E02867: The Martyrdom of *Ansanus and Maxima (martyrs respectively of Siena and Rome, S01345) is written in Latin, presumably in Siena (Italy), perhaps in the 7th or 8th c.. It narrates Ansanus’ youth and baptism in Rome, his godmother Maxima’s martyrdom in Rome, Ansanus’ martyrdom in Siena, and his burial nearby, next to the river Arbia.

Martyrdom of Ansanus and Maxima (BHL 515)

§ 1: Prologue: the author promises to narrate a few of the martyr Ansanus’ miracles.

§ 2: Diocletian reigning for the 7th time [Diocletian for the 8th and Maximian for the 7th], a certain Tranquillinus of noble birth has a son, Ansanus, who serves God from adolescence (adulescentia). Born in Rome, during his education he always wants to please only Jesus Christ; at the age of twelve he flees to a church, looking for a priest (sacerdos) to baptise him. A certain priest (sacerdos) named Protasius is advised at night in his sleep by an angel of the Lord bearing in his hand a crown shining as snow. The angel touches him and tells him to get up and go to the sacristy of the church (secretarium ecclesiae) and purify the boy. Protasius wakes up and quickly goes to the sacristy, as he arrives at the door the light of God precedes him and there is a smell of precious perfume over the font. Protasius baptises Ansanus. Maxima, a Christian from the territorium Anacritanum [territorium Olymphynatum], is his mother in baptism. They becomes one mind and one soul in the fight for the Lord. The martyr of Christ Ansanus comes back to his father’s house, serving Jesus Christ without his parents knowing.

§ 3: In the 13th year of Diocletian’s reign there is a persecution against Christians everywhere. Ansanus has been hiding his conversion for seven years, he is now nineteen. As he hears about the persecution, he prays to God for protection. He then decides to go to the emperors and tell them that he is a Christian and that he is ready to die for it.

§ 4: He goes to Maxima’s house telling her that the time of martyrdom has come, he exhorts her to abandon the demons and adore Jesus Christ. She agrees, they go together to the emperors. On their way they see a blind man and heal him. Some see this and go to the emperors to denounce them.

§ 5: The emperors summon them and interrogate them. They learn that they are Christian, freeborn, reject sacrificing to the gods, and trust in Jesus Christ for whom they are ready to suffer. They particularly reject Jupiter: he was not the creator of all things but God was. Men were deceived by the Devil and started adoring idols, as told by the prophet in Ps. 61:10 and by Solomon in Wisdom 1:4. As the emperors ask them again to sacrifice, the martyrs refuse, stating their belief in Jesus Christ and their readiness to suffer.

§ 6: The emperors order them to be sent to prison. There, after a prayer the Lord, there is a pleasant smell and a voice tells them to rejoice and promises them great rewards. They kneel and thank God; ending their prayer, they chant Ps. 54:2-4. They fall asleep, and an angel appears to them and comforts them.

§ 7: They are summoned by the emperors the following morning, but still reject worshipping idols. The emperors send Ansanus back to prison and try to convince Maxima to sacrifice, but she keeps her faith, recalling David rejecting idols in Ps. 113:12-16. The emperors order her to be put on a rack and beaten; she dies.

§ 8: Ansanus escapes from prison and travels through the cimineas alpes and reaches the city of Bagnorea (balneum regense). There the Lord appears to him and tells him that he will be a column in His temple, holding the door of eternal life: anyone who imitates him will be offered to the Father through his hands. Ansanus rejoices and thanks Jesus Christ. Two months later, he comes to Siena (oppidum Senense) and performs many miracles. The emperors hear about it and ask the proconsul Lisias to prepare idols of Hercules, Jupiter and Saturn in Siena and ask Ansanus to adore them; if he refuses he should be killed. The proconsul summons Ansanus and asks him to sacrifice to the gods. Ansanus rejects the gods; the governor (praeses) threatens to kill him.

§ 9: The governor orders a great fire to be prepared, and wax, lead, resin and oil to be put into it. As Ansanus enters the fire, it is completely extinguished. The governor orders him to be beheaded. He is brought next to the river Arbia, where he is beheaded the day of the Calends of December [= 1 December], under the emperors Diocletian and Maximian, and the proconsul Lisias. [It was the year 296 from the nativity of the Lord, and now nine years have passed since Ansanus was martyred in Siena.] He is buried next to the river, and there, many favours are bestowed up to this day.

Text: Catalogus codicum hagiographicorum latinorum bibliothecae regiae Bruxellensis, vol. I.1 (Brussels, 1886), 129-132 with variants in square brackets from the text published in Mansi 1764, 61-64. Summary: M. Pignot.