Victor of Tunnuna (died
circa 570) was
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the
North AfricanThe Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day northern Tunisia, and the small Mediterranean coast of modern-day western Libya along the Syrtis Minor...
town of Tunnuna and a chronicler from
Late AntiquityLate Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
.
What little information we have on his life is derived from entries in his own
chronicleGenerally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
. Victor was a staunch supporter of the Three Chapters which had been condemned by Justinian's edict of 544, and on this account he was arrested. After some time in exile on the
Balearic IslandsThe Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
and imprisonment in the monastery of Mandracium near
CarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, he was transferred to a prison in
AlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
; he was again transferred in 556, this time to a monastery at Canopus. In 565 he and five other African bishops were summoned before Justinian and
PatriarchThe Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
EutychiusEutychius , considered a saint in the Catholic and Orthodox Christian traditions, was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 552 to 565, and from 577 to 582. His feast is kept by the Byzantine Church on 6 April, and he is mentioned in the Catholic Church's "Corpus Iuris"...
in
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and ordered to submit to the emperor's edict. When they refused to do so, they were imprisoned in different monasteries in the capital. Victor died about 570, probably still in confinement at a monastery in Constantinople.
Works
Victor is the author of a chronicle, the
Chronicon, which ran from the creation of the world to the end of the year 566 but of which only the part extending from 444 to 566 (continuing the
Epitoma chronicon by
Prosper of AquitaineSaint Prosper of Aquitaine , a Christian writer and disciple of Saint Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle.- Life :...
) is extant. It is of great historical value, dealing chiefly with the Eutychian heresy, the controversy about the Three Chapters, and giving some details concerning the
AriansArianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
and the invasion of the
VandalsThe Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
. In general, church matters receive more attention than other issues in this chronicle. It was continued to 590 by
John of BiclaroJohn of Biclaro, Biclar, or Biclarum , also Iohannes Biclarensis, was a Visigoth chronicler, born in Lusitania, in the city of Scallabis , who must have been from a Catholic family, to judge from his name...
, founder of the Abbey of Biclar in
VisigothThe Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. These tribes were among the Germans who spread through the late Roman Empire during the Migration Period...
ic
HispaniaAnother theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
(the
Iberian PeninsulaThe Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, comprising modern
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
).
Victor has been credited with being the author of the pseudo-Ambrosian
De Poenitentia, although Victor of Cartenna seems to be the real author.