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E00858: Latin poem on *Vincent (deacon and martyr of Saragossa and Valencia, S00290) composed by Prudentius, writing c. 400 in Calahorra (northern Spain). The poem, part of his Crowns of the Martyrs (Peristephanon), gives details about Vincent's suffering, death and cult, both during his lifetime and after death.
online resource
posted on 2015-11-17, 00:00 authored by mszadaLiber Peristephanon, Poem V
Summary:
Prudentius praises the day on which Vincent was martyred – see $E00860. The persecutor tries to convince Vincent to sacrifice to the pagan gods, Vincent refuses and calls the pagan gods devils. The judge orders that he should be bound, his joints broken and his flesh cut with hooks. However, the torturers are unable to wound his body more deeply; Vincent is cheerful and says he does not fear bodily death. The governor Datianus wants Vincent to disclose the place where the Christian writings are hidden, so that he can burn them, but Vincent refuses and threatens the persecutor with eternal punishment. Seeing the inability to kill Vincent by quartering, the judge orders him to be burned on a gridiron. Vincent hurries towards the gridiron and suffers without complaint. He is then thrown into a dark dungeon and has to lie on pieces of broken pots. Miraculously, light enters his prison, the broken pots turn into flowers, and Vincent has a vision of angels. When the governor learns about it, he orders Vincent to be allowed to recover before being tortured again. People of the city look after Vincent – see $E00881. He dies and his soul is accompanied to heaven by saints – see $E00882. The governor is furious and wants his body to be given to the wild beasts, so that no cult around it may arise – see $E00883. The body is miraculously protected by a raven which frightens away other animals. Datianus orders it to be thrown into the sea, but the body is miraculously carried back to the shore, together with the millstone to which it was attached. A tomb, and later an altar of the saint is erected there, and the saint's soul dwells in heaven with the Maccabees and with Isaiah who were martyred in a similar way to Vincent – see $E00884. According to Prudentius, Vincent is an even greater saint than them, since his body alone was exposed to humiliation after death. Prudentius encourages us to celebrate Vincent's festival and venerate his relics – see $E00885.
Text: Cunningham 1966: 294-313. Thomson 1953, 169-203. Summary: M. Tycner.
Summary:
Prudentius praises the day on which Vincent was martyred – see $E00860. The persecutor tries to convince Vincent to sacrifice to the pagan gods, Vincent refuses and calls the pagan gods devils. The judge orders that he should be bound, his joints broken and his flesh cut with hooks. However, the torturers are unable to wound his body more deeply; Vincent is cheerful and says he does not fear bodily death. The governor Datianus wants Vincent to disclose the place where the Christian writings are hidden, so that he can burn them, but Vincent refuses and threatens the persecutor with eternal punishment. Seeing the inability to kill Vincent by quartering, the judge orders him to be burned on a gridiron. Vincent hurries towards the gridiron and suffers without complaint. He is then thrown into a dark dungeon and has to lie on pieces of broken pots. Miraculously, light enters his prison, the broken pots turn into flowers, and Vincent has a vision of angels. When the governor learns about it, he orders Vincent to be allowed to recover before being tortured again. People of the city look after Vincent – see $E00881. He dies and his soul is accompanied to heaven by saints – see $E00882. The governor is furious and wants his body to be given to the wild beasts, so that no cult around it may arise – see $E00883. The body is miraculously protected by a raven which frightens away other animals. Datianus orders it to be thrown into the sea, but the body is miraculously carried back to the shore, together with the millstone to which it was attached. A tomb, and later an altar of the saint is erected there, and the saint's soul dwells in heaven with the Maccabees and with Isaiah who were martyred in a similar way to Vincent – see $E00884. According to Prudentius, Vincent is an even greater saint than them, since his body alone was exposed to humiliation after death. Prudentius encourages us to celebrate Vincent's festival and venerate his relics – see $E00885.
Text: Cunningham 1966: 294-313. Thomson 1953, 169-203. Summary: M. Tycner.
History
Evidence ID
E00858Saint Name
Vincent, deacon and martyr of Saragossa and Valencia, ob. c. 305 : S00290Saint Name in Source
VincentiusRelated Saint Records
Type of Evidence
Literary - Poems Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdomLanguage
- Latin