A letter from Fortunatus (after 567)

Translated letter:

So may the honor of Caesarius adorn you in the world with his admonitions and Christ love you both with the dear father; so Caesaria and the excellent Casaria rise here, that the former honor is repaired here through you; may such grace shine, by which in time will grow the beauty of Arelatian Poitiers through you; so may we deserve to live piously for the celestial king and [one] tomb hide my members with you; if any grumbling is retained in an offended breast, let it be loosed as venial change, I pray; May Christ loving peace, filled with wondrous sweetness, bind your breasts as mediator. May the venerable Casaria obtain equally with me, who desires you to be in pious embrace.

Original letter:

Sic vos Caesarii monitis honor ornet in orbe atque ambas caro cum patre Christus amet; sic hic Caesaria et praecelsa Casaria surgat, ut per vos priscus hic reparetur honor; gratia sic talis niteat, qua crescat in aevo per vos Pictavis Arelatense decus; sic pie caelesti mereamur vivere regi et mea vobiscum membra sepulchra tegant: si quod in offenso retinetur pectore murmur, in vice laxatum sit veniale precor; pacem Christus amans, mira dulcedine plenus, pectora vestra sacer se mediante liget. obtinaeat pariter veneranda Casaria mecum, quae simul amplexu vos cupit esse pio.

Historical context:

Bishop Venantius Fortunatus met Agnes and her patron, Radegund, when he visited Poitiers. They became good friends and exchanged epistolary poems and small gifts until the women died. After her death, Fortunatus wrote a life of Radegund emphasizing her ascetic qualities.

Printed source:

Venantii Fortunati, Opera Poetica, ed. Fridericus Leo (Berlin: Weidmann, 1881), 283, Appendix xiii.

Date:

after 567