Hymn in honour of *Iulianus/Ioulianos and Basilissa (martyrs of Antinoopolis, but here of Antioch, S01341) composed in Latin in Spain possibly in the 7th century.
E06571
Liturgical texts - Hymns
Literary - Poems
Hymnodia Hispanica, Hymn 140
IN SANCTORUM IVLIANI ET BASILISSAE. IN LAVDIBVS
'IN HONOUR OF IULIANUS AND BASILISSA. FOR LAUDS'
The hymn of eleven strophes tells the story of Iulianus, a young Christian forced by his parents to marry. He obeys and marries Basilissa, but on their wedding night they both decide to live in a chaste marriage. During the persecution under Marcian, Iulianus is arrested in Antioch and tortured. His example persuades Anastasius and Celsius to convert to Christianity. Later, at the prayers of Iulianus, the pagan temple with statues of pagan gods collapses. Iulianus also converts his mother. Eventually, he is sent to the amphitheatre where he is killed by wild beasts. The hymn omits the death of Basilissa, but other episodes agree with the story told in the Greek Martyrdom of Ioulianos and Basilissa (E07135).
Text: Sánchez 2010, 512-514.
Summary: M. Szada.
Service for the saint
Chant and religious singing
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Non Liturgical ActivityTransmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
Source
The hymn, written in rythmic iambic dimeters has been dated by Szöverffy (1998, 37) to the 7th century. See also Castro Sanchez 2010, 838.There are no surviving manuscripts of the hymn. Its text is known only from early modern editions.
Discussion
The martyrdom of Ioulianos/Iulianus and Basilissa in its original Greek version is set in Antinoopolis of Upper Egypt. The Latin translation of the text, however, confused Antinoopolis with the much better known Antioch of Syria.Bibliography
Edition:Castro Sánchez, J., Hymnodia hispanica (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 167; Turnhout: Brepols, 2010).
Castro Sánchez, J., Hymnodia hispánica (Corpus Christianorum in Translation 19; Turnhout: Brepols, 2014). Spanish translation.
Further reading:
Blume, C., Die Mozarabischen Hymnen des alt-spanischen Ritus (Leipzig, 1897).
Diaz y Diaz, M.C., Códices visigóticos en la monarquía leonesa (León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación "San Isidoro", 1983).
Fábrega Grau, Á., Pasionario hispánico (Madrid, Barcelona: Atenas A.G., 1953).
Férotin, M., Le Liber Mozarabicus sacramentorum et les manuscrits mozarabes (Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1912).
Norberg, D., An Introduction to the Study of Medieval Latin Versification (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2004).
Pérez de Urbel, J., "Origen de los himnos mozárabes," Bulletin Hispanique 28 (1926), 5-21, 113-139, 209-245, 305-320.
Pinell, J. M., "Fragmentos de códices del antiguo Rito hispánico," Hispania Sacra 17 (1964), 195-229.
Szövérffy, J., Iberian Latin Hymnody: Survey and Problems (Turnhout: Brepols, 1998).
Marta Szada
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S01341 | Ioulianos and Basilissa, martyrs of Antinoopolis | Iulianus et Basilissa | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Marta Szada, Cult of Saints, E06571 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E06571