The Vitas Patrum Emeritensium is an early medieval Latin hagiographical work written by an otherwise unknown Paul, a deacon of Mérida.
[1] The date of composition is debated, but is generally thought to have been made in the 7th-century, with the preface and the first three chapters added on in later centuries.
[1] First printed in 1633 in Madrid, only half a dozen manuscripts plus some fragments survive.
[4] The Vitas Patrum Emeritensium is a major source for the study of the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo.
It contains many indications about common life in Hispania in the VI and VII centuries: nourishment, education, clothing… It’s also important for our knowledge about the organisation of Catholic and Arian Churches and the path that led to the conversion of the Visigothic people to Catholicism.