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 August.
E04927
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 22 August the following feasts:
*Fortunatus and Hermagoras, martyrs of Aquileia (North Italy), 3rd cent., (S02547),
*Timotheus, martyr of Rome, buried on the via Ostiensis, (S00330),
*Abundius, martyr of Rome associated with Hippolytus (S00213),
*Cyriacus, martyr of Ostia and Portus, and companion of Aurea, (S00898),
*Archelaus, martyr of Ostia and Portus, and companion of Aurea, (S00898),
Possibly *Hippolytus, martyr of Rome, (S00509),
Possibly *Greek martyrs of Rome, (S01873),
*Aurea and Companions, martyrs of Ostia, (S00898),
*Other saints, on 21 August in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Rome, Neocessarea of Pontus, Sardinia, Alexandria, and Frygia, (S02540),
*Marinos, martyr, (S01065),
*Klaudios, Asterios, Neon and Theonilla, martyrs of Cilicia (Asia Minor), (S02533),
*Minervus and Eleazar, martyrs of Lyon (Gaul), 3rd cent., (S02548),
*Symphorianus, martyr of Autun (Gaul), (S00322),
The burial of *Flavianus, bishop of Autun (S03097),
*Sidonius Apollinaris, poet, diplomat, and bishop of Clermont, 5th cent., (S02556),
*Other saints, on 22 August in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Rome and Aquileia (S02557).
BnF 10837:
'On the eleventh day before the Kalends of September, in Rome, on the via Ostiense, [the feast of] Timotheus. And in the Roman Port, [the feast of] Peregrinus, Apreles, Marcialis, Epictitus, Marcellus, Aurelus, Felix, Ippolitus, Saturninus.
In the city Neocessarea (Asia Minor), [the feast of] Nectarus, Saevus.
In Antioch, [the feast of] Marinus.
In Autun (Gaul), [the feast of] Minervus and Emelianus, with eight sons, and Simphorianus.'
Bern 289:
'On the eleventh day before the Kalends of September, in Aquileia, [the feast of] Furtunatus, Hermogenes, Sixtus, Marcialis, Hermogerata.
In Rome, in the cemetery of Laurentus, [the feast of] Abundus, Innocentus, Mirendinus. And in the Port of the city of Rome, [the feast of] Yppolitus, who is called Nonnus.
In Hostia, the feast of Quiriacus, and Archileus.
In the province of Cilicia, the city of Aegea (Asia Minor), [the feast of] Claudus, Asterus, Neo, Domnina.
In Lyon, Gaul, [the feast of] Mineruinus, Eliazarus, with eight sons.
In Rome, on the via Ostiense, the feast of Timotheus, the disciple of Paul the Apostle.
In Autun (Gaul), the burial of bishop Flavianus.
In Clermont-Ferrand (Gaul), [the feast of] bishop Sidonius. And the feast of martyr Sinforianus.'
Weissenburg 81:
'On the eleventh day before the Kalends of September, in Rome, on the via Ostiense, in his own cemetery, [the feast of] Thimotheus, the disciple of Paul the Apostle. And in the Roman Port, of the foreign martyrs, the feast of Marcialis, Aura, Epictitus, Saturninus, Aprilis, and Felix.
In the Port of Neocessarea (Asia Minor), the feast of Nectavus, Saevus.
In Antioch, the feast of Marinus.
In Gaul, the city of Autun, the feast of Medardus and Emilianus, with eight sons, and martyr Symforianus.'
The text in Quentin mostly resembles the entries in manuscripts BnF 10837 and Weissenburg 81.
Delehaye also follows the manuscripts to a large extent.
Translation and comments: M. Vukovic.
