The Liber Pontificalis, written in Latin in Rome in the 530s, and re-edited before 546, recounts the founding and endowment of a basilica of *John the Baptist (S00020) in Albanum, close to Rome, by the emperor Constantine (312-337).
E00407
Literary - Other
Liber Pontificalis
Liber Pontificalis 34.30
For the following passage it is impossible to reconstruct the text of the first edition.
Second edition
Hisdem temporibus fecit Augustus Constantinus basilicam in civitatem Albanense sancti Iohannis Baptistae, ubi posuit hoc:
patenam argenteam, pens. lib. XXX;
scyphum argenteum deauratum, pens. lib. XII;
calices argenteos ministeriales X, pens. sing. lib. III;
amas argenteas II, pens. sing. lib. III;
amas argenteas II, pens. sing. lib. XX.
There follows a list of the endowments of the basilica of John the Baptist.
'30. Then the emperor Constantine built in the city of Albanum the basilica of St John the Baptist, where he placed the following:
a silver paten weighing 30 lb;
a silver-gilt scyphus weighing 12 lb;
10 silver service chalices each weighing 3 lb;
2 silver amae each weighing 20 lb.'
There follows a list of the endowments of the basilica of John the Baptist.
Text: Duchesne 1886, 184-185. Translation: Davis 2010, 24, lightly modified. Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Construction of cult buildings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesMonarchs and their family
Cult Related ObjectsChalices, censers and other liturgical vessels
Precious material objects
Source
The Liber Pontificalis consists of a series of short lives of popes. The preface attributes it to pope Damasus (366-384), but this attribution is obviously false. According to Louis Duchesne, the first modern editor of the Liber Pontificalis, the original series of lives was written in Rome by an anonymous author, probably a member of the lesser clergy, in the 530s, and contained the lives from *Peter the Apostle to Felix IV (ob. 530). Shortly after, before 546, the text was re-edited by another anonymous author and only this edition survives. The first edition, however, can be reconstituted on the basis of its two epitomes (and the second edition). The second edition started to be continued systematically from the time of pope Honorius (625–638). It should be noted that Theodor Mommsen dated both editions of the Liber Pontificalis to the 7th century, but his opinion is widely rejected and the commonly accepted dating is that of Duchesne.For the pre-Constantinian period (before 312), the credibility of the Liber Pontificalis is very low. The chronology is confused, and details concerning the personal lives, decisions, and ordinations of the bishops of Rome at best reflect what people in the 6th century trusted to be true, at worst are a pure invention of the author. The situation changes with the later lives. Already the information of 4th century papal foundations and offerings are generally trustworthy. The early 6th century evidence, based on the author's first hand knowledge is even better, though still imperfect.
Bibliography
Edition:Duchesne, L., Le Liber pontificalis. 2 vols (Paris: E. Thorin, 1886-1892). (With substantial introduction and commentary.)
Translation:
Davis, R., The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis) (Translated Texts for Historians 6; 3rd ed.; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2010).
Robert Wiśniewski
22/04/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00020 | John the Baptist | Iohannes Baptista | Certain |
|---|
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Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E00407 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00407