Jerome, in his treatise to Demetrias, cites *Agnes (virgin and martyr of Rome S00097) as an example of chastity; Letter 130, written in Latin in Bethlehem (Palestine), 414.
Evidence ID
E06109
Type of Evidence
Literary - Letters
Major author/Major anonymous work
Jerome of Stridon
Jerome of Stridon, Letter 130.5
Si te uirorum exempla non prouocant, hortetur faciatque securam beata martyr Agnes, quae et aetatem uicit et tyrannum et titulum castitatis martyrio coronauit.
'If the examples of men don't move you, the blessed martyr Agnes will encourage you and make you feel secure, she who overcame both her youth and her persecutor, and crowned the name of chastity with her martyrdom.'
Text: Hilberg 1996 (1918). Translation: P. Polcar.
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Women
Children
Source
When in 414 the highborn girl Demetrias chose to embrace the ascetic lifestyle as a perpetual virgin, Jerome addressed a treatise about virginity to her.Discussion
Among the exampla Jerome provides he mentions the virgin-martyr Agnes. Though there is no evidence of cult, this early reference to Agnes as a martyr, and as an example of chastity, is notable.In talking of Agnes overcoming her youth, Jerome is certainly referring to her overcoming the (sexual) temptations of youth, a theme that runs through his writings to widows and virgins.
Bibliography
Edition:Hilberg, I., Hieronymus, Epistulae 121-154 (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 56/1; Vienna, 1996).
Further Reading:
Cain, A., The Letters of Jerome: Asceticism, Biblical Exegesis, and the Construction of Christian Authority in Late Antiquity, (Oxford, 2009).
Record Created By
Philip Polcar
Date of Entry
14/08/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00097 | Agnes, virgin and martyr of Rome | Agnes | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Philip Polcar, Cult of Saints, E06109 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E06109