§ 170. Florus Magister, of Lyons

I. Florus, diaconus Lugdunensis: Opera omnia, in Migne, Tom. CXIX. ol. 9-424. His poems are given by Dümmler: Poet. Lat. aev. Carolini, II. (Berlin, 1884), pp. 507-566.

II. Bach: Dogmengeschichte des Mittelalters, Wien, 1873-1875, 2 Abth. I. 240. Hist. Lit. de la France, V. 213-240. Ceillier, XII. 478-493. Bähr, 108, 109; 447-453. Ebert, II. 268-272.

Florus was probably born in the closing year of the eighth century and lived in Lyons during the reigns of Louis the Pious, Charles the Bald and Louis II. He was head of the cathedral school, on which account he is commonly called Florus Magister. He was also a deacon or sub-deacon. He enjoyed a wide reputation for learning, virtue and ability. He stood in confidential relations with his bishop, Agobard, and with some of the most distinguished men of his time. His library was a subject of remark and wonder for its large size.¹³⁰⁰

Like every other scholar under Charles the Bald, he made his contribution to the Eucharistic and Predestination controversies. In the former he took the side of Rabanus Maurus and Ratramnus against the transubstantiation theory of Paschasius Radbertus; in the latter he opposed Johannes Scotus Erigena, without, however, going entirely over to the side of Gottschalk. He sat in the council of Quiercy (849), the first one called by Hincmar in the case of Gottschalk. He died about 860.

His complete works are:

1. A patristic cento on the election of Bishops,¹³⁰¹ written in 834, to show that in primitive Christian times the bishops were always chosen by the free vote of the congregation and the clergy. Therefore the interference of the king in such elections, which was one of the growing evils of the time, was unwarranted by tradition and only defensible on the plea of necessity to preserve the union between Church and State.

2. An Exposition of the Mass,¹³⁰² compiled, according to his own express statement, for the most part, from Cyprian, Ambrose, Augustin, and other Fathers.

3. A Treatise against Amalarius,¹³⁰³ in which he supports Agobard against Amalarius, who had explained the liturgy in a mystical and allegorical manner.¹³⁰⁴

4. A Martyrology,¹³⁰⁵ a continuation of Bede's.

5. Sermon on Predestination.¹³⁰⁶

6. A treatise against Scotus Erigena's errors,¹³⁰⁷ written in 852 in the name of the church of Lyons. He calls attention to Erigena's rationalistic treatment of the Scriptures and the Fathers; rejects the definition of evil as negation; insists that faith in Christ and an inner revelation are necessary to a right understanding of the Scriptures. It is noticeable that while he censures Erigena for his abuse of secular science, he claims that it has its proper use.¹³⁰⁸

7. St. Augustin's Exposition of the Pauline Epistles,¹³⁰⁹ long attributed to Bede.

8. Capitulary collected from the Law and the Canons.¹³¹⁰

9. Miscellaneous Poems,¹³¹¹ which prove him to have had a spark of true poetic genius.¹³¹²

10. There is also extant a letter which he wrote to the empress Judith.¹³¹³