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 27 January.
Evidence ID
E04624
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 27 January the following feasts:
*Agnes, virgin and martyr of Rome, (S00097),
Perhaps *Vitus, martyr of Nicomedia, and companion of Kyriakos, Cendeus, Florus and Felix, (S00954),
The dedication of a basilica perhaps to *Victor 'Maurus'/the Moor, soldier and martyr of Milan, (S00312),
Probably *Leukios and Kallinikos, martyrs of Bithynia, and companions of Thyrsos, (S00612),
Perhaps *Sulpicius, bishop of Bourges, ob. 591, (S02151),
*Other saints, on 27 January in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Africa, Rome, and Apollonia/ 'elsewhere' (S02883).
BnF 10837:
'On the sixth day before the Kalends [of February], the passion of Agnes, Donatus, Vitus.
In Africa, [the feast of] Missurianus, Puplia, Victor, Quintillus, Puplianus, Festus, Felix, Bonosus, Processus, Veneria, Marina, Fortunata, Tecussa, Goddites, Secunda, Epictulus, Vincentus, Rogatus, Primus, Aurelus, Hilarus, Perpetua, Iuliana, and 24 others.
In Nicomedia, [the feast of] Laecius.
In Apollonia, [the feast of] Calentinus.
And elsewhere, [the feast of] Lucus, Honoratus, Matrosus, Datus, Iulianus, Caelianus, Saturus, Vincentia, Victoria, and 32 others. Also, [the feast of] Secundus, Castus, Gaius, Caelestus.'
Bern 289:
'On the sixth day before the Kalends of February, in Rome, [the feast of] the virgin Agnes, Donatus, Vitus.
In Africa, [the feast of] Missurianus, Publus, Victor, Quintillus, Publianus, Festus, Felicus, Bosonus, Processus, Veneria, Marina, Fortunatus, Theucusa, Egoddites, Secumda, Epictilus, Vincentus, Rogatus, Primus, Aurelus, Helarus, Perpetua, Iuliana, and other 44 [saints].
And the dedication of a basilica to Victor.
In Nicomedia, [the feast of] Leacus.
In Apollonia, [the feast of] Calenicus, Lucius, Honoratus, Marosus, Secundus, Castus, Gagus, Caelestinus, Sulpicus, bishop and confessor.'
Weissenburg 81:
'On the sixth day before the Kalends of February, [the feast of] Donatus, Vitus.
In Africa, [the feast of] Misuarianus, Publus, Victor, Quintillus, Publianus, Festus, Felix, Bosonus, Processus, Veneria, Marina, Fortunatus, Theoctisa, Egoddites, Secunda, Epictilus, Vincentus, Rogatus, Primus, Aurelus, Helarus, Perpetua, Iuliana, and 44 others.
And the dedication of a basilica to Victor.
In Nicomedia, [the feast of] Leacus.
In Apollonia, [the feast of] Callenicus, Lucius, Honoratus, Marosus, Secundus, Castus, Gaius, Celestinus, bishop and confessor Sulpicius.'
BAV 238:
[The feast of] Publianus, Festus, Felix, Boso, Processus, Veneria, Marina, Fortunatus, Theucusa, Egoddites, Secunda, Epictilus, Vincentus, Rogatus, Primus, Aurelus, Helarus, Perpetua, Iuliana and 44 others.
In Nicomedia, [the feast of] Leacus.
In Apollonia, [the feast of] Calenicus, Lucius, Honoratus, Marosus, Secundus, Castus, Gagus, Celestinus, bishop Sulpicius.
Quentin follows mostly manuscripts Bern 289 and Weissenburg 81.
Delehaye follows the early manuscripts only in the case of some saints.
Translation and comments: M. Vukovic.
Festivals
Saint’s feast
Cult PlacesCult building - dependent (chapel, baptistery, etc.)
