The Church Fathers · c. 380–385; recovered at Würzburg in 1885
The Würzburg Tractates
Priscillian of Ávila · c. 340 – 385
What it is
Eleven pieces by a Spanish ascetic accused of Manichaeism and magic: a defence answering the charges point by point, an argument that apocryphal books may be read with discernment rather than banned outright, and instruction on fasting and scripture for a lay movement of men and women studying together.
Why it lasted
Priscillian was beheaded at Trier in 385, the first Christian executed by a Christian state for heresy — a precedent Ambrose and Martin of Tours both protested. His own words were lost until 1885, and read nothing like what he was killed for.
Scripture it works from
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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