Turpin

Turpin (or Tilpin), a French prelate of the 8th century, of whose early history nothing definite is known, was a monk of St. Denis, and became bishop of Rheims probably in 753, after a long opposition by Milon. He was one of the twelve French bishops present in 769 at the council called at Rome by pope Stephen to condemn the antipope Constantine. About 786 Turpin founded a chapel dedicated to St. Denis, which afterwards became an abbacy. He died Sept. 2,800. He left a genuine letter to pope Adrian I, and a romantic Latin Chronicle of the wars of Charlemagne against the Saracens in Spain, the authenticity of which has been greatly doubted, although avouched by a declaration of pope Calixtus in 1122. The oldest MSS. of it date from the end of the 11th century, and the first writer who speaks of it is Raoul of Tortoire (1096-1145). The Latin text was published in 1584 by Schard, in his Germanicarum Rerum Chronographi, and French versions have appeared by Raguin (Paris, 1527, 4to; Lyons, 1583, 8vo, etc.), and lately by Ciampi (Florence, 1822, with a dissertation on the author) and Reiffenberg (Brussels, 1836). See Gascon Paris, De Pseudo Turpino (Paris, 1865).