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 11 July.
Evidence ID
E04878
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 11 July the following feasts:
Possibly *Pelagia, virgin and martyr of Antioch, (S01093),
Perhaps *Markianos, martyr of Tomis, (S01042),
*Marciana, virgin and martyr of Caesarea of Mauritania, (S02739),
*Prosdoke, Bernike and Domnina, martyrs of Antioch, (S01008),
*Benedict of Nursia, monk, ob. 547, (S01727),
*Euphemia, martyr of Chalcedon, (S00017),
*Other saints, on 11 July in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Africa, Armenia Minor, Rome, Alexandria, and Poitiers (S03056).
BnF 10837:
'On the fifth day before the Ides of July, in Africa, [the feast of] Marianus.
In Alexandria, [the feast of] Euticus, Eufemia.
And in Africa, [the feast of] Ianuarus.
In Armenia Minor, the city of Nicopolis, [the feast of] Ianuarus, Pelagus, Turmenus.
In Rome, [the feast of] Stefanus, Leontus, Pelagia, Mauricus, Domnus, Milito; the burial of Idoneus with children.
In Autun (Gaul), the burial of Achelleus, Daniheus.
In Rome, [the feast of] Diomedes, Ciricus, Anthonus, Iasonus, Iohannus, Sisinnus, Eustasia, Octavus, Emilianus, Anicetus, Theodolus, Cessus, Candidus, Gorgonus, Arcelaus, also, Archelaus, Cirinus, Aprodisus, Gogianus, Glericus, Antonus, Gagus, Auxentus, Valentinus, Flavus, Nicaonus, Teudotus, Faustasus, Aurelus, Gordianus, Cirionus, Cirillus, Castricus, Sanctus, Euticus.
In Siricia, [the feast of] Marcianus.
In Antioch, [the feast of] Prodocia.
In Mauritania, the city Cessarea, [the feast of] Marcianus.
In Alexandria, [the feast of] Euticus.'
Bern 289:
'On the fifth day before the Ides of July, in Africa, [the feast of] Marinus, and Ianuarius.
In Armenia Minor, the city Nicopolis, [the feast of] Ianuaria, Pelagia; they were subjected to torments, not only by claws; but their bodies had vessels until the fourth day of the same martyrdom.
In Rome, [the feast of] Stephanus, Leontus, Mauricus, Domnus, Milito, Acelleus, Danicha, Diomedes, Cyricus, Antonus, Iaso, Iohannes, Eustasus, Octavus, Emelianus, Sisinnus, Anicetus, Theodolus, Cessus, Candedus, Gorgonus, Archelleus, also, Archelleus, Cyrinus, Afrodisus, Gaianus, Clericus, Antonus, Gagus, Auxentus, Valentinus, Flavius, Nicaonus, Theodotus, Faustasus, Aurelus, Gordianus, Cyrionus, Cyrillus, Castrus, Euticus.
In Siricia, [the feast of] Marcianus.
In Antioch, [the feast of] Prodotia, Veronica, and Spetiosa.
In Mauritania, the city of Cessarea, [the feast of] Marcianus; and the burial of abbot Benedictus.
In Alexandria, [the feast of] Euticus; and the burial of abbot Basinus.'
Weissenburg 81:
'On the fifth day before the Ides of July, in Africa, [the feast of] Marianus and Ianuarius.
In Armenia, the city of Nicopolis, also, [the feast of] Ianuarius, Pelagus; they were subjected to these torments, not only by claws; but their bodies had vessels until the fourth day of the same martyrdom.
In Rome, [the feast of] Stefanus, Leontus, Mauricus, Domnus, Milito, Flavinus, Caonus, Aurilus, Cyrionus, Castrus.
In Syria, [the feast of] Marcianus.
In Antioch, [the feast of] Proditia, Veronica, and Speciosa.
In a city in Mauritania, [the feast of] Marcianus.
In Alexandria, [the feast of] Euticus.
And in the city Poitiers (Gaul), the burial of abbot Basinus.
And in Floriacum monastery, the arrival of abbot Benedictus.'
Quentin follows the early manuscripts for the most part.
Delehaye also follows the early manuscripts to an extent.
Translation and comments: M. Vukovic.
Festivals
Saint’s feast
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - unspecified
RelicsTransfer, translation and deposition of relics
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesChildren
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
On 11 July, the three early manuscripts of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum record first the commemoration in Africa of the saints Marianus/Marinus and Ianuarius. These saints are not identified.Further, the manuscripts on this day record the commemoration in Armenia Minor of the saints Ianuarus/Ianuaria/Ianuarius, Pelagus/Pelagia, and Turmenus. According to Delehaye, the second saint could be *Pelagia, (virgin and martyr of Antioch, S01093). The name Turmenus could be a confusion with the word tormentis. The first saint cannot be identified (and the repetition of the same name as above is indicative).
