Agnellus of Ravenna, writing in 830/846 in his Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis 31 and 33), recounts the building of a church dedicated to *Agnes (virgin and martyr of Rome, S00097) in Ravenna (northern Italy) during the episcopate of Bishop Exuperantius (473-477); and the burial there of the bishop in 477. Written in Latin at Ravenna. CHECK PCBE GEMELLUS AND EXUPERANTIUS
E05782
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Agnellus of Ravenna
Agnellus of Ravenna, Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis 31
Illius temporibus ecclesia beatae Agnetis a Gemello subdiacono istius sanctae Rauennatis ecclesiae et rectore Siciliae constructa est. Et multum ea ditauit in auro argento que et palleis sacris. Et crucem argenteam in processu construxit natalis ipsius martiris, et usque nostris temporibus perdurauit.
‘In his [Exuperantius, bishop of Ravenna, 473-477] time the church of St Agnes was built by Gemellus, sub-deacon of this holy church of Ravenna and rector of Sicily. And he endowed it greatly in gold and silver and holy banners and he built a silver cross for the procession of the feast (natalis) of this martyr, and it has lasted up to our time.’
Agnellus of Ravenna, Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis 33
Qui iussu diuino pontificatum finiuit et uitam .iiii. Kal. Iunii sepultus que est in iam dicta basilica sanctae Agnetis martiris ante altare sub porfiretico lapide; alii aiunt, post altare subtus porfiretico lapide.
‘He [Exuperantius] finished his pontificate and his life by divine order on the third kalends of June [May 29], and was buried in the already mentioned basilica of St Agnes, martyr, in front of the altar under a porphyry stone; others say, behind the altar under a porphyry stone.’
Text: Deliyannis 2006.
Translation: Deliyannis 2004, modified.
Altar
Cult building - independent (church)
Descriptions of cult places
Non Liturgical ActivityBurial ad sanctos
Renovation and embellishment of cult buildings
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Crowds
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
Agnellus probably derived his information about the building of the church from an inscription within it; his uncertainty over the precise location of Bishop Exuperatius' grave, however, suggests that no epitaph was visible to attest his burial in the church.The site of the church of St Agnes was destroyed in 1936. Some parts of the original foundation were present in the early twentieth century. These suggest that the basilica was made of spoliated bricks with a nine column colonnade with impost blocks.
Maps showing the likely locations of the foundations in Classe and Ravenna are 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).
Frances Trzeciak
13/07/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00097 | Agnes, virgin and martyr of Rome | Agnes | Certain |
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