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 22 January.
Evidence ID
E04618
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 22 January the following feasts:
*Vincent/Vincentius, deacon of Zaragoza and martyr of Valencia, (S00290),
*Valerius, bishop of Zaragoza, ob. 305/315, (S02203),
The *Eighteen martyrs of Zaragoza, (S00485),
Perhaps *Saturus, martyr of Nicomedia, and companion of Titus, Parilōs, and Mamas, (S00957),
Perhaps *Kyriakos/Quiriacus, martyr of Nicomedia, companion of Cendeus, Vitus, Florus, and Felix, (S00954),
*Anastasius, monk and martyr of Persia, ob. 628, (S02052),
Perhaps *Klemes/Clement, bishop and martyr of Ancyra, ob. 312, (S01353),
*Other saints, on 22 January in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Spain and Africa (S02258).
BnF 10837:
'On the eleventh day before the Kalends of February, in Spain, in the city of Valencia, [the feast of] bishop Valerus, and deacon Vincentus, and 18 others, Quintilianus, Cassianus, Matutinus, Pulvus, Urbanus, Marcialis, Faustus, Successus, Felix, Paulus, Petrus, Ianuarus, Primitivus, Ebotus, Cedianus, Optatus, Fronto, Iulus, Bellicus, Municipus, Techus, Orio, Memno, Ermes, Ianuaria, also Ianuarus, Mucus, Saturus, Bellicus.
And in Rome, at Aquas Salvias, [the feast of] bishop Anastasus.'
Bern 289:
'On the eleventh day before the Kalends of February, in Spain, in the city of Valencia, the passion of bishop Valerus, and Vincentus, deacon and martyr, and 18 of his companions, Quintilianus, Cassianus, Matutinus, Pulvius, Urbanus, Marcialis, Faustus, Paulus, Successus, Petrus, Felix, Genuarus, Primitivus, Ebotus, Obtatus, Caecilianus, Fronto, Iulus, Ianuarus, Lubercus, Apodimus, Orio, Memno, Hermes, Ianuaria.
And in Africa, [the feast of] Quirus with his companions, Gemellus, Saturus, Genuarus, Felix, Tycus, Florus, Orio.
At Gemellae, [the feast of] Clemens, martyr Anastasus, Saturninus, Municipio.'
Weissenburg 81:
'On the eleventh day before the Kalends of February, in Spain, in the city of Valencia, the passion of bishop Valerus, and deacon and martyr Vincentus, with their 18 companions, Quintilianus, Cassianus, Matutinus, Palvius, Urbanus, Marcialis, Faustus, Paulus, Successus, Petrus, Felix, Ianuarus, Primitivus, Eopotus, Optatus, Caecilianus, Fronto, Iulus, Ianuarus, Lubercus, Apodomus, Orio, Menno, Hermes, Ianuaria.
And in Africa, [the feast of] Quirus, with his companions, Gemellus, Saturus, Ianuarus, Felix, Tyrsus, Florus, Orio.
At Gemellae, [the feast of] Clemens, Saturninus, Municipio.'
The entry for the day in Quentin´s edition mostly resembles the entry in Weissenburg 81. Delehaye follows the early manuscripts for the most part.
Translation and comments: M. Vukovic.
