EUGENE II (III) OF TOLEDO, ST.

Archbishop; b. Toledo, Spain; d. there, Nov. 13, 657. Born of a royal Visigothic family of Spain, he became a cleric in the cathedral of Toledo and then a monk in the monastery at Saragossa where his uncle (St.) braulio was abbot. There he studied theology and literature and began his career as a writer. When Braulio became bishop (631–656), he appointed Eugene archdeacon of the church of St. Vincent. In 645 King Chindaswinth (641–652) recalled Eugene to Toledo and named him archbishop of that see at the death of Eugene I (646). Eugene's nephew ildephonsus, who later succeeded him as archbishop, described Eugene as a man of small stature and frail health, but zealous in spiritual and intellectual activity (De vir. ill. 14; Patrologia latina 96:204). For 11 years Eugene admirably governed the See of Toledo. He reformed the chant (see mozarabic rite), rearranged the feasts of the Spanish liturgy, and played an important role in the Councils of Toledo in 646, 653, 655, and 656; the last two were held under his direction. Eugene was buried in the basilica of St. Leocadia in Toledo. usuard was the first to include him in his martyrology (875). Eugene's writings included a volume of prose and a treatise De Trinitate, both of which are now lost, a collection of short poems on various subjects, two letters, and a revision of Dracontius's Laudes Dei and Satisfactio, undertaken at the request of Chindaswinth. His poems, which were in the classical tradition, were undistinguished in content but influenced later Christian Latin poets such as Albar of Córdoba.

Feast: Nov. 13.

Bibliography: Works. Monumenta Germaniae Auctores antiquissimi (Berlin 1825–) 14:229–291, 300–301. Patrologia Latina, ed. j. p. migne, 217 v. (Paris 1878–90) 87:347–418. Literature. m. manitius, Geschichte der lateinischen Literatur des Mittelalters (Munich 1911–31) 1:194–197. m. madoz, "San Eugenio de Toledo," Historia general de las literaturas hispánicas, ed. g. diaz plaja, v.1 (Barcelona 1949) 127–129. f. j. e. raby, A History of Christian–Latin Poetry from the Beginnings to the Close of the Middle Ages (2d ed. Oxford 1953) 127–128. p. b. gams, Die Kirchengeschichte von Spanien, 3 v. in 5 (Regensburg 1862–79; repr. Graz 1956) 2.2:132–135.

[m. g. mcneil]