Paulinus of Pella

Paulinus of Pella (* 376 in Pella in Macedonia; † after 459 in Bordeaux ) was a late ancient Western Roman aristocrat and author.

The only source for the life of Paulinus is its written in 616 hexameter autobiography, which he wrote at the age of 83 years under the title Eucharisticos Deo sub ephemeridis meae textu. Paulinus came therefore a family of senatorial elite, and was the grandson of the famous Gallic rhetorician Ausonius. He was born while his father served as imperial vicar of the province of Macedonia; where it is unclear whether his father hesperius was the son of Ausonius, or Thalassius, his son, as Paulinus does not mention the name of his father. It is clear that Paulinus accompanied his father on other stations, and so 379 or 380 came to Bordeaux. Since he was first educated by Greek teachers, Paulinus had here only Latin learn what caused him trouble in his own words.

At the age of 20 years he married a woman of the Gallo- Roman aristocracy, was the father of three children and administrator of the large estates of his wife. Between 399 and 406 Paulinus wrote a resulting " oratio " in 19 verses, in which he asks God for a happy life. When the usurper Priscus Attalus swung to rival emperor, he appointed Paulinus to his comes largitionum privatum, so the administrator of his finances. This was the Senator dearly, because was crushed as the usurpation of 414 by Gothic foederati, Paulinus lost all his possessions and had to flee to Bazas. After further blows of fate Paulinus appeared as Conversus in the clergy. After a stopover in Marseille, he finally returned to Bordeaux, where he probably died soon after 460.

The Eucharisticos is written in a neat Latin, but which has some typical late antiquity shapes and especially a significant influence of the Greek; the hexameter are simple and sometimes a little awkward. Formally, the work is in the tradition of ancient biography and is apparently influenced by the Confessions of Augustine. The poem represents a very important source for the turbulent history of Roman Gaul in the migration period; so for example, mentions only Paulinus, that it came to 414 to negotiations with the Alans, which should be used as a counterweight to the Visigoths.