John Malalas, in his Chronographia (12.43), mentions the martyrdom of *Menas (martyr of Egypt, S00073) under Diocletian (r. 284-305). Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria) or Constantinople, in the mid-6th c.
Evidence ID
E05713
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Major author/Major anonymous work
John Malalas
John Malalas, Chronographia, 12.43
Ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς Διοκλητιανὸς βασιλεὺς ἐποίησεν διωγμὸν χριστιανῶν· καὶ ἐτιμωρήθησαν πολλοὶ μαρτυρήσαντες, ἐν οἷς ἐμαρτύρησεν καὶ ὁ ἅγιος Μηνᾶς· καὶ αἱ ἐκκλησίαι δὲ καθῃρέθησαν, καὶ ἀπειλαὶ δὲ καὶ φόβος ἦν πολύς.
‘The emperor Diocletian carried out a persecution of the Christians. Many were punished and suffered martyrdom; among them was Saint Menas. The churches were destroyed and there were threats and much fear.’
Text: Thurn 2000. Translation Jeffreys, Jeffreys, and Scott 1986.
Non Liturgical Activity
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
Source
The Chronographia of John Malalas (c. 490–c. 570) is a Christian chronicle of universal history, from Adam to the death of Justinian I (565). It appears to have been composed in two parts, the earlier of which focuses on the history of Antioch and the East, ending in c. 528 or 532. The second part focuses on the urban history of Constantinople up to the death of Justinian. Malalas is likely to have pursued a career in the imperial administration at both Antioch and Constantinople, writing the two parts of his chronicle while living in these two cities.Malalas was widely used as a source by Byzantine chroniclers and historians, including John of Ephesus, John of Antioch, Evagrius Scholasticus, the Paschal Chronicle, John of Nikiu, John of Damascus, Theophanes, George the Monk, pseudo-Symeon, Kedrenos, Zonaras, Theodore Skoutariotes, and Nikephoros Kallistou Xanthopoulos.
The text of the chronicle is preserved in a very fragmentary form, based on quotations in other sources (notably the Paschal Chronicle and Theophanes), and on a Slavonic translation which follows a more extensive version of the original text. It is believed that we now have about 90% of the text.
On the composition and manuscript tradition of the text, see Thurn 2000, and:
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/1298/
Discussion
Malalas' record of martyrs in his Chronicle is evidently based on his hagiographical readings. His reference to Menas attests to the existence of a martyrdom account in the early 6th century.Bibliography
Text:Dindorf, L., Ioannis Malalae Chronographia (Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae; Bonn, 1831).
Thurn, J., Ioannis Malalae Chronographia (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae 35; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2000).
Translation:
Jeffreys, E., Jeffreys, M., and Scott, R., The Chronicle of John Malalas: A Translation (Sydney, 1986).
On Malalas:
Carrara, L., Meier, M., and Radtki-Jansen, C. (eds.), Die Weltchronik des Johannes Malalas. Quellenfragen (Malalas-Studien 2; Göttingen: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2017).
Jeffreys, E., Croke, B., and Scott, R. (eds.), Studies in John Malalas (Sydney, 1990).
Meier, M., Radtki-Jansen, C., and Schulz, F. (eds.), Die Weltchronik des Johannes Malalas: Autor, Werk, Überlieferung (Malalas-Studien 1; Göttingen: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2016).
Treadgold, W.T. The Early Byzantine Historians (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), 235-256.
Record Created By
Efthymios Rizos
Date of Entry
18/06/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00073 | Menas, soldier and martyr buried at Abu Mena | Μηνᾶς | Certain |
|---|
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