Severin, Heiliger

Severinus, Saint; feast day Jan. 8, b. Jan. 8, 482 in Favianis (Favianae, today Mautern); referred to as the apostle of the Noricum ripense (the north-eastern part of Noricum province), which is not entirely correct. It is not known where S. came from, he is supposed to have been a descendant of the educated nobility from the Latin-speaking western part of the Roman empire. Came to Noricum ripense from the east some time after Attila's death in 453 and possibly held political office in this region for some time. After a short stay at Asturis (possibly Zwentendorf) and in Comagena (Tulln), he made Favianis the centre of his activities, where he also founded a monastery. His activities were concentrated in Noricum ripense but also extended from Künzing in Bavaria up to Cucullis (Kuchl) on the River Salzach; He also had relations to Teurnia in the centre of Noricum. S. tried to maintain public order, organised supplies of food and clothes, liberated deportees and introduced the tithe (mainly in kind) to raise the necessary means; he also took an active interest in the religious life of the Romans, and took on military and diplomatic functions. S. slowly managed to clear the towns along the upper Danube from Roman occupation, so that the Romans ultimately lived in the area around Favianis, which was controlled by the Rugi. He maintained close relations with the House of the Rugi and at the same time with the family of the last Western Roman emperor; during a visit to Odoaker he prophesied that his host was to ascend to the throne. S. led an ascetic life, again and again retreated to pray in solitude and refused honours of the church. When the Romans were forced to leave in 488, the congregation of monks founded by S. took his mortal remains along. They were buried in Lucullanum near Naples, the residence of the deposed last emperor of the Western Roman empire. Today S.'s relics rest in the church of Frattamaggiore. The description of his life, written by his pupil Eugippius, the Vita Severini, constitutes a unique source of information on the time of the declining Roman empire in Austria.

Literature: F. Lotter, Severinus von Noricum, 1976; Eugippius, Das Leben des hl. Severin, introduction, translation and explanations by R. Noll, 1981; S. zw. Römerzeit und Völkerwanderung, exhibition catalogue, Enns 1982.