said to have ruled over forty convents and one thousand religious.

Isidore received his elementary education in the Cathedral school of Seville. In this institution, which was the first of its kind in Hispania, the trivium and quadrivium were taught by a body of learned men, among whom was the archbishop, Leander. With such diligence did he apply himself to study that in a remarkably short time mastered Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Statue in Madrid (F. Corral, 1750-53). ... Saint Fulgentius of Écija ( San Fulgencio de Écija) was Bishop of Ecija (Astigi), in Spain, at the beginning of the seventh century. ... In some Christian churches, the diocese is an administrative territorial unit governed by a bishop, sometimes also referred to as a bishopric or episcopal see, though more often the term episcopal see means the office held by the bishop. ... Écija is a city belonging to the province of Seville, Spain. ... Coin of Reccared The Visigothic king Reccared (ruled 586—601) was the younger son of Liuvigild by his first marriage. ... Saint Florentina (d. ... For any other uses see, see Trivium (disambiguation). ... The quadrivium comprised the four subjects taught in medieval universities after the trivium. ... Hebrew redirects here. ...

Statue of Isidore of Seville by José Alcoverro, outside of the Biblioteca Nacional de España, in Madrid.

Whether St. Isidore ever embraced monastic life or not is still an open question, but though he himself may never have been affiliated with any of the religious orders, he esteemed them highly — on his elevation to the episcopate he immediately constituted himself protector of the monks and in 619 he pronounced anathema against any ecclesiastic who should in any way molest the monasteries. Statue of Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo in the lobby of the Biblioteca Nacional de España The Biblioteca Nacional de España (The National Library of Spain) is a major public library, the largest in Spain. ... This article is about the Spanish capital. ... Episcopalian government in the church is rule by a hierarchy of bishops (Greek: episcopoi). ... The Avars attack Constantinople. ...

Bishop of Seville

After the death of St. Leander, his brother St. Isidore succeeded to the See of Seville.

His long incumbency in this office was spent in a period of disintegration and transition. The ancient institutions and classic learning of the Roman Empire were fast disappearing. For almost two centuries the Goths had been in full control of Hispania, and their barbarous manners and contempt of learning threatened greatly to put back her progress in civilization. For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Germanic tribes. ...

Realizing that the spiritual as well as the material well-being of the nation depended on the full assimilation of the foreign elements, St. Isidore set himself to the task of welding into a homogeneous nation the various peoples who made up the Gothic kingdom. To this end he availed himself of all the resources of religion and education. His efforts were attended with complete success. Arianism, which had taken deep root among the Visigoths, was eradicated, and the new heresy of Acephales was completely stifled at the very outset; religious discipline was everywhere strengthened. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Athanasius · Augustine · Constantine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Arminius · Calvin · Luther · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box... A votive crown belonging to Reccesuinth (653–672) The Visigoths (Latin: ) were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe, the Ostrogoths being the other. ... For other uses, see Heresy (disambiguation). ...

Second Synod of Seville (November 618 or 619)

Isidore presided over the Second Council of Seville, begun November 13, 619, in the reign of King Sisebur. The bishops of Gaul and Narbonne attended, as well as the Hispanic prelates. In the Council's Acts the nature of Christ is fully set forth, countering Arian conceptions. is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Avars attack Constantinople. ... Sisebut (also Sisebuth, Sisebur, or Sisebodus and, in Spanish, Sisebuto) was king of the Visigoths in Hispania (612—620 or 621 CE). ...

Fourth National Council of Toledo

At this council, begun December 5, 633, all the bishops of Hispania were in attendance. St. Isidore, though far advanced in years, presided over its deliberations, and was the originator of most of its enactments. is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Oswald of Bernicia becomes Bretwalda. ...

The council probably expressed with tolerable accuracy the mind and influence of St. Isidore. The position and deference granted to the king is remarkable. The Church is free and independent, yet bound in solemn allegiance to the acknowledged king: nothing was said of allegiance to the Bishop of Rome. The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ...

It was at the Fourth National Council of Toledo and through his influence that a decree was promulgated commanding and requiring all bishops to establish seminaries in their Cathedral Cities, along the lines of the school associated with Isidore already existing at Seville. Within his own jurisdiction he had availed himself of the resources of education to counteract the growing influence of Gothic barbarism. His was the quickening spirit that animated the educational movement of which Seville was the centre. The study of Greek and Hebrew, as well as the liberal arts, was prescribed. Interest in law and medicine was also encouraged. Through the authority of the fourth council this policy of education was made obligatory upon all the bishops of the kingdom. For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ...

