VALONA
264
VALVA
stantine Porphyrogenitus on virtue and vice. Valois
took from it numerous unedited fragments which he
published in 1634: "Polybii, Diodori SicuU . . .
Nicolai Damasceni, Dionj'sii Hahcarn., Appiani,
Alexandri, Dionis et loannis antiocheni excerpta".
In 1636 he edited "Ammiani MarceUini rerum gesta-
rum Ub. XVIII", with abundant notes which illu-
mined all the history of that period and its institutions.
He succeeded in recognizing the rhythm of the phrases
in the estabhshment of the text, at the same time
making no display of his discovery. In 1650 the
assembly of the French clergj- commissioned him
to pubhsh the ecclesiastical historians, after Mgr
Monchal of Toulouse was compelled to resign the
task. In 1659 he issued Eusebius of Csesarea's
ecclesiastical history and biography and panegyric
of Constantine, as well as Constantine's discourse in
the assembly. The text was accompanied by a new
Latin translation, scholarly notes, four dissertations
on Donatism, Anastasius, the Septuagint, and the
Roman Martyrology. In 1668 he pubhshed Socrates
and Sozonien with three books of observations on the
history of St. Athanasius, on that of Paul, Bishop of
Constantinople, and the sixth canon of Nicsea
(against Launoy). In 1673 he completed his book
with Theodoret, Evagrius, and the excerpts from
Philostorgius and Theodore the Lector. In 1664 he
had married a young girl who bore him seven children.
At first he had only the slender means left him by his
father, but later pensions from President de Mesmes,
the clergy of France, Mazarin, and Louis XIV pro-
vided him with the necessary leisure and the assistance
of a secretary, for liis sight was never good, and as
early as 1637 he ceased to have the use of his right
eye. Yet he did important work, and though the
MSS. at his disposal were not always the best, we
cannot but admire the tact and certainty of his criti-
cism. His temperately and sanely learned notes are
excellent documents of the French learning of the
seventeenth century. Valois was associated with the
greatest scholars of his time, with whom however he
always maintained his hberty of judgment. He
wrote the funeral eulogies of Sirmond, Pierre Depuy,
and P^tau. He also wrote several occasional Latin
poems, but to posterity he is the learned and exact
editor of the Greek ecclesiastical historians.
De Valois, De vita Henrici Valesii in the 2nd ed. of Eusebius (Paris, 1677), also in the Cambridge edition (1720) ; Schwartz, Eusebius Werke, Die Kirchengesch., Ill (Leipzig, 1909).
Paul Lejat.
Valona, titular see, suffragan of Dyrrachium, in Epiius Nova. The ancient name was Anion, men- tioned for the first time by Ptolemy (Geographia, III, xii, 2). Other geographical documents, such as Peutinger's "Tabula" and the "Synecdemus" of Hierocles, also mention it. Among the known bishops are Nazarius, in 4-58, and Soter, in 553 (Farlati, "Illy- ricum sacrum", Vll, 397-401). The diocese at that time belonged to the Patriarchate of Rome. In 733 it was annexed, with all eastern lUyricum, to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and yet it is not mentioned in any "Notitia; episcopatuum " of that Church. The bishopric had probably been sup- pressed, for, though (he Bulgarians had been in pos- session of this country for some time, Aulon is not mentioned in the "Notitix epi.scopatuum" of the Patriarchate of Achrida. During the Latin domina- tion a Latin see was established, and Eubel (Hierarchia catholica medii ajvi, I, 124) mentions several of its bishops. Valona, or Vlora, in Albania, is now a caza of the sandjak of Berat in t he vilayet of Janina. The city, which has a port on the Adriatic, has about 10,000 iiihabitiiiit.s; there is a Catholic pari.sh, which belongs to the ,\rch<lic)ccsc of Durazzo. Several of the Latin bishops ment ioned by Le (^uien (Oriens christianus, III, 85.5-S), and whom Eubel (op. cit., I, 541) mentions under the Sec of Valanea in Syria, belong either to
Aulon in Greece (now Salona) or to Aulon in Albania
(Valona).
