GIULIANO da TOLEDO, saint. — He is believed to have been of Jewish origin; he was a disciple of the archbishop Eugenio II of Toledo, the poet. S. G. da Toledo (who lived approximately between 642 and 690) was the most prominent figure of the Visigothic episcopate, in character, as a theologian, and as a prince of the Church. In January 680, after the death of Quirico, he was elected metropolitan bishop of the royal city. He attended the four Councils of Toledo (XII–XV), presiding over all of them, although he was not the senior bishop. Under his presidency, the Twelfth Council of Toledo (681) sanctioned the removal of Wamba and the coronation of Ervigio. G. was responsible for the ever-growing importance of the see of Toledo, culminating in the recognition of its supremacy over all the other churches of Spain (683).
His stature as a man of letters rests on the following works: Liber prognosticorum futuri saeculi, a dogmatic-ascetic work in three books; the first treatise De novissimis that has come down to us; De sextae aetatis comprobatione, in three books of anti-Jewish polemic, written at the request of King Ervigio concerning the age-old struggle with the Jews; Antiheimenon libri duo, a reconciliation of apparently conflicting passages in Scripture; Vita s. Ildefonsi,
a biography and exaltation of the personality of his predecessor; an Apologeticum fidei Benedicto Urbis papae directum, now lost, which, in the name of the Fifteenth Council of Toledo, clarified certain theological points concerning the Trinity and Christology; Rome requested explanations of certain formulas used therein, and the metropolitan of Toledo fully satisfied the request; De remediis blasphemiae, recently identified; a Historia rebellionis Pauli adversus Wambon, a remarkable work of historiography from the seventh century, documented and conceived in the classical manner; an Ars gramatica, of great interest for the history of medieval culture, similar in its arrangement to the Etimologie of s. Isidoro; it is based on the Gramatica of Donato, while also being influenced by numerous other earlier grammarians.
S. G. was one of the precursors of the Sentencias y Sumas, which dominated the Middle Ages. His style is dignified and elevated, vibrant in polemical discussion, and warm with patriotic enthusiasm in his historical contribution.