The Latin Martyrdom of *Gallicanus, Iohannes and Paulus (martyrs of Rome under Julian, S01244 and S00384) is divided into two parts, it first narrates the conversion of the general Gallicanus and his daughters Attica and Artemia, thanks respectively to the eunuchs Iohannes and Paulus and the emperor Constantine’s daughter, Constantia, who was healed from leprosy thanks to her devotion to *Agnes (virgin and martyr of Rome, S00097); Gallicanus’ devotion to *Peter (the Apostle, S00036), his donations to the poor and to the Church, and building of two churches, one dedicated to *Laurence (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037) in Ostia, where he lives with *Hilarinus (martyr of Ostia, S01518); Gallicanus’ exile in Egypt under Julian and his martyrdom there; the martyrdom and burial of Hilarinus in Ostia. The second part narrates the martyrdom of the eunuch brothers *Iohannes and Paulus (S00384) and their burial in their own house, at the hands of Terentianus and his son, who later convert to Christianity and reveal the story of the saints’ martyrdom. An alternative version, written in the 6th c., adds the martyrdoms of *Crispus, Crispinianus and Benedicta (martyrs of Rome, S01526 and S01516), and of *Terentianus and his son (martyrs of Rome, S01517), all buried by the priests Iohannes and Pimenius in Iohannes and Paulus’ house; it ends with the building of a church in the saints’ house by the senator Vizantius and his son Pammachius. Written presumably in Rome, in the 5th or 6th c.
E02520
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom
Martyrdom of Gallicanus, Iohannes and Paulus (BHL 3236 + 3238)
Summary:
BHL 3236
While Constantine is emperor, Gallicanus, general (dux) of the Roman army, conquers the Persians and demands the hand of Constantia, the emperor’s daughter and a sacred virgin. He is a powerful general, and the Scythians (gens scythica) are occupying Dacia and Thracia; thus Constantine is pressed to accept. This saddens the emperor, as he knows that Constantia is ready to die rather than abandon virginity. Constantia suggests to Constantine that he should offer her to Gallicanus if he defeats the Scythians, and, so that they might know each other better before the wedding, to ask Gallicanus’ two virgin daughters by his first wife to be sent to her, and her two eunuchs, the brothers Johannes and Paulus, who are praepositus and primicerius, to be sent to Gallicanus.
The two virgins are named Attica and Artemia and are most learned in the liberal arts. When they are brought to Constantia, she prays to the Lord, recalling how she has been cured from leprosy thanks to the martyr Agnes, and providing a lengthy description of the Incarnation and the nature of God. She asks the Lord to open the ears of Gallicanus’ daughters so that they may convert and embrace chastity, together with Gallicanus. We know this prayer because it was put into writing by her.
The author declares that without dwelling on how Attica and Artemia were converted to God, he will narrate Gallicanus’ martyrdom. Gallicanus returns victorious to Rome but before being received by Constantine, Constantius and Constans, he stops at the tomb of the apostle Peter (sacra Petri apostoli limina). Constantine wonders why Gallicanus has stopped worshipping pagan gods and on return had gone straight to the Apostle. Gallicanus tells him about the siege in Philippolis in Thrace, when his men were outnumbered. Sacrifices to pagan gods, in particular Mars, were performed without success, and all his tribunes and soldiers surrendered to the enemy. As he was about to flee, Paulus and Iohannes told him to make a vow to God: promising to become a Christian, if he escaped capture. Immediately after making the vow, a young and tall man appeared to him, bearing a cross on his shoulder and asking him to follow him. As he did so, soldiers appeared to him too, comforting him in attacking the enemy and reaching the king of the Scythians named Bardan, who begged for forgiveness. Without shedding blood, he took him and his to sons captive, the whole of Thrace was freed, and the Scythians were subject to tribute (tributarii). He allowed tribunes who surrendered to be reintegrated into the army but only if they agreed to become Christians. He himself became Christian and embraced chastity: now he wishes to be at leisure to lead a religious life. Constantine embraces him and tells him about the consecration of his daughters as Christian virgins. Gallicanus enters the palace with the emperor and meets Helena with her daughter Constantia, and his own daughters; they all weep joyfully, and Gallicanus stays in the palace as almost the son-in-law of the emperors.
