ܘܒܥܣܪܬܐ ܡܢܡܐܝܤ ܩܫܝܫܐ ܘܐܚܖ̈ܢܐ ܫܒܬܥܣܪ.
'And on the tenth (day) – the presbyter Nemesios, and seventeen others.'
Ed. Nau 1912, p. 20; trans. S. Minov.
Evidence ID
E01550Type of Evidence
Liturgical texts - Calendars and martyrologiesEvidence not before
411Evidence not after
412Activity not before
360Activity not after
411Place of Evidence - Region
MesopotamiaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
EdessaPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Edessa
Edessa
Edessa
Ἔδεσσα
EdessaMajor author/Major anonymous work
Syriac Martyrology of 411Cult activities - Festivals
Source
The Syriac Martyrology of the year 411 is the earliest liturgical calendar preserved in Syriac. It appears in the manuscript BL Add. 12150. The manuscript's colophon relates that it was produced in the city of Edessa in the year 411. Composed during the last decades of the fourth or the first decade of the fifth century, the Martyrology is divided into the two main sections - the main one, devoted to the Christian martyrs of the Roman empire, and the shorter one, devoted to the Christians executed in the Sasanian empire. The former section is derived from a lost Greek martyrology. For more information, see E00465
Syriac text: Wright 1865-1866; Nau 1912, pp. 11-26; Brock and van Rompay 2014, pp. 389-392; English translation: Wright 1865-1866, pp. 423-432; French translation: Nau 1912, pp. 11-26; German translation: Lietzmann 1903, pp. 9-16; Latin translation: Mariani 1956. For general information, see Taylor 2012, pp. 80-81; Schäferdiek 2005.Discussion
The Martyrology provides the earliest evidence for the liturgical commemoration of the martyr Nemesios and his companions among Syriac-speaking Christians.
Since the form of the martyr's name in the manuscript, i.e. 'Menmāīs,' does not make much sense, we follow the emendation made by Nau, who suggests, basing on Martyrologium hieronymianum, that it is a corrupt form of the original 'Nemesios' (Nau 1912, p. 20).Bibliography
Main editions and translations:
Brock, S.P., and van Rompay, L., Catalogue of the Syriac Manuscripts and Fragments in the Library of Deir al-Surian, Wadi al-Natrun (Egypt) (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 227; Leuven: Peeters, 2014).
Lietzmann, H., Die drei ältesten Martyrologien (Kleine Texte für Theologische Vorlesungen und Übungen 2; Bonn: A. Marcus und E. Weber, 1903).
Mariani, B., Breviarium syriacum seu martyrologium syriacum saec. IV (Rerum ecclesiasticarum documenta, Series minor: Subsidia studiorum 3; Roma: Herder, 1956).
Nau, F., Martyrologes et ménologes orientaux, I–XIII. Un martyrologie et douze ménologes syriaques édités et traduits (Patrologia Orientalis 10.1 [46]; Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1912).
Wright, W., “An Ancient Syriac Martyrology,” Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record NS VIII, 15 (1865), 45-56; 16 (1866), 423-432.
Further reading:
Schäferdiek, K., “Bemerkungen zum Martyrologium Syriacum,” Analecta Bollandiana 123:1 (2005), 5-22.
Taylor, D.G.K., “Hagiographie et liturgie syriaque,” in: A. Binggeli (ed.), L’hagiographie syriaque (Études syriaques 9; Paris: Paul Geuthner, 2012), 77-112.
