His largely legendary life is known through a manuscript of the 10th century, itself based on a ninth-century text. The legendary life was written by a
monk named Deodatus, who added details according to the standard passiones of the time, mixing factual information with wonderful stories. The garbling of dates and traditions thus ensures that it is impossible to date the time of Taurinus' episcopacy, although scholars usually place it at the beginning of the fourth or in the middle of the fifth century. Taurinus was born in Rome to Tarquinius, a heathen, and Eustycia (Eusticie, Euticia), a devout Christian. An
angel appeared to Eustycia to announce that her son would have a great destiny. He was baptized by
Pope Clement I;
Denis the Areopagite (misidentified with
Denis, first
bishop of Paris), who was considered one of the first disciples of
Paul, was his godfather. Thus, the legend assured that there was an "apostolic succession" from Paul directly to the episcopate of Évreux. Taurinus became bishop of Evreux around 385. His legend states that Taurinus faced a
demon at Évreux that took three shapes: that of a
lion, a
bear and a
buffalo. These metamorphoses either represented various
deadly sins, or represented the official
Roman religion (lion), the worship of
Diana (bear), and the local agrarian-based religions (the buffalo). According to
Orderic Vitalis in his
Historia Ecclesiastica, Taurinus expelled the demon from the local temple of Diana, and when it obeyed his order to break its own idols it was not immediately cast into
the Pit, but was instead punished by remaining in the place where it had ruled while seeing the people it had tormented
saved. He reported that it was known by the local people as
Gobelinus, and still haunted Évreux, appearing in various shapes, but hurt no-one. Taurinus then converted the local pagan temple into a church, dedicating it to the
Virgin Mary. Two priests of the goddess, Cambise and Zara, had attempted to stop Taurinus from entering the temple, but they were immobilized after the bishop made the
sign of the cross. They then asked to be converted to Christianity. A number of miracles were associated with Taurinus. His legend states that he raised a girl, Euphrasia, from the dead after she died in a fire. After he had done so, there was no trace of burn marks on her. Taurinus’ miracle led to 120 converts. Taurinus also brought back to life Marinus, the son of the local
prefect, who had fallen into a hole and died from the impact. After a short prayer, Taurinus revived the young man. At once, Marinus requested baptism for himself and his entourage, and 1200 other people. After Taurinus' death,
Maximus of Evreux was sent by
Pope Damasus I to continue his predecessor's work. ==Veneration==