Jerome, in his Letter 108, describes how Paula in 385/6 visited the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem, referring to *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033). Written in Latin in Bethlehem (Palestine), 404.
Evidence ID
E06517
Type of Evidence
Literary - Letters
Major author/Major anonymous work
Jerome of Stridon
Jerome of Stridon, Letter 108.10 ('Epitaphium Sanctae Paulae')
Atque inde specum Salvatoris ingrediens, postquam vidit sacrum virginis diversorium et stabulum, in quo agnovit bos possessorem suum et asinus praesepe domini sui.
'From there she entered the cave of the Savior and beheld the virgin's sacred inn and the stall where the ox knew its owner and the donkey its master's crib.'
Text: Hilberg 1996 (1912).
Translation: Cain 2013.
Cult Places
Place associated with saint's life
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Source
In the second half of 404 Jerome composed an Epitaph for his late friend and patron, Paula, which was transmitted to us as letter 108. The work depicts Paula as an example for ascetic women and bears features of hagiography.Paula died on 26 January 404 in Bethlehem. She was the descendant of a Roman aristocratic family, who traced their lineage back to the Gracchi and Scipiones. She was dedicated to the western ascetic movement and had spent more than twenty years by the side of Jerome of Stridon, whom she had followed with her daughter Eustochium to the Holy Land in 385, where they founded a monastery and a convent in Bethlehem. Paula was not only Jerome's most faithful companion, but also his biggest sponsor.
Jerome's Letter 108.8-13 describes Paula's pilgrimage through the Holy Land, which lasted from late winter 385 to late spring 386. It is, however, only a partial account, intended to show off Jerome's knowledge of biblical topography as much as to illustrate Paula's piety. Jerome specifically tells us that, at the beginning of his account of Paula's travels in the Holy Land, that he will only mention the places she visited which feature in the Bible: 'I say nothing of her journey through Syria Coele and Phoenicia, for it is not my intention to write a complete description of her travels; I will mention only those stops mentioned in the sacred books' (Omitto Syriae Coeles et Phoenices iter, neque enim odoeporicum eius disposui scribere; ea tantum loca nominabo quae sacris voluminibus continentur. Ep. 108, 8.1, trans. Cain). It is very possible that Paula also visited the shrines of post-biblical saints (as she had earlier done on Ponza - see E06524), but, if so, these visits were passed over by Jerome.
Discussion
The wording of this passage suggests that Mary, as well as Jesus, was a focus of cult when Paula visited the cave of the Nativity.Bibliography
Edition:Hilberg, I., Hieronymus, Epistulae 71-120 (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 55; Vienna, 1996).
Translation and commentary:
Cain, A., Jerome's Epitaph on Paula: A Commentary on the Epitaphium Sanctae Paulae (Oxford, 2013).
Record Created By
Philip Polcar
Date of Entry
12/09/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | virgo | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Philip Polcar, Cult of Saints, E06517 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E06517