Further, there is a commemoration of a number of saints in Rome on this day: Stefanus/Stephanus, Leontus, Pelagia, Mauricus, Domnus, Milito, Idoneus, Acelleus, Danicha, Diomedes, Cyricus/Ciricus, Antonus/Anthonus, Iaso/Iasonus, Iohannes/Iohannus, Eustasus/Eustasia, Octavus, Emelianus/Emilianus, Sisinnus, Anicetus, Theodolus, Cessus, Candedus/Candidus, Gorgonus, Archelleus/Arcelaus/Archelaus, Cyrinus/Cirinus, Afrodisus/Aprodisus, Gaianus, Gogianus, Clericus/Glericus, Antonus, Gagus, Auxentus, Valentinus, Flavius/Flavinus/Flavus, Nicaonus/Caonus, Theodotus/Teudotus, Faustasus, Aurelus/Aurilus, Gordianus, Cyrionus/Cirionus, Cyrillus/Cirillus, Castrus/Castricus, Sanctus, and Euticus. They also cannot be identified. Some names, like Pelagia, repeat from the commemorations in other places.
Further, all three manuscripts record the saint Marcianus in the location called Siricia/Syricia, which is in manuscript Weissenburg 81 corrected to Syria. It is not clear who this saint is; Delehaye offers at least a few options, among which the identification of this saint as *Markianos, (martyr of Tomis, S01042) or as *Marciana, (virgin and martyr of Caessarea in Mauritania, S02739). We consider them possible.
The manuscripts further record the saints in Antioch; manuscript BnF 10837 records only Prodocia, while the two other manuscripts record Prodotia/Proditia, Veronica, and Spetiosa/Speciosa. These saints are certainly identified as *Prosdoke, Bernike and Domnina, (martyrs of Antioch, S01008).
According to all the manuscripts, there is a commemoration in Mauritania of the saint Marcianus, who is, according to Delehaye, *Marciana, (virgin and martyr of Caessarea in Mauritania, S02739), as also identified above. According to Bern 289, there is a commemoration of a saint Benedictus, who later appears in Weissenburg 81, too. He could be identified as *Benedict of Nursia, (monk, ob. 547, S01727).
Further, in Alexandria, there is a commemoration of Euticus. To him, the abbot Basinus is added in manuscript Bern 289. Although the saint Euticus from Alexandria is identified as such by Delehaye, we stay uncertain as to who this saint was. The same applies to a saintly abbot Basinus, who later also appears in manuscript Weissenburg 81 to have a commemoration in Poitiers (Gaul).
Finally, the manuscript BnF 10837 records on this day the saint Eufemia in Alexandria, who is probably, also according to Delehaye, *Euphemia, (martyr of Chalcedon, S00017).
Unidentified saints are listed by us among *Other saints, on 11 July in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Africa, Armenia Minor, Rome, Alexandria, and Poitiers (S03056).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V idus iũl in af̃f mariani | U. ID. IUL. IN AFRICA. Marini. et ianuarii. | V ID. IUL. In afreca mariani et ianuarii | In Africa Mariani et Ianuari. | In Africa Mariani et Ianuari. | |||
| in alāx eutici eufemiae | |||||||
| et in af̃f ianuari | |||||||
| in armeñ minõ civĩ nicop̃ it̃ ianuari pelagi turmeni | IN ARMINIA. Minore. ciuitate. Nicopoli. It. Ianuariȩ. Pelagiȩ. Hii tormentis. subditi. qui non solū ungulis. sed et testa. corpora eorum. usq; in diem quartū id eamdem passionis habuerunt. | In arminia ciuit̃ necopoli Item ianuarii pelagi. his tormentis subditi qui non solum ungulis sed et testa corpora eorum usque in diem quartum id eadem passionẽ habuerunt; | in Armenia minore civitate Nicopoli item Ianuari Pelagi hii tormentis subditi qui non solum ungulis sed et testa corpora eorum usque in diem quartum id eadem passionis habuerunt. | in Armenia minore civitate Nicopoli item Ianuari Pelagi hii tormentis subditi qui non solum ungulis sed et testa corpora eorum usque in diem quartum id eadem passionis habuerunt. | in Armenia minore civitate Nicopoli Leontii, Mauricii, Daniel, Antonii, Sisinnii, Aniceti. Depositio Idonei cum filiis. | ||
