Stephen of Autun (b. at

Baugé Baugé () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire ''département'' in western France. On 1 January 2013, it was merged with the former communes of Montpollin, Pontigné, Saint-Martin-d'Arcé and Le Vieil-Baugé to create the commune of Bau ...

(hence in

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duke ...

; d. at the

abbey of Cluny Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...

in 1139 or early in 1140), surnamed Blagiacus or de Balgiaco, was a French

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

writer and

bishop of Autun The Roman Catholic Diocese of Autun (–Chalon-sur-Saône–Mâcon–Cluny) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Augustodunensis (–Cabillonensis–Matisconensis–Cluniacensis)''; French: ''Diocèse d'Autun (–Chalon-sur-Saône–Mâcon–Cluny)''), more simply ...

Life

Of his younger days nothing is known except that he was the son of Gaucerannus, lord of Baugé, and the uncle of Humbert, Archbishop of Lyon. He appears in history (1112) as Bishop of Autun. As such he was present (1115) at a

synod of Tournus A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word meani ...

. A letter is in existence of the year 1116, written to him from the

Lateran 250px, Basilica and Palace - side view Lateran and Laterano are the shared names of several buildings in Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the Roman Empire. The Laterani lost their properties to Emperor Constantine ...

Pope Pascal II Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...

in which the pope places the Diocese of Autun under his special protection and confirms to Stephen various privileges. In 1129 Stephen was among the prelates who assisted at the coronation of Philip, eldest son of

Louis VI of France Louis VI (late 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat (french: link=no, le Gros) or the Fighter (french: link=no, le Batailleur), was King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Chronicles called him "King of Saint-Denis". Louis was the first member ...

. He built a cathedral, beginning in 1120, which was solemnly consecrated (1131) by

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the fi ...

. He always showed a great admiration for the religious state, and in 1136 resigned his see and entered the monastery of Cluny. The abbot,

Peter the Venerable Peter the Venerable ( – 25 December 1156), also known as Peter of Montboissier, was the abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Cluny. He has been honored as a saint, though he was never canonized in the Middle Ages. Since in 1862 Pope Pius IX ...

, under whom he entered and died, praised his learning and piety.

Works

His ''Tractatus de Sacramento Altaris'' is an ascetico-liturgical treatise, consisting of twenty chapters and a preface, in which he speaks of the ordination and duties of each of the Minor and Major Orders; and of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and gives a literal and allegorical explanation of the Canon. This treatise, published in 1517 by Montalon, canon of Autun, was ascribed by some to Stephen II of Autun (d. 1189), but is vindicated for the earlier bishop by

Mabillon Dom Jean Mabillon, O.S.B., (; 23 November 1632 – 27 December 1707) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar of the Congregation of Saint Maur. He is considered the founder of the disciplines of palaeography and diplomatics. Early life Mabi ...

."Annales O.S.B.", VI, 270.

References

Hugo von Hurter The von Hurter family belonged to the Swiss nobility; in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries three of them were known for their conversions to Roman Catholicism, their ecclesiastical careers in Austria and their theological writings. Friedric ...

, Nomenclator, II (Innsbruck, 1906), 75 *''

Gallia christiana The ''Gallia Christiana'', a type of work of which there have been several editions, is a documentary catalogue or list, with brief historical notices, of all the Catholic dioceses and abbeys of France from the earliest times, also of their occupan ...

'', IV, 389 *

Louis Duchesne Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne (; 13 September 1843 – 21 April 1922) was a French priest, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions. Life Descended from a family of Breton sailor ...

, Fastes Episc., I, 339; *

Histoire littéraire de la France ''Histoire littéraire de la France'' is an enormous history of French literature initiated in 1733 by Dom Rivet and the Benedictines of St. Maur. It was abandoned in 1763 after the publication of volume XII. In 1814, members of the Académie d ...

, XI (Paris, 1759), 710 * Ceillier, Auteurs Sacres, XIV (Paris, 1863), 304.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen of Autun 1139 deaths People from Maine-et-Loire Bishops of Autun Year of birth unknown