E07477: Latin epitaph invoking an unnamed martyr, possibly *Alexander, Eventius or Theodolus (bishop, priest, and deacon, martyrs of Rome, S00127). Found in the cemetery of Saint Alexander on the via Nomentana, Rome. Probably second half of the 4th c. [provisional entry]

online resource

posted on 2019-03-23, 00:00 authored by pnowakowski

Part A and B:

Α ☧ Ω

[- - -] sancti marturis et [- - -]
[- - - P]aulinus ... turunu[s - - -]
[M]artyriae coniugi
[su]ae rene merenti fe[cit]
[quae v]ixit cum {a}eo an[n(os) - - -]
dep(osita) in pace d(ie) pr[idie - - -]

4. rene merenti = bene merenti || 6. dep. Ferrua, dep(ositus) EDB

'Α ☧ Ω. [- - -] of the holy martyr and [- - -] Paulinus [- - -] turunus [- - -] made for Martyria, his wife, the well-deserved one [who] lived with him [- - -] years. Buried in peace on the day before [- - -].'

Fragment C:

[- - -]SI[- - -]
[- - -]NV[- - -]

Fragment D:

[- - -]n[- - -]

Text: ICVR, n.s., VIII, no. 23015 = EDB41602.

History

Evidence ID

E07477

Saint Name

Martyrs, unnamed or name lost : S00060 Alexander, Eventius and Theodolus, bishop, priest and deacon, martyrs of Rome : S00127

Saint Name in Source

sanctus martur sanctus martur

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

Inscriptions - Funerary inscriptions

Language

Latin

Evidence not before

350

Evidence not after

400

Activity not before

350

Activity not after

400

Place of Evidence - Region

Rome and region

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Suburban catacombs and cemeteries

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

Suburban catacombs and cemeteries Rome Rome Roma Ῥώμη Rhōmē

Cult activities - Places

Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Prayer/supplication/invocation

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Women Other lay individuals/ people

Source

Five fragments, three of them conjoining, of a marble plaque. The first three fragments form 'part A + B' (as termed by Antonio Ferrua). Ferrua argues that Fragments C and D come from the same plaque. Dimensions: Part A: H. 25 cm, W. 14 cm, Th. 3 cm; Part B: H. 35 cm, W. 17 cm, Th. 3 cm. Fragment C: H. 12 cm, W. 7 cm, Th. 3 cm; Fragment D: H. 16 cm; W. 10 cm; Th. 3 cm. Letter height 4.5 cm. Part 'A and B' was dug out in the immediate area of the tomb of Eventius and Alexander in 1854. Part B was first recorded by Stevenson in 1880. It was fixed on a wall of the cemetery on 3 May 1888, the feast day of Alexander, Eventius, and Theodulos (in cubiculum F). Fragment C was first recorded by Antonio Ferrua.

Discussion

The unnamed martyr, invoked in line 1, is probably one of Alexander, Eventius, or Theodolus, buried and venerated in this cemetery. Just possibly the three martyrs are invoked, if sancti marturis is not genitive singular, but a corrupted form of the nominative plural (= sancti martures)

Bibliography

Edition: Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB41602. see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/41602 De Rossi, G.B., Ferrua, A. (eds.) Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores, n.s., vol. 8: Coemeteria viarum Nomentanae et Salariae (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1983), no. 23015 (with further bibliography).