Fragmentary Latin epitaph with an invocation of a female saint whose name is lost, and possibly of unnamed martyrs, asked to accept the soul of the deceased. Found in the ager Veranus, via Tiburtina, Rome. Probably from the cemetery of Cyriaca. Probably late 4th – early 5th c.
Evidence ID
E05308
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
Archaeological and architectural - Internal cult fixtures (crypts, ciboria, etc.)
beata [Maria et]
beati m[artyres Christi]
bos peti[mus acceptum]
abeatis Kai[- - -]
'O blessed [Mary, and] the blessed [martyrs of Christ], we ask you [to accept] Kai[- - -]!'
Text: ICVR, n.s., VII, no. 18966 = EDB29817.
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Non Liturgical Activity
Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Burial site of a saint - cemetery/catacomb
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOther lay individuals/ people
Source
Two conjoining fragments of the left-hand part of a marble plaque. Preserved dimensions: H. 0.23 m; W. 0.27 m; Th. 0.025 m. Letter height 0.04 m.Found in the ager Veranus, and stored in the Musei Capitolini. A transcription and a squeeze are recorded in de Rossi's archive.
First published by Antonio Ferrua in 1980, from the squeeze. The editors of the Epigraphic Database Bari say that the inscription is now lost.
Discussion
The inscription invokes the aid of a female saint on behalf of the deceased. Antonio Ferrua tentatively restored her name as Mary, Mother of Christ, but other completions are also possible. This invocation is followed by another one, addressed probably to unnamed martyrs (here the first letter of the word martyres is preserved).Dating: The editors of the Epigraphic Database Bari date the inscription to the late 4th or early 5th c.
Bibliography
Edition:Epigraphic Database Bari, nos. EDB29817, see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/29817
De Rossi, G.B., Ferrua, A. (eds.), Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores, n.s., vol. 7: Coemeteria via Tiburtinae (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1980), no. 18966.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
11/04/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Uncertain | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | beati martyres | Certain | S00518 | Saints, unnamed | beati martyres | Certain | S01744 | Saints, name lost or very partially preserved | beati martyres | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E05308 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05308