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 August.
E04900
Liturgical texts - Calendars and martyrologies
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 August the following feasts:
*Maccabean Martyrs, pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, (S00303),
The dedication of the first church constructed and consecrated by *Peter the Apostle, (S00036),
*All saints from Philadelphia, Arabia (Amman, Jordan), (S02467),
*Kyrillos/Quirillus, martyr of Axiopolis, and companion of Quindeus/Kyndaias, (S01020),
*Secundinus, martyred on the Via Prenestina, thirty miles from Rome, (S02439),
*Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli (north Italy), ob. AD 371, (S01219),
*Felix, martyr of Gerona, Spain (S00408),
The burial of *Arcadius, bishop of Bourges, ob. 549 AD, (S02440),
*Other saints, on 1 August in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Tomis, Rome, Vercelli (S02441).
BnF 10837:
'August has 31 days. On the Kalends of August, in Antioch, [the feast of] seven Maccabean brothers with [their] mother.
In Tomis, [the feast of] Cyrillus, Aquila, Domitianus, Rufus, Menander.
And in Rome, [the feast of] Secundus.
And in the city Vercelli (north Italy), the feast of bishop Eusebus, Petrus, Pufunus.
In Spain, the city of Girona, [the feast of] martyr Felix.
In Gaul, the city of Bourges, the burial of bishop Sarcadus.'
Bern 289:
'August has 31 days. On the Kalends of August, in Antioch, the passion of Maccabees, seven brothers with their mother, who suffered during the king Anthiocus.
In Rome, the dedication of the church constructed and consecrated by blesser Peter.
In Arabia, the city of Filadelfina (Amman, Jordan), the Synod of Martyrs is celebrated.
And in the city of Tomis, [the feast of] Cyrillus, Aquila, Petrus, Domicianus, Rufus, Minander, crowned the same day, Pufumus.
In Rome, on the via Praenestina, in the 30th mile from the city, the feast of Secundinus, Donatula, Secundola, Maxima, Iusta, Minander, Profunus.
In Italy, in the city Vercelli (north Italy), the passion and the burial of bishop and confessor Eusebius.
In Spain, the city of Girona, the feast of Felix martyr.
In Gaul, the city of Bourges, [the feast of] blessed bishop Archadus.'
Weissenburg 81:
'August has 31 days. On the Kalends of August, in Antioch, the passion of Maccabees, seven brothers with [their] mother, who suffered during the king Antiocus.
In Rome, the dedication of the first church constructed by blessed Peter.
In Arabia, the city of Filadelfia (Amman, Jordan), the Synod of martyrs is celebrated.
The feast of Cyrillus, Aquila, Petrus, Domicianus, Rufus, Minander, crowned the same day.
In Rome, on the 30th mile from the city, the feast of Secumdinus, Donatula, Secundola, Maxima, Iusta, Menander, Profunus.
In Italy, in the city of Vercelli (north Italy), the burial of bishop and confessor Eusebius.
In Spain, in the city of Girona, the feast of martyr Felix.
In Gaul in the city of Bourges, [the feast of] bishop Archadus.'
Quentin combines the early manuscripts in his edition.
Delehaye uses a great deal of information from the manuscripts, but he also introduces some new information.
Translation and comments: M. Vukovic.
Saint’s feast
Anniversary of church/altar dedication
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - unspecified
Burial site of a saint - other
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Family
Women
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
The calendar for August of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum opens with the *Maccabean Martyrs, (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303), commemorated on 1 August, according to all early manuscripts.Manuscripts Brn 289 and Weissenburg 81 further record on this date the dedication of the first church constructed and consecrated by *Peter the Apostle, (S00036).
The same manuscripts Bern 289 and Weissenburg 81 record the commemoration on this day of the the synod of martyrs in Philadelphia, Arabia (Amman, Jordan). This most probably does not refer to a particular Synod but to the commemoration of all the "gathered" saints from this area. Therefore, we register them as *All saints from Philadelphia, Arabia (Amman, Jordan), (S02467).
The manuscripts also commemorate on this day a number of saints in Tomis: Cyrillus, Aquila, Domitianus/Domicianus, Rufus, Menander/Minander, Petrus, and Pufumus. Among the saints in Tomis, Delehaye argues that Cyrillus is *Kyrillos/Quirillus, (martyr of Axiopolis, and companion of Quindeus/Kyndaias, S01020), who is also commemorated on 9 May (see E04808). Aquila, Domitianus/Domicianus, Rufus, Menander/Minander, and Petrus, commemorated in Tomis, are not identified. Profunus/Pufumus/Pufunus, commemorated in Tomis, but also in Rome and Vercelli, is not identified.
Among the saints commemorated in Rome, Delehaye recognizes Secundus/Secumdinus/Secundinus as *Secundinus, (martyred on the Via Prenestina, thirty miles from Rome, S02439). The other saints of Rome, Donatula, Secundola, Maxima, Iusta, and Menander/Minander, are not identified.
The three saints also record on this day saint Eusebus/Eusebius, who is identified as *Eusebius, (bishop of Vercelli (north Italy), ob. AD 371, S01219).
All three manuscripts commemorate on this date *Felix (martyr of Gerona, Spain, S00408). Felix of Girona (died 304) is a Catalan saint. He was martyred at Girona after traveling from Carthage with *Cucuphas (S00502) to Spain as a missionary. See E05057.
The manuscripts of the Martyrologium record on this date the burial of *Arcadius, (bishop of Bourges, ob. 549 AD, S02440).
The unidentified saints are *Other saints, on 1 August in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Tomis, Rome, Vercelli (S02441).