S. Vailh^.
Valroger, Htacinthe de, French Oratorian, b. at Caen, 6 Jan., 1814; d. 10 Oct., 1876. He first studied medicine, and was later ordained priest (1837), and made director of the lesser seminary of Bayeux. In 1847 he became titular canon of the cathedral of Bayeux. In 1852 he joined Pere Gratry in the work of restoring the French Oratory, where he became professor of theology, master of novices, and assistant general. He was a man of great learning, but being equally modest, always hesitated to publish his works lest they should not be opportune or suffi- ciently exact. Besides many articles in Catholic reviews he published : "Etudes critiques sur le ration- alisme contemporain " (Paris, 1846); "Essai sur la credibiUtc^ de I'histoire evangelique en rcponse au Dr. Strauss" (Paris, 1847) ; " Du christianisme et du pagan- isme dans I'enseignement" (Paris, 18.52); "Introduc- tion historique et critique aux Uvres du Nouveau Testament" (Paris, 1861); "L'age du monde et de I'homme d'apres la Bible et I'egllse" (Paris, 1869); "La genese des especes, etudes philosophiques et religieuses" (Paris, 1873); " Pensees philosophiques et rcligieuses du Comte de Maistre" (Paris, 1879).
Labgens in Rev. des quest, hist. (1S77) ; Oll^-Laprune in Corresjpondant (25 July, 1S73); Ingold, Essai de bibliograpkie OTatorienne, 177-9
A. M. P. Ingold.
Valva and Sulmona, Dioceses of (Valven. et Sdlmonen.), Italy, umieA ccque yrinci'paUter . Valva, a medieval castle belonging to the Bishop of Sulmona, Baron of Valva, is situated near the ancient Corfin- ium, chief town of the Peligni, a Samnite tribe. In the Social War it was the capital of the ItaUci, who called it Italia, a name found on some coins. Of the ancient city there remains the Church of S. Pelino, which recalls the race of the Peligni rather than a saint. The ruins contained a great number of inscrip- tions. Corfinium, like Valva, had apparently its own bishop; S. Pelino was the cathedral. In the vicinity of Valva is the sanctuary of S. Michele, near which is a large natural grotto. Sulmona, formerly Sulmo, is situated in a fertile plain, w.atered by the Gizzio, a tributary of the Pescara, at the base of the Maiella and Monte Morrone. The inhabitants are engaged in agriculture, the manufacture of liquors, confetti, and musical strings, and tanning. Among the churches are S. Maria della Tomba, the Annunziata, S. Fran- cesco. Near the city is the monastery of the Spirito Santo, erected by Celestine V for his monks; it is noted for its architecture. The town hall dates from the fifteenth century. Sulmona was a Pelignian city, and is first mentioned in the wars of Hannibal, during which it remained faithful to the Romans. In the Social War it was destroyed by Sulla. Ovid, who celebrates the salubrity of its climate, was born there. There are ruins of temples and ancient buildings in the vicinity. In the Lombard period the city was sub- ject to the Duchy of Spoleto; later it belonged to the counts of the Marsi. When the Normans con- quered the Abruzzi, Sulmona increased in importance. Frederick II made it the capital of the "Gran Gius- fizierato" of the Abruzzi. In 1451 Alfonso of Aragon defeated there Count- Ruggierone, an ally of Ren6 of Anjou; the city was regained by Piccinino, who waa later defeated and slain by Ferdinand I.
Legend associates the evangelizing of the district with the name of St. Britius, Bishop of Spoleto, in the second century. The first known Bishop of Sulmona is Palladius (499); in 503 a Fortunatus Valvensis is mentioned. St. Pamphilus, Bishop of Valva, re- nowned for his sanctity and miracles, died about 706; as he was buried in the catliedral of Sulmona, the sees had possibly been united then. Four or five other
