Six relic labels at the monastery of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune (south-east Gaul), datable by their script to the 2nd half of the 7th c., for relics of various saints. Written in Latin, either where the relics originated, or at Saint-Maurice d'Agaune.
Evidence ID
E08077
Type of Evidence
Documentary texts - Relic label
Late antique original manuscripts - Parchment sheet
Archives de l'Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
CHN 64/1/5; Smith 2015, 233, Et.5:
+ Reliquias de s(an)c(t)o abacyro
'Relics of saint Abacyrus'
[*Cyrus/Kyros, physician and martyr of Egypt, companion of Ioannes/John, S00406]
CHN 64/1/8; Smith 2015, 234, Et.8:
patrocinias s(an)c(t)o maoricio
'Relics of saint Maurice'
[*Maurice, commander of the Theban legion, martyr of Agaunum, S00339]
CHN 64/1/13; Smith 2015, 235, Et.13:
s(an)c(t)o amando mar(tyre)
'From saint Amandus, martyr'
[*Amandus, missionary, monastic founder and bishop of Maastricht, ob. c. 675, S00735]
CHN 64/1/18; Smith 2015, 236, Et.18:
s(an)c(t)i basilida marteris
'Of saint Basilides, martyr'
[*Basilides, martyr of the via Aurelia near Rome, S01227]
CHN 64/1/21; Smith 2015, 237, Et.21:
s(an)c(t)i mammiliani.s(an)c(t)i uirgilii.et tibortiii.passionem
ipsorum decimo kal(endarum) nouenbris nouenbri asmen.
Of saint Mammilianus, saint Virgilius and Tiburtius. Their passion: the tenth of the Kalends of November [23 October], November. Amen.
[*Tiburtius, Valerianus, and Maximus, martyrs of Rome associated with Caecilia, buried on the via Appia, S00537]
CHN 64/2/33; Smith 2015, 242, Et.44:
s(an)c(t)e aeufomiae
'Of saint Euphemia'
[*Euphemia, martyr of Chalcedon, S00017]
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
Six small strips of parchment: 71 x 14 mm [Cyrus]; 108 x 10 mm [Maurice]; 33 x 15 mm [Amandus]; 42 x 15 mm [Basilides]; 159 x 26 mm [the three martyrs of Rome]; 43 x 21 mm [Euphemia]. Written on in script which can be approximately dated to the second half of 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, E08076, 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
'Abacyrus' is certainly Cyrus, martyr of Alexandria (S00406), who with his companion John had a major healing cult at Menouthis. In the Latin tradition he is often called Abbacyrus (derived from 'Apa Cyrus', 'Father Cyrus' in Coptic). This relic label is very early testimony to his presence in the West.Maurice is, of course, the principal saint of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune, the commander of the Theban legion. It is not clear why what was probably a minor relic of the saint (identified by this label) would have been collected at the shrine which claimed his entire body.
Amandus (S00735) was a major figure of the mid- to later 7th century in north-east Francia (modern Belgium). Although a number of Merovingian saintly bishops were similarly commemorated at Agaune, shortly after their deaths, Amandus is geographically something of an outlier (the others coming from closer to Agaune).
'Basilida' is certainly the Roman martyr Basilides (S01227), buried on the via Aurelia near Rome.
We can be confident that 'Mammilianus, Virgilius and Tiburtius', although they have acquired somewhat scrambled names, are Maximianus, Valerianus and Tiburtius, martyrs of Rome (S00537), whose story is associated with that of saint Caecilia. The scribe, or his exemplar, has also introduced an error for their feast day, recording it to be the tenth of the Kalends of November (23 October), not the tenth of the Kalends of December (22 November), the correct date.
Euphemia (S00017), like Cyrus, is a notable saint from distant lands, a martyr of Chalcedon in Asia Minor close to Constantinople.
Bibliography
Text and discussion:Smith, J.M.H., "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:
Smith, J.M.H., "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, (London and New York, 2017), 59-76.
Smith, J.M.H., "The Remains of the Saints: the Evidence of Early Medieval Relic Collections," Early Medieval Europe, 28 (2020), 388-424.
Images
Cyrus: from Smith 2015, 233, Et.5
Maurice: from Smith 2015, 234, Et.8
Amandus: from Smith 2015, 235, Et.13
Basilides: from Smith 2015, 236, Et.18
Mammilianus etc.: from Smith 2015, 237, Et.21
Euphemia: from Smith 2015, 242, Et.44
Record Created By
Bryan Ward-Perkins
Date of Entry
01/12/2020
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00017 | Euphemia, martyr of Chalcedon | aeufomiae | Certain | S00339 | Theban Legion, commanded by Maurice, martyrs of Agaune, Gaul | Maoricius | Certain | S00406 | Kyros and Ioannes/Cyrus and John, physician and soldier, martyrs of Egypt | Abacyrus | Certain | S00537 | Tiburtius, Valerianus, and Maximus, martyrs of Rome associated with Caecilia, buried on the via Appia | Mammilianus Virgilius Tibortius | Certain | S00735 | Amandus, missionary, monastic founder and bishop of Maastricht, ob. c. 675 | Amandus | Certain | S01227 | Basilides and Companions, martyrs of the via Aurelia near Rome | Basilida | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Bryan Ward-Perkins, Cult of Saints, E08077 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08077