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 1 February.
Evidence ID
E04665
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 1 February the following feasts:
Possibly *Polycarp, bishop and martyr of Smyrna, (S00004),
Possibly *Phocas, martyr of Sinope, (S00052)),
Libosus, possibly one of the *Martyrs of Vaga, North Africa (S00817),
*African martyrs commemorated on 1 February, (S02916),
*Severus, bishop of Ravenna, earlier 4th c., (S01884),
Possibly *Vindimialis, bishop and martyr of Africa, (S01142),
Possibly *Eugenius, bishop and exile from Africa, (S00334),
Possibly *37 martyrs of Alexandria, (S01913),
*Brigid of Kildare, ob. 525, (S01885),
*Other saints, on 1 February in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Smyrna, Greece, Africa, Ravenna, Scotland, and "elsewhere" (S03089).
BnF 10837:
'February has 28 days. On the Kalends of February, in the city of Smyrna, the feast of bishop Polycarpus, Poenus, Dionisus, and six others. Also, [the feast of] Poenus and five others.
And in Pontus, [the feast of] Focas.
And in Africa, [the feast of] Puplius, Saturninus, Maurianus, Libosus, Vincentia, and twenty-four others.
In Ravenna, [the feast of] bishop Severus.
And elsewhere, [the feast of] Victor, Lucianus, Appollinaris, Hilarus, Ammonus, Zoticus, Cyriacus. Also, [the feast of] confessor Severus, the burial (depositio) of bishop Pictus, and the passion of Vindimialis and Eugenus.
And in Ireland, [the feast of] virgin Brigida.'
Bern 289:
'February has 28 days. On the Kalends of February, in Greece, the feast of bishop Polycarpus, Poenus, Dionisus. Also, [the feast of] Poenus and fifteen others.
In Africa, [the feast of] Publius, Saturninus, Maurinianus, Libosus, Vincentia, and twenty-four others.
In Ravenna, [the feast of] bishop Severus, Victor, Lucianus, Appolonaris, Helarus.
In Ireland, [the feast of] virgin Brigida, Ammonus, Zoticus, Ciriacus. Also, [the feast of] Severus confessor and the burial (depositio) of presbyter Pietus, and the passion of Vindemialis and Eugenus.'
Weissenburg 81:
'February has 28 days. On the Kalends of February, in Greece, the feast of bishop Polycarpus, Poenus, Dionisus. Also, [the feast of] Poenus and fifteen others.
In Africa, [the feast of] Publius, Saturninus, Mauriniainus, Libosus, Vincencia, and twenty-four others.
In Ravenna, [the feast of] bishop Siverus, Victor, Lucianus, Apollonaris, Helarus, Ammonus, Zoticus, Cyriacus. Also, [the feast of] Severus confessor and the burial (depositio) of presbyter Pietus, and the passion of Vindemialis and Eugenus.'
Quentin follows all the manuscripts above in his two different readings, and suggests the names Maurianus and Vindemialis.
Delehaye selects some of the saints mentioned in the manuscripts, changes the name Vincentia to Vincentius, and locates the feasts of Lucianus and Vincentius, as well as the passion of Vindemialis and Eugenus in Africa.
Translation and comments: M. Vukovic
Festivals
Saint’s feast
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - unspecified
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
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
It is uncertain whether the early manuscripts of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum mention the commemoration of *Polycarp (bishop and martyr of Smyrna, ob. 155, S00004) on February 1, as only in the manuscript BnF 10837 (eighth century) is Polycarp recorded as being from Smyrna; other manuscripts identify him as being from Greece. While Quentin suggests several readings, including the possibility that this is Polycarp of Smyrna (S00004), Delehaye does not consider this option. February 1 is not traditionally linked to Polycarp, whose feast day is more commonly celebrated on February 23, although this is a later association; initially, Polycarp of Smyrna was commemorated in the West on January 26, due to confusion with *Polycarp of Nicaea (martyr of Nicaea, S00958).The early manuscripts of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum also commemorate several other saints on this day in Smyrna and Greece, alongside Polycarp: Poenus, Dionisus, Poenus, and eleven or fifteen others. Their identification will follow below.
