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Gallo-Roman aristocrat from Lyon, born about ad 430, son-in-law of the emperor Avitus, and holder of official posts in Rome. Elected bishop of Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne in 469, he coordinated resistance to the Visigoths. After the annexation of the Auvergne by the Goths in 475, Sidonius was imprisoned, but in 476 was restored to his bishopric. His surviving works include poems and letters which throw light on society in 5th-century Gaul. He died ad 479.
