The chief ancient and medieval authorities for the life and times of Leo the Great are such works as Prosper’s, and Idatius’ Chronicles, Iornandes de rebus Geticis, Anastasius Bibliothecarius Historia de vitis Romanorum Pontificum (9th cent.), the Historia Miscella (10th cent.), &c.
Among lives may be mentioned the following:—(1) La vie et religion de deux bons papes Léon premier et Gregoire premier par Pierre Du Moulin (the younger: a protestant theologian), Sedan, 1650. 12mo. (2) Quesnel’s valuable Dissertatio de vita et rebus gestis S. Leonis Magni, originally included in his edition of Leo and re-printed by Migne in Vol. ii. of his edition with the Ballerinii’s annotations and critical remarks, Paris, 1675, Lyons, 1700. (3) Histoire du Pontificat de Saint Léon le Grand par Monsr. L. Maimbourg La Haye, 1687. (4) The Bollandists’ Life by Canisius (Acta Sanctorum), April, vol. ii. pp. 14–22. (5) Alphonsi Ciaconii Vitæ Pontificum (Tom. 1, pp. 303–314), Rome, 1677, 4to. (6) Le Nain de Tillemont, Memoires pour servir à l’histoire Ecclesiastique (vol. xv. pp. 414–832, 885–934), Paris, 1711. (7) p. xv Breve Descrizione della vita di S. Leone Primo di Gabrielle Bertazzolo: Mantova, 1727. (8) Memoire istoriche di Sa. Leone Papa da Teofilo Pacifico: Brescia, 1791, 8vo. (9) Du Pin, L. E., History of Ecc. writers (Eng Edn. vol. 1, pp. 464–480), Dublin, 1722. (10) C. Oudinus, de Scriptoribus Ecclesiæ (vol. 1, pp. 1271–5), Leipzig, 1722. (11) Wilhelm Amadeus Arendt (Roman Catholic), Leo der Grosse und seine Zeit, Mainz, 1835, 8vo. (12) Eduard Perthel, Papst Leo’s I. Leben und Lehren, Jena, 1843, 8vo. (a counterblast to No. 11, and no less exaggerated and prejudiced in statement). (13) A. de Saint-Chron, Histoire du pontificat de Saint Léon le Grand, Paris, 1846. (14) F. Böhringer, die Kirche Xti und ihre Zeugen (vol. 1 part 4, pp. 170–309), Zürich, 1845. (15) Charles Gore’s Life of Leo the Great (S.P.C.K.); also his article in Smith’s Dict. of Christian Biogr. (16) The article in Herzog’s Real-Encyklopädie of which a condensed English edition was edited by Dr. Philip Schaff at New York in 1883. Other more general accounts of his times will be found in (1) l’abbé Fleury, Histoire du Xtianisme (vol. ii. pp. 384–480), Paris, 1836. (2) Bright’s History of the Church from 313–451 (chaps. xiv., xv.), Oxford and London, 1860. (3) Milman’s Latin Christianity (Book ii. chap. 4), London, 1864. (4) R. J. Rohrbacher’s Histoire Universelle de l’Eglise catholique (15th edn., vol. 4, pp. 461–575), Paris, 1868. A short account of Leo’s writings is given in Alzog’s Grundriss der Patrologie, § 78, pp.368–375: a most exhaustive one in Ceillier’s Histoire générale des Auteurs sacrés (new edition) (vol. x., pp. 169–276), 1858–1869. Bähr’s Geschichte der Römischer Literatur-Supplement Band II. Abtheilung (pp. 354–362), im Abendland, vol. 1, p. 448, may also be consulted; and Ebert’s Allgemeine Geschichte der Literatur des Mittelalters.