Saint’s feast
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - cemetery/catacomb
Burial site of a saint - unspecified
Places Named after SaintCemetery
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesChildren
Family
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 22 August, Bern 289 records the commemoration in Aquileia of *Fortunatus and Hermagoras, (martyrs of Aquileia, S02547) who are commemorated a day later, on 23 August (E04928), in the other two early manuscripts. The companion martyrs listed by Bern 289 - Sixtus, Marcialis and Hermogerat, who also appear (on 23 August) in Weissenburg 81 - are otherwise unknown. 'Hermogerat' is likely to be a repetition of the name Hermagoras. In later hagiography, Hermagoras has become the first bishop of Aquileia, and Fortunatus his deacon, but all references to them in the Martyrologium are consistent in omitting any reference to Hermagoras being a bishop and in placing him second, after Fortunatus.Further follows the commemoration in Rome. Among them is *Timotheus, (martyr of Rome, buried on the via Ostiensis,S00330), and *Abundius, (martyr of Rome associated with Hippolytus, S00213). The first one was the disciple of *Paul, (the Apostle, S00008), according to Bern 289. Also, Cyriacus and Archelaus, commemorated in Ostia, are the companions of *Aurea and Companions, (martyrs of Ostia, S00898), *Cyriacus, (martyr of Ostia and Portus, and companion of Aurea, S00898) and *Archelaus, (martyr of Ostia and Portus, and companion of Aurea, S00898). Yppolitus, who is also called Nonnus, is also mentioned in the Martyrdom of Aurea, Censurinus and Companions (BHL 808-809) (see E03244).
Among the saints commemorated in the Roman Port in BnF 10837, we identify *Hippolytus, (martyr of Rome, S00509). This is a possible identification because Ippolitus may also belong to the group of *Greek martyrs of Rome, (S01873), together with Marcellus. The name Peregrinus, as Delehaye considers, may come from the fact that these are foreign saints.
Among the other saints commemorated in Ostia, Aurelus/Aura is probably *Aurea and Companions, (martyrs of Ostia, S00898), also commemorated on 20 May (E04820).
Nectarus and Saevus, who are commemorated also a day earlier (E04926) in Neocessarea appear among *Other saints, on 21 August in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Rome, Neocessarea of Pontus, Sardinia, Alexandria, and Frygia S02540). The same goes for Apreles/Aprilis, Marcialis, Epictitus, Felix, and Saturninus, commemorated in Rome. Innocentus, Laurentus, and Mirendinus in Rome are not identified.
The saint *Marinos, (martyr, S01065) is further commemorated, according to BnF 10837 and Weissenburg 81, in Antioch. The same saint appears on 21 August (E04926).
Manuscript Bern 289 further records *Klaudios, Asterios, Neon and Theonilla, (martyrs of Cilicia (Asia Minor), S02533).
Minervus/Medardus/Mineruinus and Emelianus/Emilianus/Eliazarus, commemorated in Autun/Lyon, are *Minervus and Eleazar, (martyrs of Lyon (Gaul), 3rd cent., S02548). BnF 10837 and Weissenburg 81 record the commemoration of *Symphorianus, (martyr of Autun (Gaul), S00322) in Autun, while Bern 289 possibly mentions his feast in Clermont-Ferrand (Gaul).
Bishop Flavianus of Autun (S03097), is, according to Delehaye, mentioned in the Life of *Eptadius (presbyter of Autun, 6th c.,S02389) (see E06303).
Finally, Bern 289 records on this day the feast of *Sidonius Apollinaris, (poet, diplomat, and bishop of Clermont, 5th cent., $S02556).
The unidentified saints are *Other saints, on 22 August in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Rome and Aquileia ($S02557).
