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E06405: A letter of Pope Gregory the Great (Register 9.192) of 599, to Boninus, defensor, discusses slaves of a monastery dedicated to *Demetrius (possibly the martyr of Thessaloniki, S00761) in Rome. Written in Latin in Rome.

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

Pope Gregory the Great, Register of Letters 9.192

Noster fortunatus abbas monasterii sancti Demetrii, quod in hac urbe Romana situm est, latores praesentium monachos suos illic pro recolligendis mancipiis iuris sui monasterii, quae illic latitare dicuntur.

‘Our son, Fortunatus, abbot of the monastery of Saint Demetrius, which is situated in the city of Rome, is sending his monks to you, bearing this letter, seeking to recover slaves under the control of his monastery who are said to be hiding in your territory.’

Text: Norberg 1982, vol. 2, 727-8. Translation: Martyn 2004, vol. 2, 650.

History

Evidence ID

E06405

Saint Name

Demetrius, deacon and martyr of Sirmium : S00697 Demetrios, martyr of Thessalonike : S00761 Demetrius and Honorius, two Romans martyred at Ostia

Saint Name in Source

Demetrius

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

Literary - Letters

Language

Latin

Evidence not before

599

Evidence not after

599

Activity not before

599

Activity not after

599

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 - Places

Cult building - monastic

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

It is not certain which Saint Demetrius this monastery was dedicated to, but Demetrius of Thessalonike is perhaps the most likely.

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).