The will of a son (name lost) of Idda records arrangements for the basilica of *Dionysius (bishop and martyr of Paris, S00349) at Paris (Saint-Denis), and a church of *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050) at Chaussy (northern Gaul), where he wishes to be buried with his siblings. Written in Latin, probably at Arthies (northern Gaul), c. 650/700.
E08401
Documentary texts - Will
Late antique original manuscripts - Papyrus sheet
ChLA XIII, 569 (excerpts)
[...] Basilecae s(an)c(t)i dom(n)i Dionisi Parisius, ubi ipse domnus requiiscit, uillare cognomenante Turiliaco, in pago Uilcassino su(per) fluuium Tytine, cum domebus, mancipeis, agris, pratis, pascuis, siluis, acquis aquar(um)ue decursebus, cum omni iure et termeno suo habendum et possedendum relinquo [...] Illud huic testamenti mihi inserendi conplacuit, ut, quos de seruientibus meis p(er) aepistolam ingenuetatis laxaui, in integra ingenuetate resedeant, tamen secundum quod eor(um) aepistolas loquetur et pro animae meae remedium et lumen praeferendum ad basilicae uestrae s(an)c(t)i Martini, que uestro opere et labor[e] [in u]illa Chrausobaci, qui nuncopatur Calciacus, construxistis, uel locum saepultur[ae] meae, si fuerit an non fuerit, in qua germani meae requiescunt [...] Act(um) Artegia in [uill]a, pago Uelcassino, sub d(ie) et a[nno] quo sup(ra [...]
'... To the basilica of the holy lord Dionysius of Paris, where that lord himself rests, I leave the villa named Tourly, in the pagus of Vexin, over the river Troëne, with its dwellings, servants, fields, meadows, pastures, woods, waters and watercourses, to be held and possessed with every right and boundary... And it pleases me to include in this will, that I have manumitted through this document those who serve me, so that they might reside in full freedom; nevertheless, according to what is said in their documents, and for the remedy of my soul, they are to bring light to your basilica of Saint Martin, which you have constructed by your work and labour in the villa of Chrausobacus, which is called Chaussy, also the place of my burial, whether that should happen or not happen, and in which my siblings rest... Enacted at the villa of Arthies, in the pagus of Vezin, on the day and year above...'
Text: Atsma and Vezin, 1981, 80-89.
Translation: B. Savill.
Other liturgical acts and ceremonies
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Burial site of a saint - unspecified
Non Liturgical ActivityConstruction of cult buildings
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesAristocrats
Family
Slaves/ servants
Source
Eighty lines of this will are preserved only through the document's original papyrus scroll (1530 x 325 mm), now Paris, Archives nationales, K 3 n. 1/2. Although the text survives exceptionally well for an original seventh-century testament (largely thanks to its 'recycling' by the monks of 10th/11th c. Saint-Denis, to create a forged Merovingian royal diploma in the monastery's favour: see also E08408), many key details are missing, including the donor's name, his addressees, or the date. Atsma and Vezin have approximately dated the document to the second half of the seventh century.Discussion
For the early medieval phenomenon of freedmen owing liturgical services (especially the provision of lighting) to churches patronised by their former masters, see now Esders 2021.Bibliography
Editions and facsimilesH. Atsma and J. Vezin, Chartae Latinae Antiquiores XIII. France I (Zurich, 1981), no. 569.
Chartes originales antérieures à 1121 conservées en France, no. 4493, online at http://telma.irht.cnrs.fr/outils/originaux/charte4493/
Further reading
S. Esders, ''Because Their Patron Never Dies': Ecclesiastical Freedmen, Socio-Religious Interaction, and Group Formation under the Aegis of ‘Church Property’ in the Early Medieval West (Sixth to Eleventh Centuries),’ Early Medieval Europe, 29 (2021), pp. 555-85.
Benjamin Savill
21/02/2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00050 | Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397 | Martinus | Certain | S00349 | Dionysius/Denis, bishop and martyr of Paris, and his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius | Dionisus | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Benjamin Savill, Cult of Saints, E08401 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08401