Agnellus of Ravenna, writing in 830/846 in his Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis (131), tells a story, set in the time of Bishop Damianus (692-708), about an abbot of a monasterium dedicated to *John (probably the Baptist, S00020) at Classe, the port of Ravenna (northern Italy). Written in Latin at Ravenna, 830/846.
Evidence ID
E05777
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Major author/Major anonymous work
Agnellus of Ravenna
Agnellus of Ravenna, Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis 131
Sed et de Iohanne abbate monasterii sancti Iohannis, trans Caesaream situm in [ciuitate] dudum Classis, quod uocatur Ad Titum, non praetermittamus.
‘But let us not pass over John, abbot of the monasterium of St John which is called ad Titum located across
Caesarea in the former city of Classe.’
Agnellus continues by explaining that ‘ignorant rustics’ (rustici nescientes) call the monastery ‘at the Pine’ (ad Pinum). There follows a long and fantastical story of how Abbot John travelled by magic from Constantinople to Ravenna during the course of a single night.
Text: Deliyannis 2006.
Translation: Deliyannis 2004.
Summary: Frances Trzeciak.
Cult PlacesCult building - monastic
Cult building - monastic
Cult building - dependent (chapel, baptistery, etc.)
Source
Agnellus of Ravenna (ob. c. 846) was a deacon of the cathedral in Ravenna and – by hereditary right – abbot of two monasteries in Ravenna. He wrote his Liber Pontificalis Ecclessiae Ravennatis between 830 and 846, following the model of the Roman Liber Pontificalis. This work provides biographies of all the bishops of Ravenna from the legendary founder bishop Apollinaris to those active in Agnellus’ own day, and was originally composed to be delivered orally, most likely to clerics of Ravenna. This text is preserved in two manuscripts: one from the 15th c. (Bibliotec Estense Cod. Lat. 371 X.P.4.9.) and a fragmentary manuscript from the 16th c. (MS Vat. Lat. 5834). Agnellus bases his account of the lives of late antique bishops on documents preserved in Ravenna, stories which had been transmitted orally, and his own experience of the architectural landscape of 9th c. Ravenna.Agnellus' work contains invaluable architectural and art historical information about Ravenna: Agnellus refers to several religious buildings in Ravenna and the neighbouring settlements of Caeserea and Classe. He describes their decoration and preserves several inscriptions, many of which are now lost to us. It must be remembered this is a 9th c. work. Agnellus’ descriptions of buildings and their fixtures is based on his 9th c. experience, and not late antique reality. Indeed, his accounts of the events of earlier years are often riddled with inaccuracies. Yet it is likely that his descriptions of the churches of Ravenna are more trustworthy. As Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis argues, a comparison of surviving late antique mosaics with Agnellus’ account suggests that his descriptions were largely accurate. This is limited to what he does tell us – for example Arian foundations are often ignored whilst orthodox foundations are emphasised. Yet, overall, this text provides invaluable information about the cult of saints in late antique Ravenna.
Discussion
This monastery is presumably the same monastery as one at Classe dedicated to both John (probably the Baptist) and *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030), which is mentioned in letters of Gregory the Great at the very end of the sixth century (see E06379). Although our story here does not constitute the most reliable form of evidence, from Agnellus' description it seems that the monastery was still in existence at the time that he wrote.A map showing the likely locations of the foundations in Classe and Ravenna is attached to this record.
Bibliography
Text:Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf, Agnelli Ravennatis Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis (Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis 199; Turnhout, 2006).
Translation:
Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf, The Book of Pontiffs of the Church of Ravenna (Washington D.C., 2004).
Further Reading:
Deichmann, Friedrich Wilhelm, Ravenna, Hauptstadt des spätantiken Abendlandes, vol. 1-3, (Wiesbaden, 1958-89).
Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf, Ravenna in Late Antiquity (Cambridge, 2010).
Mackie, Gillian, Early Christian Chapels in the West: Decoration, Function and Patronage (Toronto, 2003).
Moffat, Ann, "Sixth Century Ravenna from the Perspective of Abbot Agnellus," in: P. Allen and E.M. Jeffreys (eds,), The Sixth Century – End or Beginning? (Brisbane, 1996), 236-246.
Morini, E., "Le strutture monastische a Ravenna," in: Storia di Ravenna, 2.2, Dall’età bizantia all’ età ottania, ed. A. Carile (Ravenna, 1992), 305-312.
Schoolman, Edward, Rediscovering Sainthood in Italy: Hagiography and the Late Antique Past in Medieval Ravenna (Basingstoke, 2016).
Stansterre, J. M., "Monaci e monastery greci a Ravenna," in: Storia di Ravenna, 2.1, Dall’età bizantia all’ età ottania, ed. A. Carile (Ravenna, 1992), 323-329.
Verhoeven, Mariëtte, The Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna: Transformations and Memory (Turnhout, 2011).
Record Created By
Frances Trzeciak
Date of Entry
13/07/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00020 | John the Baptist | Iohannes | Uncertain | S00042 | John, the Apostle and Evangelist | Iohannes | Uncertain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Frances Trzeciak, Cult of Saints, E05777 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05777