Agnellus of Ravenna, in his Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis (86-89), recounts the reconciliation to Orthodoxy by Bishop Agnellus of Ravenna (557-570) of a church (now Sant'Apollinare Nuovo), built by the Theoderic the Ostrogoth in Ravenna (northern Italy) for the Arians of the city, and the bishop's dedication of it to *Martin (bishop and ascetic of Tours, ob. 397, S00050). The historian mentions the mosaics added by Bishop Agnellus, with processions of male and female saints, the men from Ravenna towards the enthroned Christ, the women from Classe towards the Virgin and Child, preceded by the three Magi. [These mosaics survive (see E06046)]. Account written in Latin in Ravenna, 830/846.
E05816
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Agnellus of Ravenna
Agnellus of Ravenna, Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis 86-9
(86) Igitur reconciliauit beatissimus Agnellus pontifex infra hanc urbem ecclesiam sancti Martini confessoris quam Theodoricus rex fundauit, quae uocatur Caelum Aureum; tribunal et utrasque parietes de imaginibus martirum uirginum que incedentium tessellis decorauit; suffixa uero metalla gipsea auro superinfixit, lapidibus uero diuersis parietibus adhaesit et pauimentum lithostratis mire composuit. In ipsius fronte intrinsecus si aspexeritis, Iustiniani augusti effigiem reperietis et Agnelli pontificis auratis decoratam tessellis. Nulla ecclesia vel domus similis in laquearibus vel travibus ista. Et postquam consecravit, in ipsius cunfessoris episcopio ibidem epulatus est. In tribunali vero, si diligenter inquisieritis, super fenestras invenietis ex lapideis literis exaratum ita: 'Theodericus rex hanc ecclesiam a fundamentis in nomine domini nostri Iesu Christi fecit'.
‘Therefore the most blessed Bishop Agnellus reconciled the church of St Martin the Confessor in this city [Ravenna], which King Theoderic founded, which is called the Golden Heaven, he decorated the apse and both side walls with images in mosaic of processions of martyrs and virgins; indeed he laid over this stucco covered with gold, he applied multicoloured stones to the side walls and composed a pavement of wonderful cut marble pieces. If you look on its facade on the inside you will find the image of Emperor Justinian and Bishop Agnellus decorated with gold mosaics. No church or house is similar to this one in the beams and coffers of its ceiling. After he consecrated it, he feasted in the episcopal palace of that confessor. In the apse, truly, if you look closely, you will find the following written above the windows in stone letters: "King Theoderic made this church from its foundations in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ".’
. . .
(88) Tamen hoc intuere potestis in pariete: ibi uero, ut dixi, duae factae sunt ciuitates. Ex Rauenna egrediuntur martires, parte uirorum, ad Christum euntes; ex Classis uirgines procedunt, ad sanctam Virginem uirginum procedentes; et magi antecedentes, munera offerentes.
‘You can see this on the wall: there, as I said, two cities were made. From Ravenna the martyrs go forth, on the men’s [south] side, going to Christ; from Classe the virgins proceed, proceeding to the holy Virgin of virgins, and the Magi going before them, offering gifts.
Agnellus then considers the meaning of the garments the Magi were depicted wearing and the gifts they brought. Caspar’s red garment signifies marriage, Balthasar’s yellow garment virginity, and Melchior’s multicoloured costume penitence. Gold signifies regal wealth, frankincense priesthood, and myrrh death.
(89) Fontes que beati Martini ecclesiae ipse reconciliauit et tessellis decorauit; sed tribunal ipsius ecclesiae, nimio terraemotu exagitatum, Iohannis archiepiscopi temporibus quinti iunioris confractum ruit. Post aedificia camerae coloribus ornauit.
‘And he reconciled the baptistry of the church of St Martin and decorated it with mosaic; but the apse of that church, greatly shaken by an earthquake, fell in ruins in the time of Archbishop John V the younger [726-744]. Afterward he adorned the buildings of the vault with colours’.
Text: Deliyannis 2006.
Translation: Deliyannis 2004, lightly modified.
Cult building - independent (church)
Descriptions of cult places
Non Liturgical ActivityAppropriation of older cult sites
Renovation and embellishment of cult buildings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Monarchs and their family
Heretics
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. The text is preserved in two manuscripts: one from the 15th c. (Biblioteca Estense Cod. Lat. 371 X.P.4.9.) and a fragmentary manuscript from the 16th c. (MS Vat. Lat. 5834). Agnellus based his account of the lives of the 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: he refers to many religious buildings in Ravenna and the neighbouring settlements of Caeserea and Classis/Classe. He describes their decoration and records several inscriptions, most 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 he was a careful observer and recorder of inscriptions, and a comparison of the 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
These passages refer to the rededication of a church originally founded by Theoderic the Ostrogoth for the Arian congregation of Ravenna. The inscription recorded by Agnellus suggests that its original dedication was to Christ, which would also fit with the Ostrogothic-period mosaics in the nave showing scenes from the life of Jesus. When Bishop Agnellus reconciled it to Orthodoxy, he dedicated it to Martin of Tours, a saint who had acquired the reputation of being a staunch defender of Orthodoxy.As Agnellus recounts, the mosaics of the apse were lost in the eighth century; but those on the walls of the nave survive almost intact (see the attached image). In the upper registers the mosaics are original to Theodoric's church: above the windows, scenes from the life of Christ; between the windows, unlabelled haloed figures holding scrolls or books (and therefore presumably prophets, and, perhaps, evangelists).
Below the windows are the processions of saints mentioned by Agnellus: male martyrs proceeding from Ravenna towards the enthroned Christ, and female martyrs, preceded by the Magi, processing from Classe towards the Virgin and Child. Stylistic analysis, careful examination of the technical details of the mosaic-work, and the presence of Martin at the head of the male procession, confirm what Agnellus the historian states: that the processions of saints date from the time of Bishop Agnellus' reconciliation of the church, replacing Ostrogothic-period mosaics whose subject-matter is lost to us. (The processions are presented and discussed in detail at E06046.)
In the later ninth century, the dedication of the church to Martin was changed to a dedication to Apollinaris, probably when relics of Saint Apollinaris were transferred here from Classe, for their better protection. The church is now known as Sant’Apollinare Nuovo (differentiating it from Sant'Apollinare in Classe).
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).
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.
Verhoeven, Mariëtte, The Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna: Transformations and Memory (Turnhout, 2011).
Frances Trzeciak
19/06/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00050 | Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397 | Martinus | Certain | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | Certain | S00518 | Saints, unnamed | Certain |
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