E01641
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Liber Pontificalis
Liber Pontificalis 77
Eugenius, natione Romanus, de regione prima Aventinense, clericus a cunabulis, ex patre Rufiniano, sedit ann. II mens. VIIII dies XXIIII. Benignus, mitis, mansuetus, omnibus affabilis et sanctitatis praeclarior. Rogam clero solitam tribuit et indigentibus elemosynam subministravit, ut etiam die transitus sui pauperibus vel clero seu familiae presbyteria in integro erogari praeceperit.
'Eugenius, born in Rome, from the 1st—the Aventine—region, a cleric from his cradle, son of Rufinianus, held the see 2 years 9 months 24 days. He was kind, mild, meek, courteous to all, and of remarkable holiness. He gave the customary stipend to the clergy and supplied alms to the needy, so that he ordered the full priestly allowances to be distributed to the poor, the clergy, and the household even on the day he passed away.'
....
Qui etiam sepultus est ad beatum Petrum apostolum sub die IIII non. iun.
'He was buried at the blessed Peter the apostle on 2 June.'
Text: Duchesne 1886, 341.
Translation: Davis 2010, 69, lightly modified.
Saint’s feast
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Non Liturgical ActivityBurial ad sanctos
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
The Liber Pontificalis consists of a series of very 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
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain | S00861 | Eugenius, bishop of Rome, ob. 657 | Eugenius | Certain |
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Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E01641 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01641