The monastic rule of Ferreolus of Uzès (ob. 581) states that the Acts of the Martyrs should be read aloud on their feast days. Written in Latin at Uzès (southern Gaul), c. 553/581.
E08562
Canonical and legal texts
Rule of Ferreolus 18
DE PASSIONIBVS MARTYRVM QVAE INVENIRI POSSVNT, VT TEMPORE SVO DESIDIA NON INPEDIENTE LEGANTVR.
Gesta martyrum, id est passiones sanctorum fidelium, quae[dam] compaginata studio et sermone digesta sunt, tempore quo nobis diem migrationis eorum anni meta cursus sui legibus repraesentat, recenseri in oratorio audientibus cunctis omnino decernimus; ut non otiose praetereat dies atque ut reliquis similis habeatur; quem sicut tunc inlustrauit constantia martyris, ita nunc commendet memoria passionis.
'THAT THE PASSIONS OF THE MARTYRS ARE TO BE READ IN THEIR TIME, WITHOUT IDLENESS IMPEDING.
We decree absolutely that the Acts of the Martyrs, that is, the Passions of the faithful saints, which have been gathered with care and composed in [formal] speech, are to be recited in the oratory, with all listening, at the time in which the turning of the year, by the laws of its course, presents to us again the day of their migration, so that the day should not idly be passed over and held to be like other days, the day which, just as then the constancy of the martyr distinguished it, so now the memory of their passion should commend it.'
Text: Desprez 1982, 134.
Translation: David Lambert.
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
Source
According to its preface, the Rule of Ferreolus was composed by a bishop Ferreolus (or Ferriolus) for use in a monastery he had founded. Although no further information about Ferreolus is given in the text, he has almost always been identified as Bishop Ferreolus of Uzès (in office 553-581), who is mentioned in various sources for the 6th century, including Gregory of Tours (Histories 6.7). The Rule of Ferreolus is one of a number of monastic rules from early medieval Gaul that survive through being included in the Codex regularum, a collection of rules compiled in the early 9th century by the monastic reformer Benedict of Aniane (ob. 821).Bibliography
Editions and translations:Desprez, V., "La Regula Ferrioli. Texte critique," Revue Mabillon 60 (1982), 117-148.
Desprez, V., and de Vogüé, A., Règles monastiques d’Occident IVe-VIe siècle. D’Augustin à Ferréol (Bégrolles-en-Mauges: Abbaye de Bellefontaine, 1980), 288-339 (annotated French translation).
David Lambert
10/09/2024
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | Certain |
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