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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


Name

Helena, empress and mother of Constantine, ob. 328

Saint ID

S00185

Number in BH

BHL 3772-3790

Reported Death Not Before

327

Reported Death Not After

330

Gender
Female
Type of Saint
Monarchs and their family, Mothers and fathers
Related Evidence Records
IDTitle
E00367Gregory of Tours writes the Glory of the Martyrs (Liber in Gloria Martyrum), in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 580/594. Overview entry.
E00370Gregory of Tours, in his Glory of the Martyrs (5), tells how *Radegund (former queen, and monastic founder, ob. 587, S00182) obtained for her monastery in Poitiers (western Gaul) relics of the Holy Cross, and, through servants sent to the East for this purpose, relics of martyrs and confessors, which she placed in the reliquary of the Holy Cross; miracles occur in Poitiers in the presence of this reliquary. Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 580/594.
E00372Gregory of Tours, in his Glory of the Martyrs (5), recounts the legend of Helena, the mother of Constantine, finding the nails from Christ's crucifixion, incorporating two into the bridle of Constantine's horse, calming the Adriatic Sea with another, and incorporating the fourth into a statue of Constantine in Constantinople. Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 580/594.
E00680The Notitia ecclesiarum urbis Romae, a guide to saints' graves around Rome, lists those on the via Labicana, south-east of the city. Written in Latin in Rome, probably in 625/649.
E00867Inscription on a plaque, perhaps from an altar, dedicated by a member of the city council, mentioning *Constantine (emperor, ob. 337, S00186) and *Helena (empress and mother of Constantine, ob. 328, S00185) as saints. Found in Andeda (Pamphylia, southern Asia Minor). Probably 7th-9th c.
E01939Inscribed element of a reliquary cross with labelled depictions of probably *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030), and possibly *Nicholas (bishop of Myra under Constantine, S00520), and *Helena (empress and mother of Constantine, ob. 328, S00185). Reportedly seen in Ḥimṣ/Emesa (northwest Phoenicia). Probably 6th-7th c.
E02994Paulinus of Nola, in a letter to Sulpicius Severus of 400/403 (Letter 31), narrates the discovery of the True Cross by *Helena (empress and mother of Constantine, ob. 328, S00185) in response to a divine revelation. Written in Latin at Nola (southern Italy).
E03746The Church Calendar of Ioane Zosime, compiled in Georgian in the 10th c., based however on 5th-7th c. prototypes from Palestine, commemorates on 21 May *Isidoros (martyr of Chios, S00425) and *Varos (probably the martyr of Egypt buried in Palestine, S01212), the Empress Theodora, *Constantine (emperor, ob. 337, S00186), and *Helena (empress and mother of Constantine, ob. 328, S00185).
E05252Greek graffito invoking the intercession, on behalf of two monks, of *Helena (empress and mother of Constantine, ob. 328, S00185), and of unnamed martyrs, almost certainly those buried in the cemetery Ad Sanctos Marcellinum et Petrum /inter duas lauros, via Labicana, Rome, where the graffito was found. Probably late 7th - early 8th c.
E05858The Calendar of Willibrord, in its earliest version, records the feasts of various saints in August. Written in Latin at Echternach, Frisia (north-east Gaul), 703/710.
E06487Baudonivia's Life of *Radegund (former queen and monastic founder, ob. 587, S00182), recounts the abbess' life, death, and miracles, detailing in particular her collection of relics, as well as wider cult activity in and around the city of Poitiers (western Gaul). Written in Latin at Poitiers, 587/613.
E06493The Latin Life of *Sadalberga (abbess of Laon, ob. 671/8, S02434) records the saint's life, miracles, and death. Written perhaps at Laon (north-east Gaul), c. 680.
E06994The De Locis Sanctis, a guide to the graves of the martyrs around Rome, lists those on the via Labicana, south-east of the city. Written in Latin in Rome, 642/683.
E07890The Itinerarium Malmesburiense, a guide to saints' graves around and within Rome, lists those outside the porta maior (present-day 'Porta Maggiore') on the via Labicana, south-east of the city. Written in Latin in Rome, 642/683.
E07994The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor (AM 5816) states that *Helena (empress and mother of Constantine, S00185) had a vision instructing her to excavate the sacred sites in Jerusalem. Chronicle compiled in the Byzantine Empire in the early 9th c., using extracts from earlier Greek texts.
E0831535 relic labels at Sens (northern Gaul), datable by their script to the 7th or 8th c., for relics of a great diversity of saints. Written in Latin, perhaps at Sens, or at an earlier stage in their transmission.