FLOWER
122
FLOYD
not however from Spain, as some scholars have as-
serted. A letter to Bishop Bartholomew of Narbonne,
written between 827 and 830 and signed by Florus as
well as by Archbishop Agobard and the priest Hildi-
gisus, furnishes us with the first positive information
we possess of his history ("Mon. Germ. Hist.: Epp.",
V, 206 sqq.). He was then a deacon of the church of
Lyons, which office he continued to hold throughout
his life. From the fact that at this time he already
enjoyed a reputation as a theologian, we may con-
clude tliat he was born certainly before the end of the
eiglith century. That he was tlien known (827) even
outside the boundaries of the church of Lyons is testi-
fied by the poetic epistle written about the same time
by the youthful Walahfrid Strabo to Archbishop Ago-
bard, in which he speaks of Florus, with an allusion
to his name, as a flower the fragrance of which had
spread even to the banks of the Rhine ("Versus
Strabi Walahfridi", viii, v^ 17-24, ed. Diimmler,
" Poetse Carol, sevi", II, 357, m "Mon. Germ. Hist.").
Until about the middle of the ninth century, the
deacon of Lyons followed an active literary career; he
was theologian, canonist, liturgist, and poet. He was
considered one of the foremost authorities on theo-
logical questions among the clergy of the Frankish
kingdom; and, in consequence, his opinion was often
sought in important ecclesiastical matters. When,
after the deposition of Archbishop Agobard of Lyons
by the Synod of Diedenhofen (835), Bishop Modoin of
Autun summoned before the civil power certain eccle-
siastics of the church of Lyons, Florus, in his work
"De iniusta vexatione ecclesise Lugdunensis", took
issue with Modoin and defended ecclesiastical freedom.
Other canonical writings of Florus are his "Capitula
ex lege et canone collecta" and his treatise on the
election of bishops, " De electionibus episcoporum ".
Another of his works, " Querela de divisione Imperii",
a lament over the dissensions of the realm, was written
by Florus when the kingdom was undergoing severe
political disturbance occasioned by the strife between
Louis the Pious and Lothair. His liturgical writings
are: "De expositione Missae", and three treatises
against Amalarius ("Opuscula contra Amalarium").
In these latter works the author inveighs against the
famous Amalarius of Metz, who came to Lyons, in 835,
and wished to introduce changes in the liturgy which
were disapproved of by Florus. Later, Florus took
part in the conflict concerning predestination, which
had been stirred up by the monk Gottschalk. Shortly
after the Synod of Quiersy, in the year 849, he wrote
on this subject, " De prsedestinatione ", and laid down
the doctrine of a twofold predestination, to salvation
and to tlamnation, maintaining at the same time the
doctrine of the free will of man. When John Scotus
Eriugena attacked this opinion, Florus, commissioned
by the church of Lyons, WTote in 852 his work " Liber
adversus Johannem Scotum ". He is also the author
of commentaries on the Epistles of St. Paul. His
next work was the completion of the Martyrology of
Bede, to which he made additions for the various days.
The chief sources on which he relied in enlarging the
work are a manuscript from St-Pierre in Macon, and
two manuscripts of Echternach and Toul, which may
all be found in the National Library at Paris (MSS.
lat. 5254, 10018 and 10158). In later revisions of the
martyrology, these additions have been made use of.
Finally, the deacon of Lyons has left a number of
poems. After the year 852, no further information,
definite as to time, has come down to us regarding
Florus; so that his death may be said, with probable
exactitude, to have occurred about the year 860.
The work8 of Florus are found in P. L., LXI, 1081 sqq,, XCIV, 799 sqq., CXIX: in Mon. Germ. Hist.: Epp., V, and in Poeta Carol, <Evi, II; Dummleh, Pratalio m den Poetm Carol, avi, II, in Mon, Germ. Hist,; Maassen, Ein Kommenlar des Floruf! von Lyon zit einer der sogen. Sirmondischen Konstitutionen in Sitzungsberu^hte der Akademie ?u Wien, Phit.-hist. Kla.ise, XCII (1878), 301-32.5; Baeiir, GeschichtederriimischenLiteralur
im karolingischen Zeitalter {Heidelherg, 1840); Qtientin, Lea
marlyrologes historiques du moyen-dge (Paris, 190S), 222-408.