Festivals
Saint’s feast
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
All the early manuscripts of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum open their entries for 22 January with commemorations in Valencia (eastern Spain) of a bishop Valerus and a deacon Vincentus, who are certainly *Valerius (bishop of Zaragoza, ob. 305/315, S02203) and *Vincent/Vincentius (deacon of Zaragoza and martyr of Valencia, S00290). The manuscripts then all refer to 'eighteen' martyrs, who are certainly the *Eighteen martyrs of Zaragoza (S00485) well-known from other texts. The reference to the eighteen by number is then followed by lists of names, slightly different in each manuscript - twenty-nine names in BnF 10837 and twenty-five in each of Weissenburg 81 and Bern 289. Eighteen of these names can be found in the other early listings of the martyrs of Zaragoza (see the Discussion in E00814): namely, Quintilianus, Cedianus/Caecilianus, Fronto, Felix, Lubercus, Successus, Marcialis, Primitivus, Apodomus/Apodimus, Urbanus, Iulus, Ebotus/Eopotus, Optatus/Obtatus, Pulvus/Palvius/Pulvius, Cassianus, Matutinus, Faustus, and Ianuarus/Genuarus/Ianuaria. But a further ten names - Paulus, Petrus, Bellicus, Municipus, Techus, Orio, Memno, Ianuaria, Ermes/Hermes, and Mucus - are not otherwise recorded in this context (Delehaye suspects, and he could be right, that Paulus and Petrus are the names of the Apostles, who have somehow strayed into this group). The texts of Weissenburg 81 and Bern 289 demonstrate an awareness that there are too many names here, because, after mentioning the Eighteen, both say they are commemorated 'with their companions (cum sociis suis/eorum).'Manuscript BnF 10837 alone then records on 22 January in Rome, ad Aquas Salvias, commemoration of *Anastasius (monk and martyr of Persia, ob. 628, S02052), who is commemorated on this same day in Bede´s Martyrology (E05436). The head of Anastasius reached the monastery ad Aquas Salvias (nowadays Tre Fontane), outside porta San Paolo, in the mid to late seventh century.
Eight saints are then recorded as commemorated 'in Africa' in Weissenburg 81 and Bern 289 (but not in BnF 10837): Quirus, Gemellus, Saturus, Ianuarus/Genuarus, Felix, Tyrsus/Tycus, Florus, and Orio. None can be reliably identified, though Delehaye suggests that Quirus could be *Quiricus/Kyriakos, one of a group of martyrs of Nicomedia (S00954) commemorated on 20 January in both the Syriac Martyrology (E01411) and the Hieronymianum (E04616), and that Saturus is another martyr of Nicomedia (with companions *Titos, Parilos, and Mamas, S00957), commemorated in the Syriac Martyrology on 25 January (E01414). These suggestions are highly speculative.
Weissenburg 81 and Bern 289 (but again not BnF 10837) then both list 'ad Gemellas' (presumably Gemellae, a small city in Africa) commemoration of three saints: Clemens, Saturninus and 'Municipio' (the latter almost certainly not a person's name, but a misplaced part of a place-description, 'at the municipality (municipio)'). Bern 289 adds a fourth name, Anastasus, but this is probably Anastasius the Persian (see above), here misplaced. Delehaye suggests that Clemens may be misplaced here, and that he is likely to be *Klemes/Clement, (bishop and martyr of Ancyra, S01353), who may be amongst the Galatian saints commemorated in the Hieronymianum on the following day, 23 January (E04620).
