CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: DONATUS OF FIESOLE

Donatus of Fiesole

Irish teacher and poet, Bishop of Fiesole, about 829-876. In an ancient collection of the
"Vitae Patrum", of which an eleventh-century copy  exists in the Laurentian library of
Florence, there is an account of the life of Donatus, from which we glean the following
facts. Donatus was born in Ireland,  of a noble family. About 816 he visited the tombs of
the Apostles in Rome. On  his journey northwards he was led by Divine Providence to
the city of Fiesole,  which he entered at the moment when the people were grouped
around their altars  praying for a bishop to deliver them from the evils, temporal and
spiritual,  which afflicted them. Raised by popular acclaim to the See of Fiesole,
Donatus  instituted a revival of piety and learning in the Church over which he was
placed. He himself did not disdain to teach "the art of metrical composition".  The "Life"
is interspersed with short poems written by the saintly bishop. The  best known of
these is the twelve-line poem in which he describes the beauty and fertility of his native
land, and the prowess and piety of its inhabitants.  Donatus also composed an epitaph
in which he alludes to his birth in Ireland,  his years in the service of the princes of Italy
(Lothair and Louis), his  episcopate at Fiesole, and his activity as a teacher of grammar
and poetry.

WILLIAM TURNER

Transcribed by Anthony A. Killeen

Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).

This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an effort aimed at placing the
entire Catholic Encyclopedia on the World Wide Web. The coordinator is Kevin Knight,
editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to contribute to this
worthwhile project, you can contact him by e-mail at ([email protected]). For
more information please download the file cathen.txt/.zip.

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