The 6th/7th c. recension of the Latin Martyrologium Hieronymianum, as transmitted in 8th c. manuscripts, records the feasts of a number of saints on 18 January.
Evidence ID
E04613
Type of Evidence
Liturgical texts - Calendars and martyrologies
Major author/Major anonymous work
Martyrologium Hieronymianum
The Martyrologium Hieronymianum is preserved in a number of early manuscripts which share much in common, but also diverge, making it impossible to reconstruct from them a single authoritative text. Below, we therefore offer separate English translations of each important early manuscript. By clicking 'Latin Text' (above), you can view these different versions in their original Latin, set side-by-side for ease of comparison, with also the editions and interpretations of the text suggested by the scholars Quentin and Delehaye. For a full discussion of the Martyrologium, click 'Discussion/Bibliography.'
The Martyrologium Hieronymianum commemorates on 18 January the following feasts:
The burial of *Mary, Mother of Christ, (S00033),
The Chair of *Peter, the Apostle (S00008),
Perhaps *Asterius, martyr of Ostia, (S01550),
*Thyrsos, martyr of Bithynia, and his companions Leukios and Kallinikos (S00612),
Possibly *Koskonios, Melanippos and *Zenon, martyrs of the province of Asia, (S00964),
Probably *Prisca, martyr of Rome, buried on the via Salaria (S00531),
*Other saints, on 18 January in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Africa, Nicaea, and Pontus (S02247).
BnF 10837:
'On the fifteenth day before the Kalends of February, the burial of Mary and [the feast of] the Chair of Peter in Rome.
In Pontus, city of Asia, [the feast of] Moseus, Ammonus.
In Micea, [the feast of] Asterus, Fortunatus, Zeno, Zosomus, Menelapus, Didalus, Valens, Tyrsus, Leucus, Gallinicus.
In Africa, [the feast of] Sconus, Successus, Valens, Telerianus, Paulus, Iulus, Lucus, Victorinus, Honoratus, Saturnina, Florida, and 13 others, Luricus.
And in Rome, on the via Salaria, [the feast of] Priscella.'
Bern 289:
'On the fifteenth day before the Kalends of February,
..............................................................................,
In Pontus, city of Asia, [the feast of] Moseus, Ammonus.
In Micea, [the feast of] Asterus, the confessor Leupardus, Furtunatus, Zeno, Zesimus, Menelampus, Didalus, Valens. And the passion of Tyrsus, with his companions Leucus, and Gallinicus.
In Africa, [the feast of] Sconisus, Successus, Valens, Thelerianus, Paulus, Maiulus, Lucus, Victurinus, Honoratus, Saturnina, Floreda, Luricus, and fourteen others.'
Weissenburg 81:
'On the fifteenth day before the Kalends of February, the dedication of the Chair of Peter the Apostle, in which Peter the Apostle first sat in Rome.
And in Pontus, city of Asia, [the feast of] Moseus, Ammonus.
In Micaea, [the feast of] Asterus, Furtunatus, Zeno, Zesimus, Menelampus, Didalus, Valens. And the passion of Tirsus with his companions Leucus and Gallinicus.
In Africa, [the feast of] Sconisus, Successus, Valens, Felerianus, Paulus, Marculus, Lucus, Victurinus, Honoratus, Saturnina, Floreda, Luricus, and 14 others.'
Quentin follows the manuscripts, primarily Weissenburg 81 and Bern 289.
Delehaye suggests several major emendations.
Translation and comments: M. Vukovic.
