FAUSTUS OF RIEZ
(d. ca. 495). British monk of Lérins, bishop of Riez in Provence from ca. 458. Exiled by
the Arian Visigoth king Euric from 477 to 485. Faustus was famous for his sermons
against Arianism and his articulation of the “Semi-Pelagian” position on predestination.
Faustus taught that grace attracts souls to God and that God’s foreknowledge does not
require predestination. Extant works of Faustus include treatises De spirito sancto and De
gratia Dei, letters, and a collection of sermons that may include works by other authors.
In De spirito sancto, Faustus argues the materiality of the human soul, a position close to
that of the 2nd-century author Tertullian.
E.Ann Matter
[See also: CAESARIUS OF ARLES; CASSIAN, JOHN; LÉRINS; PHILOSOPHY;
THEOLOGY]
Faustus of Riez. Opera. PL 53, 58.
Tibilette, Carlo, ed. Pagine monastiche provenzali: il monaschesimo nella Gallia del quinto secolo.
Rome: Borla, 1990. [Selections.]
Koch, A. Der heilige Faustus, Bischof von Riez. Stuttgart: Roth, 1895.
Weigl, Gustav. Faustus of Riez. Philadelphia: Dolphin, 1938.
FAUVAIN
. The Histoire de Fauvain or Dit de Fauveyn is an animal verse satire (258 octosyllabic
lines) in Picard dialect by Raoul le Petit that accompanies a series of forty ink drawings
in B.N. fr. 571 (ca. 1326). Evil appears as the traditional figure of a dun-colored she-ass
or horse (Fauvain). The beast is ridden by greedy hypocrites; simony, broken promises,
refusal to aid the poor, justice miscarried are censured. Although she slays Loyalty,
Fauvain dies too, and her soul is shown carried off by the Devil while Loyalty’s soul is
received by God.
Nancy F.Regalado
[See also: FAUVEL, LIVRES DE]
Långfors, Arthur, ed. L’histoire de Fauvin: reproduction phototypique de 40 dessins du manuscrit
français 571 de la Bibliothèque Nationale (XIVe siècle) précédée d’une introduction et du texte
critique des légendes de Raoul le Petit. Paris: Geuthner, 1914.
Sandler, Lucy Freeman. Gothic Manuscripts 1285–1385. 2 vols. London: Harvey Miller/Oxford
University Press, 1986, Vol. 1: Text and Illustrations, Ill. 246=fp; 150v; Vol. 2: Catalogue
[description of B.N. fr. 571], pp. 103A–05B. [Dit de Fauveyn is described on 104A-05A.]
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 648