Isidore of Seville, pt. 2

We do not know too much about Isidore’s background. His father, Severianus, may have been a relatively important person in Cartagena, Spain, where Isidore's elder brother and sister were born, but Isidore's birthplace is not known. Nor do we know how Isidore was educated. He entered the church as a young man, and, upon his older brother Leander’s (Leander was also a Saint) death in 599, succeeded him as Bishop of Seville.

Isidore was a respected religious leader, an avid reader, and a prolific writer. In addition to his encyclopedia, he wrote many historical and theological works such as The Etymologiae, an encyclopedic dictionary; The Differentiae, a two volume set that addressed differences of words and differences of things (the second volume was more of a theological work), De Natura Rerum, on cosmology and the physical universe, The Chronica, a world history up to the early seventh century, The Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum, a history of early Spain (i.e., the Goths, Vandals, and Suevi), numerous works of theology and scriptural commentary.

But it is for his famous encyclopedia, The Etymologies (Etymologiae), that he is remembered. One might think that a great work such as encyclopedia would be a young man’s project, but Isidore did not begin writing the Etymologies until his late fifties, in the 610’s. He began the Etymologies at the request of his friend Braulio, the bishop of Zaragoza, Spain, and worked on them for the rest of his life, which was a little too long as far as Braulio was concerned.

Braulio once wrote Isidore a letter complaining that seven years have passed since Braulio first asked Isidore for the book, and he hadn’t seen the finished product yet. But seven years certainly sounds like a reasonable time for handwriting an encyclopedia.

By the time of his death in 636 at age seventy-six, Isidore may have actually finished the book, but, since he did not leave any notes or outlines, we can’t tell how much more he had intended to write. After Isidore’s death, Braulio divided the Etymologies into the twenty books that exist today and may even have edited it somewhat.