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E06997: The De Locis Sanctis, a guide to the graves of the martyrs around Rome, lists those on the via Nomentana, north-east of the city. Written in Latin in Rome, 642/683.

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posted on 2018-10-26, 00:00 authored by Bryan

On the Holy Places of the Martyrs which are outside the City of Rome (De locis sanctis martyrum quae sunt foris civitatis Romae), via Nomentana

Iuxta uiam Numentanam est sanctus Nicomedes. Et iuxta eandem uiam basilica sanctae Agnes mirae pulchritudinis.
Ubi ipsa corpore iacet. Propeque ibi soror eius Enerentiana, in alia tamen basilica, dormit. Ibi quoque singulari ecclesia Constantia, Constantini filia, requiescit. Sanctusque Alexander, sanctus Felicis, sanctus Papia, sanctus Victor et alii multi ibi dormiunt.

'Next to the via Nomentana is saint Nicomedes. And next to the same road is the basilica of saint Agnes, of wondrous beauty. There she lies in the body. And close by sleeps her sister Emerentiana, in another basilica. There also in her own church Constantia, the daughter of Constantine, rests. And saint Alexander, saint Felix, saint Papia, saint Victor, and many others sleep there.'

Text: Valentini and Zucchetti 1942, 115. Translation: P. Polcar.

[*Nicomedes, priest and companion martyr of Nereus and Achilleus, S00403; *Agnes, virgin and martyr of Rome, S00097; *Emerentiana, virgin and martyr of Rome, S00495; *Constantia/Constantina, virgin daughter of Emperor Constantine, ob. 354, S02468; *Victor, Felix, and Alexander, martyrs of Rome, buried on the via Nomentana S02229; *Papias, companion of Maurus, soldiers and martyrs of Rome, buried on the via Nomentana, $02057]

History

Evidence ID

E06997

Saint Name

Nereus and Achilleus, eunuchs and martyrs of Rome, and companions : S00403 Agnes, virgin and martyr of Rome : S00097 Constantia/Constantina, virgin daughter of Emperor Constantine, ob. 354 : S02468 Papias and Maurus, soldiers and martyrs of Rome,

Saint Name in Source

Nicomedes Agnes Constantia Papia Enerentiana Alexander, Felix, Victor

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

Literary - Pilgrim accounts and itineraries

Language

Latin

Evidence not before

642

Evidence not after

683

Activity not before

642

Activity not after

683

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

Lists of Shrines in Rome

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Pilgrimage

Cult Activities - Relics

Bodily relic - entire body

Source

The graves of the martyrs of Rome are quite exceptional in two respects: for the overwhelming number of saints whose names are recorded; and for the level of detail we have on where their bodies were venerated - in the many Martyrdoms surviving from Rome (incomparably more than from any other city), in uniquely rich epigraphic evidence, and in a narrative history, the Liber Pontificalis, that records in loving detail papal improvements to the saintly graves and churches of the city. From the century between circa 590 and 690, we even have four long lists of venerated graves, which were compiled entirely independently of each other: one (the Monza papyrus, E06788) is a catalogue of holy oil collected at these graves, but the other three, the Notitia Ecclesiarum (E07900), the De Locis Sanctis (E07901) and the Itinerarium Malmesburiense (E07883), are 'itineraries' - in other words texts that introduce their readers to the graves by taking them on a journey through the burial churches and cemeteries that ringed the city. They are often described as pilgrim-guides, which was certainly one of their functions, though they could also serve to introduced the saints of Rome to distant readers. The De locis sanctis martyrum quae sunt foris civitatis Romae ('On the holy places of the martyrs which are outside the city of Rome'), is exactly what its title claims: it is a guide to the suburban cemeteries of the city, listing the various saints who could be visited there (the vast majority of whom were martyrs). Like all the itineraries, it proceeds road by road, beginning with the via Cornelia and St Peter's, continuing anticlockwise round the city, and closing with the via Flaminia. Unlike the Notitia Ecclesiarum, which directly addresses the reader in the second person singular ('Then you go ...' etc.), the De Locis (in common with the Itinerarium), uses the impersonal 'By this road is ...' etc. In all the manuscripts of the De Locis, the journey around the city is immediately followed by a short text (E07001) entitled Istae vero ecclesiae intus Romae habentur ('These churches, however, are within Rome'), which lists 21 churches within the Aurelianic walls. This text may or may not have been by the same author as the De Locis. In terms of its dating, the De Locis must have been written before 683, because it lists the graves of Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix on the via Portuensis (E06988), and these martyrs were removed from there and translated into the city by Pope Leo II in 682/683 (E01678). The date after which it must have been written is slightly less certain: unquestionably it was after Honorius I (625-638) built his church of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura, since this must be the church 'of wondrous beauty' that is described on the via Nomentana (E06997); and it is very likely that it also post-dates the rebuilding by Pope Theodore I (642-649) of the church of Saint Valentinus on the via Flaminia (E01629), described in our text as 'wondrously decorated' (E07000). The earliest manuscript of this text (Vienna National Library Ms 795), datable to the last years of the eighth century, includes some brief interpolated passages (some of which derive from the Notitia Ecclesiarum). These are included, but clearly marked as interpolations, in all the editions of the De Locis, and in the text which we offer. (Bryan Ward-Perkins)

Discussion

These saints are readily identifiable, and their graves along the via Nomentana all also recorded in other sources. The basilica of Agnes 'of wondrous beauty' is the present-day church of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura, built by Honorius I (625-638) shortly before the writing of our text; and the church of Constantia is the rotunda of Santa Costanza. The saints Alexander, Felix, Papia and Victor are martyrs who were venerated in the coemeterium maius (or catacombs of Sant'Emerenziana), though the list is a little confusing: Alexander, Felix and Victor should properly be a trio of martyrs, with Papias paired with Maurus (who is here omitted).

Bibliography

Edition: Glorie, F. (ed.), De locis sanctis martyrum quae sunt foris civitatis Romae, in Itineraria et alia geographica (Corpus Christianorum, series Latina 175; Turnhout: Brepols, 1965), 315-321. [Reproduces Valentini and Zucchetti's text.] Valentini, R. and Zucchetti, G. (ed.), Codice topografico della città di Roma (Istituto storico italiano - Fonti per la storia d'Italia; Roma 1942), vol. 2, 106-118. (Partial) Translation: Lapidge, M., The Roman Martyrs. Introduction, Translations, and Commentary (Oxford Early Christian Studies; Oxford: Oxford University Press 2018), 662-664. [Translates most of the text, but omits parts that are not relevant to the martyrdom accounts that he includes in his collection.]