Fragmentary Latin inscription referring to unnamed martyrs, probably *Simplicius, Faustinus, and Viatrix/Beatrix (martyrs of Rome, S00886). Found near the cemetery of Generosa (Ad sextum Philippi) on the via Portuensis just outside Rome. Mid to late 6th c.
Evidence ID
E08610
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)
ICVR II, 4753
Hoc itere invis[...]
sed tituli ing[...]
eximium vitae t[...]
martyribus [...]
hinc iter ad [...]
horren[...]
The text as it stands is too fragmentary to form the basis of a coherent translation. For attempts to reconstruct the inscription, see Discussion.
Text: Huelsen 1900, 125.
Cult PlacesVisiting graves and shrines
Cult Related Objects
Burial site of a saint - cemetery/catacomb
Non Liturgical ActivityVisiting graves and shrines
Renovation and embellishment of cult buildings
Cult Related ObjectsInscription
Source
The inscription consists of two conjoining fragments of a marble tablet. They were discovered in 1898 in the vineyard which then covered the area immediately to the south of the cemetery of Generosa, 'by chance, during normal agricultural work' ('casualmente, per i soliti lavori agricoli' – Huelsen 1900, 122). Measurements: height 35 cm; width 49 cm; thickness 3 cm. Because the text of the inscription is in verse, it is possible to calculate that the original width would have been 120–130 cm (Huelsen 1900, 122).The text consists of six lines of a poem in elegiac couplets. Each line is truncated about a third of the way through, as a result of the loss of the right hand side of the tablet. There may have been additional verses after the surviving lines, though six lines (three couplets) would be a fairly typical length for an inscribed epigram.
The lettering of the inscription was dated to the 6th century by Huelsen 1900, 124 (who compared it to the 6th c. copy of the Damasan epitaph of Pope Eusebius, E07167), and to 'a little before the middle of the 6th century' ('paulo antiquior medio saeculo sexto') by Silvagni in his notes to the publication of the inscription in ICVR (II.4753).
According to Minasi 2005, 63, the inscription was subsequently stolen from the catacomb.
Discussion
Given the fragmentary state of the inscription, the information that can be reliably drawn from it is limited. Since the only martyrs whose shrine was in the cemetery of Generosa were *Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix/Viatrix (S00886), it is a reasonable assumption that they are the martyrs mentioned in line 4. The most obvious feature of the remaining text is its repeated and emphatic reference to a way or path (iter): the opening words in line 1, Hoc itere invis[...] ('By this path [you] visit ...'), followed by line 5, Hinc iter ad ('from here the path to ...'). Since the inscription was found in the area where the via Portuensis passes the cemetery, the most obvious interpretation would be that it marked the entrance to the cemetery area, or perhaps a path leading from the via Portuensis to the cemetery. In his publication of the inscription, Christian Huelsen considered this possibility but argued that a structure such as an inscribed pillar would be more appropriate for such a purpose than a tablet. He therefore suggested that the inscription was inside the basilica in the cemetery of Generosa (see E07151), above the entrance to the catacomb where the shrine of the martyrs was situated (Huelsen 1900, 123). Huelsen's reasoning is plausible, but of course it remains a conjecture, and the possibility that the inscription was originally placed on or near the via Portuensis cannot be excluded.Huelsen offered a further hypothesis about the inscription's creation, and also a reconstruction of the inscription itself (Huelsen 1900, 124-5), which go much further into the realm of conjecture. Starting from de Rossi's dating of the fresco in the catacomb of Generosa (E08594) to the second half of the 6th century, Huelsen suggested that the inscription was contemporary with it, and was therefore evidence of a significant refurbishment of the cemetery at that date; in turn, he suggested that this was made necessary by damage caused by the Goths, during their sieges of Rome in 530s and 540s. Since multiple sources attest that the Goths damaged shrines and cemeteries around Rome during these sieges, Huelsen's reconstruction is plausible, but it is important to bear in mind that it is based solely on the coincidence of the inscription's putative date with the period of the Gothic wars: there is no direct evidence, either archaeological or literary, that the cemetery of Generosa was damaged by the Goths.
Huelsen's reconstruction of the inscription, following on from his conjectures, was as follows (Huelsen 1900, 125):
Hoc itera invis[es sanctorum corpora fratrum]
sed tituli ing[enti verba dolore leges]
eximium vitae t[ulerant qui sanguine fructum]
martyribus [Christi haec fuerat requies]
hinc iter ad [sanctos, quos impia turba Getarum]
horren[dum dictu! sedibus expulerat.]
'By this path you visit the bodies of the holy brothers, but you will read the words of the inscription with great grief. This had been the resting place for the martyrs of Christ, who gained through their blood the glorious fruit of life. From here the path to the saints, whom the impious horde of Goths (horrible to say) expelled from their homes.'
Acknowledging the highly conjectural nature of his reconstruction, Huelsen offered a more neutral version of line 2: Sed tituli ing[rediens perlege verba prius] ('but, entering, read the words of the inscription first'), and an alternative reconstruction of the last three lines by Franz Bücheler:
martyribus [sunt haec templa sacrata piis]
hinc iter ad [caelum fecerunt cum sua sacris]
horren[disque darent corpora suppliciis.]
'These holy places are consecrated to the pious martyrs. From here they made a path to heaven when they gave up their bodies to holy and terrible tortures.'
Bibliography
Editions:Huelsen, C., "Di una iscrizione monumentale appartenente al cimitero di Generosa sulla via Portuense," Nuovo Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana 6 (1900), 121-126 (original publication).
Diehl, E., Inscriptiones Latinae Christianae Veteres, vol. 1 (Berlin: Weidmann, 1925), 350, no. 1787.
de Rossi, G.B., and Silvagni, A., Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores [ICVR], n.s., vol. 2: Coemeteria in viis Cornelia Aurelia Portuensi et Ostiensi et tabulae Nr. 1-34 (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1935), no. 4753.
Epigraphic Database Bari, EDB17941
https://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/17941
Further reading:
Minasi, M., "L'affresco di Cristo tra santi della catacomba di Generosa alla Magliana: revisione critica e nuove ipotesi interpretative," Rivista di archeologia cristiana 81 (2005), 53-98.
Images
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The fragment, reproduced from Nuovo Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana 6 (1900), tav. II.
Record Created By
David Lambert
Date of Entry
23/02/2026
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00060 | Martyrs, unnamed or name lost | Certain | S00886 | Simplicius, Faustinus, Viatrix/Beatrix, martyrs of Rome | Uncertain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
David Lambert, Cult of Saints, E08610 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E08610