Additionally, the manuscript BnF 10837 mentions a saint Phocas, commemorated in Pontus, who might be *Phocas (martyr of Sinope, S00052); according to Delehaye, this Phocas had a feast day on March 5 and is presented as being from Pontus, possibly referring to Sinope (modern Sinop, Turkey), although this date does not match his traditional feast days (March 5 and several dates in July).
All three earliest manuscripts also record the commemoration of saints in Africa: Puplius/Publius, Saturninus, Maurianus/Maurinianus/Mauriniainus, Vincentia/Vincencia, and Libosus. Most of these saints remain unidentified, except for Libosus, who might be one of the *Martyrs of Vaga (Latin North Africa, ob.?; S00817). Besides, the early Calendar of Carthage, written in Carthage probably between AD 505 and 535, records two other saints on this day as *African martyrs commemorated on 1 February, (S02916) (see the record E02205), and identifies them as Lucianus and Vincentius. Vincentia/Vincencia, commemorated among the saints in Africa on this day could be one of them, and Lucianus, commemorated in Ravenna (as noted below), could be another of these saints.
Further, the early manuscripts of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum record the commemoration of saints in Ravenna. The manuscript BnF 10837 records only one saint, who is at the same time the most certainly identified as *Severus (bishop of Ravenna, Italy in 283, ob. 348, S01884). The other saints, who are, according to BnF 10837 commemorated "elsewhere," and according to the other two early manuscripts, in Ravenna, too, stay unidentified. They are Victor,Appolonaris/Appollinaris/Apollonaris, and Helarus/Hilarus.
Further, the manuscripts list several unidentified saints recorded "elsewhere," in Scotland, or in Ravenna: Ammonus, Zoticus, Cyriacus/Ciriacus, confessor Severus, and bishop Pictus/Pietus. Among these, Vindimialis/Vindemialis and Eugenus could be *Vindimialis (bishop and martyr of Africa, S01142) and *Eugenius (bishop and exile from Africa, S00334), as suggested by Delehaye. Besides, Delehaye suggests that these saints, together with the saints from Smyrna/Greece form a group that could be identified as *37 martyrs of Alexandria, (S01913); these saints are Poenus, Dionysius, Ammonus, Zoticus and Cyriacus. They are mentioned on some other dates, like 31 January (E04630) and 9 February (E04673), and they have a martyrdom account preserved (BHL 6584). Delehaye discusses these in detail in his Martyres d'Égypte, 44-48, while BHL records them as 'Paulus, Pansius, and companion martyrs in Egypt'. Delehaye also suggests that Pansius could be *Pionios, (presbyter and martyr of Smyrna, S00031).
Finally, *Brigid of Kildare (Brigid of Ireland, ob. 525, S01885), commemorated on this day in two early manuscripts, was an early Irish Christian nun and one of Ireland's patron saints, who died in Hibernia.
All unidentified saints are listed among Other saints commemorated on February 1 in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Smyrna, Greece, Africa, Ravenna, Scotland, and "elsewhere," (S03089).
