Record | The Cult of Saints

The Latin Martyrdom of *Aurea, Censurinus and Companions (martyrs of Ostia and Portus, S00898) reworks an earlier martyrdom account of these saints (E06531). Written presumably in Ostia, probably in the late 8th or first half of the 9th c.

Evidence ID

E03244

Type of Evidence

Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom

Martyrdom of Aurea, Censurinus and Companions (BHL 808-809)

For a summary of this text, which is a reworking of an earlier martyrdom account, see E06531.

Non Liturgical Activity

Composing and translating saint-related texts

Source

The Martyrdom (BHL 808-809) is preserved in 13 manuscripts according to the database Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina Manuscripta (bhlms.fltr.ucl.ac.be), the earliest being from the late 9th or early 10th century: Rome, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Farf. 29 (alias 341), f. 261r-267v.

Discussion

According to Lanéry, the Martyrdom is a reworking centred on Aurea of an earlier martyrdom account about Censurinus and his companions (BHL 1722, see E06531), perhaps composed in the 7th or 8th century. Thus, despite being dated to the 5th or 6th century in repertories (Clavis Patrum Latinorum 2179; Gryson, R., Répertoire général des auteurs ecclésiastiques Latins de l’Antiquité et du Haut moyen âge, 2 vols. (Freiburg, 2007), I, 58), our Martyrdom would rather have been composed in the 9th century, in the wake of restorations of the basilica dedicated to Aurea in Ostia. It cannot date much later than the mid 9th century, since it is included in a manuscript from the late 9th or early 10th century.

Bibliography

Edition (BHL 808-809):
Acta Sanctorum, Aug. IV, 757-761.

Further reading:
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 317-318.

Vocino, G., “L’Agiografia dell’Italia centrale (750-950),” in: Goullet, M. (ed.), Hagiographies. Histoire internationale de la littérature hagiographique latine et vernaculaire en Occident des origines à 1550, vol. VII (Turnhout, 2017), 95-268 at 211-212.

Record Created By

Matthieu Pignot

Date of Entry

18/09/2018

Related Saint Records

ID	Name	Name in Source	Identity
S00898	Aurea and Companions, martyrs of Ostia and Portus	Aurea, Censurinus, Cyriacus, Asterius, Hippolytus/Nonnus	Certain

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Matthieu Pignot, Cult of Saints, E03244 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E03244

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