FestivalsBurial site of a saint - unspecified
Cult Related Objects
Saint’s feast
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - unspecified
Burial site of a saint - cemetery/catacomb
Cult Related ObjectsPrecious material objects
Source
The Martyrologium Hieronymianum ('Martyrology of Jerome'), is the oldest extensive martyrology of the Latin West, listing the feast days of the saints for the entire calendar year, generally also specifying where their feasts are held (which is normally their place of burial). It derives its name from prefatory letters copied at the start of the martyrology, which attribute the text to the Church Father, Jerome of Stridon (ob. 420). These letters are present in all the earliest manuscripts, but it is uncertain when they were first attached to the text. The Hieronymianum is the primary source of all later martyrologies of the Latin world.It is universally accepted that the attribution to Jerome, intended to give the text greater authority, is false, and the predominant scholarly view is that the first version of the martyrology was compiled in northern Italy during the 5th century (probably in Aquileia), though no manuscript of this Aquileian redaction has survived. The text was then evidently revised and added to in Gaul, probably in Burgundy, around AD 600. The north Italian origin of the text, and its Gallic revision, are deduced from the presence in the martyrology of saints from northern Italy, and then of saints from Frankish Gaul. This Gallic version (sometimes referred to as the recensio gallica), just like its north Italian predecessor, does not survive in its original form in any manuscript (Lifshitz 2006, 14).
At some point in the 7th century, and no later than the early 8th, the Martyrologium reached Northumbria (in northern Britain), where it underwent some further revision and additions (Lapidge 2005, 45-46). From Northumbria, the text returned to the continent in the 8th century, and it is here that the earliest surviving manuscript copies were made, as listed below (Lapidge 2005, 73).
Some of the sources that were used by the compilers of the Martyrologium in northern Italy, and subsequently in Gaul, can be identified: the so-called Chronography of 354, a mid-4th-century list from Rome of saintly commemorations, primarily of local martyrs (E010151 and E01052); a lost Greek martyrology compiled at Nicomedia around 360 (drawn basically from Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History and Martyrs of Palestine), which was also a prime source for the Syriac Martyrology of 411 (E00465); the African Calendar of Carthage of 505/535 (E02195 - E02205); and early local calendars from Aquileia and Auxerre (Lifshitz 2006, 20).
The four earliest manuscripts of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum (three of them complete, one a fragment), on which all editions, including our own, are based, are all from eastern Francia and were copied in the eighth and early ninth centuries. They are as follows:
Ms Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), lat. 10837
Written in the abbey of Echternach (in present-day Luxembourg) by a single scribe, Laurentius, between 703 and 710 (Lifshitz 2006, 32). The Catalogue of the BnF, which publishes BnF lat. 10837 on-line, also provides brief information about the dating: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6001113z/f22.image (click Information). The text of the Hieronymianum is at fol. 2r-32v.
Ms Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibliothek, Weissenburg 81
From the abbey of Weissenburg in Alsace. Dated to around 800 by the Wolfenbüttel on-line catalogue: http://diglib.hab.de/?db=mss&list=ms&id=81-weiss&lang=en. Lifshitz argues that the manuscript dates from around 772, and was written in the Carolingian royal sphere, in or around Maastrict (Lifshitz 2006, 4). The text of the Hieronymianum is at fol. 7r-103r.
Ms Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Bongars 289
From the abbey of Saint-Avold, near Metz. De Rossi and Duchesne, in the introduction to their edition, argue that Bern 289 must have been written after 766. The text of the Hieronymianum is at fol. 53v-129v. This manuscript is not yet available on line, but we have been able to check it through a microfilm.
Ms Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Pal. lat. 238
From the abbey of Lorsch, near Worms. The manuscript contains only a fragment (five pages) of the Hieronymianum, covering 25 December to 3 January, and 27 January to 31 January, written in Lorsch in the first half of the 9th century: http://bibliotheca-laureshamensis-digital.de/bav/bav_pal_lat_238). The fragment is at fol. 74-75, 1-2.
The standard edition of 1894, by G. B. de Rossi and L. Duchesne, published these four manuscripts in parallel columns. In 1931, H. Quentin produced a new edition, with a commentary by H. Delehaye, which attempted to collate the different manuscript readings into a single text.
