E00403: The Liber Pontificalis, written in Latin in Rome in the 530s, and re-edited before 546, recounts the founding and endowment of the basilica of *Agnes (virgin and martyr of Rome, S00097) outside Rome by the emperor Constantine (312-337).

Liber Pontificalis 34.23

For the following passage it is impossible to reconstruct the text of the first edition.

Second edition

Eodem tempore fecit basilicam sanctae martyris Agnae ex rogatu filiae suae et baptisterium in eodem loco ubi et baptizata est soror eius Constantia cum filia Augusti a Silvestro episcopo, ubi et constituit donum hoc:
patenam ex auro purissimo, pens. lib. XX;
calicem aureum, pens. lib. X;
coronam farum cantharum ex auro purissimo cum delfinos XXX, pens. lib. XV;
patenas argenteas II, pens sing. lib. XX;
calices argenteos V, pens. sing. lib. X;
fara cantara argentea XXX, pens. sing. lib. VIII;
fara cantara aurocalca XL;
cerostata aurocalca argentoclusa sigillata XL;
lucerna aurea nixorum XII super fonteml pens. lib. XV;
et donum in reditum...


'Then he [Constantine] built a basilica to the martyr saint Agnes at the request of his daughter, and a baptistery in the same place, where his sister Constantia was baptised, along with the emperor’s daughter, by bishop Silvester. And there he assigned the following gift:
a paten of finest gold weighing 20 lb;
a gold chalice weighing 10 lb;
a crown chandelier of finest gold, with 30 dolphins, weighing 15 lb;
2 silver patens each weighing 20 lb;
5 silver chalices each weighing 10 lb;
30 silver chandeliers each weighing 8 lb;
40 brass chandeliers;
40 brass candlesticks, chased with silver, with medallions;
a gold lantern with 12 wicks, above the font, weighing 15 lb;
and the gift for revenue...'

There follows a list of the endowments of the basilica.


Text: Duchesne 1886, 180-181. Translation: Davis 2010, 21, lightly modified. Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.