Jacob of Serugh (451–521)
Born 451 CE, died 521 CE.
Jacob of Serugh (Syriac: ܝܥܩܘܒ ܕܣܪܘܓ, romanized: Yaʿquḇ daSruḡ, Classical Syriac pronunciation: [ˌjaˤˈquβ das'ruɣ]; Latin: Iacobus Sarugiensis; c. 452–521), also called Jacob of Sarug or Mar Jacob (Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: Mār Yaʿquḇ), was one of the foremost poets and theologians of the Syriac Christian tradition and authors of Syriac literature, second only to Ephrem the Syrian and equal to Narsai. He lived most of his life as an ecclesiastical official in Suruç, in modern-day Turkey. He became a bishop (of Batnan) near the end of his life in 519. He was a Miaphysite (Oriental Orthodox Non-Chalcedonian Christianity), albeit moderate compared to his contemporaries. Jacob is best known for the homilies he wrote in the late fifth and early sixth centuries. He wrote in prose, as well as in 12-syllable (dodecasyllabic) meter, which he invented, and he was known for his eloquence. According to Jacob of Edessa, he composed 763 works during his lifetime. Around 400 survive, and over 200 of those have been published. The longest is about 1,400 verses. By the time of his death, he had a great reputation.
Text from the Wikipedia article Jacob_of_Serugh, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.