| rom̄ stefani leonti pelagiae maurici domni militonis depos̃ idonei cum filis | ROMÆ Sc̃orum Stephani. Leonti. Maurici. Domni. militonis. Acellei. Danichȩ. Diomedis. Cyrici. Antoni. Iason. Iohannis. Eustasi. Octaui. Emeliani. Sisinni. Aniceti. Theodoli. Cessi. Candedi. Gorgoni Archellei. It. Archellei. Cyrini. Afrodisi. Gaiani. Clerici. Antoni. Gagi. Auxenti. Ualentini. Flauii. Nicaoni. Theodoti. Faustasi. Aureli. Gordiani. Cyrioni. Cyrilli. Castri. Sc̃i. Eutici. | Rom̄ sc̃orum stefani leonti maurici domni militonis flauini caoni. aurili cyrioni castri | Romae sanctorum Stefani Leonti Maurici Domni Militonis depositio Idonei cum filiis. | Romae sanctorum Stefani Leonti Maurici Domni Militonis Achellei Danihel. | |||
| agustuduno depos̃ achellei danihel | Agustoduno depositio Achellei Danihel. | ||||||
| rom̄ diomedis cirici anthoni iasoni iohanni sisinni eustasiae octavi emiliani aniceti theodoli cessi candidi gorgoni arcelai it̃ archelai cirini aprodisi gogiani glerici antoni gagi auxenti valentini flavi nicaoni teudoti faustasi aureli gordiani cirioni cirilli castrici sancti eutici | Romae Diomedis Cirici Anthoni Iasoni Iohanni Sisinni Eustasiae Octavi Emiliani Aniceti Theodoli Cessi Candidic Gorgoni Arcelai item Archelaid Cirini Aprodisi Gogiani Glerici Antoni Gagi Auxenti Valentini Flavi Nicaoni Teudoti Faustasi Aureli Gordiani Cirioni Cirilli Castrici sancti Eutici. | Romae Diomedis Cirici Anthoni Iasoni Iohanni Eustasiae Octavi Emiliani Sisinni Aniceti Theodoli Cessi Candidic Gorgoni Arcelai item Archelaid Cirini Aprodisi Gogiani Glerici Antoni Gagi Auxenti Valentini Flavi Nicaoni Teudoti Faustasi Aureli Gordiani Cirioni Cirilli Castrici sancti Eutici. | |||||
| in siricia marciani | IN SYRICIA Sc̃i Marciani. | In syria marciani | in Syricia Marciani. | in Syricia Marciani. | |||
| in antioc̃ prodociae | IN ANTIOCHIA. Prodotiȩ. Ueronicȩ. et spetiosȩ. | In anthiocia proditiȩ ueronicȩ et speciosae | in Antiochia Prodociae | in Antiochia Prodociae Veronicae et Spetiosae | Antiochiae in Syria Prosdocae, Veronicae. | ||
| in mauritā civĩ cessar̃ marciani | IN MAURITAN. ciuitat cesarea. Marciani. et depos̃ Sc̃i Benedicti abƀ. | In mauritania ciuit̃ marciani | in Mauritania civitate Cessarea Marciani. | in Mauritania civitate Cessarea Marciani. | in Mauritania civitate Caesarea Marcianae. | ||
| in alẽx eutici | IN ALEXANDR. Eutici. et deposit̃ Basini abbatis. | In alexandria eutici | in Alexandria Eutici | in Alexandria Eutici et depositio Basini abbatis | in Alexandria Eutici. | ||
| et in pectauis ciuit̃ depositio basini abƀ | in Pictavis civitate depositio Basini abbatis. | ||||||
| et in floriaco monastyr̃ aduentio sc̃i benedicti aƀƀ | |||||||
| 〈Chalcedone〉 Eufemiae. |
Record Created By
Marijana Vukovic
Date of Entry
01/05/2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00017 | Euphemia, martyr of Chalcedon | Eufemia | Certain | S01008 | Prosdoke, Bernike and Domnina, mother and two daughters, martyrs of Antioch | Prodocia/Prodotia/Proditia; Veronica; Spetiosa/Speciosa | Certain | S01042 | Markianos, martyr of Tomis | Marcianus | Uncertain | S01093 | Pelagia, virgin and martyr of Antioch | Pelagus/Pelagia | Uncertain | S01727 | Benedict of Nursia, monastic founder, ob. 547 | Benedictus | Certain | S02739 | Marciana, virgin and martyr of Caesarea of Mauretania | Marcianus | Certain | S03056 | Other saints, on 11 July in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Africa, Armenia Minor, Rome, Alexandria, and Poitiers | Marianus/Marinus; Ianuarius/Ianuarus/Ianuaria; Stefanus/Stephanus; Leontus; Mauricus; Domnus; Milito; Idoneus; Acelleus; Danicha; Diomedes; Cyricus/Ciricus; Antonus/Anthonus; Iaso/Iasonus; Iohannes/Iohannus; Eustasus/Eustasia; Octavus; ,Emelianus/Emilianus; Sisinnus; Anicetus; Theodolus; Cessus; Candedus/Candidus; Gorgonus; Archelleus/Arcelaus/Archelaus; Cyrinus/Cirinus; Afrodisus/Aprodisus; Gaianus; Gogianus; Clericus/Glericus; Antonus; Gagus; Auxentus; Valentinus; Flavius/Flavinus/Flavus; Nicaonus/Caonus; Theodotus/Teudotus; Faustasus; Aurelus/Aurilus; Gordianus; Cyrionus/Cirionus; Cyrillus/Cirillus; Castrus/Castricus; Sanctus; Euticus; Basinus | Certain |
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