E08003
Literary - Hagiographical - Lives
Life of Rusticula 25
For an overview of this Life, see E06492.
Sanctum vero illud corpus magna fidei ambitione ex more compositum lugentium orphanis frequentabatur officiis. Alia vero die veniens episcopus civitatis Theodosius pontifex, clero omni aggregato, accepit sanctum corpus super aurum et lapidem pretiosum crucibus et columpnis ardentibus cereorum. Ad obsequias autem venerandas non solum fidelium, sed etiam Iudeorum concurrunt agmina populorum; omnium lacrimae invicem se superare certabant. Igitur dum prae multitudine plangentium virginum vix funus elatum a monasterio psallentium choris honoraretur, unus de senioribus servientibus monasterii, dum oculorum sibimet perditum fuisse graviter defleret lumen, submitti se eius feretro petens, lumen sibi ab omnium Domino ut restituatur, cum summa fidei ambitione deposcit; statimque videndi usum, refusa luce, recepit. Deinde sactae Mariae basilicae venerandum corpus infertur, et sacri altaris misteria celebrantes, cum digno honore sanctum illud corpus, splendore nimio coruscante, ad dexteram partem altaris tumulo conlocantur; nempe ut quae decorem propriae virginitatis Christo fide plenissima obtulit, choro virginum, quarum principatum tenet gloriosa Maria virgo, dextrae parti sedens agni, canticum illud novum decantans, niveo vestimentorum tegmine gemmisque pretiosis decorata, perpetuis laudum titulis honoretur.
'So the holy body was laid out according to the custom of mourners and the diligent orphans multiplied their services with a great display of faith. And the next day the bishop of the city, Theodosius the Pontiff, together with all his clergy, came and took possession of the holy body laid out on gold and precious stones among crosses and tall burning candles of wax. And not only the faithful but even Jews joined the throngs of people assembled to venerate her at these services and they all strove to outdo one another with their tears. Then, just outside the monastery, as her corpse was being borne before the weeping multitude of her virgins, honored by the psalm-singing chorus, one of the monastery’s elderly servants loudly bewailed the loss of his eyesight. Asking to be set before the bier, he begged with the greatest display of faith that the Lord of all would restore his sight. And immediately the lost light and the power of sight were restored. Meanwhile, the venerable corpse was borne with due honors to the basilica of saint Mary and the mysteries of the holy altar were celebrated. The holy, radiant, shining corpse was laid in her tomb at the right side of the altar. And rightly so, she who dedicated the glory of her virginity to Christ in fullest faith, now is seated at the right side of the Lamb, honored with perpetual titles of praise, singing the new song, dressed in snowy white and decorated all over with precious gems amid the chorus of virgins in which the Blessed Virgin Mary holds first place.'
Text: Krusch 1902, 350.
Translation: McNamara et al. 1992, 135.
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityCeremonies at burial of a saint
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
MiraclesMiracle after death
Healing diseases and disabilities
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
Women
Crowds
Jews and Samaritans
Cult Related ObjectsPrecious material objects
Source
The Life of Rusticula was written shortly after her death (in either 627 or 632) by Florentius, presbyter of Tricastrina (Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux). For full discussion, see E06492.Discussion
Florentius' account of the funeral of Rusticula, following her death on 11 August in either 627 or 632 (see E06492), stresses the participation of the whole community in the act of mourning, as well as Rusticula's continuing spiritual power, manifested by the miraculous healing of a man who prays before her bier.Rusticula's funeral was a recent event when the Life was written, but Florentius does not claim to have been present, and we cannot judge the balance between accurate reporting and literary stylisation in his account. It is noteworthy, however, that the sentence which most emphatically depicts the participation of the community at large, 'Crowds of people, not only of the faithful but even of the Jews, came together to the solemn funeral rites; the tears of all strove in turn to overcome each other' (ad obsequias autem venerandas non solum fidelium, sed etiam Iudeorum concurrunt agmina populorum; omnium lacrimae invicem se superare certabant), is borrowed in its entirety from the account of the funeral of Hilary of Arles in the Life of Hilary (see E08355). As the abbess of a closed community of nuns, Rusticula can hardly have been known to the wider community of Arles in the way that a bishop was.
The burial of Rusticula in the basilica of Mary, which was founded by Caesarius as a burial place for nuns from the monastery of St John (E06283, E07999), was in accordance with Caesarius' Rule for Virgins (E07949).
Bibliography
Edition:Krusch, B., Vita Rusticulae sive Marciae abbatissae Arelatensis, in: Passiones vitaeque sanctorum aevi Merovingici II (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 4; Hannover and Leipzig, 1902), 339-351.
Translation:
McNamara, J.A., Halborg, J.E, and Whatley, E.G., Sainted Women of the Dark Ages (Durham NC, 1992), 122-136.
David Lambert
29/09/2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Maria | Certain | S02433 | Rusticula, also known as Marcia, abbess of Arles, ob. 627/632 | Certain |
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