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
Manuscript Bern 289 of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum records on 27 January the commemoration of a saint Agnes in Rome; BnF 10837 records the same name, specifying that it is the feast of her passion but without specifying the place of the commemoration, while Weissenburg 81 and BAV 238 make no reference to her. She is certainly *Agnes (virgin and martyr of Rome, S00097), who is commemorated in three of the early manuscripts of the Hieronymianum on the following day, 28 January (E04627). Two other saints are mentioned here in three of the early manuscripts of the Hieronymianum (but not BAV 238): Donatus and Vitus. Delehaye argues that Donatus should be among the saints commemorated in Africa (see below), and connects him to a saint Donatus recorded on 23 January (E04620). This suggestion is highly speculative. The other saint, Vitus, according to Delehaye might be the same saint who was commemorated on 25 January (E04622), *Vitus (martyr of Nicomedia, companion of Kyriakos, Cendeus, Florus and Felix, S00954), which is possible but not demonstrable.The saints commemorated 'in Africa' (according to all the manuscripts except BAV 238, which does not locate them) are otherwise unknown: Missurianus/Misuarianus, Puplia/Publus, Victor, Quintillus, Puplianus/Publianus, Festus, Felix/Felicus, Bonosus/Bosonus, Processus, Veneria, Marina, Fortunata/Fortunatus, Tecussa/Theucusa/Theoctisa, Goddites/Egoddites, Secunda/Secumda, Epictulus/Epictilus, Vincentus, Rogatus, Primus, Aurelus, Hilarus/Helarus, Perpetua, and Iuliana.
Bern 289 and Weissenburg 81 alone commemorate on this date the dedication of a basilica to a saint Victor. Delehaye suggests that the basilica could be one in Ravenna (while accepting this as uncertain); if correct, the most likely Victor is *Victor 'Maurus'/the Moor (soldier and martyr of Milan, S00312).
All four early manuscripts record commemoration in Nicomedia (in north-west Asia Minor, near Constantinople) of Leacus/Laecius. As Delehaye suggests, he could be *Leukios, one of a group of martyrs of Bithynia (S00612), the province in which Nicomedia sat; though, as also noted by Delehaye, the Martyrdom of these saints (E06222) does not link Leukios' death specifically to Nicomedia.
Support for linking Leacus with Leukios, is offered by the next entry in all four manuscripts, which all mention commemoration in Apollonia of a certain Calenicus/Callenicus (or Calentinus in BnF 10837). As Delehaye suggests, it seems likely that this is Kallinikos one of Leukios' companion martyrs, who, according to their Martyrdom (E06222 § 7), was a pagan priest of Bithynian Apollonia, who converted to Christianity and was martyred in his home city. The other saints, commemorated in Apollonia according to Bern 289, Weissenburg 81 and BAV 238, but 'elsewhere' according to BnF 10837, are not identified: in all the manuscripts, Lucus/Lucius, Honoratus, Matrosus/Marosus, Secundus, Castus, Gaius/Gagus, and Caelestus/Caelestinus/Celestinus; and in addition, in BnF 10837 alone, Datus, Iulianus, Caelianus, Saturus, Vincentia, Victoria and 32 others. Lucus could of course be the same as the Leacus/Leukios discussed above.
Bern 289, Weissenburg 81 and BAV 238 close their list of names associated with Apollonia with a Sulpicus/Sulpicius, described as 'bishop and confessor' in the first two manuscripts, and as 'bishop' in BAV 238; he is absent from BnF 10837. As Delehaye suggests, he could be *Sulpicius (bishop of Bourges, ob. 591, S02151), though this man is much more reliably commemorated on 17 January (E04612). If he was the sixth-century bishop of Bourges, the link to Bithynian Apollonia is certainly not original.
