Latin inscription excavated under the basilica of Eufrasius at Poreč, recording the translation of the body of *Maurus (bishop and martyr of Poreč, S03091). Probably 5th or earlier 6th c.
Evidence ID
E08571
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
Latin inscription recording the translation of the body of Maurus
Inscription originally of nine lines; but with the final two either wholly, or largely, defaced.
Hoc cubile sanctum confessoris Maur[i]
nibeum continet corpus.
[H]aec primitiva eius oratibus
reparata est ecclesia.
[H]ic condigne translatus est, (5)
ubi episcopus et confessor est factus.
Ideo in honore duplicatus est locus
[......................................] actus
'This holy tomb (cubile) holds the snow-white body of the confessor Maurus. This first church was restored by his prayers. (5) He was rightly brought here, where he was made both bishop and confessor. Thus the place was doubled in honour ...'
Text: Degrassi 1934, 29.
Translation: Bryan Ward-Perkins
Cult PlacesBodily relic - entire body
Burial site of a saint - tomb/grave
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Transfer, translation and deposition of relics
Source
Marble slab: L 1.18m; H 0.93m; Th c. 0.11m. Seemingly broken on all its edges, and the lower right corner lost. It is, however, possible that the slab was originally only slightly larger than it is today - since very little has been lost at either end of the lines of inscription. The final two lines of the original inscription (lines 8 and 9) have, however, been chiselled away, leaving only a few letters at the end of line 8.The inscription was discovered in 1846 under the high altar of the mid-sixth-century Eufrasian basilica.
Discussion
Inevitably, as almost certainly the earliest surviving record of Maurus, patron saint of Poreč (but a very shadowy figure), this inscription has attracted a great deal of attention, complicated by debate over the dating and function of the substantial church discovered in excavations under Eufrasius' basilica. We have been able to go into the issues the inscription raises in only the briefest summary. For more information, we refer interested readers to the 'Further Reading' in the bibliography.Assuming the original location of this inscription was near where it was found (which is likely), it records the translation here of the body of Maurus, presumably from an extramural cemetery.
Several details of wording need comment:
*Lines 3-4 appear to refer to the restoration of an early church by Maurus himself.
*Line 6 - 'where he was made bishop and confessor' (ubi episcopus et confessor est factus) - clearly refers to the consecration of Maurus in this church, and possibly also refers to the same building as the site of his martyrdom (taking 'confessor' in the sense of 'martyr', which is possible in late antique hagiographical Latin).
*Line 7 - 'Thus the place was doubled in honour' (Ideo in honore duplicatus est locus) - probably refers to the church being honoured by both Maurus' consecration and his martyrdom, though other meanings are possible (particularly given the loss of lines 8 and 9).
*Lines 8-9: Why these were chiselled out is unclear - it is, however, likely (particularly because some letters were left undamaged) that this was a result of the slab's reuse, rather than being caused by a deliberate erasure of text.
A crucial aspect of this inscription - its dating - is, unfortunately, impossible to establish with any confidence. Its discovery under the altar of Eufrasius' church suggests that it predates his building work in the mid-sixth century, but even this dating is not completely certain, since Eufrasius' altar was provided with a sizeable new ciborium in the thirteenth century (whose foundations will have considerably disturbed the underlying soil). Cuscito and others have favoured a date around AD 400 on the basis of the inscription's letter-forms; but - as yet - the evidence to support this early dating has not been presented in print.
We are very grateful to Gisella Cantino Wataghin for help tracking down bibliography relating to this inscription (and to the pre-Eufrasian church).
Bibliography
Edition:Degrassi, A., Inscriptiones Italiae. Academiae Italicae consociatae ediderunt, Vol.X - Regio X. Fasciculum II - Parentium (Rome 1934), 29-31, no. 64.
Further reading:
Cantino Wataghin, G. in Testini, P., Cantino Wataghin, G. and Pani Ermini, L., “La cattedrale in Italia”, in Actes du XIe Congrès International d’Archéologie Chrétienne (Lyon, Vienne, Grenoble, Genève et Aoste, 21-28 septembre 1986) (Città del Vaticano 1989), I, 174-177.
Chevalier, P. and Matejčić, I., "D’un cardo au ‘narthex’ de la cathédrale : contribution au développement du groupe épiscopal de Porec", in Mélanges d’Antiquité tardive. Studiola in honorem Noël Duval (Bibliothèque de l’Antiquité Tardive 5, 2004), 149-164.
Cuscito, G., Cristianesimo antico ad Aquieia (Trieste 1977), 124-135.
Matejčić, I. and Chevalier, P., “Nouvelle interprétation du complexe épiscopal “prééuphrasien” de Poreč”, Antiquité Tardive 6 (1998), 355-365.
Matejčić, I., "Aspetto e datazione dei primi edifici cristiani di Parenzo", in S. Piussi (ed.), Cromazio di Aquileia (388-408) al crocevia di genti e religione – Udine, 6 novembre 2008-8 mars 2009, (Exhibition catalogue, Milan 2008), 420-427.
Picard, J.-Ch., Le souvenir des évêques. Sépultures, listes épicopales et culte des évêques en Italie du Nord des origines au Xe siècle (Rome 1988), 652-654.
Images
)
The inscription
Record Created By
Bryan Ward-Perkins
Date of Entry
2/12/2024
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S03091 | Maurus (bishop and confessor/martyr of Poreč, Istria) | Maurus | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Bryan Ward-Perkins, Cult of Saints, E08571 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08571