Works

Isidore's Latin style in the ‘’Etymologiae‘’ and elsewhere, though simple and lucid, cannot be said to be classical, affected as it was by local Visigothic traditions. It discloses most of the imperfections peculiar to all ages of transition and particularly reveals a growing Visigothic influence. Isidore can possibly be characterized as the world's last native speaker of Latin. For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ...

Etymologiae

Long before the Arabs had awakened to an appreciation of Greek Philosophy, he had introduced Aristotle to his countrymen. He was the first Christian writer to essay the task of compiling for his co-religionists a summa of universal knowledge, in the form of his most important work, the Etymologiae (taking its title from the method he used in the transcription of his era's knowledge). It is also known by classicists as the Origines (the standard abbreviation being Orig.). This encyclopedia — the first known to be compiled in medieval civilization — epitomized all learning, ancient as well as modern, forming a huge compilation of 448 chapters in 20 volumes. In it many fragments of classical learning are preserved which otherwise would have been hopelessly lost but, on the other hand, some of these fragments were lost in the first place because Isidore’s work was so highly regarded that it superseded the use of many individual works of the classics themselves, which were not recopied and have therefore been lost. Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predominantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Alawite Islam, Druzism, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... First printed edition of 1472 (by Guntherus Ziner, Augsburg), title page of chapter 14 (de terra et partibus), illustrated with a T and O map. ... Cyclopedia redirects here. ... An epitome (Greek epitemnein—to cut short) is a summary or miniature form, also used as a synonym for embodiment. ...

The fame of this work imparted a new impetus to encyclopedic writing, which bore abundant fruit in the subsequent centuries of the Middle Ages. It was the most popular compendium in medieval libraries. It was printed in at least 10 editions between 1470 and 1530, showing Isidore's continued popularity in the Renaissance. Until the twelfth century brought translations from Arabic sources, Isidore transmitted what western Europeans remembered of the works of Aristotle and other Greeks, although he understood only a limited amount of Greek. The Etymologiae was much copied, particularly into medieval bestiaries. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... Events May 15 - Charles VIII of Sweden who had served three terms as King of Sweden dies. ... June 25 - Augsburg confession presented to Charles V of Holy Roman Empire. ... This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ... For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation). ... A bestiary is a medieval book that has short descriptions of various real or imaginary animals, birds and even rocks. ...

The shape of the Earth

The medieval T-O map represents the inhabitated world as described by Isidore in his Etymologiae.

Isidore taught in the Etymologiae that the Earth was round. His meaning was ambiguous and some writers think he referred to a disc-shaped Earth; his other writings make it clear, however, that he considered the Earth to be globular.^[1] He also admitted the possibility of people dwelling at the antipodes, considering them as legendary^[2] and noting that there was no evidence for their existence.^[3] Isidore's disc-shaped analogy continued to be used through the Middle Ages by authors clearly favouring a spherical Earth, e.g. the 9th century bishop Rabanus Maurus who compared the habitable part of the northern hemisphere (Aristotle's northern temperate clime) with a wheel, imagined as a slice of the whole sphere. See also: Flat Earth. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (608x767, 93 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Flat Earth Isidore of Seville ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (608x767, 93 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Flat Earth Isidore of Seville ... earliest printed example of a classical T and O map (by Guntherus Ziner, Augsburg, 1472), illustrating the first page of chapter XIV of the Etymologiae. ... First printed edition of 1472 (by Guntherus Ziner, Augsburg), title page of chapter 14 (de terra et partibus), illustrated with a T and O map. ... This map shows the antipodes of each point on the Earths surface – the points where the blue and pink overlap are land antipodes. ... Rabanus Maurus (left) presents his work to Otgar of Mainz Rabanus Maurus Magnentius (c. ... For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Flat Earth (disambiguation). ...

On the Catholic Faith against the Jews

St. Isidore's "De fide catholica contra Iudeaos" furthers St. Augustine's ideas on the Jewish presence in Christian society. Like St. Augustine, Isidore of Seville accepted the necessity of not eliminating the Jewish population because of their supposed role in the second coming of Christ. In "De fide catholica contra Iudeaos", Isidore exceeds the anti-Jewish polemics of early theologians by demonizing Jewish practice as deliberately disingenuous.^[4].

Other works

His other works include

• Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum (a history of the Goths, Vandals and Suebi) [4]
• his Chronica Majora (a universal history)
• De differentiis verborum, which amounts to brief theological treatise on the doctrine of the Trinity, the nature of Christ, of Paradise, angels, and men.
• On the Nature of Things (not the poem of Lucretius, but the book of astronomy and natural history dedicated to the Visigothic king Sisebut)
• Questions on the Old Testament.
• a mystical treatise on the allegorical meanings of numbers
• a number of brief letters.
• Sententiae libri tres (Codex Sang. 228, 9th century)

Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Judeo-Christian wellspring of that tradition. ... Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus (c. ... Sisebur (Sisebut) was king of the Visigoths in Hispania (612—621 CE). ...

