Born:  c.560 in Cartagena, Spain 
 
 Died:  April 4, 636
 
 Canonized:  
 
 Feast Day:  April 4
 
 Patron Saint of:  computers, computer users, computer programmers, Internet
 
 
 
Isidore was born in Cartagena, Spain, about 560 AD, the son of Severianus and Theodora. His elder brother 
Leander was his immediate predecessor in the Metropolitan See of Seville; whilst a younger brother St. 
Fulgentius presided over the Bishopric of Astigi. His sister Florentina was a nun, and is said to have 
ruled over forty convents and one thousand religious. Isidore received his elementary education in the 
Cathedral school of Seville. In this institution, which was the first of its kind in Spain, the trivium 
and quadrivium were taught by a body of learned men, among whom was the archbishop, Leander. With such 
diligence did he apply himself to study that in a remarkably short time mastered Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. 
Whether Isidore ever embraced monastic life or not is still an open question, but though he himself may 
never have been affiliated with any of the religious orders, he esteemed them highly. On his elevation 
to the episcopate he immediately constituted himself protector of the monks. In 619 he pronounced anathema 
against any ecclesiastic who should in any way molest the monasteries. 
 
On the death of Leander, Isidore succeeded to the See of Seville. His long incumbency to this office was 
spent in a period of disintegration and transition. The ancient institutions and classic learning of the 
Roman empire were fast disappearing. In Spain a new civilization was beginning to evolve itself from the 
blending racial elements that made up its population. For almost two centuries the Goths had been in full 
control of Spain, and their barbarous manners and contempt of learning threatened greatly to put back 
her progress in civilization. Realizing that the spiritual as well as the material well-being of the 
nation depended on the full assimilation of the foreign elements, St. Isidore set himself to the task 
of welding into a homogeneous nation the various peoples who made up the Hispano-Gothic kingdom. To this 
end he availed himself of all the resources of religion and education. His efforts were attended with 
complete success. Arianism, which had taken deep root among the Visigoths, was eradicated, and the new 
heresy of Acephales was completely stifled at the very outset; religious discipline was everywhere strengthened. 
Like Leander, he took a most prominent part in the Councils of Toledo and Seville. In all justice it may be 
said that it was in a great measure due to the enlightened statecraft of these two illustrious brothers the 
Visigothic legislation, which emanated from these councils, is regarded by modern historians as exercising a 
most important influence on the beginnings of representative government. Isidore presided over the Second 
Council of Seville, begun 13 November, 619, in the reign of Sisebut. But it was the Fourth National Council 
of Toledo that afforded him the opportunity of being of the greatest service to his county. At this council, 
begun 5 December, 633, all the bishops of Spain were in attendance. St. Isidore, though far advanced in years, 
presided over its deliberations, and was the originator of most of its enactments. It was at this council 
and through his influence that a decree was promulgated commanding all bishops to establish seminaries in 
their Cathedral Cities, along the lines of the school already existing at Seville. Within his own jurisdiction 
he had availed himself of the resources of education to counteract the growing influence of Gothic barbarism. 
His was the quickening spirit that animated the educational movement of which Seville was the centre. The 
study of Greek and Hebrew as well as the liberal arts, was prescribed. Interest in law and medicine was also 
encouraged. Through the authority of the fourth council this policy of education was made obligatory upon 
all the bishops of the kingdom. Long before the Arabs had awakened to an appreciation of Greek Philosophy, 
he had introduced Aristotle to his countrymen. He was the first Christian writer to essay the task of 
compiling for his co-religionists a summa of universal knowledge. This encyclopedia epitomized all learning, 
ancient as well as modern. In it many fragments of classical learning are preserved which otherwise had been 
hopelessly lost. The fame of this work imparted a new impetus to encyclopedic writing, which bore abundant 
fruit in the subsequent centuries of the Middle Ages. His style, though simple and lucid, cannot be said to 
be classical. It discloses most of the imperfections peculiar to all ages of transition. It particularly 
reveals a growing Visigothic influence. Arevalo counts in all Isidore's writing 1640 Spanish words. 
 
Isidore was the last of the ancient Christian Philosophers, as he was the last of the great Latin Fathers. 
He was undoubtedly the most learned man of his age and exercised a far-reaching and immeasurable influence 
on the educational life of the Middle Ages. His contemporary and friend, Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa, 
regarded him as a man raised up by God to save the Spanish people from the tidal wave of barbarism that 
threatened to inundate the ancient civilization of Spain, The Eighth Council of Toledo (653) recorded its 
admiration of his character in these glowing terms: "The extraordinary doctor, the latest orsizent of the 
Catholic Church, the most learned man of the latter ages, always to be sized with reverence, Isidore". 
This tribute was endorsed by the Fifteenth Council of Toledo, held in 688. 
 
As a writer, Isidore was prolific and versatile to an extraordinary degree. His voluminous writings may 
be truly said to constitute the first chapter of Spanish literature. It is not, however, in the capacity 
of an original and independent writer, but as an indefatigable compiler of all existing knowledge, that 
literature is most deeply indebted to him. The most important and by far the best-known of all his writings 
is the "Etymologiae", or "Origines", as it is sometimes called. This work takes its size from the 
subject-matter of one of its constituent books. It was written shortly before his death, in the full maturity 
of his wonderful scholarship, at the request. of his friend Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa. It is a vast 
storehouse in which is gathered, systematized, and condensed, all the learning possessed by his time. 
Throughout the greater part of the Middle Ages it was the textbook most in use in educational institutions. 
So highly was it regarded as a depository of classical learning that in a great measure, it superseded 
the use of the individual works of the classics themselves. Not even the Renaissance seemed to diminish 
the high esteem in which it was held, and according to Arevalo, it was printed ten times between 1470 
and 1529. Besides these numerous reprints, the popularity of the "Etymologiae" gave rise to many 
inferior imitations. It furnishes, abundant evidence that the writer possessed a most intimate knowledge 
of the Greek and Latin poets. In all, he quotes from one hundred and fifty-four authors, Christian and pagan. 
Many of these he had read in the originals and the others he consulted in current compilations. In style 
this encyclopedic work is concise and clear and in order, admirable. Braulio, to whom Isidore sent it for 
correction, and to whom he dedicated it, divided it into twenty books. 
 
