E06338: Two letters of Pope Gregory the Great (Register 3.1 and 10.7), of 592 and 600, mention the monastery dedicated to *Severinus (hermit and monk of Noricum, ob. 482, S00848) in the castrum Lucullanum outside Naples (southern Italy). Written in Latin in Rome.
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posted on 2018-09-11, 00:00authored byfrances
Pope Gregory the Great, Register of Letters 3.1
Extract from a letter dealing with trouble in Naples:
Mancipia autem si qua de cetero in monasterium sancti Seuerini uel in alia ecclesia eiusdem castelli de ciuitate refugerint, mox ad notitiam tuam peruenerit, nullomodo illic ea immorari permittas, sed intra ciuitatem in ecclesiam reuocentur.
‘But if some slaves from the rest have taken refuge from the city in the monastery of Saint Severinus or in another church in the same fortress [the castrum Lucullanum, just outside Naples], as soon as it comes to your notice, in no way allow them to stay there, but let them be recalled into a church inside the city.’
Pope Gregory the Great, Register of Letters 10.7
Extract from a letter dealing with the bishopric of Sorrento:
Postquam is qui ad episcopatum Sorrentinae ciuitatis electus fuerat aptus nobis non uisus est, Amandum presbyterum oratorii sancti Seuerini, quod in castro Lucullano situm est, elegerunt.
‘After the priest elected to the bishopric of the city of Sorrento appeared unsuitable to us, they elected Amandus, priest of the oratory of Saint Severinus, situated in the castrum Lucullanum.’
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 - Places
Cult building - monastic
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Seeking asylum at church/shrine
Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Slaves/ servants
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy
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 castrum Lucullanum, just outside ancient Naples and the site of the medieval Castel dell'Ovo, was the site of the monastery that housed the body of Saint Severinus, which had been taken there from Noricum shortly after his death (see E02786 and E02347).
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).