J. P. KiRSCH.
Flower, Richard. See Leigh, Richard.
Floyd, John, English missionary, wrote under the names, Flud, Daniel a Jesu, Hbrmannus Lcemelius, George White, Annosus Fidelis VERiMENTANus.and under the initials J. R. Some of his works have been erroneously attributed to Robert Jennison, S.J. He was b. in Cambridgeshire in 1572; d. at St-Omer, 16 Sept., 1649. He was educated at the Jesuit College at Eu, then at the English College at Reims (17 March, 1588), and finally the English College in Rome (1590), where he entered the Society of Jesus, 1 Nov., 1,592. Nothing is knomi about his ordination, but in 1606 he was a missionary priest in England. On 6 April in that year he was arrested at Worcester while attempt- ing to visit Ven. Edward Oldcome who was to suffer martyrdom next day. Having been imprisoned for twelve months he, with forty-six other priests, was banished for life. He then spent four years teaching at St-Omer, though Foley (Records, IV, 238) is mis- taken in supposing that he published any controver- sial works at that time. On .31 July, 1609, he was pro- fessed of the four vows, and soon after returned to England, where he laboured on the mission for many years, being often captured, but effecting his escape by buying off the pursuivants. In 1612 he published his first work, "The Overthrow of the Protestant Pulpit Babels", in which he replied to Crashaw's "Jesuit's Gospel". He was in turn answered by Sir Edward Hoby, in his "A Counter-snarl for Ishmael Rabshakeh a Cycropedian Lycaonite, being an an- swer to a Roman Catholic who writes himself J. R. " Father Floyd retorted in 1613 with " Purgatorie's Triumph over Hell, maugre the barking of Cerberus in Syr Edward Hobyes Counter Snarle". This con- troversy closed with Hoby's rejoinder "A Curry-comb for a Cox-combe", published in 1615. Father Floyd next turned his attention to Marc' Antonio de Domi- nis, formerly Archbishop of Spalatro, who had aposta- tized and become Protestant dean of Windsor. Against him Father Floyd wrote four works: "Synopsis Apos- tasise Marci Antonii de Dominis, olim Archiepiscopi Spalatensis, nunc Apostatae, ex ipsiusmet libro de- lineata" (Antwerp, 1617). It was translated into English by Father Henry Hawkins, S.J., in 1617, and again by Dr. John Fletcher in 1828. "Hypo- crisis Marci Antonii de Dominis detecta sen censura in ejus libros de Republicii Ecclesiastica" (Antwerp, 1620); "Censura X Librorum de Republica Ecclesias- tica Marci Antonii de Dominis" (Antwerp, 1620; Col- ogne, 1621); "Monarchiae Ecclesiastica; ex scriptis M. Antonii de Dominis Archiepiscopi Spalatensis Demon- stratio, duobus libris comprehensa" (Cologne, 1622). All four works appeared under the signature Fidelis Annosus Verimentanus.
In 1620 Floyd published "God and the King", a translation of a work on loyalty; and in the following year a translation of St. Augustine's "Meditations". In 1623 he was living in Fleet Lane (Gee's "Foot out of the Snare") and in the same year he wrote "A Word of Comfort: or a discourse concerning the late lamentable accident of the fall of a room at a Catholic Sermon in the Blackfriars at London, wherewith about four-score persons were oppressed"; also a translation of Molina On the Sacrifice of the Mass". In 1625 he published "An Answer to Francis White's reply to Mr. Fisher's answer to the Nine Articles offered by King James to Father John Fisher". In 1629 and the succeeding years Father Floyd played a leading part in the controversy between seculars and Jesuits as to the desirability of having a bishop resident in England. Bishop Richard Smith, whose presence was regarded by some as a source of persecution, had in fact left England for Paris and was never able to return, but
