Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century/Paulinus of Pella


Paulinus (12), son of a prefect (probably a vicarius) of Illyricum; born at Pella. His father soon afterwards went to Carthage as proconsul, and Paulinus was before long sent to Bordeaux to be brought up by his grandfather. In his 84th year (probably c. 460) he wrote a poem called "Eucharisticon Deo sub Ephemeridis meae textu," in which he returns thanks to God for his preservation and for many blessings throughout a long and rather eventful life. The poem throws some light on the history of his time, particularly on the movement of the northern nations. It has been erroneously attributed to St. Paulinus of Nola. It is in De la Bigne, Bibl. Patr. (App. Col. 281, Paris, 1579), and was ed. by Daumius (Lips. 1686). Hist. Litt. de la France, ii. 363, where the events of his life are traced in some detail, from the account given in the poem itself; Alzog, Handb. der Patrol.; Ebert, Gesch. der Chr. Lat. Lit.; Cave, Hist. Litt. i. 290; Teuffel, vol. ii. Cf. also J. Rocafort, De Paul Pell. vita et œuv. (Bordeaux, 1890).

[H.A.W.]