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 |
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XI KL. SEPT. IN AQUILEIA. Sc̃orũ. Furtunati HERMOGENIS. Sixti. Marcialis HERMOGERAT | |||||||
XI k sep̃ rom̃ via ostensi timothei et in porta rom̃ peregrini aprelis marcialis epictiti marcelli aureli felicis ippoliti saturnini | XI KL. SEP. Rom̄ via ostinsi In cimit̃ eiusdem sc̃i thimothei discipuli pauli apostoli et in porto romano peregrinorum martyrum nat̃ sc̃orum marcialis aurae epictiti saturnini aprilis et felicis | Romae via Ostensi in cimiterio eiusdem sancti Timothei discipuli Pauli apostoli. et in Portu Romano Peregrini Aprelis Marcialis Epictiti Marcelli Aureli Felicis Ippoliti Saturnini. | Romae via Ostensi in cimiterio eiusdem sancti Timothei discipuli Pauli apostoli. et in Portu Romano Peregrini Marcialis Aurae Epictiti Saturnini Aprilis et Felicis. | Romae via Ostiensi in cimiterio eiusdem sancti Timothei. in Portu Romano Ippoliti. | |||
ROMÆ in cimit̃ Sc̃i Laurenti. Abundi. Innocenti. Mirendini ET IN PORTO urbis rome. Yppoliti. qui dicitur nonnus. | |||||||
neocess̃ civĩ nectaris saevi | In ponto neocaesaria nał sc̃o℞ nectavi saevi | in Ponto Neocessarea civitate Nectaris Saevi. | in Ponto Neocessarea civitate Nectaris Saevi. | ||||
IN HOSTIA. nał SCO℞ Quiriaci. et archilei. | |||||||
in antioc̃ marini | In antiocia nał sc̃i marini | in Antiochia Marini. | in Antiochia Marini. | in Antiochia Marini. | |||
IN PROUINCIA. cilicie. ciuitatis. Egias. Claudi. Asteri. Neonis. Domninẽ. | |||||||
augustuđ gallis minervi et emeliani cum filis VIII et sc̃i simphoriani. | In gał;ł civit̃ agustiduno nł sc̃orum medardi et emiliani cum filiis VIII et sc̃i symforiani mar̃ | in Galliis civitate Agustiduno natale Minervi et Emeliani cum filiis VIII et sancti Simphoriani martyris. | in Galliis civitate Agustiduno natale Minervi et Emeliani cum filiis VIII et sancti Simphoriani martyris. | in Galliis civitate Augustoduno sancti Simphoriani martyris. | |||
LUGDUNO GALL. Mineruini. Eliazari. cum filiis VIII. | |||||||
Rome uia ostensa Natł sc̃i timothei discipuli pauli apłi | |||||||
AGUSTIDUNO. Depos̃ Sc̃i Flauiani ep̃i | |||||||
ARUERNUS Sc̃i Sidonii ep̃i. et natł Sc̃i Sinforiani mar̃ |
Marijana Vukovic
13/08/2022
ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00213 | Roman martyrs associated with Xystus/Sixtus, Laurence and Hippolytus | Abundus | Certain | S00322 | Symphorianus, martyr of Autun | Sinforianus/Symforianus/Simphorianus | Certain | S00330 | Timotheus, martyr of Rome, buried on the via Ostiensis | Timotheus | Certain | S00509 | Hippolytus, martyr of Rome | Ippolitus/Yppolitus | Uncertain | S00898 | Aurea and Companions, martyrs of Ostia and Portus | Quiriacus; Archeleus; Yppolitus/Nonnus; Aura/Aurelus | Certain | S01065 | Marinos, martyr | Marinus | Certain | S01873 | Greek martyrs of Rome (Hippolytus, Hadrias, Paulina, Neon, Maria, and their companions Eusebius, Marcellus, Maximus, Martana and Valeria) | Ippolitus; Marcellus | Uncertain | S02533 | Klaudios, Asterios, Neon and Theonilla, martyrs of Cilicia | Claudus; Asterus; Neon; Domnina | Certain | S02540 | Other saints, on 21 August in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Rome, Neocessarea of Pontus, Sardinia, Alexandria, and Frygia | Nectarus; Saevus; Apreles/Aprilis; Marcialis; Epictitus; Felix; Saturninus | Certain | S02547 | Fortunatus and Hermagoras, martyrs of Aquileia | Furtunatus; Hermogenes | Certain | S02548 | Minervus and Eleazar, martyrs of Lyon (Gaul), 3rd cent. | Minervus/Medardus/Mineruinus; Emelianus/Emilianus/Eliazarus | Certain | S02556 | Sidonius Apollinaris, poet, diplomat, and bishop of Clermont, ob. c. 489 | Sidonius | Certain | S02557 | lesser saints, on 22 August in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum: in Rome and Aquileia | Innocentus; Laurentus; Mirendinus; Sixtus; Marcialis; Hermogerata | Certain | S03097 | Flavianus, bishop of Autun, ob. c. 515 | Flavianus | Certain |
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