Latin epitaph invoking an unnamed martyr, possibly *Alexander, Eventius or Theodolus (bishop, priest, and deacon, martyrs of Rome, S00127). Found in the cemetery of Saint Alexander on the via Nomentana, Rome. Probably second half of the 4th c. [provisional entry]
Evidence ID
E07477
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions
Part A and B:
Α ☧ Ω
[- - -] sancti marturis et [- - -]
[- - - P]aulinus ... turunu[s - - -]
[M]artyriae coniugi
[su]ae rene merenti fe[cit]
[quae v]ixit cum {a}eo an[n(os) - - -]
dep(osita) in pace d(ie) pr[idie - - -]
4. rene merenti = bene merenti || 6. dep. Ferrua, dep(ositus) EDB
'Α ☧ Ω. [- - -] of the holy martyr and [- - -] Paulinus [- - -] turunus [- - -] made for Martyria, his wife, the well-deserved one [who] lived with him [- - -] years. Buried in peace on the day before [- - -].'
Fragment C:
[- - -]SI[- - -]
[- - -]NV[- - -]
Fragment D:
[- - -]n[- - -]
Text: ICVR, n.s., VIII, no. 23015 = EDB41602.
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Non Liturgical ActivityWomen
Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Burial site of a saint - cemetery/catacomb
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Other lay individuals/ people
Source
Five fragments, three of them conjoining, of a marble plaque. The first three fragments form 'part A + B' (as termed by Antonio Ferrua). Ferrua argues that Fragments C and D come from the same plaque. Dimensions: Part A: H. 25 cm, W. 14 cm, Th. 3 cm; Part B: H. 35 cm, W. 17 cm, Th. 3 cm. Fragment C: H. 12 cm, W. 7 cm, Th. 3 cm; Fragment D: H. 16 cm; W. 10 cm; Th. 3 cm. Letter height 4.5 cm.Part 'A and B' was dug out in the immediate area of the tomb of Eventius and Alexander in 1854. Part B was first recorded by Stevenson in 1880. It was fixed on a wall of the cemetery on 3 May 1888, the feast day of Alexander, Eventius, and Theodulos (in cubiculum F). Fragment C was first recorded by Antonio Ferrua.
Discussion
The unnamed martyr, invoked in line 1, is probably one of Alexander, Eventius, or Theodolus, buried and venerated in this cemetery.Just possibly the three martyrs are invoked, if sancti marturis is not genitive singular, but a corrupted form of the nominative plural (= sancti martures)
Bibliography
Edition:Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB41602.
see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/41602
De Rossi, G.B., Ferrua, A. (eds.) Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores, n.s., vol. 8: Coemeteria viarum Nomentanae et Salariae (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1983), no. 23015 (with further bibliography).
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
04/03/2019
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | sanctus martur | Certain | S00127 | Alexander, Eventius and Theodolus, bishop, priest and deacon, martyrs of Rome | sanctus martur | Uncertain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E07477 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E07477