All unidentified saints are listed by us among *Other saints, on 22 January in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Spain and Africa (S02258).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XI kł spania civĩ valentia sc̃i valeri ep̃i et vincenti diac̃ et aliorū XVIII quintiliani cassiani matutini pulvi urbani marcialis fausti successi felicis pauli petri ianuari primitivi eboti cediani optati frontonis iuli bellici municipi techi orionis memnonis ermetis ianuariae it ianuari muci saturi bellici | XI KL. FEB. In hispania. ciuitate ualentia. passio sc̃i ualeri. ep̃i et uincenti diac̃ et mar̃. et decim et octo cū sociis eorum. quintiliani. Cassiani. Matutini. puluii urbani. Marcialis. Fausti. pauli. Successi. petri Felicis. Genuari primitiui. Eboti. obtati. Caeciliani. Frontonis. Iuli. Ianuari. Luberci. Apodimi. Orionis Memnonis. Hermetis. Ianuariae | XI KL. FEB. In hispaniis civitate valentia passio sc̃i valeri ep̃i et vincenti diac̃ et mart̃y XVIII cum sociis suis. quintiliani. cassiani. matutini palvii urbani marcialis fausti pauli successi petri felicis ianuari primitivi eopoti. optati caeciliani frontonis iuli ianuari luberci. Apodomi orionis mennonis hermetis ianuariȩ. | In Spania civitate Valentia passio sancti Valeri episcopi et Vincenti diaconi et aliorum XVIII Quintiliani Cassiani Matutini Pulvi Urbani Marcialis Fausti Successi Felicis Pauli Petri Ianuari Primitivi Eboti Cediani Optati Frontonis Iuli Bellici Municipi Toechi Orionis Memnonis Ermetis Ianuariae item Ianuari Muci Saturi Bellici | In Spania civitate Valentia passio sancti Valeri episcopi et Vincenti diaconi et martyrum XVIII cum sociis eorum Quintiliani Cassiani Matutini Pulvi Urbani Marcialis Fausti Pauli Successi Petri Felicis Ianuari Primitivi Eboti Optati Caeciliani Frontonis Iuli Ianuari Luberci Apodimi Orionis Memnonis Ermetis Ianuariae | in Spania civitate Valentia sancti Valeri episcopi et Vincenti diaconi. 〈item in Spania〉 martyrum XVIII Quintiliani, Cassiani, Matutini, Publi, Urbani, Marcialis, Fausti, Successi, Felicis, [Pauli, Petri], Ianuari, Primitivi, Evodi, Caeciliani, Optati, Luperci, Apodemi, Frontonis, Iuli. | ||
| ---------------- | ---------------- | --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | 〈Nicomediae〉 Saturi, Titi, Flori, Mamaei. | ||
| ---------------- | Et in africa. quiri cum sociis suis. Gemelli. Saturi Genuari. Felicis. Tyci. Flori. Orionis. | Et in affrica quiri cum sociis suis gemelli saturi ianuari felicis tyrsi flori orionis | ---------------- | et in Africa Quiri cum sociis suis Gemelli Saturi Ianuari Felicis Titi Flori Orionis. | --------------- | ||
| et rom̄ ad aq salvĩ sc̃i anastasi ep̃i | --------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | Romae ad Aquas Salvias sancti Anastasii martyris. | ||
| ---------------- | Ad gemellas. clementis. Anastasi martyris. Saturnini. Municipio. | ad gemellas clementis saturnini municipio | ---------------- | ad Gemellas Clementis Saturnini municipio | ---------------- |
Record Created By
Marijana Vukovic
Date of Entry
19/01/2021
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00290 | Vincentius/Vincent, deacon of Zaragoza and martyr of Valencia | Vincentus | Certain | S00485 | Eighteen Martyrs of Zaragoza | Quintilianus; Cedianus/Caecilianus; Fronto; Felix; Lubercus; Successus; Marcialis; Primitivus; Apodomus/Apodimus; Urbanus; Iulus; Ebotus/Eopotus; Optatus/Obtatus; Pulvus/Palvius/Pulvius; Cassianus; Matutinus; Faustus; Ianuarus/Genuarus | Certain | S00954 | Kyriakos, Cendeus, Vitus, Florus and Felix, martyrs of Nicomedia | Quirus | Uncertain | S00957 | Titus, Parilos, Saturus and Mamas, martyrs of Nicomedia | Saturus | Uncertain | S01353 | Klemes/Clement, bishop and martyr of Ancyra | Clemens | Uncertain | S02052 | Anastasios, monk and martyr of Persia, ob. 628 | Anastasus | Certain | S02203 | Valerius, bishop of Saragossa, ob. 305/315 | Valerus | Certain | S02258 | Other saints, on 22 January in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Spain and Africa | Petrus; Bellicus; Municipus; Techus; Orio; Memno; Ermes/Hermes; Ianuaria, Ianuarus; Mucus; Paulus; Ianuarus/Genuarus; Felix; Tyrsus/Tycus; Florus; Orio; Saturninus | Certain |
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