Ambrose of Milan composes the epitaph for his brother Satyrus, buried next to the grave of *Victor ('Maurus'/the Moor, soldier and martyr of Milan, S00312) in Milan (northern Italy). The inscription describes how the proximity to Victor will cleanse Satyrus. Written in Latin, shortly after 378.
Evidence ID
E05346
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
Major author/Major anonymous work
Ambrose of Milan
Ambrose of Milan, Epitaph for Satyrus
Uranio Satyro supremum frater honorem
martyris ad laevam detulit Ambrosius
haec meriti merces ut sacri sanguinis humor
finitimas penetrans abluat exuvias.
'As a supreme honour for Uranius Satyrus, his brother
Ambrose entrusted him to the left hand side of the martyr;
this is his deserved reward, that the liquid of sacred blood,
penetrating the neighbouring tomb, cleanses [it].'
Text: ILCV 2165 = CIL V p. 617 no. 5 = CLE 1421 (Leclercq 1907a: col. 489).
Translation: Frances Trzeciak.
Cult PlacesBodily relic - entire body
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Cult Related Objects
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Non Liturgical ActivityBurial ad sanctos
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Bodily relic - blood
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Aristocrats
Cult Related ObjectsInscription
Theorising on SanctityConsiderations about the validity of cult forms
Source
This epitaph, presumably composed by Ambrose (given its wording) in honour of his brother, Uranius Satyrus, is known only from one manuscript: Cod. Pal. Lat. 833 f. 42 r (9th c.).Satyrus had given up his claims to wealth and had devoted himself to chastity. He took special responsibility for his and Ambrose’s family properties, which had been surrendered to the church. In 378 he was returning from a trip to North Africa. For several years, the family had been in conflict with an individual called Prosper, whom they believed had seized part of their land in North Africa. Eventually, Satyrus travelled to visit Prosper in person and achieved a settlement. On his return journey, he fell ill and died shortly after his return to Milan. Ambrose composed a funeral oration in his honour - On the Death of Satyrus (De Excessu fratris Satyri), for which see E05147.
Discussion
This is an interesting statement about the benefits of burial ad sanctos. Satyrus may have earned his place next to the martyr because of his merits, but the inscription clearly states that his grave, and hence presumably he too, will be cleansed through his posthumous proximity to the holy tomb. The benefits of this practice were debated across the Mediterranean world in this period. Paulinus of Nola envisaged significant benefits for the deceased if they rested near saints (E04380 and E04655). Augustine of Hippo, on the other hand, responded to reports of this practice in Nola (central Italy) by writing On the Care of the Dead, which argued no heavenly benefit could be gained solely through posthumous proximity to the bodies of saints (E01750).Yvette Duval has argued that the reference to the 'liquid of holy blood' (sacri sanguinis humor) may well refer to a practice of pouring a liquid over the relics of a martyr and collecting the resulting effluent, which was thought to have miraculous powers. We do not have any clear evidence that this practice took place in late-fourth century Milan, but it did take place in Nola (central Italy) in the same period (E05123), and in Marseille (southern Gaul) in the fifth century (E05136).
Bibliography
The inscriptionDiehl, E., Inscriptiones Latinae Christiane veteres (Berlin: Wiedmann, 1925-31), no. 2165.
Further Reading
Duval Y., Auprès des saints corps et âme. L'inhumation « ad sanctos » dans la chrétienté d'Orient et d'Occident du IIIe siècle au VIIe siècle (Paris: Études Augustiniennes, 1988).
McLynn, N., Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian Capital (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994).
Schmidt, M.G., "Ambrosii carmen de obitu Probi. Ein Gedicht des Mailänder Bischofs in epigraphischer Überlieferung," Hermes 127 (1999), 99–116.
Record Created By
Frances Trzeciak
Date of Entry
18/04/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00312 | Victor 'Maurus'/the Moor, soldier and martyr of Milan | 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, E05346 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05346