File(s) not publicly available
E05812: Agnellus of Ravenna, in his Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis, quotes 6th c. Latin inscriptions from a church dedicated to *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030) in Ravenna (northern Italy); Agnellus claims the church was founded in 546/557. Account written in Ravenna in 830/846.
online resource
posted on 2018-06-19, 00:00 authored by dlambertAgnellus of Ravenna, Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis 72
Aedificauit que ecclesiam beati Stephani hic Rauennae, leuitae et martiris, non longe a posterula Ouilionis a fundamentis; mira magnitudine decorauit pulcherrime que ornauit, et in cameris tribunae sua effigies tessellis uariis infixa est, et per in giro mirifice opere uitreo constructa est, multas que reliquias ibidem condidit sanctorum de corporibus, quorum nomina ita exarata inuenietis:
In honore sancti ac beatissimi primi martiris Stephani seruus Christi Maximianus episcopus hanc basilicam, ipso adiuuante, a fundamentis construxit et dedicauit die tertio Idus Decemb., indictione .xiiii., nouies p. c. Basilii iunioris.
‘And he [Maximian, Bishop of Ravenna, 546-557] built from the foundations the church of St Stephen, deacon and martyr, here in Ravenna, not far from the Ovilian gate; he enhanced it with wonderful size and furnished it most beautifully, and in the vaults of the apse his image is fixed in multi-coloured mosaic, and is surrounded by wonderful glasswork, and he established there many relics from the bodies of the saints, whose names you will find thus written:
In honour of holy and most blessed first martyr Stephen, Bishop Maximian, servant of Christ, by God’s grace built this church from the foundations and dedicated it on the third ides of December [December 11] in the fourteenth indiction, in the ninth year after the consulship of Basilius the younger.
Agnellus refers to the presence of the relics of several saints in the church.
Templa micant Stephani meritis et nomine sacra,
Qui prius eximium martiris egit opus.
Omnibus una datur sacro pro sanguine palma,
Plus tamen hic fruitur, tempore quo prior est.
Ipse fidem uotum que tuum nunc, magne sacerdos [5]
Maximiane, iuuans, hoc opus explicuit.
Nam talem subito fundatis molibus aulam
Sola manus hominum non poterat facere.
Vndecimum fulgens renouat dum luna recursum
Excepta et pulchro condita fine nitet. [10]
The temple of Stephen shines, holy in relics and in name, he who first performed the exceptional act of martyrdom. The same palm is given to all for holy blood; however he benefits from it more who was earlier in time. He himself now assisting your faith and your vow, great priest [5]. Maximian has completed this work. For the hand of man alone could not so soon have made such a hall form its foundation walls. When the gleaming moon was new for the eleventh time, the church which had been begun shines established in beautiful completion [10].’
Text: Deliyannis 2006. Translation: Deliyannis 2004.
Aedificauit que ecclesiam beati Stephani hic Rauennae, leuitae et martiris, non longe a posterula Ouilionis a fundamentis; mira magnitudine decorauit pulcherrime que ornauit, et in cameris tribunae sua effigies tessellis uariis infixa est, et per in giro mirifice opere uitreo constructa est, multas que reliquias ibidem condidit sanctorum de corporibus, quorum nomina ita exarata inuenietis:
In honore sancti ac beatissimi primi martiris Stephani seruus Christi Maximianus episcopus hanc basilicam, ipso adiuuante, a fundamentis construxit et dedicauit die tertio Idus Decemb., indictione .xiiii., nouies p. c. Basilii iunioris.
‘And he [Maximian, Bishop of Ravenna, 546-557] built from the foundations the church of St Stephen, deacon and martyr, here in Ravenna, not far from the Ovilian gate; he enhanced it with wonderful size and furnished it most beautifully, and in the vaults of the apse his image is fixed in multi-coloured mosaic, and is surrounded by wonderful glasswork, and he established there many relics from the bodies of the saints, whose names you will find thus written:
In honour of holy and most blessed first martyr Stephen, Bishop Maximian, servant of Christ, by God’s grace built this church from the foundations and dedicated it on the third ides of December [December 11] in the fourteenth indiction, in the ninth year after the consulship of Basilius the younger.
Agnellus refers to the presence of the relics of several saints in the church.
Templa micant Stephani meritis et nomine sacra,
Qui prius eximium martiris egit opus.
Omnibus una datur sacro pro sanguine palma,
Plus tamen hic fruitur, tempore quo prior est.
Ipse fidem uotum que tuum nunc, magne sacerdos [5]
Maximiane, iuuans, hoc opus explicuit.
Nam talem subito fundatis molibus aulam
Sola manus hominum non poterat facere.
Vndecimum fulgens renouat dum luna recursum
Excepta et pulchro condita fine nitet. [10]
The temple of Stephen shines, holy in relics and in name, he who first performed the exceptional act of martyrdom. The same palm is given to all for holy blood; however he benefits from it more who was earlier in time. He himself now assisting your faith and your vow, great priest [5]. Maximian has completed this work. For the hand of man alone could not so soon have made such a hall form its foundation walls. When the gleaming moon was new for the eleventh time, the church which had been begun shines established in beautiful completion [10].’
Text: Deliyannis 2006. Translation: Deliyannis 2004.
History
Evidence ID
E05812Saint Name
Stephen, the First Martyr : S00030Saint Name in Source
StephanusRelated Saint Records
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other Inscriptions - Formal inscriptions (stone, mosaic, etc.)Language
- Latin