Though Gallicanus wants to abandon public life, he is still asked to accept the consulship. He frees 5000 slaves and donates estates and houses to them. He orders all his possessions to be given to the poor, except what is due to his daughters. He then stays in the city of Ostia and associates with a man named Hilarinus. His small dwelling is enlarged to welcome pilgrims, and he is joined by many of the slaves that he had freed. His reputation reaches the whole world, many come from the East and the West to see the man, ex-patrician and consul and close friend of the emperors, who now washes feet, provides food and takes care of weary travellers. He builds the first church of Ostia and enriches the clerical offices (officia clericorum). He has a vision of saint Laurence exhorting him to build a church (ecclesia) in his honour at the gate which is now called Laurentia. He does not accept the request to become bishop himself, but he takes care that one is elected. He also expels demons from the possessed by simply looking at them.
When Julian becomes emperor he promulgates a law prohibiting Christians from owning property. Gallicanus possesses an estate (pagus) with four houses (casae) in Ostia, which yield rents (pensiones) employed to take care of pilgrims. However, anyone who tries to seize them is possessed by a devil, and any collector of taxes aiming to seize the rent becomes a leper. The demons are consulted and say that if Gallicanus is not compelled to sacrifice, the collectors of taxes will not avoid such danger. Nobody dares enforce this; however Julian asks Gallicanus to sacrifice to the gods or be expelled from Italy. Gallicanus leaves for Alexandria and joins the confessors of Christ there for a year, before leaving for the desert as an ascetic (heremus). There, the comes Raucianus tries to compel him to sacrifice. As he refuses, he is killed, his heart being pierced by the sword, and he becomes a martyr of Christ. A basilica is built in his name where miracles abound. Hilarinus, the man of God (vir Dei) who received Gallicanus in Ostia, is also ordered to sacrifice, refuses, is beaten, and dies. His body is buried by Christians in Ostia.
BHL 3238
Julian seizes the wealth and possessions of Christians on the grounds that Christ in the Gospel said that anyone who wants to become his disciple has to abandon all his possessions. Julian hears that Paulus and Iohannes take care of crowds of Christian poor with the wealth that the virgin of Christ Constantia has left them. He orders them to be brought to him. In a speech, they recall the times of the emperors Constantine, Constantius and Constans and their Christian devotion. They reject Julian because he has abandoned Christianity; they are not false (falsi) but true (veri) Christians. Julian tells them that he once was a cleric and could have reached the top of the church hierarchy, but preferred to make war, offer sacrifices to the gods and reach the top of the imperial hierarchy. He underlines that they belong to the palace and cannot leave him; he cannot accept that they despise him. Paulus and Iohannes reply that they put no one before him but the Lord, and they do not fear him but God. They refuse to be at his service. Julian then gives them ten days to change their minds, otherwise they will be forced to obey. They however ask him to act immediately, and Julian wonders whether they hope to become Christian martyrs. He tells them that after ten days either they will come and be received as friends or, if they don’t, they will be punished as public enemies.
Iohannes and Paulus spend the ten days giving alms. On the tenth day they are confined to their house, Terentianus is sent to them with soldiers at dinner time, finds them praying and asks them to adore a small golden statue of Jupiter that he has brought; if they refuse they will be killed by the sword. Iohannes and Paulus tell him that their only lord is God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Terentianus tries to compel them without success. At the third hour in the night he orders them to be beheaded and their bodies to be quickly buried, spreading the news that they have been sent into exile. No sign is left of their death.
Julian is killed during war in Persia, Jovian becomes a most Christian emperor, churches are opened. Demons are chased from the possessed in the house of Paulus and Iohannes and reveal their martyrdom (passio). The only son of Terentianus, who had beheaded them, comes at night to the house of the saints and a demon shouts through his mouth, asking to be burnt by Paulus and Iohannes. Terentianus comes and prostrates himself on the ground, shouting that he had followed the order of the emperor without knowing what he was doing. He gives his name [to enroll for baptism] and is baptised the following Easter. After his baptism, repenting, praying and weeping at the place where the bodies of the saints rest, his son is cleansed by the saints. Terentianus himself wrote about the martyrdom of the saints.
Text: Mombritius (1910), I, 569-572. Summary: M. Pignot.
