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Preliminary History :
Chapter I: The Age of St Aubin - his birth and monastic life
1. According to the record, St Aubin was the 11th bishop of the Church of Angers. Claudius Robertus maintains he was the 12th, John Chenutus who lived in the 10th century places Nefingus (or Nefindus) between Maurilius and Renatus but insists that St Aubin was the 11th by missing out Thalassius, who was ordained in 453 AD at the Synod of Angers.
Demochares and Sammarthanus make Aubin the 10th - they omit Auxilius (who is mentioned in the life of St Firminus, bishop of Amiens and martyred on September 25th) in the following terms: "After crossing the River Loire, he came to Auxilius the Prefect of the city of Angers and stayed there for 15 months to preach the word." Perhaps they read it as "to help (auxilium) the Prefect? But this is what the manuscripts of the churches of Audomarus and St Mary Bonisontus certainly say.
The manuscript of Treves says he came to "help" the city of Angers and stayed with the Prefect. Bosquetus simply says that he came to help the city of Angers for a year and 3 months - this reading is perhaps the best. What is the difference between being entertained by the Prefect and staying at his house? Ioannes Chenutus, Claudius Robertus and Saussaius in the Gallic martyrology acknowledge Auxilius as the Prefect (not the Bishop) of Angers.
But the origins of many churches in Gaul are obscure, as has often been said, and the lists of dignitaries are not written accurately or clearly enough. As the number and list of the predecessors of St Aubin indicates, he himself was venerated in the church at Angers for 1100 years. There is an official decree in the breviary of that church which is duplicated and copied in several British churches of Armorica (where Aubin came from) and also in the dioceses of Venetia and Rhedonensis and during the Archiepiscopate of Polonius Guesniensis - but this has not been found because some of the saints' relics were perhaps taken there - or for some other reason.
The name of St Aubin has been included in several lists of martyrs, even very old ones; it was removed from the martyrology of St Jerome, but is included in a manuscript of the city of Paris as follows: "In the city of Angers is preserved the body of St Aubin, Bishop and Confessor." It is also mentioned in the manuscripts of Rhinaugienus, Augustanus, St Udalricus, Labbaeus of Paris, Casinensus, the Queen of Suetia; Lucas Holstiensius included the name of Aubin in compiling the Roman martyrology ~ and it is found in several others. It was known in the Valliceilanian Congregation at the Oratory in Rome - Rabanus mentions Aubin in his own and so does a manuscript from the monastery of St Maximinus. Bede thinks it genuine and so do several others. The manuscript of Bede is very clear in the question of names, and it refers to Aubin with this addition: "His was a shining life full of miracles and virtuous deeds. " The Roman martyrology states that St Aubin, Bishop of Angers and Confessor was an outstanding man because of his virtue and holiness. Vandelbertus, a monk, in his versified martyrology written before 800 AD and dedicated to the Emperor Lotharius, the son of Ludovic, remembers St Aubin in this way: "He is revered on March 1st." Certain more recent writers have composed a long eulogy about him - Saussaius, Ghinius, Galesinius, Canisius who refers again to the 2nd of March - perhaps because the Regular Canons of the Congregation of the Holy Redeemer of the Order of St Augustine claimed the 1st of March as a festival of St Herculanus, Bishop of Perusia and martyr - and so celebrate St Aubin on the following day.
2. The statement above (no 2.) maintains that Aubin entered the monastery at Tintillac. There is the same controversy about his monastic career as referred to above about the life of St Herculanus, as if there were no regular monastic rules at that time except those observed by the Regular Canons of St Benedict - not all of his rules were kept at Tintillac. But Constantinus Ghinius, himself a Regular Canon, says that Aubin was a Canon and carried out the official tasks of those same Canons in the monastery of Tintillac, wearing the official Canon's attire. Saussaius writes in the Gallic martyrology that Aubin entered Tintillac as a coenobite (i.e. a monk living in community) of the Order of the Canons of St Augustine. I do not think that it can be proved from the life of St Aubin that he actually did belong to that Order; indeed, it seems fairly certain that he was not a Benedictine, even though he is included in that Order in the writings of Arnoldus Vivion, Hugo Menardus, Benedictus Dorganius who quote Trithemius in "Famous Men of the Benedictine Order", (book 3, chapter 165 and book 4, chapter 181). But these writers are refuted in the "Life of St Aubin" as is evidenced by Gregory of Tours in his book, "The Glory of the Confessors" (chapter 96) which we shall shortly quote. Fortunatus, who lived in Gaul at the same time and was renowned for his piety and learning, maintains that Aubin was ordained a priest? he dedicated his "Life of St Aubin" to Domitianus who was the third bishop of Angers after Aubin, and took part in the Third Council of Paris in the 46th year of King Childerbert in 555 AD and also at Tours in 567 AD. Laurentius Surius published the Life and Rosweydus made a copy of it; we also have two other copies, one in the Church of St Audomorus and the other in the monastery of St Maximus at Treves.