Even though all the early manuscripts are believed to descend from the same redaction, they are by no means identical. In particular, BnF lat. 10837, the earliest of all, often contains a text which differs markedly from Bern 289 and Weissenburg 81, which are much closer to each other. Because the text varies between manuscripts, in content as well as spelling, it is now universally agreed that it will never be possible to create an 'authoritative' single text of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum. De Rossi and Duchesne in 1894, facing the same problem, decided to print for each day of the year the text of all four early manuscripts, in four columns, and we have followed their lead. Our edition is essentially based on their edition, though we have checked their readings against the manuscripts, and corrected or removed some letters, words, diacritical marks, and comments introduced by the editors that do not exist in the manuscripts. We have then added three more columns: for Quentin’s text for the feast day, which sometimes comes in one version, sometimes in two, and for Delehaye’s reconstruction of much of the text, drawn from his Commentary. Delehaye's erudition was, and remains, unmatched, and we have leaned heavily on his commentary (which is in Latin), but it should be noted that his reconstructed text often departs markedly from the manuscripts. Using his extraordinary knowledge of the saints and their hagiography, he felt able to combine different parts of the Hieronymianum's text, and to correct garbled versions of names, to produce a more coherent 'original'. We consider each of his principal suggestions in our Discussion (below), and attempt a judgment as to how plausible they are. In Delehaye's extensive notes there are also other, more tentative, suggestions, which we have not discussed systematically.
The reason the Martyrologium Hieronymianum is such a difficult text is because it consists primarily of long lists of names (with no punctuation and no consistency in the use of capital letters), which were often unfamiliar to copyists and so easily garbled. Generally, we cannot get behind these garbled variants, but occasionally we can, allowing us to shed light on how the text evolved into its current, often confused, state. For instance, an entry for 9 March (E04711) probably originally read something like 'In Armenia minore Sebastia milit(um) XL', 'In Lesser Armenia, at Sebasteia, [the feast of] the Forty Soldiers' - in other words a commemoration of the 'Forty Martyrs of Sebaste' (S00103), prominent saints in the East, but less well-known in the Latin West. In one of our manuscripts (Weissenburg 81) this has become 'In arminia minore sabastiani et milia XL', 'In Lesser Armenia, [the feast of] Sebastianus and the forty-thousand'; somewhere in the process of transmission, the city of Sebasteia has become the martyr Sebastianus, and the 'soldiers' (militum) have become 'thousands' (milia).
Discussion
BnF 10837 alone of the early manuscripts of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum opens its account of 18 January with commemoration of the burial of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033). Delehaye in an impressive note surveys the other early medieval western evidence of the feast of the Assumption (or burial) of Mary, and its connection with the feast of the Chair of Peter.The text of Bern 289 is here corrupt, but the two other early manuscripts record the feast of the Chair of *Peter (the Apostle, S00008) in Rome. This feast was more normally celebrated on 22 February: see E01052 (where there is a discussion of the feast) and E05253, as well as E04693, the entry for 22 February in the Hieronymianum.
All three manuscripts then record on this date commemoration in Pontus, 'city of Asia', of two martyrs, Moseus and Ammonus. There is evidently some confusion here, since Pontus is a region not a city. Delehaye believes that these were soldiers and martyrs of Alexandria; but we would prefer to leave them as unidentified.
All three manuscripts continue with commemoration in 'Micea/Micaea' of ten or eleven martyrs: Asterus, the confessor Leupardus (only in Bern 289), Fortunatus/Furtunatus, Zeno, Zosomus/Zesimus, Menelapus/Menelampus, Didalus, Valens, Tyrsus/Tirsus, Leucus and Gallinicus. Bern 289 and Weissenburg 81 single out and link the last three martyrs with the phrase: 'and the passion of Tyrsus with his companions Leucus and Gallicanus'. [The 'confessor Leupardus' is evidently out of place; he probably entered the manuscript as a gloss, and was subsequently incorporated into the main text by a copyist.]