Martyrdom of Iohannes and Paulus (BHL 3242)
Summary:
In §§ 1-2, with minor variants, the text follows the same narrative as BHL 3238 up to Julian’s decision to grant Iohannes and Paulus ten days to decide whether they accept to be at his service. The rest of the narrative, summarised below, is also mostly based on BHL 3238, but with a number of significant additions, here shown in square brackets.
§ 3:
[Iohannes and Paulus summon the priest Crispus, the cleric Crispinianus and the venerable woman Benedicta and tell them what happened. They celebrate the Eucharist in Iohannes and Paulus’ house.]
Iohannes and Paulus spend the ten days giving alms, on the eleventh they are confined to their house.
[The priest Crispus hears this and comes to them with Crispinianus and Benedicta to comfort them, but they are not allowed to enter the house nor to see or speak to them.]
Terentianus is sent to them with soldiers at dinner time, finds them praying and asks them to adore a small golden statue of Jupiter that he has brought; if they refuse they will be killed by the sword. Iohannes and Paulus tell him that their only lord is God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
§ 4:
Terentianus tries to compel them without success. At the third hour in the night he orders them to be beheaded and their bodies to be quickly buried, spreading the news that they have been sent into exile. No sign is left of their death.
[The priest Crispus, with Crispinianus and Benedicta, pray to obtain a sign about the martyrs. This is granted. Then Julian orders them to be arrested and beheaded. Their bodies are stolen by the priests Iohannes and Pimenius, and the vir illustris Flavianus, former prefect of the city, and buried in the house of Iohannes and Paulus, not far from these earlier martyrs.]
§ 5:
The only son of Terentianus, the man who had beheaded them, comes to the house of the saints and a demon shouts through his mouth, asking to be burnt by Paulus and Iohannes. Terentianus comes and prostrates himself on the ground, shouting that he had followed the order of the emperor without knowing what he was doing. He gives his name [to enroll for baptism] and is baptised the following Easter. After his baptism, repenting, praying and weeping at the place where the bodies of the saints rest, his son is healed.
§ 6:
The martyrdom of the saints was written by the same Terentianus.
[A few days later, Terentianus is beheaded with his son by Julian, their bodies stolen by the priests Iohannes and Pimenius and buried in the same house of Iohannes and Paulus.]
Julian is killed during war in Persia, Jovian becomes emperor; he is most Christian and a friend of Iohannes and Paulus. Churches are opened.
[Jovian summons the senator Vizantius, tells him about Crispus, Crispinianus and Benedicta’s death and burial in the house of Iohannes and Paulus, and asks him to take care of the bodies of Iohannes and Paulus. Vizantius comes with his son Pammachius, finds the bodies thanks God and tells the news to Jovinian, who thanks God and asks Vizantius to build a church in the house of the saints. Vizantius starts building it and demons start to tell about their martyrdom.]
Text: Acta Sanctorum, Iun., V, 159-160.
Summary: M. Pignot.
Eucharist associated with cult
Other liturgical acts and ceremonies
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Burial site of a saint - unspecified
Place associated with saint's life
Place of martyrdom of a saint
Cult building - secondary installation (fountain, pilgrims’ hostel)
Places Named after SaintGates, bridges and roads
Rejection, Condemnation, SceptisismAcceptance/rejection of saints from other religious groupings
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Saint as patron - of an individual
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Vow
Distribution of alms
Pilgrimage
Composing and translating saint-related texts
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
MiraclesMiracle during lifetime
Miracle after death
Miracles experienced by the saint
Punishing miracle
Miracles causing conversion
Healing diseases and disabilities
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
Miraculous interventions in war
Exorcism
Saint aiding or preventing the construction of a cult building
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Construction of cult building to contain relics
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
Ecclesiastics – unspecified
Pagans
Foreigners (including Barbarians)
Relatives of the saint
Monarchs and their family
Aristocrats
Soldiers
Torturers/Executioners
Officials
Crowds
Demons
Source
Epic martyrdomsThe Martyrdom of Gallicanus, Iohannes and Paulus is an anonymous literary account of martyrdom written long after the great persecutions of Christians that provide the background of the narrative. It is part of a widely spread literary genre, that scholars often designate as "epic" Martyrdoms (or Passiones), to be distinguished from earlier, short and more plausible accounts, apparently based on the genuine transcripts of the judicial proceedings against the martyrs.
