The Roman Martyrs: Introduction, Translations, and Commentary

751 Pages·2018·4.15 MB·English

by  Michael Lapidge

OXFORD EARLY CHRISTIAN STUDIES
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The Roman Martyrs
Introduction, Translations, and Commentary
MICHAEL LAPIDGE
1
3
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Preface
The present volume contains translations of and commentaries on forty
passiones of Roman martyrs, composed between roughly AD 400 and AD 700;
it does not contain the Latin texts of the passiones in question. There are
reasonswhy,atthisstageofourresearch,itwouldnotbepossibletoprovide
the Latin texts alongside the English translations: of the forty passiones, only
one is available in anything resembling a critical edition; the remainder
exist mostly in fifteenth-, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century editions (see
pp. 40–1). Because most of these early editions are not easily accessible, the
passioneshavebeenneglectedasaliterarygenre.Itismyviewthatannotated
translationsrepresentthefirststageinmakingthesetextsaccessibletoawider
scholarlypublic.
The passiones are works of fiction. The stories they relate concerning the
martyrdomsofRomanmartyrsarewhollyinvented,andareutterlyunreliable
as historical evidence. Nevertheless, the passiones, almost incidentally, cast
fascinating light on many aspects of late antique Rome—its topography, ad-
ministration, social hierarchy, and legal machinery. Above all, they help to
illuminatethemanyRomantitulus-churchesandcemeterieswhichduringthe
centuries in question (fifth to seventh) began to attract increasingly large
numbers of pilgrims and visitors. To some extent, the passiones are a literary
responsetothisupsurgeinpilgrimactivity.Inanycase,theseaspectsofRoman
lifecan,Ithink,bestudiedaswellintranslationasintheoriginalLatintexts.
MyinterestinthesepassionesbeganwhenIwasteachingattheUniversity
of Notre Dame (1999–2004), where the Hesburgh Library has exceptionally
rich holdings in patristic literature and palaeo-Christian archaeology, and
where I had the privilege of teaching a group of enthusiastic young Latinists
inannualseminarsonthepassionesoftheRomanmartyrs.Myfirstdebtisto
thoseNotreDamestudents,particularlyLeslieLockett,whoasmydesignated
researchassistantassembledahugecollectionofphotocopiesofrelevanttexts
andstudies,andPaulPatterson,whokey-boardedthetextsofthepassionesso
astoconstituteamachine-readabledatabase.SincereturningtotheUK,Ihave
beenabletodrawontheadviceofJimAdamsandMichaelReeveinmattersof
Late Latin philology. I owe a great debt to the Bollandists, who for over four
centuries have been studying and editing these texts, and whose publications
are the indispensable foundation for all work in the field of Late Latin
hagiography.Thepresent-dayBollandists,inparticulartheirDirector,Robert
GoddingS.J.,verykindlyplacedtheresourcesoftheBollandists’greatlibrary
atmydisposal,evenonoccasionacquiringbooksformypersonaluse.
vi Preface
GillianClarkverykindlyofferedawarmwelcometothisbookintheseries
OxfordEarlyChristianStudies,ofwhichsheisageneraleditor.Iamespecially
grateful to Mark Humphries, who, as the OUP’s referee, produced a meticu-
lously detailed report which enabled me to correct numerous errors, and to
improvetheargumentincountlessways.Althoughheactedanonymouslyas
the OUP’s referee, he kindly waived his anonymity so that we were able to
discussmanyoftheissueshehadraised;andIwouldliketoaddthatMarkhas
beenanenthusiasticsupporterofthisprojectovermanyyears:indeed,itwas
hisenthusiasmwhichpromptedmetodrawtogetherthemanyyears’research
andputtheworkintoitsfinalform.Finally,KarenRaith,thedesk-editorfor
religion at the OUP, has been warmly supportive and splendidly efficient in
every way. So, too, the OUP’s copy-editor, Louise Larchbourne, who worked
meticulously through the typescript and helped to clarify the translations at
manypoints,andtoidentifyerrorswhichIhadoverlooked.
MichaelLapidge
15February2017
Contents
Abbreviations xi
Maps xv
1. Theintra-urbanchurchesdedicatedtoRomanmartyrs xv
2. SuburbancemeterieshousingshrinestoRomanmartyrs xvi
Introduction 1
WhoweretheRomanmartyrs? 2
MartyrdomatRome:thehistoricalcontext 7
Literaryrepresentationsofmartyrdom:the‘epicpassio’ 18
DatingtheLatintexts 35
TheLatintexts 39
Thetranslations 42
TEXTS AND COMMENTARIES
I. StFelicitasandHerSevenSons 45
II. SS.Anastasia,Chrysogonus,andCompanions 54
III. StSebastianandCompanions 88
IV. StCaeciliaandCompanions 138
V. PopeClement 165
VI. SS.Sixtus,Laurence,andHippolytus(PassioVetus) 180
VII. PopeCornelius 195
VIII. SS.NereusandAchilleusandCompanions 201
IX. SS.Eugenia,Protus,andHyacinthus 228
X. SS.ChrysanthusandDaria 250
XI. StSusanna 270
XII. PopeCallistus 287
XIII. StEusebiusthePriest 297
XIV. PopeFelixII 303
XV. SS.PudentianaandPraxedis 307
viii Contents
XVI. SS.PolychroniusandParmenius,AbdonandSennes,
PopeSixtusII,Laurence,andHippolytus 316
XVII. SS.AgnesandEmerentiana 348
XVIII. SS.Gallicanus,John,andPaul 363
XIX. SS.ProcessusandMartinianus 381
XX. PopeMarcellusandCompanions 390
XXI. SS.PrimusandFelicianus 411
XXII. SS.Marius,Martha,Audifax,andAbacuc 420
XXIII. SS.MarcellinusandPeter 436
XXIV. TheFourCrownedMartyrs 448
XXV. StPancratius 468
XXVI. PopeStephenI 477
XXVII. SS.GordianusandEpimachus 494
XXVIII. TheGreekMartyrs 500
XXIX. SS.EusebiusandPontianus 517
XXX. PopeUrban 526
XXXI. SS.RufinaandSecunda 551
XXXII. SS.Alexander,Eventius,andTheodulus 557
XXXIII. SS.CalogerusandParthenius 573
XXXIV. SS.SerapiaandSabina 582
XXXV. SS.FelixandAdauctus 593
XXXVI. SS.Simplicius,Faustinus,andBeatrix 598
XXXVII. StSymphorosaandHerSevenSons 603
XXXVIII. StPigmenius 608
XXXIX. StGetulius 617
XL. StBasilides 625
AppendixI: TheDepositiomartyrum(AD 354) 633
AppendixII: TheEpigrammataofDamasus 637
AppendixIII: RomanMartyrsintheMartyrologiumHieronymianum 649
Contents ix
AppendixIV: Seventh-centuryPilgrimItinerariestoRoman
ChurchesandCemeteries 659
AppendixV: TheCommemorationofRomanMartyrsinEarly
RomanLiturgicalBooks 667
Glossary 675
Bibliography 681
IndexofNames 705
IndexofPlaces 713
GeneralIndex 716