Three relic labels at the monastery of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune (south-east Gaul), datable by their script to the late 6th/earlier 7th c., for relics of various saints. Written in Latin, either where the relics originated, or at Saint-Maurice d'Agaune.
Evidence ID
E08075
Type of Evidence
Documentary texts - Relic label
Late antique original manuscripts - Parchment sheet
Archives de l'Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
CHN 64/1/2; Smith 2015, 233, Et.2:
s(an)c(t)o sulpicio
'From Saint Sulpicius'
[Either *Sulpicius, bishop of Bourges, ob. 591, S02151; or *Sulpicius Pius, bishop of Bourges, ob. 646/7, S02436; or Sulpicius, companion martyr of *Nereus and Achilleus, eunuchs and martyrs of Rome, S00403]
CHN 64/1/9; Smith 2015, 234, Et.9:
+reliquia s(an)c(t)i martini
'Relics of saint Martin'
[*Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050]
CHN 64/2/150; Smith 2015, 251, Et.83:
matth. e[v] +
'Matthew the Evangelist'
[*Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, S00791]
Text: Smith 2015.
Cult PlacesUnspecified relic
Cult building - monastic
RelicsUnspecified relic
Transfer, translation and deposition of relics
Transfer/presence of relics from distant countries
Source
Three small strips of parchment: 48 x 17 mm [Sulpicius]; 77 x 12 mm [Martin]; and 34 x 9 mm [Matthew]. Written on in script which can be dated to approximately 580/650. The form and wording of these parchment scraps is typical of relic labels.Around 100 such relic labels survive at Agaune, though all now detached from the small relic bundles that they once identified. Of these, twenty-eight can be dated by their script as probably, or possibly earlier than 700 (the cut-off date for our database). Of the twenty-eight, four relate to Holy Land relics or relics associated with Christ, and so have not been entered by us (Smith 2015, Et.10, 15, 20 and 66), but the remaining twenty-four all relate to saints (for these, see also E07438, E08076, E08077, E08078 and E08079.
The saints recorded in these early labels are an interesting mix: only two are biblical (Mary and Matthew); a few are from distant lands (Alexandria and Chalcedon at one geographical extreme, Ireland at the other); several are Italian, particularly from Rome and Milan; some are long-established saints of Gaul; a few are saints of Agaune itself; and, somewhat unexpectedly, several are Merovingian bishops, only recently dead.
Only one label identifies the nature of the relic within the bundle to which it was attached (in this case, a fragment of the clothing of the Virgin Mary), which suggests little interest in the physical character of the holy object. What mattered was that the relic (whatever it was) had been closely associated with the saint or saints named on the label, and was therefore infused with their power.
For a full discussion of the Agaune relic labels, see the works by Julia Smith listed below.
Discussion
Two of the saints mentioned here - Martin and Matthew - are readily identifiable. The relics of Martin may have reached Agaune from the same sources as a relic of the Holy Cross, whose label (+ sancta cruce, 'from the holy cross'), is written in the same hand (Smith 2015, 234, Et.10)The identity of Sulpicius is, however, problematic. He might be the Roman martyr Sulpicius, who features in the Martyrdom of Nereus, Achilleus and Companions (E02033), and whose grave on the via Latina is listed in two of the seventh-century pilgrim itineraries of Rome (E06993 and E07891). This Sulpicius was, however, never a major figure, and in both the hagiography and the itineraries he is always paired with a close companion, Servilianus.
The other possibility is that this is one of the two Merovingian bishops of Bourges who bore the name Sulpicius and who attracted a degree of early cult (S02151 and S02436). Given the notable presence of several Merovingian bishops amongst the relic labels of Agaune, one of these Sulpicii of Bourges is perhaps a more likely candidate to be our saint than the martyr of Rome.
Bibliography
Text and discussion:J.M.H. Smith, "Les reliques et leurs étiquettes," in Pierre Alain Mariaux, ed., L'abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune 515-2015. Volume 2 - Le trésor (Gollion 2015), 221-57.
Further discussion:
J.M.H. Smith, "One site, many more meanings. The community of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune and its relic collection", in M.C. Miller and E. Wheatley (eds), Emotions, Communities and Difference in Medieval Europe. Essays in Honour of Barbara H. Rosenwein, (Routledge, London and New York 2017), 59-76.
J.M.H. Smith, "The Remains of the Saints: the Evidence of Early Medieval Relic Collections," Early Medieval Europe, 28 (2020), 388-424.
Images
Sulpicius: from Smith 2015, 233, Et.2
Martin: from Smith 2015, 234, Et.9
Matthew: from Smith 2015, 251, Et.83
Record Created By
Bryan Ward-Perkins
Date of Entry
1/12/2020
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00050 | Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397 | Martinus | Certain | S00403 | Nereus and Achilleus, eunuchs and martyrs of Rome, and companions | Sulpicius | Uncertain | S00791 | Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist | Mattheus | Certain | S02151 | Sulpicius, bishop of Bourges, ob. 591 | Sulpicius | Uncertain | S02436 | Sulpicius Pius, bishop of Bourges, ob. 646/7 | Sulpicius | Uncertain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Bryan Ward-Perkins, Cult of Saints, E08075 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08075