These texts narrate the martyrdom of local saints, either to promote a new cult or to give further impulse to existing devotion. They follow widespread stereotypes mirroring the early authentic trials of martyrs, but with a much greater degree of detail and in a novel-like style. Thus they narrate how the protagonists are repeatedly questioned and tortured under the order of officials or monarchs, because they refuse to sacrifice to pagan gods but profess the Christian faith. They frequently refer to miracles performed by the martyrs and recreate dialogues between the protagonists. The narrative generally ends with the death of the martyrs (often by beheading) and their burial. These texts are literary creations bearing a degree of freedom in the narration of supposedly historical events, often displaying clear signs of anachronism. For these reasons, they have been generally dismissed as historical evidence and often remain little known. However, since most certainly date from within the period circa 400-800, often providing unique references to cult, they are an essential source to shed new light on the rise of the cult of saints.
The Martyrdom of Gallicanus, Iohannes and Paulus
The earliest version of the Martyrdom is BHL 3236 (about Gallicanus) + 3238 (about Iohannes and Paulus), published by Mombritius. Although there are a number of variant versions recorded in BHL, particularly due to the separation in manuscripts of the first part about Gallicanus and the second about Iohannes and Paulus (BHL 3236-3240, 3242d-e, see Lanéry 2010, 208 for details), it is generally agreed that both parts were originally composed as a single text. The second part about Iohannes and Paulus was later revised and expanded, already during Late Antiquity. While De’Cavalieri hypothesised that there would have been three successive revisions of the earlier text, Lanéry suggests however that all the revisions were done at once during Late Antiquity to produce an expanded version, BHL 3242, which is already attested in a 6th or 7th c. manuscript from Italy: St Petersburg, National Library of Russia, lat. Q.v.1.5, f. 11r-18v (a fragment once part of Paris, BNF, lat. 12634). BHL 3241 is slightly revised version of BHL 3242 (not considered here), which was also translated into Greek (BHG 2191).
There are more than 160 manuscripts of the earliest version BHL 3236 + 3238 and its variants, see the database Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina Manuscripta (bhlms.fltr.ucl.ac.be) and an additional list, with corrections, in Lanéry 2010, 209-210, n. 440. The earliest are from the 9th century: Brussels, Bibliothèque des Bollandistes, 14, f. 28r-29v (9th-10th c.); Cividale, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, 22, f. 99r-101v; Intra, Archivio Capitolare, 12, f. 58r-63r; Paris, BNF, lat. 10861, f. 64v-68v; St Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, 563, p. 236-248; Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek, HB XIV.13, f. 223r-227r; Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. lat. 516, f. 121r-123r; Vienna, ÖNB, lat. 371, f. 110r-111r.
The revised version, BHL 3242 is much less diffused and attested only in a few manuscripts, see the database Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina Manuscripta (bhlms.ftlr.ucl.ac.be) which lists 21 manuscripts (omitting the earliest), and Lanéry (2010), 210 who provides significant corrections, noting that 17 of the manuscripts listed in the database in fact contain the early version (BHL 3238-3239). The earliest manuscript is from the 6th-7th centuries: St Petersburg, National Library of Russia, lat. Q.v.1.5, f. 11r-18v (originally part of Paris, BNF, lat. 12634).
