Five relic labels at the monastery of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune (south-east Gaul), datable by their script to the 7th c., for relics of various Gallic and Italian saints. Written in Latin, either where the relics originated, or at Saint-Maurice d'Agaune.
Evidence ID
E08076
Type of Evidence
Documentary texts - Relic label
Late antique original manuscripts - Parchment sheet
Archives de l'Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
CHN 64/1/1; Smith 2015, 233, Et.1:
reliquias s(an)c(t)i audimundo
marture
'Relics of saint Audimund,
martyr'
[*Aunemund, bishop and martyr of Lyon, ob. 660/664, S00731]
CHN 64/1/3; Smith 2015, 233, Et.3:
s(an)c(t)i ambro(si) s(an)c(t)i nazari s(an)c(t)i geruasi et s(an)c(t)i prothasi
'Of saint Ambrose, saint Nazarius, saint Gervasius and saint Protasius'
[*Ambrose, bishop of Milan, ob. 397, S00490; *Nazarius, martyr of Milan, companion of Celsus, S00281; *Gervasius and Protasius, brothers and martyrs of Milan, S00313]
CHN 64/1/4; Smith 2015, 233, Et.4:
s(an)c(t)i geruasi et s(an)c(t)i prothasi
'Of saint Gervasius and saint Protasius'
[Gervasius and Protasius, martyrs of Milan, S00313]
CHN 64/1/11; Smith 2015, 235, Et.11:
s(an)c(t)o nicetio/a [it is uncertain whether the final letter is an O or an A]
'From saint Nicetius'
[Probably *Nicetius, bishop of Lyon, ob. 573, S00049; or possibly *Nicetas, bishop of Vienne, ob. c. 450, S00734, or *Nicetius, bishop of Trier, ob. c. 567, S01305]
CHN 64/2/7; Smith 2015, 240, Et.35:
s(an)c(t)i iusti
'Of saint Iustus'
[*Iustus/Justus, bishop of Lyon, ob. c. 390, S02411]
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
Five small strips of parchment: 120 x 12 [Audimundus]; 149 x 13 [Ambrose and other Milanese saints]; 76 x 11 [Gervasius and Protasius]; 70 x 18 [Nicetius]; 48 x 11 [Iustus] mm. Written on in script which can be approximately dated to the 7th century. 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, E08075, 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
Audimundus is certainly Aunemund, bishop of Lyon (S00731), who was deeply embroiled in Merovingian politics and murdered in 660/664, thereby acquiring the reputation of a martyr - a ninth-century Martyrdom of Aunemund exists which is believed to have at its core a seventh-century text (see E07616). Agaune had close links with Lyon (Smith, "One site", 67-68). If our label is reliably dated to the seventh century, it represents very early testimony of Aunemund's cult, and very possibly a deliberate diffusion of his relics in order to establish and encourage it (Smith "One cult", 71).The Milanese saints listed on two labels are martyrs discovered by Bishop Ambrose in the later fourth century, and the bishop himself.
Nicetius is most likely to be the bishop of Lyon who died in 573 (S00049), whose cult was fostered by Gregory of Tours; but he could possibly be Nicetas, bishop of Vienne, who died around 450 (S00734); Agaune had close links with Vienne as well as Lyon. An unlikely candidate is Nicetius, bishop of Trier, who died c. 567 (S01305), since there is no evidence of a connection between Agaune and Trier.
Iustus is certainly Iustus of Lyon (S02411), a late fourth-century bishop of the city who died a hermit in Egypt, and whose body was then translated back to Lyon (see E06326), attracting considerable cult.
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
Audimundus: from Smith 2015, 233, Et.1
Multiple Milanese saints: from Smith 2015, 233, Et.3
Gervasius and Protasius: from Smith 2015, 233, Et.4
Nicetius: from Smith 2015, 235, Et.11
Iustus: from Smith 2015, 240, Et.35
Record Created By
Bryan Ward-Perkins
Date of Entry
1/12/2020
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00049 | Nicetius, bishop of Lyon, d. 573 | Nicetius | Uncertain | S00281 | Nazarius and Celsus, companion martyrs of Milan | Nazarius | Certain | S00313 | Gervasius and Protasius, brothers and martyrs of Milan | Gervasius et Prothasius | Certain | S00490 | Ambrose, bishop of Milan, ob. 397 | Ambro | Certain | S00731 | Aunemund, bishop and martyr of Lyon, ob. 660/664 | Audimundus | Certain | S00734 | Nicetas, bishop of Vienne, ob. c. 450 | Nicetius | Uncertain | S01305 | Nicetius, bishop of Trier, ob. c. 567 | Nicetius | Uncertain | S02411 | Iustus/Justus, bishop of Lyon, ob. c. 390 | Iustus | Certain |
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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, E08076 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08076