Delehaye suggests, probably correctly, that Micea/Micaea is Nicaea and that the three martyrs at the end of the list are *Thyrsos, Leukios and Kallinikos, martyrs of Bithynia, the province in which Nicaea lies (S00612). Given the close similarity of the triplet of names, this identification is surely right. Less convincing, however, is his argument that Asterus, the first named, is *Asterius (martyr of Ostia, S01550), and that his name belongs with 'in Ponto' above (reading this as a corruption of 'in Portus', 'in Portus' [the port of Rome]).
All three manuscripts continue with commemoration in Africa of twelve named martyrs and thirteen (or fourteen) others: Sconus/Sconisus, Successus, Valens, Telerianus/Thelerianus/Felerianus, Paulus, Iulus/Maiulus/Marculus, Lucus, Victorinus/Victurinus, Honoratus, Saturnina, Florida/Floreda, Luricus and 13 (or 14) others. None of these can be identified with confidence, though Delehaye suggests that Sconus/Sconisus, the first-named, really belongs above with Zeno and Menelapus/Menelampus, commemorated in Nicaea, and that they are *Koskonios, Zenon and Melanippos (martyrs of Asia Minor, S00964), who are more reliably commemorated on 23 February (see E01436 and E04697). This identification is possible, given the coincidence of names, but less likely than the identification of Thyrsos, Leukios and Kallinikos (above), since it requires names to have moved between locations of commemoration.
BnF 10837 alone ends its entry for the day with commemoration of Priscella on the via Salaria in Rome. Delehaye argues convincingly that this is in fact a commemoration of *Prisca, (martyr of Rome, buried on the via Salaria, S00531), who was buried in the cemetery of Priscilla. This is plausible, since the two names were easily confused and conflated.
All unidentified saints are listed by us among *Other saints, on 18 January in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Africa, Nicaea, and Pontus (S02247).
Bibliography
Editions:De Rossi, G. B., and Duchesne, L., Martyrologium Hieronymianum ad finem codicum adiectis prolegomenis. Acta Sanctorum Nov.II.1 (Brussels, 1894).
Quentin, H. and Delehaye, H., Acta Sanctorum Nov.II.2 (Brussels, 1931).
On the Martyrologium Hieronymianum:
Duchesne, L., "A propos du martyrologe hiéronymien," Analecta Bollandiana 17 (1898), 421-447.
Lapidge, M., The Roman Martyrs. Introduction, Translations, and Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018).
Lapidge, M., "Acca of Hexham and the Origin of the Old English Martyrology," Analecta Bollandiana 123 (2005), 29-78.
Lifshitz, F., The Name of the Saint. The Martyrology of Jerome and Access to the Sacred in Francia, 627-827 (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2006).
Ó Riain, P., "A Northumbrian Phase in the Formation of the Hieronymian Martyrology. The Evidence of the Martyrology of Tallaght," Analecta Bollandiana 120 (2002), 311-363.
On the manuscripts of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum:
Butzmann, H., Die Weissenburger Handschriften (Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann, 1964), 242-243.
Muller, J. C., "Trois manuscrits liturgiques de l'abbaye d'Echternach à Paris," in Abteistadt Echternach, éd. P. Schritz, A. Hoffmann (Luxembourg, 1981), 202-206.
Ó Cróinín, D., "Rath Melsigi, Willibrord, and the Earliest Echternach Manuscripts," Peritia 3 (1984), 17-49.
Libaert, P., "Notice sur 43 manuscrits d'Echternach conservés à la bibliothèque nationale de Paris," Hémecht 1 (1985), 53-73.
McKitterick, R., Books, Scribes and Learning in the Frankish Kingdoms, Sixth-Ninth Centuries (Aldershot: Variorum, 1994).
On saints and calendars:
Farmer, D. H., Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978).
Nilles, N., Kalendarium Manuale utriusque Ecclesiae Orientalis et Occidentalis I-II (Farnborough: Gregg International Publishers Ltd, 1971).
Watkins, B., The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015).
