A fragmentary papyrus document from Ravenna (north-east Italy) records a grant of property by Iohannes and his wife Stefania, to the women's monastery dedicated to *John the Baptist (S00020), called ad Nauicula. Written in Latin in Ravenna, perhaps c. 700.
E08418
Documentary texts - Donation document
Documentary texts - Charter or diploma
Late antique original manuscripts - Papyrus sheet
Tjäder P. 23 (excerpt)
[...] [S]ergius, domestic(us) num(eri) Armeniorum, uih chartule donationis a presen[ti die] [tri]um unciarum principal[iu]m in initegro fundi Cellulas cum om[nibus ad eund(em)] pertinentibus, sicud superi[u]s legitur, facta in Iohannia, r(e)l(i)g(iosa) [abb(atissa) monasterii] s(an)c(t)i Iohanns Baptisteri, qui appellatur ad Nauicula, et [per eam in] eode monasterium, a Iohanne v(iro) c(larissimo), primicirio num(eri) Rav(ennatis), et Ste[fania..] iugalis, s(upra)s(crip)tis donatores, qui me presente signa s(an)c(t)e [cruc(is) fec(erunt), et] [eis] relectom est, rogatus au eosdem testis subscripsi, et [hac chartula] donationis mei pre[sen]ti[a] hac d(ie) super s(an)c(t)a euangelia [traditam uidi.
'... I Sergius, domesticus of the cohort of the Armenians, have subscribed to this charter of donation, made on this present day, of three principal twelfths in their entirety on the estate of Cellulas, with everything pertaining to them, just as is read above, to Iohannia, religious abbess of the monastery of Saint John the Baptist, which is called ad Nauicula, and through her to that same monastery, by the outstanding man Iohannes, primicerius of the cohort of Ravenna, and Stefania his wife, the aforesaid donors, who in my presence made the sign of the holy cross, and asked me to subscribe as a witness to what they had handed over, and on this day in my presence I saw this charter of donation transmitted over the holy gospels.'
Text: Tjäder 1955-82: i. 368-70.
Translation: B. Savill
Cult building - monastic
Non Liturgical ActivityBequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Ecclesiastics - abbots
Soldiers
Aristocrats
Officials
Source
Thirty-eight papyrus documents (plus a further four of less certain provenance) dating from the years 445 to c. 700 survive today from the archives of the church of Ravenna. Most were produced in the city, although some appear to have come to Ravenna via interested parties after originally being issued at other centres (e.g. Faenza, Syracuse, Nepi). An exceptionally rare witness to late antique documentary culture, the Ravenna papyri constitute the single largest corpus of Latin papyri documents still extant, although the collection is now dispersed between a number of libraries across Europe and North America. The standard modern edition is Tjäder 1955-82. We have included in our database the eight documents from this corpus which provide evidence for saints' cults before c. 700.This papyrus (140 x 235 mm) is now Princeton, Private Collection Scheide M98
Discussion
The precise location of this monastery ad Nauicula is not known.Bibliography
EditionDie nichtliterarischen lateinischen Papyri Italiens aus der Zeit 445-700, ed. J.-O. Tjäder, 2 vols (Lund and Stockholm, 1955-82).
Benjamin Savill
04/03/2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00020 | John the Baptist | Iohannes Baptisteus | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Benjamin Savill, Cult of Saints, E08418 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08418