Councils of Auxerre

Auxerre, COUNCILS OF.—In 585 (or 578) a Council of Auxerre held under St. Annacharius formulated forty-five canons, closely related in context to canons of the contemporary Councils of Lyons and Macon. They are important as illustrating life and manners among the newly-converted Teutonic tribes and the Gallo-Romans of the time. Many of the decrees are directed against remnants of heathen barbarism and superstitious customs; others bear witness to the persistence in the early Middle Ages in France of certain ancient Christian customs. The canons of the council of 695 or 697 are concerned chiefly with the Divine Office and ecclesiastical ceremonies.

THOMAS J. SHEEHAN