Ambrose of Milan, in a letter to Simplicianus (Letter 7), suggests that martyrdom leads to true freedom, using the examples of *Thekla (follower of the Apostle Paul, S00092), *Agnes (virgin and martyr of Rome, S00097), *Pelagia (virgin and martyr of Antioch, S01093), *Laurence (deacon and martyr of Rome, S00037) and the *Maccabean martyrs (pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch, S00303). Written in Latin in Milan (northern Italy), c. 387.
Evidence ID
E05206
Type of Evidence
Literary - Letters
Major author/Major anonymous work
Ambrose of Milan
Ambrose of Milan, Letter 7.36–38
Summary:
Ambrose demonstrates that 'the wise man is free' (libens igitur sapiens) by referring to the deaths of various martyrs, including naming Thekla, Agnes, Pelagia, Laurence and the Maccabean martyrs. He then praises Pelagia’s martyrdom in more detail, focusing on her virginity and willingness to die in defence of it. In doing so, she became free.
Summary: Frances Trzeciak.
Non Liturgical ActivityOral transmission of saint-related stories
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Oral transmission of saint-related stories
Composing and translating saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Theorising on SanctityConsiderations about the veneration of saints
Source
Letter 7 of the letter collection of Ambrose of Milan. This letter was addressed to a friend and correspondent, Simplicianus, who was to succeed Ambrose as bishop of Milan. Throughout the letter Ambrose argues that holiness is perfect freedom. Ambrose’s letters have been transmitted in ten books, but scholars disagree over whether this was a decision made by Ambrose or by a later editor. This letter dates from c. 387.The letter is preserved in the Maurist collection as Letter 37. See Patrologia Latina, vol. 16, 855D-867B for a discussion of this alternative order, which is based on the date of composition rather than the order of letters in the manuscript tradition.
Bibliography
Edition:Faller, O., Sancti Ambrosii Opera: Epistulae et Acta (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 82.1; Vienna: Hoelder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1968).
Further Reading:
Canellis, A. (ed.), La correspondance d’Ambroise de Milan (Saint-Étienne: Publications de l’Université de Saint-Étienne, 2012).
McLynn, N., Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian Capital (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994).
Nauroy, G., "The Letter Collection of Ambrose of Milan," in: C. Sogno, B. Storin and E. Watts (eds)., Late Antique Letter Collections (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2016), 146-156.
Record Created By
Frances Trzeciak
Date of Entry
21/03/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00037 | Laurence/Laurentius, deacon and martyr of Rome | Laurentius | Certain | S00092 | Thekla, follower of the Apostle Paul | Thecla | Certain | S00097 | Agnes, virgin and martyr of Rome | Agnes | Certain | S00303 | Maccabean Martyrs, pre-Christian Jewish martyrs of Antioch | Machabaei | Certain | S01093 | Pelagia, virgin and martyr of Antioch | Pelagia | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Frances Trzeciak, Cult of Saints, E05206 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05206