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agustus dies XXXI. Kl agus̃ antioc̃ machabeorū VII. ffr̃um cum matre | LAETANIAS IN DICEND. M(EN)SIS AGS. HABET DI(E)S. XXXI. KL. AGUS. IN ANTIOCHIA. Passio Sc̃orum machabe°rū septē fratrum cū matre sua . qui passi sunt sub anthioco rege. | LETANIAS INDIC. MENSIS AGUS. HABET DIES XXXI KL. agustas In anthiocia pas̃ sc̃orum machabeorum septem fratrū cum matre sua qui passi sunt sub antioco regi | In Antiochia passio sanctorum Machabeorum VII fratrum cum matre sua qui passi sunt sub Anthioco rege. | In Antiochia passio sanctorum Machabeorum VII fratrum cum matre sua qui passi sunt sub Anthioco rege. | in Antiochia passio sanctorum Machabeorum VII fratrum cum matre sua, qui passi sunt sub Antiocho rege. | ||
ROMÆ . Dedicatio ecclesiȩ A beato petro constructe et consecratȩ. | Rom̄ dedicatio primȩ aecclesiae a beato petro constructae | Romae dedicatio primae ecclesiae a beato Petro constructae et consecratae. | Romae dedicatio primae ecclesiae a beato Petro constructae et consecratae. | ||||
IN ARABIA CIUIT. Filadelfinȩ Sinodus martyrum. celebratur. | In arabia ciuit̃ filadelfie sinodus martyrum celebratur | in Arabia civitate Finadelfinae sinodus martyrum celebratur. | in Arabia civitate Finadelfinae sinodus martyrum celebratur. | in Arabia civitate Filadelfia sinodus martyrum celebratur. | |||
in tomis cyrilli aquilae domitiani rufi menandri | ET IN THOMIS ciuitate. Cyrilli Aquilȩ. Petri. Domiciani. Rufi. Minandri. una diȩ. coronatorum . Pufumi | nat̃ sc̃orum cyrilli aquilae petri domiciani Rufi minandri una die coronati. | in Tomis Cyrilli Aquilae Domitiani Rufi Menandri | in Tomis Cyrilli Aquilae Petri Domitiani Rufi Menandri una die coronatorum Pufumi. | in Tomis Cyrilli. | ||
et rom̄ secundi | ROMÆ. Uia prenestina. miliario XXX ab urbe natale Sc̃orum. Secundini Donatulȩ. Secundolȩ Maximȩ. Iustȩ Minandri. Profuni. | Romȩ miliarĩ XXX ab urbe nat̃ sc̃orum secumdini donatule secundolae maximȩ iustae menandri profuni. | et Romae Secundi una die coronatorum | Romae via Prenestina miliario XXX ab urbe natale sanctorum Secundini Donatulae Secundolae Maximae Iustae Minandri Profuni. | Romae via Praenestina miliario XXX ab Urbe natale sancti Secundini. | ||
et civĩ vercellas nt̃ eusebi ep̃i petri pufuni | IN ITALIA Uircellis ciuitate pas̃ et Depositio . Sc̃i Eusebii. ep̃i et confessoris. | In italia uercellis ciuit̃ dep̃ sc̃i eusebii ep̃i et conf̃ | in Italia civitate Vercellis depositio sancti Eusebii episcopi et confessoris. Petri Pufuni. | in Italia civitate Vercellis depositio sancti Eusebii episcopi et confessoris. | in Italia civitate Vercellis depositio sancti Eusebii episcopi et confessoris. | ||
in spanis gerunda civĩ felicis mar̃ | IN HISPANIIS Geronda ciuitate Natale . Sc̃i Felicis martyris. | In hispaniis ierunda ciuit̃ Nat̃ sc̃i felicis mart̃y | in Spaniis Gerunda civitate natale sancti Felicis martyris. | in Spaniis Gerunda civitate natale sancti Felicis martyris. | in Spaniis Gerunda civitate natale sancti Felicis martyris. | ||
in gał civĩ beturica depos̃ sarcadi ep̃i. | IN GALL. CIUIT. beturicas . beati Archadi episcopi. | In gałł ciuit̃ beturicas beati archadi ep̃i | in Galliis civitate Beturicas depositio beati Archadi episcopi. | in Galliis civitate Beturicas depositio beati Archadi episcopi. | in Galliis civitate Beturicas depositio beati Archadii episcopi. | ||
Baiocas depositio Exsuperii episcopi. | |||||||
in territorio Parisiacensi in ipso loco qui dicitur Lupera passio sancti Iustini martyris. | |||||||
Marijana Vukovic
06/12/2022
ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain | S00303 | Maccabean Martyrs, pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch | machabeorū VII. ffr̃um cum matre | Certain | S00408 | Felix, martyr of Gerona | Felix | Certain | S01020 | Kyrillos/Quirillus, Kyndaias/Quindeus, and companions, martyrs of Axiopolis | Cyrillus | Certain | S01219 | Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli, ob. 371 | Eusebus/Eusebius | Certain | S02439 | Secundinus, martyred on the Via Prenestina, thirty miles from Rome | Secundinus | Certain | S02440 | Arcadius, bishop of Bourges, ob. 549 AD | Archadus/Sarcadus | Certain | S02441 | Other saints, on 1 August in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Tomis, Rome, Vercelli | Aquila; Domitianus/Domicianus; Rufus; Menander/Minander; Petrus; Profunus/Pufumus/Pufunus; Donatula; Secundola; Maxima; Iusta; Menander/Minander | Certain | S02467 | All saints from Philadelphia, Arabia (Amman, Jordan) | Sinodus martyrum. | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Marijana Vukovic, Cult of Saints, E04900 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E04900