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E06336: A letter of Pope Gregory the Great (Register 2.50) of 592, to Petrus, sub-deacon and papal agent in Sicily, asks him to sail for Rome before the feast day of *Cyprian (bishop and martyr of Carthage, S00411). Written in Latin in Rome.

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posted on 2018-09-11, 00:00 authored by frances

Pope Gregory the Great, Register of Letters 2.50

A short extract from a long letter dealing with affairs in Sicily:

Stude, si domino placuerit, ut mare ante natale beati Cypriani transeas, ne ex signo quod diebus ipsis semper imminet, quod absit, aliquod periculum possit evenire.

‘Make an effort to cross the sea, if it pleases God, before the feast of Saint Cyprian, in case some danger might eventuate (Heaven forbid!) from the sign that is always a threat at that time.'

Text: Norberg 1982, vol. 1, 142-3. Translation: Martyn 2004, vol. 1, 230-1.

History

Evidence ID

E06336

Saint Name

Cyprian, bishop and martyr of Carthage : S00411

Saint Name in Source

Cyprianus

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Cyprian_bishop_and_martyr_of_Carthage/13730257

Type of Evidence

Literary - Letters

Language

Latin

Evidence not before

592

Evidence not after

592

Activity not before

592

Activity not after

592

Place of Evidence - Region

Rome and region

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Rome

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Rome Rome Rome Roma Ῥώμη Rhōmē

Major author/Major anonymous work

Gregory the Great (pope)

Cult activities - Festivals

Dating by saint’s festival

Source

A letter transmitted as part of Gregory the Great’s Register of Letters. This letter collection, organised into fourteen books, is large and contains letters to a variety of recipients, including prominent aristocrats, members of the clergy and royalty. The issues touched on in the letters are equally varied, ranging from theological considerations to mundane administrative matters. This collection of letters, which was possibly curated by Gregory, was originally much larger. The surviving Register comprises several groups of letters which were extracted at several later moments in history, the largest of which took place in the papacy of Hadrian I (772-795).

Discussion

The Martyrologium Hieronymianum lists this feast on the 14 September (E04951). The period which followed was often a time of violent storms.

Bibliography

Edition: Norberg, D., S. Gregorii Magni, Registrum epistularum. 2 vols. (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 140-140A; Turnhout: Brepols, 1982). English translation: Martyn, J.R.C., The Letters of Gregory the Great, 3 vols. (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2004). Further Reading: Neil, B., and Dal Santo, M. (eds.), A Companion to Gregory the Great (Leiden: Brill, 2013).