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:
Delehaye, H., Les martyres d'Égypte, Bruxelles 1923.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Febroarius dies XXVIII Kl feb in Zmirna civĩ nat̃ policarpi ep̃i poenis dionisi et alior̃ VI. It̃ poenis et aliorū v. | In Smirna civitate natale Policarpi episcopi Poenis Dionisi et aliorum VI item Poenis et aliorum V. | ||||||
| MENS. FEB. HAB. DIS. XX ET OCT. KK. FEB. in grecia. natl sc̃orum. policarpi ep̃i. Poenis Dionisi. It̃ poenis et aliorum quindec̃ | MENS. FEBRO. HABET DIES XXVIII. LUNA XXUIIII. KL FEB. In grecia sc̃orum policarpi ep̃i poenis dionisi Item poenis et aliorum XV | In Grecia natale sanctorum Policarpi episcopi Poenis Dionisi item Poenis et aliorum XV. | |||||
| et in ponto focatis | et in Ponto Focatis. | in Ponto Focatis. | |||||
| et in af̃f̃ puplii saturnini mauriani libosi vincentiae et alior̃ XXIIII | In africa. Publii Saturnini. Mauriniani. Libosi. Uincentiae et aliorum uiginti. quattuor | In affrica publii saturnini mauriniaini libosi vincencie et aliorum XXIIII | in Africa Publii Saturnini Mauriani Libosi Vincentiae et aliorum XXIIII. | in Africa Publii Saturnini Mauriani Libosi Vincentiae et aliorum XXIIII. | in Africa Luciani et Vincentii.Passio sanctorum Vindemialis et Eugeni. | ||
| ravenna severi ep̃i | In rauenna. seueri. ep̃i. Uictoris. Luciani. Appolonaris. Helari. | In ravenna siveri ep̃i victoris luciani apollonaris helari ammoni zotici cyriaci Item severi conf̃ et depõ pieti prƀri et passio sc̃orum vindimialis eugeni. | in Ravenna Severi episcopi. | in Ravenna Severi episcopi. | Ravenna depositio Severi episcopi et confessoris. | ||
| et alibi victoris luciani appollinaris hilari ammonis zotici cyriaci it̃ severi confes̃ et depos̃ picti ep̃i et pas̃ vindimialis et eugeni | et alibi Victoris Luciani Appollinaris Hilari Ammonis Zotici Cyriaci item Severi confessoris et depositio Picti episcopi et passio sanctorum Vindemialis et Eugeni. | et alibi Victoris Luciani Appollinaris Hilari Ammonis Zotici Cyriaci item Severi confessoris et depositio Picti episcopi et passio sanctorum Vindemialis et Eugeni. | |||||
| et in scotia sc̃ae brigidae virginis | In scottia Brigidȩ uirg̃. Ammoni. Zotici. Ciriaci. It̃ seueri conf̃. deps̃ pieti presbĩ et passio sc̃orum. Uindemialis. Eugeni. | in Scotia depositio sanctae Brig dae virginis. |
Record Created By
Marijana Vukovic
Date of Entry
02/09/2024
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00004 | Polykarpos/Polycarp, bishop and martyr of Smyrna, and his companion martyrs | Polycarpus | Uncertain | S00052 | Phokas, martyr of Sinope | Focas | Uncertain | S00334 | Eugenius, bishop of Carthage, exiled by the Vandals to Albi in Gaul, ob. 505 | Eugenius | Uncertain | S00817 | Felicianus and the Martyrs of Vaga | Libosus | Uncertain | S01142 | Vindimialis, bishop and martyr of Vandal Africa | Vindimialis | Uncertain | S01884 | Severus, bishop of Ravenna, earlier 4th c. | Severus | Certain | S01885 | Brigit, abbess of Kildare, 6th c. | Brigida | Certain | S01913 | 37 martyrs of Alexandria, Egypt | Poenus; Dionisus; Ammonus; Zoticus; Cyriacus/Ciriacus | Uncertain | S02916 | Lucianus and Vincentius, martyrs commemorated at Carthage | Vincentia/Vincencia; Lucianus | Certain | S03089 | Other saints, on 1 February in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Smyrna, Greece, Africa, Ravenna, Scotland, and "elsewhere" | Puplius/Publius; Saturninus; Maurianus/Maurinianus/Mauriniainus; Victor; Appolonaris/Appollinaris/Apollonaris; Helarus/Hilarus; Severus; Pictus/Pietus | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Marijana Vukovic, Cult of Saints, E04665 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E04665