Evidence ID
E03244Saint Name
Aurea and Companions, martyrs of Ostia : S00898Saint Name in Source
Aurea, Censurinus, Cyriacus, Asterius, Hippolytus/NonnusType of Evidence
Literary - Hagiographical - Accounts of martyrdomEvidence not before
750Evidence not after
900Place of Evidence - Region
Rome and regionPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
OstiaPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Ostia
Rome
Rome
Roma
Ῥώμη
RhōmēCult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Composing and translating saint-related textsSource
The Martyrdom (BHL 808-809) is preserved in 13 manuscripts according to the database Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina Manuscripta (bhlms.fltr.ucl.ac.be), the earliest being from the late 9th or early 10th century: Rome, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Farf. 29 (alias 341), f. 261r-267v.Discussion
According to Lanéry, the Martyrdom is a reworking centred on Aurea of an earlier martyrdom account about Censurinus and his companions (BHL 1722, see E06531), perhaps composed in the 7th or 8th century. Thus, despite being dated to the 5th or 6th century in repertories (Clavis Patrum Latinorum 2179; Gryson, R., Répertoire général des auteurs ecclésiastiques Latins de l’Antiquité et du Haut moyen âge, 2 vols. (Freiburg, 2007), I, 58), our Martyrdom would rather have been composed in the 9th century, in the wake of restorations of the basilica dedicated to Aurea in Ostia. It cannot date much later than the mid 9th century, since it is included in a manuscript from the late 9th or early 10th century.Bibliography
Edition (BHL 808-809):
Acta Sanctorum, Aug. IV, 757-761.
Further reading:
Lanéry, C., "Hagiographie d'Italie (300-550). I. Les Passions latines composées en Italie,” in: Philippart, G. (ed.), Hagiographies. Histoire internationale de la littérature hagiographique latine et vernaculaire en Occident des origines à 1550, vol. V (Turnhout, 2010), 15-369, at 317-318.
Vocino, G., “L’Agiografia dell’Italia centrale (750-950),” in: Goullet, M. (ed.), Hagiographies. Histoire internationale de la littérature hagiographique latine et vernaculaire en Occident des origines à 1550, vol. VII (Turnhout, 2017), 95-268 at 211-212.