All unidentified saints are listed by us among *Other saints, on 27 January in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Africa, Rome, and Apollonia/ 'elsewhere' (S02883).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VI kl pas̃ sc̃ae agnitis donati viti | UI KL. FEB. Rome Scæ agnetis uirginis. donati uiti. | VI KL. FEB. Donati viti | --------------- | Passio sanctae Agnetis. Donati Viti. | Romae sanctae Agnetis virginis. Donati Viti. | --------------- | |
| in aff missuriani pupliae victoris quintilli pupliani festi felicis bonosi processi veneriae marinae fortunatae tecussae godditis secundae epictuli vincenti rogati primi aureli hilari perpetuae iulianae et alior̃ XXIIII | In africa. Missuriani. publi uictoris quintilli. publiani. Festi. Felici. Bosoni. Processi. Ueneriae Marinȩ Fortunati. Theucusȩ Egodditis. secumdae. epictili. Uincenti. Rogati. primi. Aureli. helari. perpetuȩ Iuliane. et aliorum quadraginta quattuor | In aff misuariani publi victoris quintilli publiani festi felicis bosoni processi veneriȩ marinȩ fortunati theoctisȩ egodditis secundȩ epictili vincenti rogati primi aureli helari p̱petuȩ iulianȩ et aliorum XLIIII | Publiani Festi Felicis Bosoni Processi Veneriae Marinae Fortunati Theucuse Egodditis Secundae Epictili Vincenti Rogati Primi Aureli Helari Perpetuae Iulianȩ et alior̃ XLIIII | in Africa Missuriani Pupliae Victoris Quintilli Pupliani Festi Felicis Bonosi Processi Veneriae Marinae Fortunatae Tecussae Godditis Secundae Epictuli Vincenti Rogati Primi Aureli Hilari Perpetuae Iulianae et aliorum XXIIII. | in Africa Missuriani Pupliae Victoris Quintilli Pupliani Festi Felicis Bonosi Processi Veneriae Marinae Fortunatae Tecussae Godditis Secundae Epictuli Vincenti Rogati Primi Aureli Hilari Perpetuae Iulianae et aliorum XXIIII. et dedicatio basilicae sancti Victoris. | ---------------- | |
| --------------- | et dedicatio basilicȩ sc̃i uictoris. | et dedicatio basilicȩ sc̃i victoris | --------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | 〈Ravenna〉 dedicatio basilicae sancti Victoris. | |
| nicom̄ laecii | Nicomedia. Leaci. | Nicomedia leaci | Nicomēd Leaci | Nicomedia Laecii. | Nicomedia Laecii. | Nicomedia Leuci | |
| in apolloñ calentini | In apollonia. Calenici. Lucii. honorati. Marosi. Secundi. Casti. Gagi. Caelestini. Sulpici. ep̃i et confes̃. | in abollonia callenici lucii honorati marosi secundi casti gai cȩlestini sulpicii ep̃i. et confessoris | in apollonia Calenici Lucii Honorati Marosi Secundi Casti Gagi Celestini Sulpicii ep̃i | in Apollonia Callinici et alibi Luci Honorati Matrosi Secundi Casti Gai Caelesti | in Apollonia Callinici Luci Honorati Matrosi Secundi Casti Gai Caelesti Sulpicii episcopi et confessoris | in Apollonia Callinici. Sulpicii episcopi et confessoris. | |
| et alibi luci honorati matrosi dati iuliani caeliani saturi vincentiae victoriae et aliorum XXXII It̃ secundi casti gai caelesti | ---------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | --------------- | ---------------- |
Record Created By
Marijana Vukovic
Date of Entry
01/02/2021
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00097 | Agnes, virgin and martyr of Rome | Agnes | Certain | S00312 | Victor 'Maurus'/the Moor, soldier and martyr of Milan | Victor | Uncertain | S00612 | Thyrsos and companions, martyrs of Bithynia | Leacus/Laecius; Calenicus/Callenicus/Calentinus | Uncertain | S00954 | Kyriakos, Cendeus, Vitus, Florus and Felix, martyrs of Nicomedia | Vitus | Uncertain | S02151 | Sulpicius, bishop of Bourges, ob. 591 | Sulpicus/Sulpicius | Uncertain | S02883 | Other saints, on 27 January in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Africa, Rome, and Apollonia/ 'elsewhere' | Donatus; Missurianus/Misuarianus; Puplia/Publus; Victor; Quintillus; Puplianus/Publianus; Festus; Felix/Felicus; Bonosus/Bosonus; Processus; Veneria; Marina; Fortunata/Fortunatus; Tecussa/Theucusa/Theoctisa; Goddites/Egoddites; Secunda/Secumda; Epictulus/Epictilus; Vincentus; Rogatus; Primus; Aurelus; Hilarus/Helarus; Perpetua; Iuliana; Lucus/Lucius; Honoratus;Matrosus/Marosus; Datus; Iulianus; Caelianus; Saturus; Vincentia; Victoria; Secundus; Castus; Gaius/Gagus, Caelestus/Caelestinus/Celestinus, and Sulpicus/Sulpicius | Certain |
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