Afterlife

Isidore (right) and Braulio (left) in an Ottonian illuminated manuscript from the 2nd half of 10th century.

Isidore was the last of the ancient Christian philosophers, as he was the last of the great Latin Church Fathers. Some consider him to be the most learned man of his age, and he exercised a far-reaching and immeasurable influence on the educational life of the Middle Ages. His contemporary and friend, Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa, regarded him as a man raised up by God to save the Iberian peoples from the tidal wave of barbarism that threatened to inundate the ancient civilization of Hispania, The Eighth Council of Toledo (653) recorded its admiration of his character in these glowing terms: "The extraordinary doctor, the latest ornament of the Catholic Church, the most learned man of the latter ages, always to be named with reverence, Isidore". This tribute was endorsed by the Fifteenth Council of Toledo, held in 688. Saint Braulio, bishop of Zaragoza (590 - 651), was a learned cleric of seventh-century Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula — modern Portugal and Spain). ... Ottonian dynasty is a name sometimes given to a ruling dynasty of German kings, sometimes regarded as the first dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, (though Charlemagne is commonly viewed as the original founder. ... In the strictest definition of illuminated manuscript, only manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, like this miniature of Christ in Majesty from the Aberdeen Bestiary (folio 4v), would be considered illuminated. ... The Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian church, particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. ... Saint Braulio, bishop of Zaragoza (d. ... For alternative meanings, see Zaragoza (disambiguation). ... Events Pope Martin I arrested Sigeberht II the Good succeeds Sigeberht I the Little as king of Essex Aripert, nephew of Theodelinda, succeeds Rodoald as king of the Lombards Births Deaths Chindaswinth, king of the Visigoths Rodoald, king of the Lombards Abbas, uncle of Muhammad and his chief financial supporter. ... Events Emperor Justinian II of the Bulgarians. ...

• His remains were transferred to the Basilica of San Isidoro in Leon, when Seville was overrun during the Arab conquest of Spain.
• In Dante's Paradise (Paradiso' X.130), he is mentioned among theologians and Doctors of the Church alongside the Scot Richard of St. Victor and the Englishman St. Bede the Venerable.
• He was canonized a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 1598 by Pope Clement VIII and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1722 by Pope Innocent XIII.
• In 2003 he was proposed as the patron saint of the Internet, but was not among the top six vote totals in an Italian language Internet poll (Google translation: [5])

Basilica of San Isidoro The Basilica of San Isidoro of Leon stands on the ground which was once a Roman temple. ... The city of León (Llión in the Leonese language), located at 42. ... DANTE is also a digital audio network. ... Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, in Michelinos fresco. ... Dante shown holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, in Michelinos fresco. ... Richard of St. ... For other uses, see Bede (disambiguation). ... This article is about the process of declaring saints. ... For other uses, see Saint (disambiguation). ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ... Pope Clement VIII (Fano, Italy, February 24, 1536 – March 3, 1605 in Rome), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from January 30, 1592 to March 3, 1605. ... In Roman Catholicism, a Doctor of the Church (Latin doctor, teacher, from Latin docere, to teach) is a saint from whose writings the whole Christian Church is held to have derived great advantage and to whom eminent learning and great sanctity have been attributed by a proclamation of a pope... // Events Abraham De Moivre states De Moivres theorem connecting trigonometric functions and complex numbers Publication of the first book of Bachs Well-Tempered Clavier Fall of Persias Safavid dynasty during a bloody revolt of the Afghani people. ... Pope Innocent XIII (May 13, 1655 – March 7, 1724) was pope from 1721 until his death. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

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Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

External links

Primary sources

• The Etymologiae (complete Latin text)

Secondary sources

• Herren, Michael. "On the Earliest Irish Acquaintance with Isidore of Seville." Visigothic Spain: New Approaches. James, Edward (ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. ISBN 0 19 922543 1.
• Englisch,Brigitte."Die Artes liberales im frühen Mittelalter." Stuttgart 1994
• Henry Wace, Dictionary of Christian Biography
• Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911 edition: Isidore of Seville
• Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Isidore of Seville

Edward James is Professor of Medieval History at University College, Dublin. ...

Other material

• Order of St. Isidore of Seville
• Jones, Peter. "Patron saint of the internet". The Telegraph, August 27, 2006 (Review of The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, Cambridge University Press, 2006 (ISBN 0-521-83749-9))
• Shachtman, Noah. "Searchin' for the Surfer's Saint". Wired, January 25, 2002