The first three of these books are taken up with the trivium and quadrivium. The entire first book is devoted 
to grammar, including metre. Imitating the example of Cassiodorus and Boethius he preserves the logical 
tradition of the schools by reserving the second book for rhetoric and dialectic. Book four, treats of medicine 
and libraries; book five, of law and chronology; book six, of ecclesiastical books and offices; book seven, 
of God and of the heavenly and earthly hierarchies; book eight, of the Church and of the sects, of which 
latter he numbers no less than sixty-eight; book nine, of languages, peoples, kingdoms, and official titles; 
book ten, of etymology: book eleven, of man; book twelve, of beasts and birds; book thirteen, of the world 
and its parts; book fourteen, of physical geography; book fifteen, of public buildings and roadmaking; book 
sixteen, of stones and metals; book seventeen, of agriculture; book eighteen, of the terminology of war, of 
jurisprudence, and public games; book nineteen, of ships, houses, and clothes; book twenty, of victuals, 
domestic and agricultural tools, and furniture.
 
In the second book, dealing with dialectic and rhetoric, Isidore is heavily indebted to translations from the 
Greek by Boethius. Caelius Aurelianus contributes generously to that part of the fourth book which deals with 
medicine. Lactantius is the author most extensively quoted in the eleventh book, concerning man. The twelfth, 
thirteenth, and fourteenth books are largely based on the writings of Pliny and Solinus; whilst the lost 
"Prata" of Suetonius seems to have inspired the general plan of the "Etymologiae", as well 
as many of its details. 
 
Similar in its general character to the "Etymologiae" is a work entitled "Libri duo differentiarum". 
The two books of which it is composed are entitled respectively, "De differentiis verborum" and 
"De differentiis rerum". The former is a dictionary of synonyms, treating of the differences of words 
with considerable erudition, and not a little ingenuity; the latter an exposition of theological and ascetical 
ideas, dealing in particular with the, Trinity and with the Divine and human nature of Christ. It suggests, 
and probably was inspired by, a similar work of Cato's, It is supplementary to the first two books of the 
"Etymologiae". The "Synonyma", or, as it is sometimes called on account of its peculiar 
treatment, "Liber lamentationum", is in a manner illustrative of the first book of the 
"Differentiae". It is cast in the form of a dialogue between Man and Reason. The general burden of 
the dialogue is that Man mourns the condition to which he has been reduced through sin, and Reason comforts 
him with the knowledge of how he may still realize eternal happiness. The second part of this work consists 
of a dissertation on vice and virtue. The "De natura rerum" a manual of elementary physics, was 
composed at the request of King Sisebut, to whom it is dedicated. It treats of astronomy, geography, and 
miscellanea. It is one of Isidore's best known books and enjoyed a wide popularity during the Middle Ages. 
The authenticity of "De ordine creaturarum" has been questioned by some critics, though apparently 
without good reason. Arevalo unhesitatingly attributes it to Isidore. It deals with various spiritual and 
physical questions, such as the Trinity, the consequences of sin, eternity, the ocean, the heavens, 
and the celestial bodies. 
 
The subjects of history and biography are represented by three important works. Of these the first, 
"Chronicon", is a universal chronicle. In its preface Isidore acknowledges, his indebtedness 
to Julius Africanus; to St. Jerome's rendering of Eusebius; and to Victor of 
Tunnuna. The "Historia de regibus Gothorum, Wandalorum, et Suevorum" concerns itself chiefly 
with the Gothic kings whose conquests and government deeply influenced the civilization of Spain. 
The history of the Vandals and the Suevi is treated in two short appendixes. This work is regarded as 
the chief authority on Gothic history in the West. It contains the interesting statement that the Goths 
descended from Gog and Magog. Like the other Historical writings of Isidore, it is largely based on 
earlier works of history, of which it is a compendium- It has come down to us in two recensions, one of 
which ends at the death of Sisebut (621), and the other continues to the fifth year of the reign of 
Swintila, his successor. "De viris illustribus" is a work of Christian biography and constitutes a most 
interesting chapter in the literature of patrology. To the number of illustrious writers mentioned 
therein Braulio added the size of Isidore himself. A short appendix containing a list of Spanish 
theologians was added by Braulio's disciple, Ildephonsus of Toledo. It is the continuation of the work 
of Gennadius, a Semipelagian priest of Marseilles, who wrote between 467 and 480. This work of Gennadius 
was in turn, but the continuation of the work of St. Jerome. 
 
The biography above was extracted from The Catholic Encyclopedia
 
So, how does Saint Isidore of Seville become the patron saint for the Internet? 
The Observation Service for Internet, who drew it's 
mission from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, researched the Internet and related 
technologies to select a patron saint that best reflects the concerns and ideals of computer designers, 
programmers and users. The saint chosen by the Observation Service for Internet was Saint Isidore. 
"The saint who wrote the well-known 'Etymologies' (a type of dictionary), gave his work a structure 
akin to that of the database. He began a system of thought known today as 'flashes;' it is very modern, 
notwithstanding the fact it was discovered in the sixth century. Saint Isidore accomplished his work 
with great coherence: it is complete and its features are complementary in themselves.