Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 2.djvu/155

AUSTREMONIUS ired as patron at Montreuil in the department of

CHECK The Benedictine Calendar (London, 1896); iciNDtRo! Vie de S. Ouen (Paris, 1902), 208-210; Stadler, Hiiaen-Leiikon (Augsburg, 1858), I, 363.

'Michael Ott.

Austremonius, Saint, Apostle and Bishop of Au-rgne (c. 314). ' All that is certainly known of ustremonius is deduced from a few brief sentences t the writings of St. Gregory of Tours (Hist, ranc, I, xxx, and De Gloria Coivfessorum, c. xxix). ccording to this authority he was one of the seven ishops sent from Rome into Gaul about the middle [ the third century; he laboured in Auvergne and said to have been the first Bi.shop of Clermont, .ut from a study of the episcopal lists as given by t Gregory himself, St. Austremonius could hardly ave antedated the commencement of the fourth entury since his third successor died in 385. It is lore lilcely, therefore, that he was the contemporary f the three Bishops of Aquitaine who attended the :ouncil of Aries in 314. He was not a martyr. His ult began about the middle of the sixth centaury, when Cantius, a deacon, saw a vision of angels about is neglected tomb at Issoire on the Couze. His lody was afterwards translated to Volvic, and m 61 to the Abbey of Mauzac. Towards the middle of he ninth century, the head of the saint was brought o St.-Yvoine, near Issoire, and about 900 was re- amed to Issoire, the original place of burial

Acln .S.S., Nov., I, 49 sq.l Anal Boll XIII 33-4(^; .Vf- iTwes Havet., 36; Duchesne, Bullelin cntique (ISSS). --*ogg'lao? Chctai-ier, Rip. des sourcea hist. (Bia-brh- g ), 2d ed., 390, 391. .,^ _ „

Francis p. Havey.

Austria. See Austro-Ht-xgari.o; Mon.\rchy.

Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, ,— By this name is designated the European monarchy whose dominions have for their main life-distributing artery the River Danube, in its course from Engelhartszell, near Passau, to Orsova. South of the Danube lie the Austrian Alpine provinces and the provinces of Carinthia and Carnola; north of the Danube are the Carpathian and Sudetic provinces.

—The monarchy as a whole has an area of about 262,577 square miles (680,887 square kilometres), and a population of about 48,592,000. This gives it the second place in population, among the political divisions of Europe. The average density of its population is, approximately, 185 to the square mile. The monarchy holds sway over: (a) the kingdoms and provinces represented in the Austrian Parliament, or Reichsrat, which have together an area of 115,695 sq. m. (300,008 sq. km.) and a population of 26,969,812; (b) the provinces of the Hungarian Crown which have a total area of 127,204 sq. m. (329,851 sq. km.) and a population of 19,985,465; (c) Bosnia and Herzegovina, with an area of 19,678 sq. m. (51,028 sq. km.) and a population of 1,737,000, occupied and administered by Austria-Hungary, though still theoretically a part of the Ottoman Empire. These populations include a great variety of races. In the Austrian territory there are: Germans, 9,171,000; Czechs, 5,955,000; Poles, 4,259,000; Ruthenians, 3,376,000; Slovenes, 1,193,000; Italians and Ladinians, 727,000. In Hungary the population is composed of: Magyars, 9,180,000; Rumanians, 2,867,000; Germans, 2,138,000; Slovaks, 2,055,000; Croats, 1,734,000; Serbs, 1,079,000; Ruthenians, 443,000. The inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina are Servo-Croatians.

The capitals of the three main divisions are: Austria: Vienna, with 1,675,000 inhabitants; Hungary, Budapest, with 732,000 inhabitants; Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serajevo, with 38,000 inhabitants. The only strip of coast land in Austria-Hungary lies on the Adriatic and has a length of 1,366 miles (2,200 km.). The countries which border on Austria-Hungary are: Italy, Switzerland, the principality of Liechtenstein, Bavaria, Saxony, Prussia, Russia, Rumania, Servia, Turkey, and Montenegro.

—The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was created by the union of the Germanic, Slavonic, and Hungarian provinces which now lie within its territory. This union took place in 1526. Upon the death of Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia at the battle of Mohács, in that year. Bohemia and Hungary were united to the Austrian possessions of Ferdinand I, of the Hapsburg family. This union was in accordance with the law of succession as well as the result of a free choice. Up to 1536 each of these three divisions of the present empire had its own separate religious history.

A. Early Christianity–The Romans in the time of Augustus took possession of those provinces of the present Austria-Hungary which lie south of the Danube. In the course of time they built roads, founded cities, turned the territory into Roman provinces, and here and there converted the inhabitants to Christianity. The cities of Aquileia and Salona, episcopal sees from the middle of the first century, were centres of Christianity for Noricum and Pannonia. In the year 294 five Christian workmen were thrown from the marble bridges of Sirmium (Mitrowitz) into the Save and drowned. During the persecution of the Christians under the Emperor Diocletian, in 304, the soldier Florianus was thrown into the Ems at Lauriacum (Lorch). The house of Augustinian canons, at St. Florian, in Upper Austria, now stands on the spot where the body of this saint was buried. A tradition gives the same date for the martyrdom of the two bishops Victorinus of Petovia (Pettau in Southern Styria) and Quirinus of Siscia, who met death where the Kulpa empties into the Save. Even at this period Christianity must have had a large number of adherents in these districts, for already an established organization is found here. The bishops of Noricum were under the control of the Patriarch of Aquileia, while Pannonia was subject to the Metropolitan of Sirmium.

The last representative of Christian culture among the Roman inhabitants of the Danube district is St. Severinus. The story of his life, by his pupil Eugippius, is the only written document we have for the history of the Danubian provinces during the last years of the Roman occupation. Severinus settled near the present city of Vienna, built a monastery for himself and his companions, and led so austere a life that even in winter, when the Danube was frozen, he walked up and down over the ice barefoot. His journeys upon the frozen river were errands of consolation to the despairing provincials, who saw themselves threatened on all sides by bands of marauding barbarians. In these journeys Severinus travelled as far as Castra Batava (Passau), and inland from the river up to Juvavum (Salzburg). God had granted him the gift of prophecy. When Odovakar (Odoacer), King of the Heruli, set out on his march against Rome, he came to the saint and asked for his blessing. Severinus spoke prophetically: "Go forward, my son. To-day thou art still clad in the worthless skins of animals, but soon shalt thou make gifts from the treasures of Italy." After Odovakar had overthrown the Roman Empire of the West, and had made himself master of Italy, he sent and invited Severinus to ask from him some favour. Severinus only asked the pardon of one who had been condemned to banishment. The Alamannic king, Gibold, also visited him in Castra Batava, and the saint begged as a personal grace that the king cease from ravaging the Roman territory. His usual