Discussion
The earliest version, presumably written in Rome for the titulus Byzantis or titulus Pammachii on the Caelian hill, also later named after the saints Iohannes and Paulus, as attested in the 6th century and later (S00384), presents the two saints as eunuch martyrs, although the titulus was probably initially dedicated to the Apostle Paul, and John, either the Apostle or the Baptist. The fact that the first part of the narrative focuses on an otherwise unknown Gallicanus (perhaps the consul Ovinius Gallicanus or the consul Flavius Gallicanus) has been explained by scholars by relating it to a donor mentioned in the Liber Pontificalis (E00406). It has been also emphasised that likely models for Iohannes and Paulus in our Martyrdom could have been the martyrs Iuventinus and Maximinus, whose story is told by John Chrysostom and Theodoret (see S00053). The later expanded version of the second part about Iohannes and Paulus, omitting the first part about Gallicanus, was also presumably produced in Rome, to provide more details about the origins of the titulus, explaining that a church was built under the emperor Jovian by the senator Vizantius and his son Pammachius, also narrating the martyrdoms of Crispus, Crispinianus and Benedicta (apparently borrowed and adapted from the characters mentioned in Pigmenius' martyrdom, see E02503) and of the converted executioners Terentianus and his son, all buried in Iohannes and Paulus’ house by the priests Iohannes and Pimenius (characters also borrowed from E02503). The first version explains that although the emperor Julian attempted to hide information about the burial place of the saints, it was revealed by Terentianus’ son who was possessed by a demon, while the martyrdom account would have then been written by Terentianus. The expanded version acknowledges this but further adds that after Terentianus’ martyrdom, when Vizantius built the church, information about the martyrs was revealed by demons. For an analysis of this revised version, its peculiar features and shift of perspective, see Leyser. For more details on the historical inaccuracy and link to local cult of the Martyrdom see Lapidge.Attested in manuscripts since the 9th century and used by Bede (E005575) and Ado in their martyrologies, the earliest version of the Martyrdom was already in circulation by the 7th century at the latest, since the revised version of it is attested in a 6th or 7th c. manuscript. Thus the earliest version is generally dated to the 5th or 6th century (Gryson, R., Répertoire général des auteurs ecclésiastiques Latins de l’Antiquité et du Haut moyen âge, 2 vols. (Freiburg, 2007), I, 67). Although it remains uncertain in which edition of the Liber Pontificalis the donations of Gallicanus were mentioned, if the first version of the Martyrdom indeed has taken inspiration from the Liber, it should have been composed after 514 at the earliest, and perhaps after around 550 (the dates of the first and second editions of the Liber). Summarising earlier hypotheses, Lanéry suggests that our Martyrdom has borrowed from the Martyrdom of Agnes, in particular for its presentation of Constantia as a consecrated virgin (E02475), which Lanéry dates to Pope Symmachus (498-514), and then have been borrowed by the Martyrdom of Pigmenius, Bibiana and Companions (E02503), which in turn inspired the revised version of our Martyrdom for its addition of a number of characters. For this reason, Lanéry argues that the first version of our Martyrdom may be dated to the first half of the 6th century rather than later. The writing of the earliest version and then of the revised version, may broadly coincide with the period in the course of the 6th century when the titulus Pammachii took the names of Iohannes and Paulus.
Bibliography
Editions:BHL 3236 + 3238: Mombritius, B., Sanctuarium seu vitae sanctorum, 2 vols. with additions and corrections by A. Brunet and H. Quentin (Paris, 1910), I, 569-572. The original edition was published c. 1480.
BHL 3242: Acta Sanctorum, Iun., V, 159-160.
Translations:
BHL 3236 +3238: Lapidge, M., The Roman Martyrs: Introduction, Translations, and Commentary (Oxford, 2018), 368-377.
BHL 3242: Lapidge, M., The Roman Martyrs: Introduction, Translations, and Commentary (Oxford, 2018), 377-380.
Further reading:
Delehaye, H., Étude sur le légendier romain. Les saints de novembre et de décembre (Brussels, 1936), 124-143.
Leyser, C., “‘A church in the house of the saints: property and power in the Passion of John and Paul’,” in Cooper, K., and Hillner, J. (eds.), Religion, Dynasty and Patronage in Early Christian Rome, 300-900 (Cambridge, 2007), 140-162.
Lanéry, C., "Hagiographie d'Italie (300-550). I. Les Passions latines composées en Italie”, in Philippart, G. (ed.), Hagiographies. Histoire internationale de la littérature hagiographique latine et vernaculaire en Occident des origines à 1550, vol. V (Turnhout, 2010), 15-369, at 204-215 (with further bibliography).
Lapidge, M., The Roman Martyrs: Introduction, Translations, and Commentary (Oxford, 2018), 363-368.
Matthieu Pignot
28/7/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain | S00037 | Laurence/Laurentius, deacon and martyr of Rome | Laurentius | Certain | S00097 | Agnes, virgin and martyr of Rome | Agnes | Certain | S00384 | Iohannes and Paulus, brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian | Iohannes, Paulus | Certain | S01244 | Gallicanus, general and martyr of Rome, under the emperor Julian | Gallicanus | Certain | S01516 | Priscus/Crispus, Priscillianus/Crispinianus, and Benedicta, martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian | Crispus, Crispinianus, Benedicta | Uncertain | S01517 | Terentianus, executioner, and his son, both martyrs of Rome | Terentianus | Certain | S01518 | Hilarinus, martyr of Ostia | Hilarinus | Certain |
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