''De correctione rusticorum'' ('on the correction of rural people'), also known as ''Pro castigatione rusticorum'' ('for the castigation of rural people') is a letter by Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580 CE), written in

Gallaecia Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias and Leon and the later Kingdom of Gallaecia. The Roman cities include ...

. The text begins with a letter from Martin to Bishop

Polemius of Astorga ''Polemius'' is a genus of soldier beetles in the family Cantharidae The soldier beetles (Cantharidae) are relatively soft-bodied, straight-sided beetles. They are cosmopolitan in distribution. One of the first described species has a color pa ...

, indicating that Polemius had asked Martin to write a piece on the origin of idols. Compared with

Caesarius of Arles Caesarius of Arles ( la, Caesarius Arelatensis; 468/470 27 August 542 AD), sometimes called "of Chalon" (''Cabillonensis'' or ''Cabellinensis'') from his birthplace Chalon-sur-Saône, was the foremost ecclesiastic of his generation in Merovingia ...

, Martin seems to take a gentler stance on how to accommodate non-Christian traditions in the course of missionary work in the region.

Sources and influence

The ''De correctione'' drew on '' De catechizandis rudibus'' by

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North A ...

It was in turn a major influence on

Pirmin of Reichenau Saint Pirmin (latinized ''Pirminius'', born before 700 ( according to many sources), died November 3, 753 in Hornbach), was a Merovingian-era monk and missionary. He founded or restored numerous monasteries in Alemannia (Swabia), especially in ...

's ''Scarapsus'', and a source for several of

Ælfric of Eynsham Ælfric of Eynsham ( ang, Ælfrīc; la, Alfricus, Elphricus; ) was an English abbot and a student of Æthelwold of Winchester, and a consummate, prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries, and other gen ...

's sermons, not least his famous ''

De falsis diis ''De falsis diis'', or, in Classical Latin spelling, ''De falsis deis'' ('on false gods'), is an Old English homily composed by Ælfric of Eynsham in the late tenth or early eleventh century. The sermon is noted for its attempt to explain beliefs ...

''. The text may also have been referred to directly by the writer of the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''Um þat hvaðan ótrú hófsk'' ('how false belief began'), whose text is, however, more strongly influenced by Ælfric's ''De falsis diis''.Jonas Wellendorf, ''Gods and Humans in Medieval Scandinavia: Retying the Bonds'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018), p. 140 n 21.

Editions and translations

An unprovenanced online text of the sermon

*'' Martin von Bracara's Schrift De Correctione Rusticorum'', ed. by C. P. Caspari (Christiana, 1883) (including German translation) * C. W. Barlow, ''Iberian Fathers: Martin of Braga, Paschasius of Dumium, Leander of Seville'', Fathers of the Church, 62 (Washington, 1969), pp. 71-85 (English translation) *''Martini episcopi Bracarensis opera omnia'', ed. by C. W. Barlow (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1950), pp. 183-203 (edition of the Latin) * Clols, Jove, ''Martin de Braga: Sermon contra las supersticiones rurales'' (Barcelona, 1981) (includes Spanish translation) * Serban, G. I., 'Martino da Dumio, antico scritore rumeno', ''Mitropolia banatului'', 39 (1989), 47-60 (includes Romanian translation) * Martino de Braga, ''Contro le superstizioni: catechesi al popolo. De correctione rusticorum'', ed. by M. Naldini, Biblioteca patristica, 19 (Nardini, 1991) (includes Italian translation) * Colonna, Enza, 'Il Sermo Rusticus de Martino di Braga', ''Invigilata lucernis'', 13-14 (1991-92), 121-47 (includes Italian translation) * López Pereira, J. E. and J. Correa Corredoira, ''De correctione rusticorum: Martiño de Braga; gravados Correa Corredoira; a traducción ao galego da presente obra estivo a cargo do profesor X. Eduardo López Pereira e foi realizada a partir dos manuscritos latinos orixinais'' (A Coruña: Espiral Maior, 1997)

References

Christian sermons 5th century in Hispania 5th-century Christian texts 5th-century Latin books Medieval Galicia (Spain) {{Christian-book-stub