Very small fragments of probably two Damasan inscriptions, possibly referring to martyrs whose names are lost. Found in the Catacombs of the Jordani (Catacomba dei Giordani) on the via Salaria, Rome. Probably 366-384. [provisional entry]
E07518
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Literary - Poems
Damasan and pseudo-Damasan poems
As far as we can say, the fragments were first published by Antonio Ferrua and Danilo Mazzoleni in the 9th volume of ICVR, and do not feature in the reference collections of the Damasan inscriptions.
Ferrua and Mazzoleni offer just a drawing of the letters on the extant pieces. The restorations are by Antonio Felle from the Epigraphic Database Bari (see the bibliography):
Piece A:
[- - -] ma[rtyr- - -?]
[- - -] cru[deli? - - -]
'martyr (?) ... cruel (?)'
Piece B:
[- - -]si[- - -]
[- - -]dit s[- - -]
Piece C:
[- - - m]eritu[m - - -]
[- - -]a[- - -]
'merits'
Piece D (probably from another text, as the thickness differs from that of Pieces A-C):
[- - - mere?]nti [- - -]
'merited one'
Piece A' (probably from an ordinary inscription, on the reverse of piece A):
[- - -]un[- - -]
Text: ICVR, n.s., IX, no. 24311.
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Burial site of a saint - cemetery/catacomb
Non Liturgical ActivityBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Renovation and embellishment of cult buildings
Composing and translating saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - Popes
Source
Four pieces of a marble plaque (including a total of six fragments, some of them conjoining) with very fine Philocalian lettering. Dimensions:Piece A: H. 0.16 m; W. 0.12 m; Th. 0.017 m. Letter height 0.047 m. The reverse of this piece is also inscribed (insc. a' - in ordinary letters; letter height 0.04 m).
Piece B: H. 0.30 m; W. 0.11 m; Th. 0.017 m. Letter height 0.047 m.
Piece C: H. 0.19 m; W. 0.12 m; Th. 0.017 m. Letter height 0.047 m.
Piece D: H. 0.155 m; W. 0.165 m; Th. 0.035 m - hence probably from a different plaque.
Found in the Catacombs of the Jordani (Catacomba dei Giordani). Pieced A, C, and D are now in area F4. Piece B is in the corridor leading to cubiculum Fc.
Bibliography
Edition:Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB7348, EDB7349, EDB7350, EDB7351, EDB14410.
see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/7347
see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/7348
see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/7349
see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/7350
see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/14410
Trout, D., Damasus of Rome: The Epigraphic Poetry. Introduction, Texts, Translations, and Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015), 161, no. 64* (pieces A-D, no restorations).
De Rossi, G.B., Ferrua, A., Mazzoleni, D. (eds.), Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores, n.s., vol. 9: Coemeteria viae Salariae reliqua (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1985), no. 24311 (with further bibliography).
Further reading:
Février, P.-A., Guyon, J., "Septimus ex numero fratrum: A propos de sept frères martyrs et de leur mère, quelques réflexions sur Damase et l'hagiographie de son temps", in: Memoriam sanctorum venerantes: Miscellanea in onore di Monsignor Victor Saxer (Vatican: Pontifico Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana, 1992), 384.
Paweł Nowakowski
06/04/2019
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | Uncertain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E07518 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E07518