The Latin Martyrdom of *Maximilianus (military recruit, and martyr of Theveste, *S02924) recounts the saint's refusal to serve in the military and his consequent martyrdom, all in Theveste (Numidia, central North Africa) in 295; it then tells how a woman named Pompeiana obtained his body and took it to Carthage, to be buried near that of *Cyprian (bishop and martyr of Carthage, S00411). Written probably in the 4th century.
E08151
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdom
Martyrdom of Maximilianus
1. Tusco et Anolino consulibus, quarto idus martii Teueste in foro inducto Fabiano Victore una cum Maximiliano et admisso Pompeiano aduocato, idem dixit: “Fabianus Victor timonarius est constitutus cum Valeriano Quintiano praeposito Caesariensi et cum bono tirone; Maximilianum filium Victoris, quoniam probabilis est, rogo ut incumetur.
‘On the twelfth day of March at Tebessa, in the consulship of Tuscus and Anullinus, Fabianus Victor was summoned to the forum together with Maximilianus; Pompeianus was permitted to act as their advocate. The advocate spoke: “Fabianus Victor, agent in charge of recruiting tax, is present for his hearing along with Valerianus Quintianus, imperial representative, and Victor’s son Maximilianus, an excellent recruit. Seeing that Maximilianus has good recommendations, I request that he be measured.”’
The proconsul Dion asked Maximilianus for his name. He declined to give it, saying that he was a Christian. He said that he could not serve in the military and declined to accept the military sign (signaculum).
The proconsul threatened Maximilianus with death if he persisted in his refusal. The proconsul asked Victor to persuade his son, but Victor answered that Maximilianus could decide for himself.
The proconsul argued that Christian soldiers serve even in the imperial guards (in sacro comitatu), but Maximilianus remained unmoved. Eventually, Dion sentenced him to death by beheading.
2. Annorum fuit in saeculo uiginti uno et mensium trium, dierum decem et octo. (…)
‘He had lived in this world twenty-one years, three months, and eighteen days.’
Maximilianus was conducted to the place of execution. He exhorted other Christians to follow him in the hope of the reward of “a similar crown”. He presented his new military clothes to the executioner and was beheaded.
Et Pompeiana matrona corpus eius de iudice meruit et imposito in dormitorio suo perduxit ad Cartaginem et sub monticulo iuxta Cyprianum martyrem secus plateam condidit. Et ita post tertium decimum diem eadem matrona discessit et illic posita est. Pater eius autem Victor regressus est domui suae cum gaudio magno gratias agens Deo quod tale munus Domino praemisit, ipse postmodum secuturus. Deo gratias. Amen.
‘A woman named Pompeiana obtained his body from the magistrate and, after placing it in her own chamber, later brought it to Carthage. There she buried it at the foot of a hill near the governor’s palace next to the body of the martyr Cyprian. Thirteen days later the woman herself passed away and was buried in the same spot. But Victor, the boy’s father, returned to his home in great joy, giving thanks to God that he had sent ahead such a gift to the Lord, since he himself was soon to follow. Thanks be to God! Amen.’
Text: Leoni 2020.
Translation: Musurillo 1972, lightly modified.
Summary: Stanisław Adamiak.
Saint’s feast
Cult PlacesBurial site of a saint - tomb/grave
Non Liturgical ActivityBurial ad sanctos
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Transfer, translation and deposition of relics
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesSoldiers
Women
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Source
It is widely accepted that this text was written not long after the events it described. Canon 3 of the council of Arles (314), which prohibited the abandonment of arms during peacetime, has sometimes been proposed as the terminus ad quem.Some scholars have tried to put the redaction of the text at the later date. Rainer Jakobi thinks that the second half of the fourth century is most probable. David Woods moved it even to Arab times (he thought the signaculum which Maximilianus refused to accept was a sign imposed on Christians and Jews by the caliphs of the 8th century); this hypothesis is not at all probable.
The first part of the text is most probably the transcription of the original acts of the process of Maximilianus.
The text has been transmitted in four manuscripts, all of them from the 12th and 13th centuries.
Discussion
Thanks to the mention of the consuls, the date of the events described can be firmly established as 12 March 295. It was under the Emperor Diocletian, but still a few years before the beginning of the Great Persecution. Maximilianus was executed not so much as a Christian, but because he refused to enter the military; he was liable to this duty, probably as a soldier’s son.The end of the account testifies to the development of ad sanctos burial. It is also a testimony of the cult of Cyprian. It should be noted that the body of Maximilianus was moved from Theveste to Carthage, the distance being about 300 km.
Bibliography
Edition and translation:Leoni, J. (ed.), Mattei, P. (trans.), Actes et passions des martyrs militaires africains (Sources Chrétiennes 609; Paris: Le Cerf 2020), 120-131.
Musurillo, H., The Acts of the Christian Martyrs (Oxford Early Christian Texts; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), 244-249.
Further reading:
Brock, P., "Why Did St Maximilian Refuse to Serve in the Roman Army?," The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 45:2 (1994), 195-209.
Di Lorenzo, E., Gli Acta S. Maximiliani martyris (Napoli, 1975).
Jakobi, R., "Zwischen Authentizität und Intertextualität. Die Passio S. Maximiliani," Wiener Studien 117 (2004), 209-218.
Rossi, A., "Fabio Vittore: dal sangue dei figli nascono i padri? Per una lettura degli Atti Maximiliani," Annali di Scienze Religiose 10 (2005), 181-218.
Siniscalco, P., Massimiliano, un obiettore di coscienza del tardo impero. Studi sulla Passio sancti Maximiliani (Torino, 1974).
Woods, D., "St. Maximilian and the Jizya," in: P. Defossse (ed.), Hommages à Carl Deroux. V. Christianisme et Moyen Âge, Néo-latin et survivance de la latinité (Latomus 279; Brussels: Société d'Études Latines de Bruxelles, 2003), 266-276.
Stanisław Adamiak
14/07/2021
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00411 | Cyprian, bishop and martyr of Carthage | Cyprianus | Certain | S02924 | Maximilianus, miltary recruit and martyr of Theveste | Maximilianus | Certain |
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