ABSTRACT
Paulinus, who was almost an exact contemporary of Augustine of Hippo, became Bishop of Nola in Campania in 409: he had moved to this small town in 395, having become familiar with it while he had held a government position in the area. He was, however, born in Bordeaux in 353 to a senatorial family of great wealth which he dramatically renounced at the time of his baptism in 389: for this renunciation he was much admired by his Christian contemporaries. He moved to Spain with his wife and then a few years later decided to settle for the rest of his life at Nola, near the shrine of St Felix. Here he lived a life of Christian devotion and chastity, having founded monastic residences for men and women, until his death in 431.
