In a Latin subscription in a codex of Eugippius Excerpts from the works of Augstine the notary Petrus mentions the commision of the codex by Redux, bishop of Naples, and he swears on *Ianuarius/Genuarius (bishop of Benevento, martyr of Naples, S01322) that no one removes the codex from the archive of the church of Naples. Peter also mentions prayers to *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033). Written on 13 December 581 in Naples.
E08393
Literary - Colophons, marginalia etc.
Parisinus Latinus 11642, f. 224–224v:
Et orationibus beatae & gloriosae semper uirginis Mariae hunc codicem excerptorum quem ex opusculis sancti Augustini beatae recordationis Eugippius presbyter & abba fecit & eum codicem dei aspiratione pro amore diuinarum scripturarum adhuc in laica uita constitutus Redux misericordia dei episcopus conscribi fecit & praefatus Redux dei gratia faciente in eadem neapolitana ciuitate a uiro beatissimo Pelagio sedis Romae pontifice est episcopus ordinatus. & eo iubente ego Petrus notarius sanctae ecclesiae catholicae neapolitanae ut potui emendaui sub die iduum decembrium imperatore domino nostro Tiberio Constantino perpetuo Augusto anno septimo, post consulatum eiusdem Augusti anno tertio, indictione quinta decima, obsidentibus Langobardis neapolitanam ciuitatem. Quem codicem pro memoria recordationis nominis sui praedictus episcopus deuote sanctae ecclesiae neapolitanae, cui praeest, pro aedificatione populi christiani noscitur obtulisse. Et obtestor uos sanctos successores ecclesiae suprascriptae dei gratia succedentes in diuersis ordinibus consitutos per dei nostri omnipotentis aduentum, ut hic codex in ecclesia dei semper ualeat permanere, ut, quomodo fides aeterna est christiana, sic haec oblatio codicis in ecclesia iure deo custodiente uobisque seruantibus ibidem perseueret. testes sitis etiam uos per confessionem meritoque beati Ianuarii martyris, ut sub nullo argumento, nulla alienatione, nulla commutatione de archibo ecclesiae, uel iure aliquo modo discedat, ne cum praedicto pontifice Reduce in diuino iudicio causas reddere uideamini. Finit. Amen.
'Through the prayers of the blessed and ever-glorious Virgin Mary, Redux, bishop by the mercy of God, when he was still a layman, had this codex containing extracts from the works of St Augustine made by the presbyter Eugippius of blessed memory, copied by inspiration of God out of love for Holy Scripture. The said Redux was consecrated bishop by the grace of God in the same Neapolitan city by the blessed Pelagius, pontiff of the See of Rome. By order of [Redux] I, Peter, notary of the holy Catholic Church of Naples, on the day of the Ides of December (= 13 December) in the seventh year of our lord the emperor Tiberius Constantinus, forever August, after the third consulship of the said August, on the 15th indiction, when the Lombards besieged Naples, corrected [this codex] as well as I could. The said bishop piously donated this codex to the holy church of Naples, over which he presides, for the edification of the Christian people. And I beseech you, holy successors of the said Church, who follow with the grace of God, in your various turns, by the coming of our Almighty God, that this codex may always remain in the church of God, so that, as the Christian faith is eternal, the donation of the codex may always be valid in the church which guards it according to the law of God and with you as its ministers. By the confession of blessed Januarius the Martyr, you witness that this codex will never leave the archives of the church under any argument, alienation, alteration or law, so that you may not have to answer to the aforementioned Bishop Redux before the divine judgement. The end. Amen.'
Text: Knöll 1886: XXV–XXVI. Translation: M. Szada.
Oath
Prayer/supplication/invocation
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Officials
Source
The subscription comes from the ninth-century codex of Eugippius's Excerpta ex operibus Augustini that belonged to the abbey of Corbie and later St-Germain-des-Prés. It consists of two parts, fol. 1-218 and fol. 219-224 copied. The last six folios, including the subscription of the notary Peter, were probably copied from a sixth-century manuscript commissioned by Bishop Redux.A facsimile of Parisinus Latinus 11642 is accessible online: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b100343077/f228.item
Discussion
The notary Peter mentions the commissioning of the copy by Redux when he was still a layman. It is possible that the manuscript was copied from the exemplar of the Excerpta kept in the library of Eugippius's monastery in Naples in Castellum Lucullanum. As a bishop, Redux offerred the book to the church, which was then "corrected" by the notary Peter who also left this subscription. Its aim was to safeguard that the codex remain in the church archive also after Redux's death. The atmosphere of urgency and danger (the Lombard siege) suggests that both Redux and Peter were worried about the fate of the codex and wanted to secure it from displacement by a solemn oath on the most important local martyr.The pope who ordained Redux was Pelagius II (579–590). The Eastern emperor was Tiberius II Constantine (578–582).
Bibliography
Edition:P. Knöll (ed.), Eugippii Excerpta ex operibus Augustini, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 9/1 (Vienna, 1886).
Further reading:
J.. Delmulle, W. Peze, "Un manuscrit de travail d’Eugippe : le ms. Città del Vaticano, BAV, Pal. lat. 210”, Sacris erudiri: Journal of Late Antique and Medieval Christianity, 55 (2016), 195-258.
P. Siniscalco, "Il numero primitivo degli Excerpta di Eugippio", Revue d'études augustiniennes 10/4 (1964), 331-342.
Marta Szada
23/07/2025
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00033 | Mary, Mother of Christ | Maria | Certain | S01322 | Ianuarius/Genuarius, bishop of Benevento and martyr of Naples | Ianuarius | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Marta Szada, Cult of Saints, E08393 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08393