E07519: Latin dedicatory inscription with a poem imitating Damasan verse, on a plaque set up as a vow to *Alexander (martyr of Rome, one of the seven sons of St Felicitas, S00525) for miraculous healing. Found in the Cemetery of the Jordani (Catacomba dei Giordani) on the via Salaria, Rome. Probably late 4th c. [provisional entry]
online resource
posted on 2019-04-06, 00:00authored bypnowakowski
Munus Alex[a]ndro septem de fratribus uni Marcel[lin]us ovans hunc abacum pos[ui]t. Qui [gravibus m]orbis iactatus tempore [longo] redd[i]tus est v[itae mar]tyiris auxil[io]. Inde memor v[oti, m]eritis pro talibu[s imp]ar, quae potuit pauper munera parva d[e]dit.
'To Alexander, one of the seven brothers, Marcellinus set up this plaque, filled with great joy, giving him his due. Struck by [grave] afflictions, and for a long time, he was brought back [to life] through the martyr's succour. Thence, mindful of his vow, albeit helpless towards such merits, this poor man bequeathed his humble gifts doing his best.'
Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Suburban catacombs and cemeteries
Rome
Rome
Roma
Ῥώμη
Rhōmē
Major author/Major anonymous work
Damasan and pseudo-Damasan poems
Cult activities - Places
Burial site of a saint - crypt/ crypt with relics
Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Cult Activities - Miracles
Miracle after death
Healing diseases and disabilities
Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Other lay individuals/ people
Cult Activities - Cult Related Objects
Ex-votos
Other
Source
Fragmentary marble plaque. Broken into several fragments, many of which are now lost. Presumed original dimensions: H. 0.70 m; W. 1.50 m; Th. 0.022 m. Letter height 0.055 m. Fine lettering imitating the Philocalian script. Found near the staircase of cubiculum Ca in 1873 and published the same year by Giovanni Battista de Rossi (just a fragment of verses 1-3). Further fragments emerged between 1966 and 1971 in regions F and C of the same cemetery, and restorations of the complete text were offered by subsequent editors, in particular Styger, Fasola, and Ferrua, whose edition from the Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae we follow here.
All the extant fragments are now assembled and displayed in cubiculum Fd, though two previously known small fragments are lost.
Discussion
Ferrua notes that line 1 is very close to another poem in honour of the seven son of Felicitas, authored by Pope Damasus (see our E07192). Similarly, he gives parallels for inscriptions containing dedicatory formulae with the phrases 'ovans' and 'posuit', and refers to a sentence from a letter by Paulinus of Nola (Ep. 32.5) illustrating the same terminology.
As for the object of the vow, Ferrua supposes that the abacus could be the plaque of a table (mensa quadrata) for storing offerings to the martyr or for placing candles.
Dating: As the inscription imitates the works of Pope Damasus, it cannot be earlier than the late 4th c.
Bibliography
Edition:
Epigraphic Database Bari, no. EDB14411.
see http://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/14411
De Rossi, G.B., Ferrua, A., Mazzoleni, D. (eds.), Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores, n.s., vol. 9: Coemeteria viae Salariae reliqua (Vatican: Pont. Institutum Archaeologiae Christianae, 1985), no. 24312 (with further bibliography).
Diehl, E., Inscriptiones Latinae Christianae Veteres (Berlin: Apud Weidmannos, 1925-1927), vol. 1, no. 1990 adn.
Ihm, M., Damasi Epigrammata: accedunt Pseudodamasiana aliaque ad Damasiana inlustranda idonea (Lipsiae: in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1895), no. 90.