3. From this evidence it is agreed that St Aubin was the Abbot at Tintillac for 25 years and then at the age of 60 he was appointed bishop and held that position for 20 years and 6 months and died in office. Moreover, we have the record in the first volume of the Councils of Gaul that he was present at the 3rd Aurelian Council in the 26th year of the reign of King Childebert which, according to our reckoning, was in 535 AD. It can be stated with certainty that it was 8 years before the Rule of St Benedict was brought to Gaul by St Maurus who was Abbot in 543 AD, the very year in which St Benedict died. In the life of St Maurus, chapter 8, section 46, the following statement was written on January 15th: "8 years after we arrived at this place the final construction of the entire monastery was satisfactorily completed and was consecrated by the bishop of that province. At that time, Eutropius, a very holy man, was in charge of the church at Angers." These are the facts - unless, of course, they have been misprepresented and falsified, like the account given by Odo, the abbot of Possatensis. Theodebertus was not present at the consecration of Aubin in that year, 551 AD, which was 37 years after the death of his grandfather - indeed he died in the year 546 or 547 as Turonensis writes in his 3rd and final book on the History of the Franks. Moreover that place was not in his domains but belonged to his father, Childebert. It seems clear from these statements that those who maintain that Eutropius was Aubin's predecessor and insist that Domitianus was his immediate successor are mistaken. Fortunatus dedicated his "Life of St Aubin" to Domitianus but in this work he speaks of Aubin’s successor by a different name - he does not mention Domitianus - the text (chapter 3, section 17) reads: "Therefore when St Germanus, the bishop of the Parissii (or his fellow provincial bishops) and Pontifex his successor and the people wanted to transfer the remains of St Aubin with due ceremony to the new basilica.
4. It is clear from these statements that Aubin had died before 551 AD ~ possibly about the year 550; according to the Sammarthani and Ghinius perhaps in 548 or 549. Certainly, in the 38th year of King Childebert in 547 AD at the Aurelian Council it is recorded that Sapaudus, the Abbot, was sent to the Council to represent Aubin, the Lord Bishop of Angers, who could not attend because of illness or possibly old age. It is certain that John Chenutus was mistaken when he wrote that Aubin died in 532 AD and Arnoldus Vitorius was equally wrong in his 2nd book on the "Life of Lignus" and his 3rd book of Martyrology in placing the death of Aubin in 570. Even more mistaken was Bertrandus Argentratus who wrote in his "History of Britain" (book 3, chapter 8) that Aubin died in 713 ADI Finally there is Trithemius who never visited the area but maintained that Aubin was still alive in 720 AD!! Before him, Vincentius Bellonacensis wrote in his History (book 23, chapter 139) that St Aegidius came to Gaul in the first year of the reign of the Emperor, Anastasius, about 713 or 714 AD and perpetuating the same error (in chapter 141 ) he wrote that St Cesarius of Aries who spent 2 years with Aegidius died in the 8th century. Aubin lived 200 years before this date when Clodovicius and his sons reigned in Gaul and Anastasius, Judensis and Justinian were emporors in Constantinople, and was apparently a distant relative of this Cesarius.
Moreover Vincentius wrote several accurate accounts about the death of Aubin in the same chapter and the 2 following ones. He is followed by St Antony in his Chronology (part 2, section 14, chapters 1 and 2) which is a little obscure on this same point. Indeed, as we have said, Aubin died between 547 (the year in which it is recorded that he sent Sapaudus to' represent him at the 5th Aurelian Synod on November 1st) and 551 (the year. in which his successor Eutropius is saind to have dedicated the monastery at Glannasoliensis). He passed away on the 1st of March perhaps in the year 548 or 549 or even 550 AD. When he had been abbot for 20 years and 6th months in 529 or 528 or even the preceding year, it was necessary for him to go to Angers and visit the islands in the River Loire. When he was still in Gaul, the Rule of St Benedict was quite unknown but it was brought there eventually in 543 by St Maurus; so Aubin could not have observed this Rule in the monastery in Tintillac before the year 500 AD.