Six relic labels at the monastery of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune (south-east Gaul), datable by their script to the 7th/8th c., for relics of Gallic saints. Written in Latin, either where the relics originated, or at Saint-Maurice d'Agaune.
Evidence ID
E08078
Type of Evidence
Documentary texts - Relic label
Late antique original manuscripts - Parchment sheet
Archives de l'Abbaye de Saint-Maurice
CHN 64/1/26; Smith 2015, 238, Et.26:
reli(quiae) s(an)c(t)i Iohannis
'Relics of saint John'
[Iohannes/John, abbot of Réomé (Moutiers-Saint-Jean), 5th/6th c., S02829]
CHN 64/2/20; Smith 2015, 241, Et.39:
s(an)c(tu)s quadraginta et octo [mar]ter[es]
'The holy forty-eight martyrs'
[The *Martyrs of Lyon, S00316]
CHN 64/2/67; Smith 2015, 244, Et.52:
s](an)c(t)i martini ep(iscop)i et conf(esso)r[is
'Of saint Martin, bishop and confessor'
[*Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050]
CHN 64/2/90; Smith 2015, 246, Et.59:
s(an)c(t)i Innocenti
Of saint Innocentus
[Innocentus, one of the *Theban Legion, commanded by Maurice, martyrs of Agaunum, S00339]
CHN 64/2/91; Smith 2015, 247, Et.60:
s(an)c(t)e Iul[iani] [the label is badly abraded, so this reading is uncertain]
'Of saint Julian'
[Probably *Julian, martyr of Brioude, S00035]
CHN 64/2/99; Smith 2015, 248, Et.68:
domno disiderio vien
nense
'From lord Desiderius of Vienne'
[*Desiderius, bishop and martyr of Vienne, ob. 607, S01171]
Text: Smith 2015
Cult PlacesUnspecified relic
Cult building - monastic
RelicsUnspecified relic
Transfer, translation and deposition of relics
Source
Six small strips of parchment: 42 x 16 mm [John]; 49 x 13 mm [48 martyrs]; 58 x 9 mm [Martin]; 50 x 12 mm [Innocentus]; 116 x 15 mm [Julian]; 54 x 27 mm [Desiderius]. Written on in script which can be approximately dated to the period 650/750. 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, E08077 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
Three of the saints and groups of saints commemorated here were well-established figures in Gaul: the Martyrs of Lyon (S00316), first recorded by Eusebius, who, according to Gregory of Tours, were forty-eight in number (E00548); Martin of Tours (S00050); and (though the reading of this label is uncertain) Julian of Brioude (S00035).The sanctus Iohannes 'saint John' whose relics are recorded on a fourth label, at first sight might seem impossible to identify, there being too many Johns to choose from. However, palaeographers have identified the script of the label as the characteristic 'minuscule of Luxeuil', the monastery in Burgundy founded by Columbanus. This suggests that the saint concerned was John, abbot of Réomé (Moutiers-Saint-Jean, S02829), a saint closely associated with Luxeuil. Indeed in his hagiography, this John is linked with Agaune and its patron saint, being buried in a church of saint Maurice, and on his feast day (see E07669). (For all this, see Smith "One site", 71.)
There are other possibilities for the saint Innocentus of a fifth label, but he is almost certainly Innocentus (or Innocentius), a member of the Theban legion whose body was miraculously revealed by the river Rhône (E07725).
Desiderius, bishop of Vienne (S01171), was killed in 607 and, like other Merovingian bishops whose relics were collected at Agaune, rapidly acquired the status of a martyr; already in around 613 he was the subject of hagiography, with a Life and Martyrdom written by the Visigothic king, Sisebut (E02139).
Bibliography
Text and discussion:Smith, J.M.H., "Les reliques et leurs étiquettes," in: P.A. Mariaux (ed.), L'abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune 515-2015. Volume 2 - Le trésor (Gollion 2015), 221-257.
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: Routledge, 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
John/Iohannes: from Smith 2015, 238, Et.26
48 martyrs of Lyon: Smith 2015, 241, Et.39
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Martin: from Smith 2015, 244, Et.52
Innocentus: from Smith 2015, 246, Et.59
Julian/Iulianus: from Smith 2015, 247, Et.60
Desiderius: from Smith 2015, 248, Et.68
Record Created By
Bryan Ward-Perkins
Date of Entry
1/12/2020
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00035 | Julian, martyr of Brioude (southern Gaul) | Iulianus | Uncertain | S00050 | Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397 | Martinus | Certain | S00316 | Martyrs of Lyon | quadraginta et octo marteres | Certain | S00339 | Theban Legion, commanded by Maurice, martyrs of Agaune, Gaul | Innocentus | Certain | S01171 | Desiderius, bishop and martyr of Vienne, ob. 606/7 | Disiderius | Certain | S02829 | Iohannes/John, abbot of Réomé (Moutiers-Saint-Jean), 5th/6th c. | Iohannes | 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, E08078 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08078