Datum Table
| BnF 10837 | Bern 289 | Weissenburg 81 | BAV 238 | Other Mss | Quentin | Quentin | Delehaye |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XV kł feb. depos̃ sc̃ae mariae et cat̃h petri in roma | XU KL. FEB. [.....] [.....] [.....] [.....] [.....] [.....] [.....] [.....] | XV KL. FEBRO. Dedicatio cathedra sc̃i petri apostoli qua primo Romȩ petrus apostulus sedit. | Depositio sanctae Mariae, et cathedra Petri in Roma. | Depositio sanctae ac gloriosae beatae Mariae matris Domini nostri Ihesu Christi. et dedicatio cathedrae sancti Petri apostoli qua primo Romae Petrus apostolus sedit. | Depositio sanctae Mariae. Cathedra Petri in Roma. | ||
| In ponto civĩ assiae mosei ammoni. | In ponto ciuitate asiae. mosei. ammoni. | Et in ponto civitate Asiȩ mosei ammo ni | In Ponto civitate Assiae Mosei Ammoni. | In Ponto civitate Assiae Mosei Ammoni. | in Portu Asteri. | ||
| In micea asteri fortunati Zenonis Zosomi menelapi didali valentis sc̃i tyrsi leuci gallinici | miceae Asteri. Leupardi conf̃. Furtunati. Zenonis. Zesimi. menelampi. didali Ualentis. et passio sc̃i tursi cum sociis suis. Leuci et galliNici | micȩȩ Asteri furtunati zenonis zesimi. menelampi didali. valentis et passio sc̃i tirsi com sociis suis leuci et gallinici | in Micea Asteri Fortunati Zenonis Zosomi Menelampi Didali Valentis. et passio sancti Tyrsi cum sociis suis Leuci et Gallinici. | in Micea Asteri Fortunati Zenonis Zosomi Menelampi Didali Valentis. et passio sancti Tyrsi cum sociis suis Leuci et Gallinici. | 〈in Alexandria〉 Mosei et Ammonii, qui cum essent milites primo ad metalla damnati novissime igni traditi sunt. | ||
| In af̃f sconis successi valentis teleriani pauli iuli luci victorini honorati saturninae floridae et alior̃ XIII lurici | In africa. ScoNisi. Successi. Ualentis. theleriani ∵ Pauli. Maiuli. Luci. uicturiNi. HoNorati. SaturNINae Florede Lurici et aliorum quattuor. decim. | In affrica sconisi successi valentis feleriani pauli marculi luci. victurini honorati saturninȩ florede lurici et aliorum. XIIII | in Africa Sconis Successi Valentis Teleriani Pauli Maiuli Luci Victorini Honorati Saturninae Floridae et aliorum XIII Lurici | in Africa Sconis Successi Valentis Teleriani Pauli Maiuli Luci Victorini Honorati Saturninae Floridae Lurici et aliorum XIV | Niceae Cosconi Zenonis et Melanippi.Tyrsi Leuci et Callinici. | ||
| et rom̄ via salar̃ priscellae | Romae via Salaria 〈in cimiterio〉 Priscillae Priscae virginis et martyris. |
Record Created By
Marijana Vukovic
Date of Entry
10/10/2020
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Maria | Certain | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain | S00531 | Prisca, martyr of Rome, buried on the via Salaria | Priscella | Uncertain | S00612 | Thyrsos and companions, martyrs of Bithynia | Tyrsus/Tirsus; Leucus; Gallinicus | Certain | S00964 | Koskonios, Melanippos and Zenon, martyrs of Asia/Nicomedia | Sconus/Sconisus; Menelapus/Menelampus; Zeno | Uncertain | S01550 | Asterius, martyr of Ostia | Asterus | Uncertain | S02247 | Other saints, on 18 January in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Africa, Nicaea, and Pontus | Fortunatus/Furtunatus; Zosomus/Zesimus; Didalus; Valens; Successus, Valens; Telerianus/Felerianus; Paulus; Iulus/Marculus; Lucus; Victorinus/Victurinus; Honoratus; Saturnina; Florida/Floreda; Luricus; Moseus; Ammonus | Certain |
|---|
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