Two Latin inscriptions, one commemorating *Secundulus (martyr of Carthage, companion of Perpetua, S00009), and one probably commemorating *Castus and Aemilius (martyrs of Carthage, S01202), found in a large basilica, with a central crypt, at modern Mçidfa, just outside Carthage (Proconsularis, central North Africa). Probably 6th/7th.
Evidence ID
E07392
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Inscription 1 (see images):
Within a rectangular frame:
... N MAR ...
Within the top arm of a Greek cross:
SAN
Within the left-hand arm of the same cross:
SEC ...
Hence:
... no]n(as) Mar[tias]
San[tus] Sec[undulus ?]
'... the Nones of March,
saint Secundulus (?)'
Inscription 2:
Within a rectangular frame:
...] XI Kal(endas) Iunias
'The 11th day before the Kalends of June [22 May].'
Text: Duval, 1982, no. 7 (after Delattre).
Translation: Stanisław Adamiak
Cult Related Objects
Inscription
Source
The Christian basilica at Mçidfa, where these inscriptions were found, was probably the basilica Maiorum of Carthage where the relics of Perpetua, Felicitas and their companion martyrs were venerated (see E00012 and E001969). During his excavations (or rather summary clearance) of the church in 1906-7, Delattre discovered numerous small fragments of marble slabs, inscribed in a distinctive high-quality script.Although the individual fragments are very small, Delattre was able to plausibly reconstruct a pattern of roundels, each containing a Greek cross (with arms 40 cm in length), surmounted by a sketchily rendered tabulla ansata. Within the Greek crosses were the names of saints, and within the tabullae ansatae were dates in the year. Delattre plausibly surmised that these were the names of martyrs, with the day of their martyrdom, and hence of their feast, inscribed above. The reconstructed panel is recorded as in the Christian room of the Museum of Carthage in 1966.
Enough conjoining fragments survived of one roundel (Inscription 1) to reconstruct it as commemorating a saint 'Sec ...', surmounted by a date that included reference to the Nones of March.
A second unbroken piece (Inscription 2) is from the right-hand end of a tabulla ansata, bearing the date of the 11th day before the Kalends of June.
The inscriptions have been dated to the Byzantine period on the basis of their letter forms.
Discussion
Inscription 1 can plausibly be reconstructed (see the image) as commemorating Secundulus, one of the companion martyrs of Perpetua and Felicitas, whose feast was on the Nones of March (7 March).While the 11th day before the Kalends of June (22 May), the date on Inscription 2, is the feast of two other martyrs of Carthage, *Castus and Aemilius (S01202): for their feast day, see for instance the Calendar of Carthage (E02196).
These two inscriptions indicate that the basilica Maiorum (if this is the correct designation of this church) commemorated not only Perpetua, Felicitas and their companions, but also other martyrs of Carthage.
Quite what form these inscribed commemorations took is uncertain, as the inscriptions are so fragmentary and none were found in situ; however the absence of any signs of wear suggests they were set up vertically, and not on the floor. Possibly they formed part of a chancel screen; or perhaps they made up a martyrology arranged on one of the walls of the basilica.
Bibliography
Editions:Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, vol. 8, no. 25038 a-i.
Delattre, A.L., in: Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 1907, 523.
Delattre, A.L., L'Epigraphie funéraire chrétienne à Carthage, Tunis 1926, 56.
Duval, Y., Loca sanctorum Africae: Le culte des martyrs en Afrique du IVe au VIIe siècle (Rome: École Française de Rome, 1982), vol. 1, 17-20, no. 7.
Inscriptiones Latinae Christianae Veteres, no. 2041.
Images
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From Y. Duval 1982, no. 7
Record Created By
Stanisław Adamiak
Date of Entry
03/06/2022
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00009 | Perpetua, Felicitas and their companions, martyrs of Carthage | Secundulus | Certain | S01202 | Castus and Aemilius, martyrs of Carthage | Uncertain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Stanisław Adamiak, Cult of Saints, E07392 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E07392